3 ms·

Even when a company offers meeting space, they can be overbearing about it. I was involved a tiny bit in reviving a local interest group of high-powered progra

by neilv 2y ago

Even when a company offers meeting space, they can be overbearing about it. I was involved a tiny bit in reviving a local interest group of high-powered programmers. Another person, who did all the actual hard work, of meeting organizing, got meeting space at a Big Tech company... Unfortunately, as a Big Tech (and in the surveillance capialism space), it was complete with signing in with security in the lobby, getting a guest badge for the visit, going to whatever presumable compartmentalized area, and the company presumably doing all the snooping things they could think of... Every time I considered going to a meeting, the idea of going out of my way to be Big Tech's b-word, before I even got into the meeting, was a turn-off. I like your community centers idea. The public libraries here have some meeting rooms. Sometimes someone at a university department can open up meeting space to the public. Someone else mentioned makerspaces, which is an idea I hadn't thought of, but maybe complementary to makerspaces, as well as great marketing for adding members.

1oooqooq 2y ago
> high-powered programmers how many Watts did you require for the meet up?
- throwaway2037 2y ago
  I laughed when I saw that phrase also. And, to answer your question, it's dead simple: 1.21 Gigawatts
- neilv 2y ago
  I wanted to talk about a general problem, without identifying a particular group. If I'd given it more milliseconds of thought, I would've said "niche", and of interest to that particular Big Tech.
jpc0 2y ago
> it was complete with signing in with security in the lobby, getting a guest badge for the visit This doesn't sound unreasonable to me if you were using a private companies space. The company providing the floor space and security. Sure there may be easier venues but I wouldn't expect less than this if I was going to be using a company's boardroom for my meeting space.
- neilv 2y ago
  Yeah, but with some companies, you expect them to abuse the information they gain in the process of getting your name, getting your photo, etc.
- rcxdude 2y ago
  It's a bit strange to not have a lower-security more accessible space, though. The previous company I worked at (which was quite security-conscious) hosted meetups like this in the cafeteria which, while not something that normally was accessible to the general public, could be opened up as such without exposing any other part of the building.
- mncharity 2y ago
  > doesn't sound unreasonable [...] if you were using a private companies space I've seen meetups, hosted by Amazon in Boston IIRC, where upon exiting the elevator, you were unexpectedly required to sign an NDA-ish contract in order to leave the vestibule. Now preregistration deadlines, signing in/out, license capture, headshots, and NDAs, aren't necessarily unreasonable for a company. Nor bag searches, nor surrendering electronics to lockers. But as expectations diverge, between "private companies space" and "I'm just here for a room of conversation and pizza", the energy barrier to attending, discomfort, and absence, may increase. Microsoft Boston in contrast, was built with access-control elevators and a floor of conference rooms, and so could provide "just name the meetup at the desk and go up".

by neilv 2y ago

1oooqooq 2y ago

> high-powered programmers how many Watts did you require for the meet up?

throwaway2037 2y ago
I laughed when I saw that phrase also. And, to answer your question, it's dead simple: 1.21 Gigawatts
neilv 2y ago
I wanted to talk about a general problem, without identifying a particular group. If I'd given it more milliseconds of thought, I would've said "niche", and of interest to that particular Big Tech.

jpc0 2y ago

> it was complete with signing in with security in the lobby, getting a guest badge for the visit This doesn't sound unreasonable to me if you were using a private companies space. The company providing the floor space and security. Sure there may be easier venues but I wouldn't expect less than this if I was going to be using a company's boardroom for my meeting space.

neilv 2y ago
Yeah, but with some companies, you expect them to abuse the information they gain in the process of getting your name, getting your photo, etc.
rcxdude 2y ago
It's a bit strange to not have a lower-security more accessible space, though. The previous company I worked at (which was quite security-conscious) hosted meetups like this in the cafeteria which, while not something that normally was accessible to the general public, could be opened up as such without exposing any other part of the building.
mncharity 2y ago
> doesn't sound unreasonable [...] if you were using a private companies space I've seen meetups, hosted by Amazon in Boston IIRC, where upon exiting the elevator, you were unexpectedly required to sign an NDA-ish contract in order to leave the vestibule. Now preregistration deadlines, signing in/out, license capture, headshots, and NDAs, aren't necessarily unreasonable for a company. Nor bag searches, nor surrendering electronics to lockers. But as expectations diverge, between "private companies space" and "I'm just here for a room of conversation and pizza", the energy barrier to attending, discomfort, and absence, may increase. Microsoft Boston in contrast, was built with access-control elevators and a floor of conference rooms, and so could provide "just name the meetup at the desk and go up".