Manhattan Neighborhood Network (MNN) has a conference room, wifi (or wired, if really needed) and projectors to show off work n' such. The 21st of July is wide open and I can book it if needed.
So who are we? MNN is a the public cable access television station for Manhattan (Time warner channels 34, 56, 57, 67 and RCN 83, 84, 85, 86). Non-profit, open to the public and a very relaxed atmosphere.
Location: 537 west 59th st between 10 and 11th.
Accessible via: A, C, B, D, 1 to Columbus Circle and then a short walk from there
via bike west side bike path to 59th st. then 2 blocks over
via car west side hwy 59th st exit
I like the idea of a regular date and I've talked about that with the powers that be and it should be no problem to setup with the exception of Friday evenings.
I actually think thursdays are the best option. Sorry, but none of the conflicts you mention mean anything to me or most of the people I would hope to invite to this event.
As Grohk said, I know a bunch of the guys at NYPHP. I've been very busy at work, so I haven't had much of a chance to get in touch with them, other than asking for some preliminary advice. I'm going to be sending them an email tomorrow asking about the room in the IBM building. I'd suggest a Tuesday meeting day. No one wants to go anywhere after work on Mondays. Wednesday's are usually busy with people who are sick of working for half the week, Thursdays are "the new Friday" and places are usually packed, and Fridays are the weekend, and I'm sure everyone wants to go home.
In Other News:
I have the domain NYDrupal.org, and I'm in the early stages of figuring out what I want to do with it. I'm currently in the process of fighting with my webhost, and will be searching for a new one, once I finish up the project I'm working on for work. http://www.ixlr8.org (sorry for the shameless plug).
I think that our first steps should include putting together a board of directors, coming up with a consitution and bylaws, working on our web presence, and finding a definitive meeting place for the monthly meetings, as well as a meeting place for the board of directors. Once we have a defined structure, we can start gaining ground by putting out a call for members, and start working on putting together events.
i really like the enthusiasm, but i really think we should keep this more of an informal group. ....but as an open community, i'd like to see what others think...
as for the drupal domain... GREAT! maybe you should point it to this group. we already have a google group (a hold over of the civicactions list serv) and now we have groups.drupal.org. personally, i don't think we need another silo of information. conversely, we should be thinking of how to combine all of them into groups.drupal and promote the $H!T out of it...
In my opinion, anything worth doing is worth doing right. If there's no formality to it, then there's very little "ownership" taken, and people will be less inclined to take us seriously. Now don't be scared off by the terms constitution and bylaws. They're just rough guides that set out "best practices" on how to run an organization. I've worked extensively with creating and maintaining said documents. I'm also very well versed on Robert's Rules of Order, so any meetings can be run as smoothly and efficiently as possible. Without having some structure, meetings will, without fail, drag on and create more headaches than its worth.
As far as the domain goes, I actually think it should be quite the opposite. I think the Drupal Groups site should tell people about, and direct people to our own website. I think it would be good to have a bit of flexibility in the layout and structure of our site. As odd as it may sound, I'd like to make a site that's slightly less "Drupaly" (for lack of a better term). You know, something that really shows off that we're not just Drupal users/ developers, but we're New Yorkers too. Additionally, being part of the Drupal site will make it slightly harder to do some search engine optimization so we can promote the $h!t out of it, as you so aptly put it. There are a lot of things we can't play with and adjust by using the Drupal Groups site. I have no problem developing the site. I'm only working part time at the moment, as I was finishing up my Masters, so I have plenty of time on my hands.
I have to agree. Doing it right means, to me, getting an informal group together once a month or so and letting that group, once it is in existance, decide what to do.
Starting off by forming an organization is a really bad idea. Few of us have the time to worry about the internal working of yet another group. I see those conversations as a distraction to getting a solid group together.
Drupal has gotten to where it is in a very informal and organic way, and that is a good thing.
In terms of DUGs, most of them are pretty informal. As one of the original convenors of the NY DUG with Noel, and Scott and Amanda, we started by passing some email around about getting together and inviting other folks. within a few short months we had a 75 person drupal camp. No bylaws or officers necessary.
The most important think for any DUG is a regular meeting time/place and a dedicated convenor(s). It may take a few meetings to really get into a groove, but the entire community will be a whole lot stronger in the long run (IMHO) than if you start out with officers, bylaws, tabulating votes on meeting dates and locations.
Let people come and go as they please, just provide a space for drupal folks to get together regularly, talk shop, co-code, code review, show off their work, etc...
People will vote with their feet, that's open space, not robert's rules, and it seems to me to be much more in alignment with the "drupal way".
-Gregory
PS: forgot to say: i think having a specific NY DUG website is a bad idea. what would be the point? groups.drupal.org is where dugs and dags (Drupal Affinity Groups) are coming together. It functions as a clearinghouse. Drupal.org is where code and forums and docs go. What value would a drupalny.org site provide to the community? Right now I am making a plan to take down drupal-camp.org and point it at groups.drupal.org/drupal-camp so there can be one place for people to find this stuff.
Now that there is this site (groups.) it is much easier to carve out a space for your own little patch of drupal organizing stuff on .drupal.org.
Comments
i hear that jacob @ mnn...
i hear that jacob @ mnnn is working on hooking us up with a room and all that jazz...
noel
--
i heart drupal
MNN is willing to Host
Manhattan Neighborhood Network (MNN) has a conference room, wifi (or wired, if really needed) and projectors to show off work n' such. The 21st of July is wide open and I can book it if needed.
So who are we? MNN is a the public cable access television station for Manhattan (Time warner channels 34, 56, 57, 67 and RCN 83, 84, 85, 86). Non-profit, open to the public and a very relaxed atmosphere.
Location: 537 west 59th st between 10 and 11th.
Accessible via: A, C, B, D, 1 to Columbus Circle and then a short walk from there
via bike west side bike path to 59th st. then 2 blocks over
via car west side hwy 59th st exit
I like the idea of a regular date and I've talked about that with the powers that be and it should be no problem to setup with the exception of Friday evenings.
-Jacob Redding
-Jacob Redding
NYPHP meeting place?
I got an email from Mike saying that he might have a hookup with the NYPHP group. They meet in the IBM building...
I also have a few irons in the fire, it is just a matter of figuring out what is good for us. Anyone else have any ideas?
How about the day and time? Does anyone have any preferences on this?
meetup's in nyc...
over the winter/spring, we had a few meetings. as the organizer, here are my lessons...
the 20th or the 21st looks good for me.
--
i heart drupal
meeting place req
i would add that meeting places should be near transit hubs (city hall, union sq, 23rd, 34th, 42nd sts, not too far east if possible)
I actually think thursdays
I actually think thursdays are the best option. Sorry, but none of the conflicts you mention mean anything to me or most of the people I would hope to invite to this event.
As Grohk said, I know a
As Grohk said, I know a bunch of the guys at NYPHP. I've been very busy at work, so I haven't had much of a chance to get in touch with them, other than asking for some preliminary advice. I'm going to be sending them an email tomorrow asking about the room in the IBM building. I'd suggest a Tuesday meeting day. No one wants to go anywhere after work on Mondays. Wednesday's are usually busy with people who are sick of working for half the week, Thursdays are "the new Friday" and places are usually packed, and Fridays are the weekend, and I'm sure everyone wants to go home.
In Other News:
I have the domain NYDrupal.org, and I'm in the early stages of figuring out what I want to do with it. I'm currently in the process of fighting with my webhost, and will be searching for a new one, once I finish up the project I'm working on for work. http://www.ixlr8.org (sorry for the shameless plug).
I think that our first steps should include putting together a board of directors, coming up with a consitution and bylaws, working on our web presence, and finding a definitive meeting place for the monthly meetings, as well as a meeting place for the board of directors. Once we have a defined structure, we can start gaining ground by putting out a call for members, and start working on putting together events.
Mike
great enthusiasm, but...
i really like the enthusiasm, but i really think we should keep this more of an informal group. ....but as an open community, i'd like to see what others think...
as for the drupal domain... GREAT! maybe you should point it to this group. we already have a google group (a hold over of the civicactions list serv) and now we have groups.drupal.org. personally, i don't think we need another silo of information. conversely, we should be thinking of how to combine all of them into groups.drupal and promote the $H!T out of it...
thoughts?
--
i heart drupal
Anything worth doing, is worth doing right...
In my opinion, anything worth doing is worth doing right. If there's no formality to it, then there's very little "ownership" taken, and people will be less inclined to take us seriously. Now don't be scared off by the terms constitution and bylaws. They're just rough guides that set out "best practices" on how to run an organization. I've worked extensively with creating and maintaining said documents. I'm also very well versed on Robert's Rules of Order, so any meetings can be run as smoothly and efficiently as possible. Without having some structure, meetings will, without fail, drag on and create more headaches than its worth.
As far as the domain goes, I actually think it should be quite the opposite. I think the Drupal Groups site should tell people about, and direct people to our own website. I think it would be good to have a bit of flexibility in the layout and structure of our site. As odd as it may sound, I'd like to make a site that's slightly less "Drupaly" (for lack of a better term). You know, something that really shows off that we're not just Drupal users/ developers, but we're New Yorkers too. Additionally, being part of the Drupal site will make it slightly harder to do some search engine optimization so we can promote the $h!t out of it, as you so aptly put it. There are a lot of things we can't play with and adjust by using the Drupal Groups site. I have no problem developing the site. I'm only working part time at the moment, as I was finishing up my Masters, so I have plenty of time on my hands.
Thoughts? Opinions? Quid pro quos?
Mike
doing things right
I'm missed drupal camp nyc :( - so I don't have such as sense of the support that's out there for the NY group.
I know that I don't have a lot of time for building and maintaining any institutions - but I'd love to come to a monthly hang out to discuss Drupal.
What do you see the NYC drupal group doing, beyond meeting once a month?
Doing it right
I have to agree. Doing it right means, to me, getting an informal group together once a month or so and letting that group, once it is in existance, decide what to do.
Starting off by forming an organization is a really bad idea. Few of us have the time to worry about the internal working of yet another group. I see those conversations as a distraction to getting a solid group together.
Why so formal?
Drupal has gotten to where it is in a very informal and organic way, and that is a good thing.
In terms of DUGs, most of them are pretty informal. As one of the original convenors of the NY DUG with Noel, and Scott and Amanda, we started by passing some email around about getting together and inviting other folks. within a few short months we had a 75 person drupal camp. No bylaws or officers necessary.
The most important think for any DUG is a regular meeting time/place and a dedicated convenor(s). It may take a few meetings to really get into a groove, but the entire community will be a whole lot stronger in the long run (IMHO) than if you start out with officers, bylaws, tabulating votes on meeting dates and locations.
Let people come and go as they please, just provide a space for drupal folks to get together regularly, talk shop, co-code, code review, show off their work, etc...
People will vote with their feet, that's open space, not robert's rules, and it seems to me to be much more in alignment with the "drupal way".
-Gregory
PS: forgot to say: i think having a specific NY DUG website is a bad idea. what would be the point? groups.drupal.org is where dugs and dags (Drupal Affinity Groups) are coming together. It functions as a clearinghouse. Drupal.org is where code and forums and docs go. What value would a drupalny.org site provide to the community? Right now I am making a plan to take down drupal-camp.org and point it at groups.drupal.org/drupal-camp so there can be one place for people to find this stuff.
Now that there is this site (groups.) it is much easier to carve out a space for your own little patch of drupal organizing stuff on .drupal.org.
--
http://www.CivicActions.com
http://www.GregoryHeller.com
http://GregoryHeller.com
+1
Main thing is to keep it inviting. When people show, work off the synergy.
--
http://www.woven.org
http://www.davidnotik.com
Mod-up
Ok no mods here but still I'm showing my support of this post with a +1, no formalities please. simplicity is best.
-Jacob Redding
-Jacob Redding