There's a meetup near you

May 29, 2009 8:10 AM

There's quite a few 10th anniversary meetups with only a solitary attendee, in places where there are plenty of MeFites...

We already have location-matching functionality, as you can see by looking at anybody's profile who has a location entered (the 'users nearby' feature).

Would there be anyway to add something to the 'Ten' bar which is at the top of the page to say, "hey, there's a meetup near you, you should check it out and maybe come along".

So, for example, the top bar for me might read:

MetaFilter is turning ten! Help us celebrate at one of dozens of meetups. You are in London, UK, and there is a meetup within 30 miles with 24 confirmed attendees. Come along!.

It could, even, be rolled over as an opt-in bit of functionality for future, non-10 meetups.

What do you reckon?

posted by Happy Dave to Feature Requests at 8:10 AM (55 comments total)

If you look at the meetups that have 1 confirmed attendee, you can see that other local people are involved in the discussion threads. The fixed date for this meetup is probably limiting attendance a bit: if you only have 5 people in the area, you wouldn't pick a date where only 1 is available normally.
posted by smackfu at 8:26 AM on May 29, 2009

You are in Bonnyville, AB, Canada, and there is a meetup within 350km with 2 confirmed attendees. Come along!
posted by Plutor at 8:32 AM on May 29, 2009

Sure, there are a few like that, but there's also a few where one person has posted and there's been no responses, c.f.

- Amarillo
- Edinburgh
- Phoenix
- Maryland
- Zanzibar

As well as lots of threads where things have gotten a bit quiet or only one or two people have chimed in. I think having a wee reminder at the top of the page (where there already is one anyway) might prompt people to go 'Oo, I'll go along to that'. I mean, there's at least a couple of dozen MeFites in Edinburgh for example, but it breaks my heart to see an empty thread and imagine a lone organiser in a party hat, drinking alone in a room covered in Metafilter signs.
posted by Happy Dave at 8:34 AM on May 29, 2009

Yeah, we might ramp up the promotion of the events as we get closer to the date. Either in June or July, we might add a location-awareness to that top bar for those members that put in a long/lat into their profiles.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 8:58 AM on May 29, 2009

but it breaks my heart to see an empty thread and imagine a lone organiser in a party hat, drinking alone in a room covered in Metafilter signs.

Minus the metafilter signs, you just described an average weeknight for me.
posted by inigo2 at 9:07 AM on May 29, 2009 [5 favorites]

Try adding in the MetaFilter signs next time, it adds a tingly feeling to the abyssal loneliness.
posted by Kattullus at 9:14 AM on May 29, 2009 [7 favorites]

Well Phoenix, of course Phoenix...
posted by Mister_A at 9:18 AM on May 29, 2009

I'd go alone for that $50 drinkin' money.
posted by chococat at 9:19 AM on May 29, 2009

Plutor writes "You are in Bonnyville, AB, Canada, and there is a meetup within 350km with 2 confirmed attendees. Come along!"

If you live in Bonnyville 350kms isn't "far". Barely qualifies for labelling as a road trip.
posted by Mitheral at 9:34 AM on May 29, 2009

You are in Bonnyville, AB, Canada. You should probably move.
posted by klangklangston at 9:43 AM on May 29, 2009

Still waiting for fellow mefites from Kizmiaz to set something up.
posted by Sailormom at 9:45 AM on May 29, 2009

Come September I will have lived in 4 different provinces, from the Rock to B.C., and the closest I've have been to where a meetup exists is about 300 km (Kingston -> Toronto). Currently I'm about 1,500 km from one (although in actual fact I'll be travelling).

I need to live in a bigger damn city.
posted by Lemurrhea at 9:51 AM on May 29, 2009

s/I've have been/I'll have lived.

I really need to get out of Newfoundland, it would seem.
posted by Lemurrhea at 9:52 AM on May 29, 2009

it breaks my heart to see an empty thread and imagine a lone organiser in a party hat, drinking alone in a room covered in Metafilter signs

If the 10th Anniversary meetups had commercials, this would make a good one:

- Fade in to black and white film of close-ups showing untouched appetizers, stacks of blank name tags, empty chairs.
- One Is The Loneliest Number starts playing.
- Wide shot of singular mefite sitting alone in a party hat, looking wistfully into space.
- Slowly zoom in on the lonely mefite's face until it becomes a close-up of a single tear forming.
- Follow the tear as it falls onto what turns out to be a cake that has MetaFilter 10th Anniversary written on it.
- Star wipe to a color version of the cake, and zoom out to show the room filled with happy partying mefites.
- To Sir With Love-style montage of mefites eating food, telling obscure math jokes, playing Twister, etc.
- Cut to mathowie solemnly explaining how the 10th parties are mandatory and it's everyone's duty to show up to at least one.
- End with the Mamy Poco Pants jingle for no reason.
posted by burnmp3s at 10:07 AM on May 29, 2009 [11 favorites]

If the 10th Anniversary meetups had commercials, this would make a good one:

...Where will amazing happen this year?
posted by inigo2 at 10:08 AM on May 29, 2009 [2 favorites]

it breaks my heart to see an empty thread and imagine a lone organiser in a party hat, drinking alone in a room covered in Metafilter signs

I'm sure by "breaks my heart" you meant "cracks me up".
posted by owtytrof at 10:11 AM on May 29, 2009

The only sensible solution is to merge the Zanzibar meetup with the neighbouring Sao Paulo one. Come on over, nudar!
posted by Meatbomb at 10:11 AM on May 29, 2009 [2 favorites]

You are in Bonnyville, AB, Canada.

There is a small mailbox here.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 10:13 AM on May 29, 2009 [19 favorites]

- End with the Mamy Poco Pants jingle for no reason.

Could we also have the mods dressed as Teletubbies during that section?
posted by Meatbomb at 10:15 AM on May 29, 2009 [2 favorites]

This may be a bit too... intrusive, but how about a mass emailing to members for whom we have an email address? I'm just thinking of members from the early years who may not (for whatever reason) come to the site anymore. It would be a shame to find out some of the Great Old Timers would have been interested in showing up but just didn't hear about the 10th.
posted by Rock Steady at 10:45 AM on May 29, 2009

There is a small mailbox here.

>Open "Join the MetaFilter Tenthiverssary!" promotional leaflet
posted by Rock Steady at 10:47 AM on May 29, 2009

>STAND ON ZANZIBAR
posted by Artw at 11:43 AM on May 29, 2009

>You see nothing, hear nothing, smell nothing, taste nothing, feel nothing, and aren't even sure who you are.
posted by shiu mai baby at 11:59 AM on May 29, 2009

shiu mai baby, that will describe us after the meetups.
posted by desjardins at 12:05 PM on May 29, 2009 [1 favorite]

>inventory
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 12:19 PM on May 29, 2009 [1 favorite]

>You are holding a lobster and wearing a slightly soiled pair of lederhosen.
posted by Kattullus at 12:20 PM on May 29, 2009 [10 favorites]

desjardins: you betcha. Nothing that a handful of peanuts can't cure, though.
posted by shiu mai baby at 12:25 PM on May 29, 2009

It is pitch black. There is a fish in your pants. You are likely to be eaten by a quonsar.

>▁
posted by not_on_display at 12:51 PM on May 29, 2009 [1 favorite]

You are crunchy and taste good with beans.

>▁
posted by The corpse in the library at 1:01 PM on May 29, 2009

>X BEANS. G. G. G.
posted by ook at 1:04 PM on May 29, 2009 [3 favorites]

4:20 in Zanzibar is 8:20am where I am so I'm gonna have to get up early if to coordinate with Meatbomb
posted by jtron at 1:38 PM on May 29, 2009

>Where are the beans?
The beans are on a plate.
>What color are the beans?
The beans are red.
>What size are the beans?
The beans are normal size beans.
>Are the beans slippery?
The beans are normal.
>Do the beans represent something?
The beans are normal.
>Are the beans a symbol of something?
You have died of starvation while overthinking the plate of beans.

posted by inigo2 at 1:39 PM on May 29, 2009 [18 favorites]

>SHOW PLATE TO FLOYD
"Can you play any games with it?"
</pre

posted by GuyZero at 4:06 PM on May 29, 2009

sheesh.
posted by GuyZero at 4:07 PM on May 29, 2009

Fucking Floyd.
posted by Artw at 4:08 PM on May 29, 2009

Artw, Floyd is not a big fan, of that game.
posted by qvantamon at 6:44 PM on May 29, 2009

I imagine there will be more registered attendees for the 10th anniversary meetups once people start discovering the golden tickets inside their chocolate bars.
posted by koeselitz at 12:02 AM on May 30, 2009 [1 favorite]

Why, exactly does Quonsar have a penchant for fish in the pants?
posted by dunkadunc at 3:21 AM on May 30, 2009

> Fucking Floyd.
You can't do that here.

posted by secret about box at 4:26 AM on May 30, 2009 [3 favorites]

Like the immortal Question concerning how all those eels got into the hovercraft, dunkadunc, yours can have answer none.
posted by cgc373 at 4:27 AM on May 30, 2009

Looking at a quick search of Quonsar's posting history for "fish in my pants" I think I get it now.
Shame he quit, sort of.
posted by dunkadunc at 10:12 AM on May 30, 2009

but it breaks my heart to see an empty thread and imagine a lone organiser in a party hat, drinking alone in a room covered in Metafilter signs.

I've had that meet-up.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 1:29 PM on May 30, 2009 [1 favorite]

That's not a meetup; that's your apartment.
posted by not_on_display at 4:15 PM on May 30, 2009

That's not a meetup; that's your apartment.

Damnit, I keep getting the two confused! Which one is the one where I wander around half-naked while muttering to myself?
posted by grapefruitmoon at 7:52 PM on May 30, 2009

but it breaks my heart to see an empty thread and imagine a lone organiser in a party hat, drinking alone in a room covered in Metafilter signs.

If YOU come to my meetup Happy Dave then I won't be all alone! It all hinges on YOU now!
But I guess I should warn ya...
posted by nudar at 9:19 PM on May 30, 2009

Which one is the one where I wander around half-naked while muttering to myself?

Performance Art. Meetup is the one where you wander around drunk while muttering to yourself, and Your Apartment is the one where you read MetaFilter while muttering to yourself.
posted by Rock Steady at 9:46 PM on May 30, 2009

Ooh, are we going to have competitions between meetups? Best representation of a plate of beans? Most Metafilter memes and in-jokes crammed into one photo?
posted by desuetude at 10:20 PM on May 30, 2009

The Million MeFi Meme page -- reserve your pixels now for $20 SAIT.
posted by not_on_display at 11:55 AM on June 1, 2009

Ooh, are we going to have competitions between meetups? Best representation of a plate of beans? Most Metafilter memes and in-jokes crammed into one photo?

Hippest display of disinterest in lame memes.
posted by mullacc at 12:56 PM on June 1, 2009

May I just say that I'm having a hecka time trying to match metafilter blue in buttercream? But damn it, I'm going to keep trying. The goal is to bring an anniversary cake or cupcakes...but grey is unappealing, and blue...well that color blue is just being difficult. I may have to do an askme cake :)
posted by dejah420 at 2:44 PM on June 1, 2009

White frosting would be much more professional.
posted by desjardins at 3:20 PM on June 1, 2009 [2 favorites]

May I just say that I'm having a hecka time trying to match metafilter blue in buttercream?
Speak to Mutant - pretty sure he managed it for a meetup before.
posted by Happy Dave at 3:38 PM on June 1, 2009

Hippest display of disinterest in lame memes.

[yawn] How do we say meem again?
posted by desuetude at 3:42 PM on June 1, 2009

I worked at Meem Library for three years.

No, it never stops being funny.
posted by koeselitz at 4:29 PM on June 1, 2009

but it breaks my heart to see an empty thread and imagine a lone organiser in a party hat, drinking alone in a room covered in Metafilter signs.

How sweet.

Well, Hawai'i came oh-so-close to having a first time meet-up in April (via emailings) ... then the weather turned sunny-hot and the surf was up. (We had a rough winter.) It was canceled.

So ... maybe we will do better with the anniversary? There are two of us so far!! (Maybe we need to watch surf reports to schedule place and time? Should we bribe people with free grindz?)
posted by Surfurrus at 5:41 PM on June 1, 2009