(Staying) home is where the heart is.

March 11, 2020 3:45 PM

OK. It's officially a pandemic. Should MeFi IRL suspend operations for the time being?
posted by sexyrobot to MetaFilter-Related at 3:45 PM (19 comments total)

My inclination is to say folks gathering in small groups are probably the best folks to make determinations about safety and scheduling. If IRL were primarily used to curate very large gatherings, and especially if it were actively promoting that sort of thing, that'd be more of an issue.
posted by cortex (staff) at 3:47 PM on March 11, 2020 [10 favorites]

Maybe we could have a location which was just "Online" and people could have Zoom or Skype meetups. But really, if people want to meet up and they're taking reasonable precautions it's their choice.
posted by jessamyn (temp) at 4:10 PM on March 11, 2020 [9 favorites]

I was recently considering calling a late-March/early April meetup and landed on the side of "Hm. Let's give this a few weeks and wait and see."

I think people here can be entrusted with intelligent decision-making on this front for what are ultimately small-scale gatherings.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 4:10 PM on March 11, 2020 [4 favorites]

I was going to have a houseplant/seedling give-away/come support a local pub thing like I did last year for late March/Early April. I look forward to seeing everyone in May/June!
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 4:52 PM on March 11, 2020 [3 favorites]

Holy shit, you guys, they closed Seattle Public Schools. If I ever needed MeFi IRL, it is NOW!

(JK but for real 2 weeks at home alone with a 7 year old I am like corona virus pls take me first lord he coming)
posted by tristeza at 5:58 PM on March 11, 2020 [22 favorites]

I think that if anyone needs support from their community, it's people who are healthy and are taking all the precautions, but have been cooped up in containment zones and can't go travel to visit their family or friends and are getting a little stir-crazy.

IRL meetups can be planned in open enough environments and in small enough numbers to ensure everyone is safe, and that can be a great thing for moral support for us all.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:54 AM on March 12, 2020 [3 favorites]

I originally read this as suspending MeFi proper due to the virus and I was like "OH MY LORD HOW CONTAGIOUS IS THIS THING?".
posted by joelhunt at 12:29 PM on March 12, 2020 [3 favorites]

Very. Very very. That's the point. I think we need to start acting as if this virus is smeared on every doorknob. That might not be far from the truth
#staythefuckhome
posted by sexyrobot at 12:42 PM on March 12, 2020 [1 favorite]

Perfect time to launch MeFi Virtual IRL meetups. Basically, instead of meeting in person, members of MeFi will simulate conversation by writing posts on a forum that the other members can comment on. Members can also ask each other questions and answer them to earn favorites which represent free drinks. Members simulate leaving at the end of the event by closing their browser tab.
posted by michaelh at 1:11 PM on March 12, 2020 [11 favorites]

i love it, ship it
posted by cortex (staff) at 1:14 PM on March 12, 2020 [4 favorites]

Metafilter: OH MY LORD HOW CONTAGIOUS IS THIS THING?
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 1:30 PM on March 12, 2020 [6 favorites]

As the second-most prolific IRL poster recently (after Seattle 😬) we had our last trivia meetup yesterday, and I will not propose or attend one for the foreseeable future.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 5:09 PM on March 12, 2020 [7 favorites]

Thanks for making this post. I was just thinking about this topic.

We were on a roll in New Mexico, and heading to 3 meetups in 3 months for 2020, but now I've put the next one on hold.

A related question: here's the meetup I modified, but it's not changing from Planned back to Proposed on the MeTa sidebar. Is this because "reverting" a meetup from planned to proposed wasn't expected to happen, or is there a refresh period?
posted by filthy light thief at 10:11 PM on March 12, 2020

i love it, ship it

It says “members simulate”, not “members stimulate”
posted by Going To Maine at 10:27 PM on March 12, 2020 [2 favorites]

It says “members simulate”, not “members stimulate”

Am sure that many (but not all) members can do both.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 10:59 AM on March 13, 2020

Perfect time to launch MeFi Virtual IRL meetups.

Ok.

IRL now has, for the time being at least, an "Online" category. It behaves like a normal meetup, with a proposed time and date, but does not require a physical location. Because I'm a bit limited on resources (Austria is shut down as much as possible and that means that I have a very active 5-year-old at home) it's a bit thrown together, but hopefully it helps a few people.
posted by frimble (staff) at 1:46 PM on March 14, 2020 [10 favorites]

Thanks frimble, this is so great!
posted by jessamyn (temp) at 3:24 PM on March 14, 2020 [1 favorite]

Thank you so much frimble! I worry about all my mefites.
posted by sexyrobot at 5:34 PM on March 14, 2020 [1 favorite]

Frimble, this is amazing, as are all the other recent updates. Thank you for all your work on this.
posted by bleep at 10:00 AM on March 16, 2020