Attention All Shindig Attendees and Meetup.com users! by DoubleShiny

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

Attention All Shindig Attendees and Meetup.com users!

POSTED BY: DOUBLESHINY
UPDATED: Tuesday, April 19, 2005 11:25
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VIEWED: 3239
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Wednesday, April 13, 2005 1:39 AM

This morning I found out that in future Meetup.com users will have to pay a monthly charge to use the service. The organisers of the service will have to pay upfront, and ask their members to chip in.

I know there are over 1000 Browncoats on the service, and I'm betting I'm not the only one to begrudge paying over $100 a year for it. (Over $200 for new groups).

Shindigs are a big part of being a Browncoat, so I've set up an alternative to Meetup.com for those who don't want to shell out for the service.

The site is at www.alantudyk.net, click on 'Shindig Central' in the nav bar.

At the moment there's not a lot on there, I'm counting on other people to post their shindig info. If you anyone has any problems with the board, or has any suggestions, let me know

DS

www.alatudyk.net *now updated*

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Wednesday, April 13, 2005 7:52 AM

DIETCOKE

Would love to know how other meetups are handling this...

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Wednesday, April 13, 2005 9:32 AM

IAMJACKSUSERNAME

Well, I'm all right. - Mal

Quote:
Originally posted by dietcoke:
Would love to know how other meetups are handling this...

On Wikipedia you add the wiki page of your city http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Meetup to your watchlist.

Wikis are almost perfect for this, and I suggest we use the Cortex wiki http://firefly.wikicities.com/wiki/Main_Page (the other Firefly wiki unfortunately has links that pop-up new windows). Most boards with recent posts on top like FFF and br.se aren't well suited (unless there's a seperate shindig section) because it wastes pages upon pages of threads of which only one would be of interest to fans (the city where they live).
--
I am Jack's username
Serenity release date and folk on the rim: http://browncoats.serenitymovie.com/serenity/index.html?fuseaction=for
um.viewtopic&t=9781

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Monday, April 18, 2005 1:27 PM

ARTCAT81

The Houston, TX shindig group
is moving here, http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/bayoucitybrowncoats/
just wanted to get the word out

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Tuesday, April 19, 2005 1:59 AM

IAMJACKSUSERNAME

Well, I'm all right. - Mal

Instead of the wiki I linked to above, I think http://upcoming.org/tag/firefly may be better because it's global and has many different kinds of meets - a better replacement for meetup.com.
--
I am Jack's username
Serenity release date and folk on the rim: http://browncoats.serenitymovie.com/serenity/index.html?fuseaction=for
um.viewtopic&t=9781

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Tuesday, April 19, 2005 4:39 AM

BROWNCOAT1

May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one.

Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal Meetup.com!

I have moved the Richmond Browncoats in response to Meetup's demanding fees to the following address:

http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/richmondbrowncoats/

All you Richmond type Browncoats stop on by and make yourselves at home. Email invites went out this morning.

__________________________________________

"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

Richmond, VA & surrounding area Firefly Fans:

http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/richmondbrowncoats/

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Tuesday, April 19, 2005 6:55 AM

DRELEN

Quote:
Originally posted by BrownCoat1:
Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal Meetup.com!

I have moved the Richmond Browncoats in response to Meetup's demanding fees to the following address:

http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/richmondbrowncoats/

All you Richmond type Browncoats stop on by and make yourselves at home. Email invites went out this morning.

__________________________________________

"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

Richmond, VA & surrounding area Firefly Fans:

http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/richmondbrowncoats/

Hey BrownCoat1 I am a fellow Browncoat from Virginia Beach. I saw that you just started that group in yahoo. I actually have some webspace on my site I can set aside for a forum for the RichmondBrowncoats if you would like. I can install and manage it as well. There will be no ads or anything. Email me if you are interested. Bliss13@gmail.com

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Tuesday, April 19, 2005 7:43 AM

DIETCOKE

Here's another venue, it's very much like meetup but it's free! http://www.meetin.org/

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Tuesday, April 19, 2005 8:20 AM

NAKEDANDARTICULATE

Hello fellow NYC browncoats,I set this up at upcoming.org,just to get the word out--

http://upcoming.org/event/17095/

but here is the official NYC "meetup" group--

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/firefly_nyc

also at meetup.com there is a link to report inappropriate content,so I wrote them and told them I thought it was inappropriate to start charging people---I hope the site looses all it's business!!!!Meetup.com=the alliance

"Hamsters is nice."

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Tuesday, April 19, 2005 8:23 AM

BROWNCOAT1

May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one.

Quote:
Originally posted by Drelen:
Hey BrownCoat1 I am a fellow Browncoat from Virginia Beach. I saw that you just started that group in yahoo. I actually have some webspace on my site I can set aside for a forum for the RichmondBrowncoats if you would like. I can install and manage it as well. There will be no ads or anything. Email me if you are interested. Bliss13@gmail.com

Hey Drelen, welcome to the site! Glad to have you with us.

Fired you an email. Look forward to hearing from you.

__________________________________________

"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

Richmond, VA & surrounding area Firefly Fans:

http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/richmondbrowncoats/

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Tuesday, April 19, 2005 10:56 AM

NAKEDANDARTICULATE

Quote:
Originally posted by nakedandarticulate:

also at meetup.com there is a link to report inappropriate content,so I wrote them and told them I thought it was inappropriate to start charging people---I hope the site looses all it's business!!!!Meetup.com=the alliance

"Hamsters is nice."

holy crap they(meetup.com) wrote me back---

Hello Kevin,

Please understand, Meetup is a start-up. We're a tiny company working
to
create a sustainable business based on something we believe in. This
is
not some get-rich-quick scheme for us. If it were, we'd probably have
chosen a potentially more lucrative product/business model. We think
Meetup's a positive, great concept, and we think it's safe to say you
think the same or you wouldn't be here in the first place.

In the internet world, sites and services can come and go in the blink
of
an eye. A site that sustains itself is the mark of a valuable, desired
service. That is what Meetup wants to be. We have some of the most
loyal
members possible. And we love creating the tools and systems they use
to
run great groups. We want to continue building the Meetup site and
experience, making it continually better and better for our users for
years to come. Thus, in order to sustain the company, sustain the
computers, phones, office, and, most importantly, the people who plan,
build, and support the Meetup site, we're asking our loyal members to
contribute. And since they value Meetup as much as we value them, we
know
they will.

We chose this path because it makes the most sense. We've tried and
considered other paths, every alternative to charging our members, but,
in
the long run, they don't work out. Why? Because if we get venues to
pay
us, we're beholden to the venues. If we forge partnerships with other
companies, we're beholden to those other companies. If we put big,
ugly
ads all over our site, we're beholden to the people we sell those ads
to
(and we'd have big, ugly ads all over our site). However, if we charge
our members, we're beholden to... our members! That's the ideal
situation.

So this isn't an act of desperation, nor is it an act of greed. It's
just
the way our company needs to evolve.

We don't blame you guys for being shocked and even angry -- that's a
natural, understandable reaction. You're used to Meetup being free, as
most web sites are, so of course this is a shock. We're just hoping
you'll see the value in what we're offering and we're hoping we'll be
able
to change your minds. If you like what we offered as a free site,
imagine
what we'll be able to offer as a paid site.

If you want a great service that's just going to get better, talk it
over
with your members and ask them to chip in. We don't expect you to bear
the burden of this cost alone. If you're a fledgling group, we're
going
to do everything in our power to help your group grow, and as you get
more
members, they will help you make that money back. Our aim is to make
your
groups large enough for this to work for you and your members -- it's
in
your interests, your members' interest, and our interests -- that's why
we
chose this structure.

So, stick with us -- if you can, and if you do, you won't regret it.
Becoming a paid site is inevitably going to raise your expectations
tremendously and we intend to exceed those expectations.

For more information on Group Fees, check out:

http://orc.meetup.com/archives/2005/04/the_lowdown_on.html

Sincerely,

Matthew Daly
Customer Service Manager
Meetup.com

i'll say what I told them,you want to make money online---start a porn site

"Hamsters is nice."

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Tuesday, April 19, 2005 11:03 AM

CANADIANBROWNCOATS

Most of the Canadian meetup/shindig organizers will continue to post any info regarding their gatherings at:

http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/canadianbrowncoats/

The same info is always posted on our main web site as well, which is:

www.canadianbrowncoats.com

Toronto and Vancouver have events on May 1 and April 23.

Hope to see some of you there.

Hazyone101

Join the CanadianBrownCoats:
http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/canadianbrowncoats

www.canadianbrowncoats.com

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Tuesday, April 19, 2005 11:25 AM

PATAY13

Hi all -

The Santa Clara County Firefly meetup group has decided to ditch meetup.com!! Please join us, The Silicon Gulch Browncoats (for folks in the San Jose and South SF Bay Area), at our new website:

http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/SiliconGulchBrowncoats/

All are welcome to join us!!

Our next shindig will be on Saturday May 7th, at 12pm at Katie Bloom's Irish Pub & Restaurant in Campbell, CA.

http://www.katieblooms.com/

Bring a friend!!

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