How open are meetups to new members?

September 4, 2005 7:25 PM

How open are meetups to new members? I'm curious about showing up, but am not an established mefite by any means and don't want to walk into a group of strangers and break up their vibe.
posted by lorrer to MetaFilter Gatherings at 7:25 PM (13 comments total)

Walk in , say "Hello". You'll be accepted.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 7:30 PM on September 4, 2005

Just go. I went to a small meetup, about five or six people. I hadn't been around long enough to know who the "established" people were. I felt very comfortable and had a fine time. And I'm normally not real comfortable around new people.
posted by marxchivist at 7:32 PM on September 4, 2005

I've been to a lot of different meet-ups [NC, MA, NY, WA, MD] and they're fun, no matter how well people know each other beforehand. Often the people that seem like a bunch of strangers who know each other to you are also strangers to each other who arrived ten minutes before you did and have already broken the ice.

Usually meetups are a mix of old timers and new folks who have much more to talk about than just MeFi stuff which is always a pleasant surprise.
posted by jessamyn at 7:38 PM on September 4, 2005

Usually meetups (I can only comment on London) have a very varying mixture of people anyway. And however heated it can sometime seem online, I would dare to suggest that we all quite a nice bunch of people (especially after a couple of beers, especially the pink one, Pretty_Generic :)). Don't worry, it is a very different kind of experience meeting people IRL rather than here but that's why everybody is a bit nervous at first. But it is a great way to meet new people face-to-face! Just come along. And I don't know what "established" means, I guess I am by no means established but have had no problems even kind of arranging one.
posted by keijo at 7:46 PM on September 4, 2005

I was nervous the first time I came to a meetup, but it was really a lot of fun. Everyone was really friendly. Just go!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 7:59 PM on September 4, 2005 [1 favorite]

Just go - and if you are visiting another city, feel free to say when and where here in MetaTalk, and a meetup might just form around you.

SF is always thrilled to have new people show up - I know, because I usually organize them here - and Seattle has even rebated newbies their $5 on occasion!
posted by caitlinb at 8:08 PM on September 4, 2005

There are now so many people posting on this site that if you just show up and introduce yourself, no one will have any idea whether you even have a registered username or not.
posted by bingo at 8:17 PM on September 4, 2005

What bingo says is true.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 9:07 PM on September 4, 2005 [1 favorite]

I've been to a few Toronto meet-ups. Nobody cares if you're established, new, or not a member of MeFi at all. Show up, drink beer, chat, it'll be fine.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:19 PM on September 4, 2005

Newbies have to pay for the beer... you knew about that rule, right? Bring cash AND plastic.
posted by squirrel at 10:45 PM on September 4, 2005

The inherent nature of a meet-up is to Meet New People. How did you get the impression that it’s an elite reunion among more established members? If they wanted the party to be exclusive, it wouldn’t be very effective to send out the invite on a 26K+ forum, now would it?

Now if you are specifically referring to the NYC meet-up on Sept.12, you can email me…because I might go. And I promise that if I do, we can totally meet before the event, and go over together. I promise I'll be gentle...seeing that it's your first time and all...
posted by naxosaxur at 2:34 AM on September 5, 2005

You know the handshake, right?
posted by klangklangston at 9:02 AM on September 5, 2005

don't go with naxo!!! (she's in charge of the "Ceremonial Sacrifice of the Newbies") ; >
posted by amberglow at 6:51 PM on September 5, 2005