Meetup RSVP

March 27, 2008 11:32 AM

Pony request: Meetup RSVP Kinda like a favorite, except a little link that says you're planning on going, and a list of people somewhere on the page of who is planning on going.
posted by empath to MetaFilter Gatherings at 11:32 AM (24 comments total)

can you just build upcoming.org for us? kthnxbi!
posted by mathowie (staff) at 11:35 AM on March 27, 2008

seriously though, if you read the text responses, they kind of spell out who is and isn't going to be at a meetup, I dunno if we need to make that more explicit with a giant I'M GOING or MAYBE thing.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 11:36 AM on March 27, 2008

I mean, you're already halfway there with the list of upcoming meet-ups and photo stuff.
posted by empath at 11:39 AM on March 27, 2008

I don't think it needs to be more explicit than what we already have People say they'll come or don't, and then some come and some don't. A precise headcount is not needed, and I would hate to build anything that gives the impression you can't just show up.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 12:05 PM on March 27, 2008 [2 favorites]

I say we kill'em all and let God sort them out.

Because that always works.
posted by Kattullus at 12:08 PM on March 27, 2008

Okay, now that I've gotten the silly remark out of my system...

...I think that this isn't that bad of an idea, but could easily be implemented externally. Surely there's a website somewhere that does that and whoever would call the meetup could provide a link to it. If this is sorely lacking then people will start using it more and more. However, this has never occurred to me, the in-thread "I'm going" always seems to work just fine.

Also, I like the texty usenetness of MeFi, but then the internet I first fell in love with was usenet. Oh, logging onto a unix server, typing "nn" and having a whole world of people just as obsessed with weird stuff open up to me.

Now where did I put my cane... and has somebody been borrowing my false teeth, because they don't taste right.
posted by Kattullus at 12:14 PM on March 27, 2008

I support this pony. Sometimes you could use a rough head count -- Philly's recent bowlup, for a specific example. Or even to just help decide what the most appropriate venue would be.

But I think we could jury-rig it by adding a few comments in the thread for those of us so-dorkily-inclined. MeFites could favorite their response:

* Yes
* No
* Maybe
* I live nowhere near you people but would attend if I were able and wish to participate in this thread by favoriting something.
posted by desuetude at 12:36 PM on March 27, 2008 [2 favorites]

Can't you just explicitly ask in thread who's going because you need a head count?
posted by oneirodynia at 12:45 PM on March 27, 2008

People will still flake out. Only now we'll get people who will freak out that they clicked "commit" and will be too timid to comment in the thread that they're not coming after all. "OMG I SAID I WAS GOING NOW I HAVE TO GO ARRGHH I'M JUST GOING TO CRAWL IN A HOLE". The only people you can rely on for a firm yes/no are the people you already know because they're meetup regulars. And since you know them, you've already got a phone number or working e-mail address for those guys.

In my experience, most MeFi people are timid, mouselike creatures who fear unmediated and/or unintoxicated socialization. This will not help. I prefer the solution we used at the BradSucks/frenetic meetup in Boston. Plutor and I hacked into the Matrix and found phone numbers for the equivocators and then we took turns making harassing phone calls and swatting people til they either showed up or were arrested.
posted by Eideteker at 12:48 PM on March 27, 2008

I agree with Eideteker 100%.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 12:54 PM on March 27, 2008 [1 favorite]

Seconding Eideteker's harassment policy. It was tense, but much fun.
posted by not_on_display at 1:00 PM on March 27, 2008

And I agree with ThePinkSuperhero. I like that Meetups are casual, show-up-if-you're-in-the-mood things. (They are, aren't they?)
posted by The corpse in the library at 1:02 PM on March 27, 2008

It might deprive MeFi's librarian population of one of their primary functions..
posted by Chuckles at 1:09 PM on March 27, 2008

Also, I so do not want to do this because I don't even want "No" as an option. Can you imagine if every person that opened a meetup thread that was no where near where they live felt the need to click no?

It'd be like Going to Meetup: 21 yes 5 maybe 53,468 No
posted by mathowie (staff) at 1:40 PM on March 27, 2008 [4 favorites]

Will you be at the meetup? [   ] Yes    [ X ] No
Will you be my valentine?  [   ] Yes    [ X ] No
Please?                    [   ] Yes    [ X ] No

posted by blue_beetle at 1:48 PM on March 27, 2008

"No" would only be useful as a cancel option. If you'd already clicked "Yes" but then couldn't make it, you could click "No". Not that there aren't jerks who wouldn't just click click click to inflate the No vote. Just like the fuckers who voted for Bush lolmarite?

My hanging chads, let me show you them
posted by Eideteker at 1:52 PM on March 27, 2008

Also, maybe we as a community could stand to be a little less, uh, meetup-fixated...?

I guess that came out wrong. Obviously meeting new people is one of life's pleasures, and one that we seem to find less and less opportunities for as we get older.

But within the last six months or so, it seems that meetup announcements have become more common, yet without a significant rise in actual meetups. Asking about a possible meetup has replaced putting one together.

Believe me, I understand being excited about something only to have my enthusiasm wane as the work involved becomes more apparent. So maybe a better way for residents of small and mid-sized towns to handle meetups would be using MeFiMail and the Users Near You feature to put one together, then posting the pictures and the lulz to MetaTalk after it actually happens.


Why does #27598 hate fun?
posted by Ian A.T. at 2:04 PM on March 27, 2008

I think it's wise for all meetups to be planned by someone before they're posted to Metatalk. To post, hey, maybe we should have a meetup somewhere or sometime maybe is the online equivalent of "Whaddyou wanna do?" "I dunnnno, whaddayou wanna do?"
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 2:08 PM on March 27, 2008 [1 favorite]

I dunno, I don't really see the point of this. I mean, yeah, sure, it's a bit nervewracking when no one has given a firm yes and you're the only one at the venue staring around forlornly for people who look like they might belong on MeFi, but that's half the fun, right?

... right?
posted by Phire at 2:24 PM on March 27, 2008

MetaFilter: staring around forlornly for people who look like they might belong
posted by not_on_display at 3:54 PM on March 27, 2008 [1 favorite]

can you just build upcoming.org for us? kthnxbi!

Come on, Yahoo's losing employees, so they must be lookin' to buy more stuff!
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 6:58 PM on March 27, 2008

lolmarite?

posted by Eideteker at 4:52 PM on March 27 [+] [!]

Lolmarite: official foodstuff of Meta?
posted by LobsterMitten at 8:08 PM on March 27, 2008 [1 favorite]

Fuck that, I don't want some motherfucker riding my ass because I said I'd show, "Oh breezy, you checked yes; where were you last night? It was so much fun without you."

I was at home filing down bullet tips and making fuckin' waffles, do you mind?
posted by breezeway at 8:50 PM on March 27, 2008 [2 favorites]

Desuetude's idea actually makes a lot of sense. "Please favorite this comment if you plan to attend, so we can get a rough headcount for reserving bowling lanes." You'd have to trust people to play along nicely, but that'd be true for any other "click this button to rsvp" type functionality, too.
posted by vytae at 11:31 AM on March 28, 2008