[GTALUG] Prompting the return of In-Person events.

[Karen Lewellen]

Linux in the park?
I have no idea how you created this before, but that sounds so nifty.
Having never attended in person, what are the basics you require for  a 
meeting place?
Kare



On Fri, 12 Jul 2024, Evan Leibovitch via talk wrote:

> Hi Scott,
>
> The only real obstacle to in-person meetings right now is a suitable venue.
>
> The two previous options that we used now require passcards at the door and
> would be extremely inconvenient.
> The Toronto Public Library is fine for occasional one-off events but is
> disinclined to book a year's worth of regular meetings.
>
> If anyone here has access to a suitable room that we could use on a regular
> basis that would be fantastic.
> We have received one offer of meeting space in midtown; however its
> Tuesdays are taken so we would have to change our day of the week if we
> wanted that location.
>
> If anyone here has offers of or even ideas for possible venues that would
> easily make regular meetings doable again.
>
> - Evan
>
>
>
> On Wed, Jul 10, 2024 at 11:51 AM Scott Sullivan via talk <talk at gtalug.org>
> wrote:
>
>> TL;DR
>>
>> I'd like to get a temperature of the room for other folks appetite for
>> the return of in person meetings / events.
>> Pleases chime in so that leadership can see what demand may exist that
>> is being unmet.
>>
>> ---
>>
>> What are the barriers to returning to in-person?
>>
>> How as a community can we help to make this happen?
>>
>> Is this something the community still desires?
>>
>> Are there supplemental events that can happen outside of the main
>> talk-oriented meeting, like a pub afternoon / night?
>>
>>
>> GTALUG has endured for nearly four decades now, I was privileged to be
>> part of that leadership for half of it. Stepping away in the years
>> before pandemic, and returning only for a year in the wake of Chris's
>> passing to help the board.
>>
>> For me, the value of GTALUG was the long tail of social interactions
>> that came out of the in-person meetings and events. Little side bars on
>> niche subjects, getting to talk with fellow folks about their choices of
>> software, hardware or latest gadgets. Get into all the details and
>> reaffirmations of friends and colleagues.  Join a group meal ahead of
>> the meetings, and staying late at a pub afterward. All activities that
>> can't happen in a conference call. There were also the special events,
>> like Linux in the Park. Meetups at conventions and trade shows, or even
>> running a booth where it made sense.
>>
>> The pandemic changed a lot. Old venues have locked down, and plenty of
>> folks have legitimate reasons to remain cautious. But what hasn't
>> changed is the desire and need for that in-person experience and
>> affirmation of community. I've been speaking with Alan, Gord, Evan and
>> others about this void that hasn't been closed yet. I'm aware it's a
>> topic of discussion at the leadership level. So to the questions above,
>> let's bring this out where we as a community can come together to ask
>> and answer.
>>
>> --
>> Scott Sullivan
>>
>> ---
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>>
>
>
> -- 
> Evan Leibovitch, Toronto Canada
> @evanleibovitch / @el56
>