Posted by cmtuggl on May 22, 2011 at 2:42am
Hi Ladies & Gents,
Great to meet some of you @ TCDC this weekend. After talking w/ some of you I was thinking about trying to start a meetup that I could actually attend (since I travel Sun evening-Thursday evening). I'd be happy to help organize/sponsor the event w/ home made BBQ (i.e. smoked ribs, brisket, chicken, etc.) and bring some choice beer. However, I don't have a suitable venue - anyone have ideas for that?
I also have had the suggestion that a CODE REVIEW meeting is not a regular thing...and might get some interest. I myself am not in a position to review code, so we'd need to get some coders w/ a bit of experience to agree to attend as well.
WHAT DO YOU THINK!?
Comments
Branching Out
The success of DrupalCamp TC clearly shows us that there are a LOT of people out there using Drupal. I think it would be a good idea to try some events in other locations and see if we get participants. The weekend idea is good too, maybe there are people who would prefer these meeting days because of other schedule conflicts.
If you are interested in one-time events, be sure to give people plenty of time to get them on their schedule - probably 1 month lead time minimum.
For me, I would be less interested in another social event. But I am all over code reviews and sprint events. I say go for it!
Fri-Sun meetup - yes!
i have similar schedule and am very interested in a meetup, especially if it has time for newbie and non-code issues.
Interested in code-review
I would be interested in attending and helping out specifically with a code review. At the Twin Cities Drupal Camp we talked with Bill Fitzgerald about the code review he organized in Portland. Here's a good outline of what they did.
So, are any other people specifically interested in this sort of code review? One of the great things about this process is that it brings newbie code contributors together with more advanced coders to improve Drupal's code. That's the type of meetup I would be interested in.
A couple of points - I agree
A couple of points -
I agree it'd be nice to have the option of a Saturday or Sunday event periodically for folks who just can't make it work to attend the regular user group on the Third Wednesday each month. However with 4 meet ups per month already, I feel very strongly that we figure out how to do this, but not on the monthly level. Perhaps a bigger event each quarter where we do some code review, documentation, and code sprints?
As for topics of meetups, both the commerce meetup on the third Wednesday and the regular group on the fourth Wednesday are completely flexible in what the agendas are. The agendas really get set by the folks interested in showing up! So I don't see any reason why we can't talk about topics like code reviews as a possible agenda each month. We've had a diverse amount of content at the Wednesday groups, stuff for all audiences.
The main point I'm trying to put forth, is that we do want to be careful about fragmenting the community. Adding a 5th, 6th or 7th monthly event would likely become problematic very quickly, but being participatory in the events going on to make sure topics you're interested in are included, and working with the community to set up some semi-regular other events can go a long way towards making our existing community stronger and not fragmented or weaker.
Agreement - and an idea
One of the biggest challenges in all technical groups - Drupal or otherwise, is the issue of "support bankruptcy". That is, if none of the advanced, coder types are part of the intro meetings, then there's nobody to answer questions from new users, show off the cool projects they're working on, or otherwise inspire and support the people who want to take the next step.
Earlier today, I was reviewing Mike Anellos's fantastic Camp survey results. One thing that struck me was one camp claimed that the secret to their success was that they "Did a mini, regional Drupalcon for drupal 'professionals' - no newbie track." By contrast, I think that the reason behind our camps success was a focus on all ranges of attendees: we had intro through advanced sessions, free training, and an active support venue at the Drupal Drop-in sessions. Having beginner-through-advanced people in the same place at the same time is what makes this possible.
The fact that the Drupal is attracting new users from all walks of life is a really good thing. And special events, such as code review sessions and code sprints are a great way to keep people coming back. But "branching out" - or creating niche-ey sub-communities that only cater to coders, will cause coders to skip the regular intro meetings to invest their free time into activities that are of the most benefit to themselves. We're all here to scratch our own itch, but this is the kind of thing that kills the cross-pollination that makes Drupal what it is.
Having said all this, one idea that would keep us freeform-yet-consistent is to choose a day of the month and hold something each month. If we choose the 7th, in honor of Drupal 7, the next meeting dates would be Tuesday 7 June, Thursday 7 July and Sunday 7 August.
Different days of the week lend themselves to different types of activities. Shorter topics and ideas can be offered on weekdays, and we can use weekend days for more engaged activities like sprints. And some dates collide with other events. For example, 7 July is when we'll have our happy hour. Since July is a busy time for people anyway, that's a good month not to have an extra event.
What I would hope for to see these events thrive from supporting existing efforts. A stable, well-attended core group is an amazing introduction for new users - and this looks good for businesses and organizations interested in getting started with Drupal. The regular meetings can be an entry point for new - and experienced users - and the special events can help keep advanced users in the loop overall.
Start with one?
Good stuff. We've done one-off events before - and while it's good to try to think through future patterns, it's a pretty big thing to change all the rules. Having just been part of the camp planning discussions, I think changing meetups to something like the 7th would be a pretty dramatic (traumatizing?) shift that would needs lots of discussion and buy-in to be successful. I suppose it might be worth it and a good shift, but it seems like a big task.
So - before doing something major like that, maybe this could be an excuse to do something like a Code Review sprint on a Saturday -- not unlike what happened back a year or two ago(?!) in our Doc Sprint.
If that works and there's attendance and interest, maybe it happens again sometime. My personal schedule would probably mean I couldn't make it more often then one every few months, but if it took off and was sustained and meaningful and more often than that, that'd be great. Or - if it just meant there was something focused (code or docs or something) on two-or-three Saturdays every year, I'd be happy about that, too.
Yikes! Totally not my intent!
The main thing I was trying to suggest that keeping the regular meeting times as-is - and as a foundation for other events. This is why we've supported consistent, regular meetings in the same time and place for almost 5 years (criminy, that's a lot of pizza!)
My concern is dilution - and burnout. We've always encouraged and supported people who want to create new meeting times and places - but as a community we'll do more harm than good if a bunch of us, dizzy with post-DrupalCamp euphoria, post a bunch of events all at the same time. The result will be a daunting amount of stuff all at once, so much fragmentation that the new Drupalistas don't know where to go, and total burnout/saturation afterwards.
At the same time, recognizing people's interest in different times and places - and different or more hands-on meeting formats - would help people who just can't make the wednesdays. So in the interests of metering out special events, creating consistency, and supporting diversity; I was suggeting that these extra meetings happen on 7ths. I was definitely not suggesting supplanting or moving any existing meetings.
Thanks!
OK so it seems like most of
OK so it seems like most of the discussion on "if it should be done" is concluded.... Seems like a one-off event is probably the best way to move forward. If there is enough interest to keep the party going after that, we can plan another.
...so the most important question now is...where can it be hosted? As I mentioned originally, I'd be happy to help organize/sponsor, but I don't have a suitable venue.
Thoughts?