[sf-lug] Other locations

[Michael Paoli]

> Date: Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:25:27 -0700
> From: jim <jim at well.com>
> Subject: Re: [sf-lug] Other locations

Well, my $0.02 worth, generally, on this "thread".

o SF-LUG - it ought to be what works for SF-LUG ... and part of that
   is, and what defines SF-LUG.  The current location is quite
   inconvenient for me, *however* what would be most convenient for me,
   or even for me in San Francisco, may not be at all suitable for
   SF-LUG.  Also (potentially?) worthy of consideration: There are a
   fair number of additional [L]UGs and the like that meet in San
   Francisco.  Many of them meet roughly in downtown San Francisco or
   within about 2 miles or so of downtown San Francisco - that's
   probably quite convenient for folks that work in/around that region,
   live there, or go between much of the East Bay and San Francisco for
   such meetings.  Locations such as those, however, might not be
   optimal for, e.g. most residents, or most Linux using/interested
   residents in San Francisco.  At least for some (/many?) parts of San
   Francisco, getting to/from downtown San Francisco or fairly close to
   that region, isn't very convenient.
o ethanol.  Many restaurants/bars, which are restaurants, or have
   restaurants or full restaurants are not restricted to baring entrance
   to those under 21 years of age.  There are also some/many which only
   have the 21+ restriction for certain hours (e.g. in Berkeley, I think
   Triple Rock becomes 21+ at 10:00 P.M., if I recall correctly).
o BAD has a very good (well engineered, of course :-)) list of what
   typically makes for a good meeting location:
"
* Good locations for a BAD meeting will have:

      * Food
      * Cheap food
      * Good food
      * Alcoholic beverages
      * Non-alcoholic beverages
      * Access for minors and people under 21
      * Separate checks
      * Seats for 10-30 people
      * Room to push tables together, or pull them apart
      * Forgiveness for people coming and leaving at will
      * Something for vegetarians to eat
      * Something for carnivores to eat
      * Enough quiet that we can talk
      * Enough loudness that we're not a big distraction
      * Enough light that we can see the network diagrams we're drawing
        on the backs of napkins
      * Access by public transportation
      * Access by car
      * Nearby parking
      * Easy directions

   Obviously, there's no requirement that every location have all these
   things, and most locations won't."

I'd be inclined to (at least for SF-LUG) add to that list:
o free Internet access (free Wi-Fi or Ethernet connections to the
   Internet)
o access to AC power
o space/facilities for reasonably doing presentations/demonstrations can
   be quite handy (e.g. suitably arranged/arrangeable space,
   whiteboard/chalkboard, screen or suitable projection surface, etc.)
o at least reasonable public transportation access
o location that's not "too scary"
o some parking that's reasonably findable/available and not too absurdly
   far away or too expensive

o [L]UGs that meet further away, less frequently, or are less similar in
   focus/topic/format are likely less of competition/contention issue for
   attendees than those that are closer and more similar
o Monitoring SIG and BAD are 2nd Wednesdays, not 1st Wednesdays

references:
http://bad.debian.net/shotgun_rules.txt
http://linuxmafia.com/bale/


>    let's try House of Shields (despite the parking
> woes that i'm sure to feel).
>    maybe those who are interested in some topic
> (i propose Asheesh' talk on deb building) could
> agree on some day and time.
>    i say not
> * evening of the third monday of the month (SF-LUG)
> * evening of the second thursday of the month (BayPIGgies)
> * evening of the third tuesday of the month (BALUG
> * evening of the first wednesday of the month (Monitoring and SVLUG)
> * other nights that have scheduled group meetings