Hi, I am the guy from Bratislava, I was there with my girlfriend, and here is my feedback. Also big thanks for organizing an LW meetup in a place reachable by train from my home!
Choosing meetup time is difficult, there is probably no best time for everyone. For us, Sunday evening was not the best time, because we did not have any decent late-night train back home, so we had to sleep in Budapest and travel home early Monday morning. Luckily we both have work schedules flexible enough, so we did not have to take a day of vacation. On the other hand, I see the conflict of interests here, because if the meetup was in my city, I probably would prefer Sunday evening, because it does not disrupt weekend plans. Maybe a time like Sunday 16:00 -- 19/20:00 would be a reasonable compromise? I don’t want that you change the time for me, because I don’t plan to travel to Budapest every week, instead it is a remark for myself, that when I make a first meeting in Bratislava, if I make it sooner, it will be more accessible to foreign people.
Putting a sign “Less Wrong” on the table is an obviously good idea, and it should be announced on the internet in advance. I realized this when I stood in front of the cafe and was thinking like: ok, so I got to the right country, the right city, the right street, the right building, but that was the easy part—now here is this huge building (two floors, dozen tables on the upper floor, dozen tables on the lower floor, half dozen tables outside) full of mostly young people talking, and I don’t know anyone, and I am rather shy talking to strangers… well, after a few attempts we have noticed the sign; but I would be much less nervous if I knew in advance that the sign will be there (though I supposed that rational poeple would probably make one).
Choosing a place: I appreciated that it was possible to sit inside and talk for a few hours, having paid only one drink. On the other hand, the noise level was above pleasant, sometimes I had troubles understanding what the person on the other side of the group is saying. I understand that these two things are correlated, but isn’t a better “cheap and quiet” solution possible? It doesn’t have to be in the center of the city, just near to some Metro station. On the other hand, it was good that this solution was scalable, especially because there came more people than were expected, and this is also an important factor when choosing a meetup place.
Anyway, this isn’t big criticism, because the meetup really was near-perfect, it’s more like I am speaking loudly to myself, to remind myself of some choices to do when I will organize a meetup in my city.
EDIT: Anyone from Bratislava reading this? Send me a PM!
Tell people in advance that there’s a Less Wrong sign and that they don’t need to worry too much about finding the right people is a great suggestion. I added it to the meetup guide (the “Making the announcement” section):
Wherever it is that you are meeting, you’ll want to bring a sign from which people can recognize the right group of people. Mention the fact that you’ll have a sign in the meetup notice, or offer some other easy visual cue for recognizing the group! This way, people don’t need to be nervous about whether they’ll find you. This is especially recommended if you’re meeting in some large location.
Hi, I am the guy from Bratislava, I was there with my girlfriend, and here is my feedback. Also big thanks for organizing an LW meetup in a place reachable by train from my home!
Choosing meetup time is difficult, there is probably no best time for everyone. For us, Sunday evening was not the best time, because we did not have any decent late-night train back home, so we had to sleep in Budapest and travel home early Monday morning. Luckily we both have work schedules flexible enough, so we did not have to take a day of vacation. On the other hand, I see the conflict of interests here, because if the meetup was in my city, I probably would prefer Sunday evening, because it does not disrupt weekend plans. Maybe a time like Sunday 16:00 -- 19/20:00 would be a reasonable compromise? I don’t want that you change the time for me, because I don’t plan to travel to Budapest every week, instead it is a remark for myself, that when I make a first meeting in Bratislava, if I make it sooner, it will be more accessible to foreign people.
Putting a sign “Less Wrong” on the table is an obviously good idea, and it should be announced on the internet in advance. I realized this when I stood in front of the cafe and was thinking like: ok, so I got to the right country, the right city, the right street, the right building, but that was the easy part—now here is this huge building (two floors, dozen tables on the upper floor, dozen tables on the lower floor, half dozen tables outside) full of mostly young people talking, and I don’t know anyone, and I am rather shy talking to strangers… well, after a few attempts we have noticed the sign; but I would be much less nervous if I knew in advance that the sign will be there (though I supposed that rational poeple would probably make one).
Choosing a place: I appreciated that it was possible to sit inside and talk for a few hours, having paid only one drink. On the other hand, the noise level was above pleasant, sometimes I had troubles understanding what the person on the other side of the group is saying. I understand that these two things are correlated, but isn’t a better “cheap and quiet” solution possible? It doesn’t have to be in the center of the city, just near to some Metro station. On the other hand, it was good that this solution was scalable, especially because there came more people than were expected, and this is also an important factor when choosing a meetup place.
Anyway, this isn’t big criticism, because the meetup really was near-perfect, it’s more like I am speaking loudly to myself, to remind myself of some choices to do when I will organize a meetup in my city.
EDIT: Anyone from Bratislava reading this? Send me a PM!
Tell people in advance that there’s a Less Wrong sign and that they don’t need to worry too much about finding the right people is a great suggestion. I added it to the meetup guide (the “Making the announcement” section):