Poor attendance at the July 27 meetup in Portland, Oregon

July 27, 2003 9:04 PM

Portland Pilers Suck. Yes, this means you.
posted by SpecialK to MetaFilter gatherings at 9:04 PM (40 comments total)

Oops, and apparently I do, too, for double-posting. I just wanted to make a point, I guess.

But anyway ... all of you no-shows that left Ignatius and I sitting there, me with a wonderful potato salad that I made with y'all in mind, and him carting a whole BBQ grill through the park? You should be ashamed of yourselves. Your mother brought you up better than that.

Should we reschedule, or is there no interest?
posted by SpecialK at 9:06 PM on July 27, 2003

Portland Pilers Suck.

Er, Mefites you mean, I think. Although quite probably many Portland Mefites are also 'pilers. Which means they either suck twice as much, or half as much. I don't know.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 9:14 PM on July 27, 2003

That's pretty bad. I guess there should be non-refundable fun deposit. That'll make 'em show up! :)
posted by riffola at 9:31 PM on July 27, 2003

Maybe SpecialK meant "Portland Pikers".

*runs away*
posted by mr_crash_davis at 9:33 PM on July 27, 2003

no one came to mine either.
posted by quonsar at 9:39 PM on July 27, 2003

[this is sad]
posted by jokeefe at 9:43 PM on July 27, 2003

Should we reschedule, or is there no interest?

Next weekend is my last in Portland, but I might be able to make it, if you guys decide to grill again... I'll know for sure later in the week. And my word is bond, yo.
posted by eddydamascene at 10:05 PM on July 27, 2003

I don't trust anyone anymore. This bbq would have changed the world. I'm voting for Bush now.
posted by Ignatius J. Reilly at 10:30 PM on July 27, 2003

*rocks back on his heels, hears own jaw crashing to floor*
posted by quonsar at 10:38 PM on July 27, 2003

I swear by my now uncredible name that I'd probably try to make it to the next one. I got to coding today, and it's been a while, and, well, shit.

Sorry.
posted by cortex at 10:44 PM on July 27, 2003

OK, I'm back to voting LaRouche as always!
posted by Ignatius J. Reilly at 10:50 PM on July 27, 2003

well, I told you what I was going to do....
posted by y2karl at 11:06 PM on July 27, 2003

I don't know, I was talking about this the other day with another mefi member, and how a bbq seemed like it would require quite a bit more commitment on the part of attendees, and how I wasn't sure it would go well.

Even when I had people in SF meet in a bar-like setting, few people would actually go through the trouble to show up, and people often have an excuse or an out so they can bail early. Bars are easy for that, because you can say "hey, I've got a dinner thing with someone I have to go to" or you can just sort of fade out in the bar and no one notices.

Throwing a bbq requires someone to really want to attend to even think about it. You have to go into a park in broad daylight looking for strangers to hang out with, and you can't really come up with an early leave excuse and you can't really fade into the background. Plus, the whole bring-food-you-want-to-eat requires more effort on the part of participants.

What can I say? People are lazy and non-commital, and local bars are the easiest for that.
posted by mathowie at 11:41 PM on July 27, 2003

>People are lazy and non-commital, and local bars are the easiest for that.

There's a surprisingly amount of wisdom in that little observation. There was a Chicago mefi meetup at a bowling alley a long while ago and the date was bad for me, but I do remember thinking, "Bowling?" Bowling is a commitment, you gotta rent the shoes, play the game, keep score, etc. Its not even a particularly popular game, I really can't remember the last time I bowled. Its a lot more structured than simply meeting at a bar and talking turkey. In the end, you have little idea who you're going to meet up with, how its going to pan out, etc and having an exit plan is on the back of everyone's mind.

I think organizers want to do something clever and fun, but like a first date, its best to keep things light, simple, and drenched in copious amounts of alcohol (or whatever drug floats your boat).
posted by skallas at 1:42 AM on July 28, 2003

Bowling is a commitment, you gotta rent the shoes, play the game, keep score, etc.
Yeah, just substitute the word "marriage" for "bowling"...
posted by wendell at 2:05 AM on July 28, 2003

Bang goes my idea of attending MeFi meetups from SF to Tallahassee to NYC next spring ;-)
posted by i_cola at 2:25 AM on July 28, 2003

How about a Milwaukee meet up...


*crickets*

Oh ok...
posted by drezdn at 3:09 AM on July 28, 2003

The venue should be stiletto-friendly.
posted by Opus Dark at 3:46 AM on July 28, 2003

Yeah, I meant MeFites, but I've been riding around in 85 degree heat in a leather jacket all day. Sue me.
posted by SpecialK at 7:20 AM on July 28, 2003

Pretty much the same thing happened at the DC meetup. Two of us standing around awkwardly in a bookstore waiting, in vain, for everyone else to show up. We'll see if the DC meetup next week fares any better.
posted by MrMoonPie at 7:32 AM on July 28, 2003

Bowling is a commitment, you gotta rent the shoes, play the game, keep score, etc. Its not even a particularly popular game, I really can't remember the last time I bowled.

Nuh uh! We once bowled in Seattle, and as you can read, jessamyn and gluechunk stayed in the karaoke bar, beltin' out the hits until the wee hours.

Nine people. One shaved head. Dapper j.edwards wore gloves. Karaoke until the wee hours--talk about commitment. Really, what every MeFi meet up needs is a jessamyn. Wotta sparkplug!

(And now the Garage has 14 lanes--what do you think, MeFiSea kids?)
posted by y2karl at 7:40 AM on July 28, 2003

I'd do Milwaukee in a second. I'm only an hour away, in Madison.
posted by rocketman at 9:20 AM on July 28, 2003

We can toast Uecker's apotheosis
posted by rocketman at 9:21 AM on July 28, 2003

Bowling is a commitment...

I was at that one, Skallas. Not everybody bowled, and afterwards there were pancakes! Besides, that was part of the Great MetaFilter Get-together Day, when MeFites around the world convened on their local bowling alleys to throw heavy things and less-heavy things...
posted by me3dia at 9:22 AM on July 28, 2003

I'm with Mathowie.

Even if it hadn't been the day after the Blogathon, I would have been hard pressed to get there (downtown is better--one bus for most), and probably not interested in that kind of gathering.

Low-stress (which a picnic, believe it or not, isn't) is better. Case in point: Portland Bloggers get together every single month, and have a great time. Many of them are even mefites. The gathering is just a casual after-work affair at Kell's.
posted by frykitty at 9:46 AM on July 28, 2003

no one came to mine either.
posted by quonsar at 9:39 PM PST on July 27

I watched from a distance, waiting for my chance to run in, rub a hanky on your head for good luck, and run away again. Alas, the moment never came.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 9:46 AM on July 28, 2003

Someone's close to breaking The First Rule....
posted by briank at 9:58 AM on July 28, 2003

Well, MeFiVegas will involve, I suspect, a small but dedicated group. NO PIKERS ALLOWED.

*looks at crash*

After talking to some of the attendees for Vegas, I came to the same conclusion about people wanting a way out. So rather than try to book a group rate and stick everyone in the same hotel, the plan is to let people stay where they want and just arrange meeting at bars, etc...so people can decide just how much they want to participate. That's been met with more enthusiasm.
posted by Salmonberry at 10:15 AM on July 28, 2003

For the DC meetup I just mailed an invitation to 58 people from the zip code widget off my user page, inviting them to come if they were interested.

Hopefully that will ensure a slightly better turnout.
posted by Irontom at 10:47 AM on July 28, 2003

I wish NYC would do something other than a bar next time. Like paintball.
posted by adampsyche at 10:58 AM on July 28, 2003

I am all for paintball! MeFiNYC-Paintball!!
posted by riffola at 11:00 AM on July 28, 2003

I'm not much of a bowler, but I want to go to the Garage and bowl sometime soon.
posted by Wood at 11:31 AM on July 28, 2003

Really, what every MeFi meet up needs is a jessamyn. Wotta sparkplug!

I now live in Vermont almost nearly fulltime. The nearest MeFi members to me are in another state. Anyone wants to come for a campout, you're more than welcome.
posted by jessamyn at 1:16 PM on July 28, 2003

Atlanta? Anyone? Any interest? Yes?
posted by grabbingsand at 1:54 PM on July 28, 2003

Kansas? (sound of prairie crickets....) Yep, that's what I thought.
posted by donnagirl at 3:26 PM on July 28, 2003

The venue should be stiletto-friendly.
The shoes, or the knife?
posted by dg at 3:29 PM on July 28, 2003

Yeah, I meant MeFites, but I've been riding around in 85 degree heat in a leather jacket all day. Sue me.

Jeez, back off. I wasn't even being snarky, fer chrissakes.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:21 PM on July 28, 2003

Kansas?

Not since high school--miss those fireflies.
posted by y2karl at 4:32 PM on July 28, 2003

(And now the Garage has 14 lanes--what do you think, MeFiSea kids?)

The Garage is a nice place to hang out. I play pool there a lot but I haven't tried their new bowling setup. I'd probably show up to a Metafilter bowling event there, assuming I had at least a week's advance notice, but no more than two weeks' advance notice (or I'd forget).
posted by Mars Saxman at 6:55 PM on July 28, 2003

I think there should be a meetup in Branson, Missouri. AFAIK, there are no Branson MeFi users, but who cares? I know there will never be a meetup where I live and I am glad about that.
posted by bargle at 8:09 PM on July 28, 2003