PortlandWiki talk:Meetups

I'm nominating either the B-Side Tavern or the Basement Pub for one of the days, maybe "Thursday Thugz", because I live on the Eastside and those are my regular haunts. Also, I would prefer to be a "thug" than a "warbler". Wednesday Wizards or Wednesday Wunderkind, maybe?

Hey Khris - Kotra, Mark and I looked into B-Side Tavern and Basement Pub during our WikiWednesday meetup at Bunk Bar last week. Looks like both establishments are 21 and over venues, but do you know for sure? Kotra posted a brief list of ideal criteria for a meetup spot. We occasionally have someone from the "under 21 crowd" (like my daughter, for instance) show up, and we're hoping to stick with venues where under-agers can also feel welcome. The fact that we've held some meetings at establishments like Blitz Pearl and Bunk Bar may have created some confusion, but both of those venues allow minors through the door (Bunk in the whole space, and Blitz in the upstairs only). Hope this helps! -WikiMaster (talk) 06:53, 11 October 2010 (PDT)

Indeed, they are both over 21 only. Close-in Eastside locations that (I believe) allow minors include Beulahland (that actually might be a really good one), the Lucky Labrador, and (maybe?) the Laurelthirst Pub? That said, Bunk Bar is pretty nice and close-in, so if you guys are already doing that, maybe I'll hit that up. Khris.soden (talk) 11:10, 11 October 2010 (PDT)

We tried Bunk Bar for last week's Wiki Wednesday, it's a great place but very crowded and noisy (and I predict will become more so in time, if it's even possible). I don't know if we could find a table every time we went there. And without a table, we can't have a meetup... so I'd rather look at places where there are always a table or two available. One place I know pretty well is Red and Black Cafe, it's usually pretty empty-ish, has wifi, good food, is worker-owned, etc. The only issue with it is they sometimes have loud live bands, but all their events are listed on their website so we can know beforehand. Today there's nothing going on. I don't know much about Beulahland, but looking at their website they could be good too. Do they normally have open tables? -kotra (talk) 15:45, 11 October 2010 (PDT)

If I want to get there by 6:30 I have to leave in about 15 minutes, so we should probably decide where to go in a few minutes. Dave said he liked Red & Black too, so I'm just going to semi-randomly say that unless someone else doesn't like the idea. So, Red & Black? Going once, going twice... -kotra (talk) 17:55, 11 October 2010 (PDT)

Sounds good Kotra. I'll broadcast through WikiWednesday's Google Groups account. May be a bit late. See you soon. -WikiMaster (talk) 17:58, 11 October 2010 (PDT)

Red and Black

I'm at Red and Black at the moment, testing to see if the wifi (personaltelco) is actually crap here or if it was just a one-time experience (at the last Monday Meet). It seems a lot better today. Not blazing fast, but definitely usable, and no hanging. So I think we could give it another try, unless the other places suggested appeal more to you guys.

I just realized that if we choose Red and Black, that means that both of the places we'll have the meets at will only serve vegetarian food (vegan for Red and Black). While this is awesome for me (since I'm vegan), it can't be ideal for the meat-eaters in our group (which, I think, is everyone else). I don't want people to feel like they are sacrificing themselves on my behalf, when I really don't mind going to a place that serves meat. Just thought I'd throw that out there. -kotra (talk) 22:22, 14 October 2010 (PDT)

Good news about Red & Black's wi-fi improvement. And if anyone of us wants a meaty dish, perhaps we can just go outside and slay some wildlife. Not only is wild game healthier, merely chewing wildlife helps build strong teeth and bones, and gives the wild game chewer a glowing complexion. -WikiMaster (talk) 18:57, 15 October 2010 (PDT)

Just to update people, we tried Red & Black again on Monday the 18th. The connection was intermittent there again, for me only. Their wireless router looks pretty decrepit, so it might be that combined with my computer. We can certainly have meetings there, because the intermittent connection doesn't seem to affect others, but it means I won't be able to do much wiki work on those days. I can just supervise ;) -kotra (talk) 08:26, 27 October 2010 (PDT)

Day

We need to move it from Monday to another day. Mark, Khris, and perhaps others are not able to make it on Mondays. Either Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday seem to be the best days for people. We don't seem to be making much progress on choosing a day, so I'll just semi-randomly suggest Wednesday. If we do Wednesday then we can either combine this PortlandWiki thing with the existing Portland Wiki Wednesday (i.e. have a Portland Wiki Wednesday every week), or keep having Portland Wiki Wednesday on the first Wednesday of the month, and the PortlandWiki thing on the other Wednesdays. I think the content is similar enough that we could combine the two. I will cross-post this on the PortlandWikiWednesday mailing list.

First of all, is Wednesday good for people?

Secondly, do you think it's better to combine the two, or keep them separate?

PS. Dave and I will probably continue to meet on Mondays, as more of a casual thing. Not sure where yet, though "Powell's Books Bldg. 2" (previously known as Powell's Technical Books) on SW 10th and Couch did pretty well for us last Monday. -kotra (talk) 08:34, 27 October 2010 (PDT)