8 ms·

The Offline Club

207 points by esher 1y ago

_rpxpx 1y ago
https://www.theludditeclub.org/ https://www.theludditeclub.org/
- specproc 1y ago
  That looks cool. Bit US-based (and maybe a bit young) for me, but much respect, the world could do with more of this. The kids are alright.
- Sat_P 1y ago
  This seems like an app that would have been created by the team at "The Idler" magazine (it's a monthly UK publication).
ethagnawl 1y ago
So, Meetup without the baggage (i.e. WeWork)? I'll take it. I made quite a few friends on Meetup back in the day attending and running group events in NYC.
tonymet 1y ago
bro i was hoping "the offline club" was a bunch of apps that just worked without logins radios rest APIs and all the other stuff that broke software
- kgwxd 1y ago
  Too much of life is already tied to a screen. I spent the last few years sitting in front of "offline" computers seeking fun and relaxation. I got all kinds of cool stuff for Atari 2600, bought a Commander X16, even learned how to program for both. Ultimately, it just feels like everything else in life now, but harder. Anyone interested in buying a bunch of retro stuff? :)
  - tonymet 1y ago
    Me! I buy typewriters, CD, LP, mp3 players, fountain pens, calculators
larrymyers 1y ago
These places already exist, they're your local game stores! Show up, play games with other people. If you like competition most host official tournaments for various TCG's and table top war-games. These tournaments usually forbid devices while playing, since they can be used to gain unfair advantage, so you are forced to be offline by default. (Plus it's considered rude to be on your phone during a match.)
- deleted 1y ago
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- deleted 1y ago
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- allenu 1y ago
  I'm not a huge table top gamer or anything and have checked out my local shop to play with others. It was definitely fun, but I'll admit that it wasn't for me and I stopped going. If you are into board games, you definitely should check them out though. I just found it required more interest in board games than I was willing to partake in when I really just wanted a third space to hang out. On the flip side, I was into swing dancing for a few years and I found that was a great place to socialize. Of course, like the board games thing, it's not for everyone. That said, I did find it was a bit easier to just show up there and just socialize. Once you're a regular, you don't necessarily have to be constantly dancing or anything. (I did when I got started, though.) You can just hang out and have a good conversation with another regular, and often there's a bar where you can chill with a drink. It's definitely intimidating to go dancing as a newb, though, so I recommend going some place that offers a weekly class. That's a great way to meet other newbies and go to the dance together.
- paradox460 1y ago
  The problem is the weirdo problem someone else mentioned. You can only put up with so many stinky man children till you decide it's not worth going
  - specproc 1y ago
GuinansEyebrows 1y ago
[flagged]
- dang 1y ago
  Can you please not post snarky comments here? This is in the site guidelines: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html.
edent 1y ago
Looks fun. But £12.50 to read in silence? Am I missing something?
- LtWorf 1y ago
  There's one in copenhagen where you have to pay to have a picnic in a public park :D
  - trinix912 1y ago
    How do they police that though? It's a public space so they can't just throw you out if you don't pay right?
- heyheyhey 1y ago
  Well, if it's at a venue, they have to rent it out.
  - II2II 1y ago
    In times past, we used to have things like clubs and user groups. For the most part, they held open meetings. Anyone could attend without commitment. These meeting not only served the interests of members and the community, but they also served to engage people who would become members. Members paid dues. Dues paid the bills. If it was a community based organization (ham radio, open source developers, etc.) and the membership worked out outreach, you could usually find someone who would provide a meeting space. Perhaps it would be at a local business. Perhaps it would be at a local university. Perhaps it would be at a local community centre or library. Even if you did have to pay for the space, there were typically a lot of inexpensive spaces to rent for an hour or two. But the key word is community based. There was always a surplus of space if you knew where to look and who to ask. Some people were willing to donate it and others were willing to let it be used for a nominal fee. That seemed to change 10 or 20 years ago. I'm not quite sure as to the reason why.
  - trinix912 1y ago
    How about just going to a public library? Perhaps with a friend or two as accountability partners for keeping off the phone?
yesfitz 1y ago
I think there is a target market for this, and it might seem silly to anyone outside of that market, but it shouldn't. If you're a screen addict living in these cities, paying an entry fee could be reassuring because you know that you're supposed to be there. The same goes for having a non-skills based activity, because you can't screw it up. Compare that to a free and/or skills-based gathering[1], where you end up paying with social capital (which you don't currently have), and staying home with the screen becomes all that more enticing. 1: I help run a monthly pinball tournament locally, and we've taken deliberate steps to favor socialization over competition, which has been wildly successful, but there are still those for whom the skills-based activity is too much. I feel the same about dancing.
tonymet 1y ago
There was a dream that was having a social life. You could only whisper it. Anything more than a whisper and it would vanish, it was so fragile. -- Marcus Aurelius Relationships and things that matter are spontaneous. When you try to optimize them into calendars, checklists & databases -- they become lame and fall apart. It's half the reason people aren't social. They try so hard to "schedule a meetup" and the meetup becomes work so people stop hanging out. You're just supposed to show up at someone's house and do shit. You don't make friends by agenda. You have cool experiences , build trust and develop a bond.
- 9283409232 1y ago
  Where I grew up, just showing up at someone's house unannounced was a faux pas. Scheduling in advance was the only way to do shit.
  - kzisme 1y ago
    I miss the days of going over to neighbors houses, ringing the doorbell and seeing if people wanted to do stuff. That, or college just walking around dorms to find stuff going on.
  - tonymet 1y ago
    Was it booked or was it “hey you home” and you head over?
    - 9283409232 1y ago
      A mixture of the two. "Cool if I come by later" or "wanna go to PLACE Friday".
- OkayPhysicist 1y ago
  You're thinking about the wrong stage of friendmaking. The pitch here is for getting people over the first hurdle, which is being at the same place at the same time as other people, and to some extent, the second hurdle, which is striking up a conversation (as anyone who would attend something like this is, by their presence, signalling an interest in at least casual interaction with the other participants). This adds people to your "acquaintances" list. The next step is forming setting specific friendships. Your gym buddies, your work friends, etc. Then you need to actually invite some of those friends to other settings, until your friendship isn't entirely predicated on the particular setting. Then you need to spend enough time with that person to maintain the friendship. For most people, the big hurdles are the "being present", "striking up a conversation", and "converting setting specific friendships into general friendships" steps. Everything else is pretty straightforward. Casually dropping by someone's place unscheduled is typically reserved for pretty close friends. That's not what this service is targeting.
apgwoz 1y ago
This is [Meetup](https://www.meetup.com https://www.meetup.com). Meetup has obviously not aged well, but this is mostly due to changes in ownership and leadership. It’s original mission of “a Meetup Everywhere about Most Everything” is pretty much exactly what The Offline Club seems to be seeking. I think they’ll find a lot of the same challenges: 1. Finding space to have events 2. Ensuring that people who said “I’m going” actually end up going. 3. Bootstrapping groups such that when I stumble upon The Offline Club, I can signup for something relevant to me, happening a short time from now. 4. Keeping organizers willing to continue hosting events 5. Keeping away organizers who see it as lead gen for their sales job Basically, good luck! Edit: On second look, this is different than Meetup in that it’s not centered around a specific topic … except for being “offline” together, which obviously could create other opportunities for hobbies, etc.
- al_borland 1y ago
  One thing I’ve noticed with Meetup is that a lot of events went virtual during Covid, then never went back. When I go there it seems like so many things near me are simply Zoom meetings, which I have no interest in. I understand needing that during that period, but it seems like if they want to get back to the real purpose of the site, they need to do away with that option.
  - calpaterson 1y ago
    RE: Meetup. I think many groups effectively died during that period - but were just able to limp along a bit longer as a virtual meet rather than physical. Once your meetup is sub 30 attendees (attendees who actually attend - so ~45 RSVPs) you lose critical mass and everything from getting people to talk to finding a space to meet becomes very difficult.
- abnercoimbre 1y ago
  We run meetups for systems programmers [0] and have mostly addressed these challenges. > 1. Finding space to have events Talk to a coffee shop owner. Promise them your group will (reliably) order drinks or snacks. In exchange, every month we get an area "cordoned off" just for us. > 2. Ensuring that people who said “I’m going” actually end up going. Aside from sending a general newsletter, I personally ping and catch up with individuals. This is a lot of work. It pays off when they evangelize your event on your behalf. > 3. Bootstrapping groups such that when I stumble upon The Offline Club, I can signup for something relevant to me, happening a short time from now. See #2 > 4. Keeping organizers willing to continue hosting events That's tougher. However, if the event is specialized/niche/unique enough, the organizers will be conferred high social status by the community. > 5. Keeping away organizers who see it as lead gen for their sales job Mmm, could we define sales job? On the business front, the meetups are used to promote our (indie) conferences. The meetup groups don't mind when I ask them to buy a ticket. They can just say no and we're not pushy about it. [0] https://handmadecities.com/meetups https://handmadecities.com/meetups
kilroy123 1y ago
I like it, but I find it ironic that it's just https://lu.ma/ https://lu.ma/ embedded on a website. The London page: https://lu.ma/embed/calendar/cal-8hcK7emYCS5LbFl/events?lt=light https://lu.ma/embed/calendar/cal-8hcK7emYCS5LbFl/events?lt=l...
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PolyBaker 1y ago
I like how this is an online article
booleandilemma 1y ago
Site is up.
aryehof 1y ago
Makes me think about starting a non-profit club at a physical location. Some comfortable chairs etc. Just a quiet place to go read or be in the proximity of others. Perhaps with rules about what’s allowed: - Members only (guests have to join) - No disturbing others - Quiet voices only - No soliciting - No electronic devices
- zkhrv 1y ago
  If you squint a little bit, what you are describing is a (public) library.
- deleted 1y ago
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- cjs_ac 1y ago
  Points 1 and 4 (and in some cases, Point 5) are a Private Members' Club: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_members%27_club https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_members%27_club Points 2 and 3 are the Diogenes Club: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diogenes_Club https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diogenes_Club
quijoteuniv 1y ago
I was expecting some kind of joke that the website was not available
JR1427 1y ago
I used to think I didn't like clubs and societies. Then I joined a local sailing club, and I love it. Lots of nice people, all with a shared interest, but many other non-shared interests that make it even more interesting! I would definitely recommend looking for clubs like this.
lfxyz 1y ago
I attended one of their events a few months ago in Amsterdam. You have to hand in your phone when entering the venue and get it back afterwards. I spent around 2 hours reading my kindle in silence. It was really nice being in a space where everyone had put their phones away, but paying 10 euros for the privilege of doing so means I'm unlikely to turn up regularly when I could just go to a cafe and put my phone on airplane mode for free.
- benchly 1y ago
  Maybe it's just part of the reflexes I've developed in recent years as an American, but there is never going to be a day where I hand my phone off to anyone for any reason. Not because I am addicted to it, but because there is simply too much PII and sensitive content to protect on it. Why not just trust people to keep their phone in their pocket when out at a social gathering that was formed for the expressed purpose of disconnecting? Wouldn't that also help the person break the habit of checking their phone frequently while also knowing it is still there? A few years ago, I realized my screentime was getting out of control. Being a person who has a history of substance abuse (and recovery), I recognize addiction when I see it. So, I took some measure to minimize my use. 1. Remove all non-essential apps. Games, news apps, social media...basically anything that was not helping me get something done. I ended up left with email (work) any my banking or payment apps, while all the "fun" apps got installed on my tablet that stays at home. 2. Use a minimalist app launcher overlay. It's actually crazy how the removal of graphical icons helps, turning everything in lists of words, making you have to think about why you just unlocked your phone and find the specific app instead of something like "oh, there's Discord, I might as well check that while I have my phone open. These launchers also tend to have built-in blockers for notifications. It seems like these were two simple things, but they were not. Especially at first. For about the first month, I found myself pulling my phone out for no reason, since the trigger that was making me do it (boredom, anxiety, FOMO) was still there, but I learned to cope with them and eventually they faded. I would not have accomplished that by handing my phone off to other people, which actually makes me more paranoid about what's going given modern privacy concerns. In the US, we even campaign against handing your phone over to law enforcement since the implicit trust has been broken one too many times. Do Europeans share this anxiety?
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esher 1y ago
Original poster here. I have no affiliation to it. Just found it, guessed it will spark some interest here, which it did. I thought about going to one event in Berlin, but it's in a hipster area.
syhol 1y ago
I got excited when I saw the title, thinking it was local-first software advocacy. But I guess if local-first software advocacy gets me excited, then maybe I should turn off the screen and touch some grass.
CompoundEyes 1y ago
This reminded me of the Stoop Coffee post from awhile back. Many are yearning for these analog connections and trying to crack the code for making it deliberate, inviting and low barrier to entry. I don’t think it’s just a reaction to everyone being online — books like Bowling Alone in the late 90s were calling out other trends leading to disconnect. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43473618 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43473618
drakonka 1y ago
This looks like Meetup or Facebook events. I'm not entirely sure what the need for another platform is and won't use it myself to organize my events as others have larger user bases, but the website looks quirky and fun.
- ai-christianson 1y ago
  Classic network effects vs. product scenario.
joacon 1y ago
I have created one app called Connective, kind of the same. People can create and join events near PlayStore: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.connectifyteam.connectify https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.connectify... AppStore: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/connectiveapp/id6624294792 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/connectiveapp/id6624294792 Maybe is not the best, and I'm still working to improve it and add new functionalities. The major problem now is we don't have much users, so there is few content. Feel free to use it and if you have any questions, please let me know
kardianos 1y ago
As an alternative: * Go ballroom dancing. * Go square dancing. * Go to the library and read their historical non-fiction primary sources (letters and journals). * Go to church (I'm serious, even if you are an atheist). * Go roller skating at a rink. * Go ice skating. * Go paint balling. * Go to a water park. * Go to your HOA/City/County board/commissioners meetings. * Go to your state legislature meetings. * Go to a volunteer firefighters informational meeting. * Go to a plant/flower (orchid/African violate) growers club. * Go to a sewing club. * Go to a fishing class or just fish. * Go to a hunting/gun class or just hunt/shoot.
- pwenzel 1y ago
  Go to church (I'm serious, even if you are an atheist) > Go to a meditation center instead!
  - Kerrick 1y ago
    I'm an atheist who went to church in a small town. It was a really nice experience socially, but listening to the sermon was really weird. They were talking about some kind of necromancy event, where a bunch of skeletons rose up, got new flesh, and became an undead army.
- StochasticLi 1y ago
  Can you explain how I will meet people at the library?
- boogieknite 1y ago
  > Go to church (I'm serious, even if you are an atheist) heard people say church is about community more than religion so i tried engaging earnestly with 3 churches as a normy adult with a spouse. at nondenominational it was about the show and egos of performers and at catholic church it was about the tradition. of course it was all very clearly about the money too id say going to church as a non-churchgoer is mostly an exercise in seeing how weird and bad church is but not in the same ways it was weird and bad as a kid > Go to your HOA/City/County board/commissioners meetings i go to these so my spouse doesnt have to and recommend others to only go in order to spare the ones they love from these meetings as well Edit: the roller skate community is incredibly inclusive. my experience is that there are hotshots, but many more welcoming and friendly people who want to share their joy of skating and are just looking to spend time relaxing with others. my experience going a few times in an earnest attempt to check out the scene as an adult
amelius 1y ago
With so many people in a room ... it almost feels like being online :)

The Offline Club

207 points by esher 1y ago

_rpxpx 1y ago

https://www.theludditeclub.org/ https://www.theludditeclub.org/

specproc 1y ago
That looks cool. Bit US-based (and maybe a bit young) for me, but much respect, the world could do with more of this. The kids are alright.
Sat_P 1y ago
This seems like an app that would have been created by the team at "The Idler" magazine (it's a monthly UK publication).

ethagnawl 1y ago

So, Meetup without the baggage (i.e. WeWork)? I'll take it. I made quite a few friends on Meetup back in the day attending and running group events in NYC.

tonymet 1y ago

bro i was hoping "the offline club" was a bunch of apps that just worked without logins radios rest APIs and all the other stuff that broke software

kgwxd 1y ago
Too much of life is already tied to a screen. I spent the last few years sitting in front of "offline" computers seeking fun and relaxation. I got all kinds of cool stuff for Atari 2600, bought a Commander X16, even learned how to program for both. Ultimately, it just feels like everything else in life now, but harder. Anyone interested in buying a bunch of retro stuff? :)
- tonymet 1y ago
  Me! I buy typewriters, CD, LP, mp3 players, fountain pens, calculators

larrymyers 1y ago

These places already exist, they're your local game stores! Show up, play games with other people. If you like competition most host official tournaments for various TCG's and table top war-games. These tournaments usually forbid devices while playing, since they can be used to gain unfair advantage, so you are forced to be offline by default. (Plus it's considered rude to be on your phone during a match.)

deleted 1y ago
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allenu 1y ago
I'm not a huge table top gamer or anything and have checked out my local shop to play with others. It was definitely fun, but I'll admit that it wasn't for me and I stopped going. If you are into board games, you definitely should check them out though. I just found it required more interest in board games than I was willing to partake in when I really just wanted a third space to hang out. On the flip side, I was into swing dancing for a few years and I found that was a great place to socialize. Of course, like the board games thing, it's not for everyone. That said, I did find it was a bit easier to just show up there and just socialize. Once you're a regular, you don't necessarily have to be constantly dancing or anything. (I did when I got started, though.) You can just hang out and have a good conversation with another regular, and often there's a bar where you can chill with a drink. It's definitely intimidating to go dancing as a newb, though, so I recommend going some place that offers a weekly class. That's a great way to meet other newbies and go to the dance together.
paradox460 1y ago
The problem is the weirdo problem someone else mentioned. You can only put up with so many stinky man children till you decide it's not worth going
- specproc 1y ago

GuinansEyebrows 1y ago

[flagged]

dang 1y ago
Can you please not post snarky comments here? This is in the site guidelines: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html.

edent 1y ago

Looks fun. But £12.50 to read in silence? Am I missing something?

LtWorf 1y ago
There's one in copenhagen where you have to pay to have a picnic in a public park :D
- trinix912 1y ago
  How do they police that though? It's a public space so they can't just throw you out if you don't pay right?
heyheyhey 1y ago
Well, if it's at a venue, they have to rent it out.
- II2II 1y ago
  In times past, we used to have things like clubs and user groups. For the most part, they held open meetings. Anyone could attend without commitment. These meeting not only served the interests of members and the community, but they also served to engage people who would become members. Members paid dues. Dues paid the bills. If it was a community based organization (ham radio, open source developers, etc.) and the membership worked out outreach, you could usually find someone who would provide a meeting space. Perhaps it would be at a local business. Perhaps it would be at a local university. Perhaps it would be at a local community centre or library. Even if you did have to pay for the space, there were typically a lot of inexpensive spaces to rent for an hour or two. But the key word is community based. There was always a surplus of space if you knew where to look and who to ask. Some people were willing to donate it and others were willing to let it be used for a nominal fee. That seemed to change 10 or 20 years ago. I'm not quite sure as to the reason why.
- trinix912 1y ago
  How about just going to a public library? Perhaps with a friend or two as accountability partners for keeping off the phone?

yesfitz 1y ago

I think there is a target market for this, and it might seem silly to anyone outside of that market, but it shouldn't. If you're a screen addict living in these cities, paying an entry fee could be reassuring because you know that you're supposed to be there. The same goes for having a non-skills based activity, because you can't screw it up. Compare that to a free and/or skills-based gathering[1], where you end up paying with social capital (which you don't currently have), and staying home with the screen becomes all that more enticing. 1: I help run a monthly pinball tournament locally, and we've taken deliberate steps to favor socialization over competition, which has been wildly successful, but there are still those for whom the skills-based activity is too much. I feel the same about dancing.

tonymet 1y ago

There was a dream that was having a social life. You could only whisper it. Anything more than a whisper and it would vanish, it was so fragile. -- Marcus Aurelius Relationships and things that matter are spontaneous. When you try to optimize them into calendars, checklists & databases -- they become lame and fall apart. It's half the reason people aren't social. They try so hard to "schedule a meetup" and the meetup becomes work so people stop hanging out. You're just supposed to show up at someone's house and do shit. You don't make friends by agenda. You have cool experiences , build trust and develop a bond.

9283409232 1y ago
Where I grew up, just showing up at someone's house unannounced was a faux pas. Scheduling in advance was the only way to do shit.
- kzisme 1y ago
  I miss the days of going over to neighbors houses, ringing the doorbell and seeing if people wanted to do stuff. That, or college just walking around dorms to find stuff going on.
- tonymet 1y ago
  Was it booked or was it “hey you home” and you head over?
  - 9283409232 1y ago
    A mixture of the two. "Cool if I come by later" or "wanna go to PLACE Friday".
OkayPhysicist 1y ago
You're thinking about the wrong stage of friendmaking. The pitch here is for getting people over the first hurdle, which is being at the same place at the same time as other people, and to some extent, the second hurdle, which is striking up a conversation (as anyone who would attend something like this is, by their presence, signalling an interest in at least casual interaction with the other participants). This adds people to your "acquaintances" list. The next step is forming setting specific friendships. Your gym buddies, your work friends, etc. Then you need to actually invite some of those friends to other settings, until your friendship isn't entirely predicated on the particular setting. Then you need to spend enough time with that person to maintain the friendship. For most people, the big hurdles are the "being present", "striking up a conversation", and "converting setting specific friendships into general friendships" steps. Everything else is pretty straightforward. Casually dropping by someone's place unscheduled is typically reserved for pretty close friends. That's not what this service is targeting.

apgwoz 1y ago

This is [Meetup](https://www.meetup.com https://www.meetup.com). Meetup has obviously not aged well, but this is mostly due to changes in ownership and leadership. It’s original mission of “a Meetup Everywhere about Most Everything” is pretty much exactly what The Offline Club seems to be seeking. I think they’ll find a lot of the same challenges: 1. Finding space to have events 2. Ensuring that people who said “I’m going” actually end up going. 3. Bootstrapping groups such that when I stumble upon The Offline Club, I can signup for something relevant to me, happening a short time from now. 4. Keeping organizers willing to continue hosting events 5. Keeping away organizers who see it as lead gen for their sales job Basically, good luck! Edit: On second look, this is different than Meetup in that it’s not centered around a specific topic … except for being “offline” together, which obviously could create other opportunities for hobbies, etc.

al_borland 1y ago
One thing I’ve noticed with Meetup is that a lot of events went virtual during Covid, then never went back. When I go there it seems like so many things near me are simply Zoom meetings, which I have no interest in. I understand needing that during that period, but it seems like if they want to get back to the real purpose of the site, they need to do away with that option.
- calpaterson 1y ago
  RE: Meetup. I think many groups effectively died during that period - but were just able to limp along a bit longer as a virtual meet rather than physical. Once your meetup is sub 30 attendees (attendees who actually attend - so ~45 RSVPs) you lose critical mass and everything from getting people to talk to finding a space to meet becomes very difficult.
abnercoimbre 1y ago
We run meetups for systems programmers [0] and have mostly addressed these challenges. > 1. Finding space to have events Talk to a coffee shop owner. Promise them your group will (reliably) order drinks or snacks. In exchange, every month we get an area "cordoned off" just for us. > 2. Ensuring that people who said “I’m going” actually end up going. Aside from sending a general newsletter, I personally ping and catch up with individuals. This is a lot of work. It pays off when they evangelize your event on your behalf. > 3. Bootstrapping groups such that when I stumble upon The Offline Club, I can signup for something relevant to me, happening a short time from now. See #2 > 4. Keeping organizers willing to continue hosting events That's tougher. However, if the event is specialized/niche/unique enough, the organizers will be conferred high social status by the community. > 5. Keeping away organizers who see it as lead gen for their sales job Mmm, could we define sales job? On the business front, the meetups are used to promote our (indie) conferences. The meetup groups don't mind when I ask them to buy a ticket. They can just say no and we're not pushy about it. [0] https://handmadecities.com/meetups https://handmadecities.com/meetups

kilroy123 1y ago

I like it, but I find it ironic that it's just https://lu.ma/ https://lu.ma/ embedded on a website. The London page: https://lu.ma/embed/calendar/cal-8hcK7emYCS5LbFl/events?lt=light https://lu.ma/embed/calendar/cal-8hcK7emYCS5LbFl/events?lt=l...

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

PolyBaker 1y ago

I like how this is an online article

booleandilemma 1y ago

Site is up.

aryehof 1y ago

Makes me think about starting a non-profit club at a physical location. Some comfortable chairs etc. Just a quiet place to go read or be in the proximity of others. Perhaps with rules about what’s allowed: - Members only (guests have to join) - No disturbing others - Quiet voices only - No soliciting - No electronic devices

zkhrv 1y ago
If you squint a little bit, what you are describing is a (public) library.
deleted 1y ago
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cjs_ac 1y ago
Points 1 and 4 (and in some cases, Point 5) are a Private Members' Club: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_members%27_club https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_members%27_club Points 2 and 3 are the Diogenes Club: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diogenes_Club https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diogenes_Club

quijoteuniv 1y ago

I was expecting some kind of joke that the website was not available

JR1427 1y ago

I used to think I didn't like clubs and societies. Then I joined a local sailing club, and I love it. Lots of nice people, all with a shared interest, but many other non-shared interests that make it even more interesting! I would definitely recommend looking for clubs like this.

lfxyz 1y ago

I attended one of their events a few months ago in Amsterdam. You have to hand in your phone when entering the venue and get it back afterwards. I spent around 2 hours reading my kindle in silence. It was really nice being in a space where everyone had put their phones away, but paying 10 euros for the privilege of doing so means I'm unlikely to turn up regularly when I could just go to a cafe and put my phone on airplane mode for free.

benchly 1y ago
Maybe it's just part of the reflexes I've developed in recent years as an American, but there is never going to be a day where I hand my phone off to anyone for any reason. Not because I am addicted to it, but because there is simply too much PII and sensitive content to protect on it. Why not just trust people to keep their phone in their pocket when out at a social gathering that was formed for the expressed purpose of disconnecting? Wouldn't that also help the person break the habit of checking their phone frequently while also knowing it is still there? A few years ago, I realized my screentime was getting out of control. Being a person who has a history of substance abuse (and recovery), I recognize addiction when I see it. So, I took some measure to minimize my use. 1. Remove all non-essential apps. Games, news apps, social media...basically anything that was not helping me get something done. I ended up left with email (work) any my banking or payment apps, while all the "fun" apps got installed on my tablet that stays at home. 2. Use a minimalist app launcher overlay. It's actually crazy how the removal of graphical icons helps, turning everything in lists of words, making you have to think about why you just unlocked your phone and find the specific app instead of something like "oh, there's Discord, I might as well check that while I have my phone open. These launchers also tend to have built-in blockers for notifications. It seems like these were two simple things, but they were not. Especially at first. For about the first month, I found myself pulling my phone out for no reason, since the trigger that was making me do it (boredom, anxiety, FOMO) was still there, but I learned to cope with them and eventually they faded. I would not have accomplished that by handing my phone off to other people, which actually makes me more paranoid about what's going given modern privacy concerns. In the US, we even campaign against handing your phone over to law enforcement since the implicit trust has been broken one too many times. Do Europeans share this anxiety?

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esher 1y ago

Original poster here. I have no affiliation to it. Just found it, guessed it will spark some interest here, which it did. I thought about going to one event in Berlin, but it's in a hipster area.

syhol 1y ago

I got excited when I saw the title, thinking it was local-first software advocacy. But I guess if local-first software advocacy gets me excited, then maybe I should turn off the screen and touch some grass.

CompoundEyes 1y ago

This reminded me of the Stoop Coffee post from awhile back. Many are yearning for these analog connections and trying to crack the code for making it deliberate, inviting and low barrier to entry. I don’t think it’s just a reaction to everyone being online — books like Bowling Alone in the late 90s were calling out other trends leading to disconnect. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43473618 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43473618

drakonka 1y ago

This looks like Meetup or Facebook events. I'm not entirely sure what the need for another platform is and won't use it myself to organize my events as others have larger user bases, but the website looks quirky and fun.

ai-christianson 1y ago
Classic network effects vs. product scenario.

joacon 1y ago

I have created one app called Connective, kind of the same. People can create and join events near PlayStore: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.connectifyteam.connectify https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.connectify... AppStore: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/connectiveapp/id6624294792 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/connectiveapp/id6624294792 Maybe is not the best, and I'm still working to improve it and add new functionalities. The major problem now is we don't have much users, so there is few content. Feel free to use it and if you have any questions, please let me know

kardianos 1y ago

As an alternative: * Go ballroom dancing. * Go square dancing. * Go to the library and read their historical non-fiction primary sources (letters and journals). * Go to church (I'm serious, even if you are an atheist). * Go roller skating at a rink. * Go ice skating. * Go paint balling. * Go to a water park. * Go to your HOA/City/County board/commissioners meetings. * Go to your state legislature meetings. * Go to a volunteer firefighters informational meeting. * Go to a plant/flower (orchid/African violate) growers club. * Go to a sewing club. * Go to a fishing class or just fish. * Go to a hunting/gun class or just hunt/shoot.

pwenzel 1y ago
Go to church (I'm serious, even if you are an atheist) > Go to a meditation center instead!
- Kerrick 1y ago
  I'm an atheist who went to church in a small town. It was a really nice experience socially, but listening to the sermon was really weird. They were talking about some kind of necromancy event, where a bunch of skeletons rose up, got new flesh, and became an undead army.
StochasticLi 1y ago
Can you explain how I will meet people at the library?
boogieknite 1y ago
> Go to church (I'm serious, even if you are an atheist) heard people say church is about community more than religion so i tried engaging earnestly with 3 churches as a normy adult with a spouse. at nondenominational it was about the show and egos of performers and at catholic church it was about the tradition. of course it was all very clearly about the money too id say going to church as a non-churchgoer is mostly an exercise in seeing how weird and bad church is but not in the same ways it was weird and bad as a kid > Go to your HOA/City/County board/commissioners meetings i go to these so my spouse doesnt have to and recommend others to only go in order to spare the ones they love from these meetings as well Edit: the roller skate community is incredibly inclusive. my experience is that there are hotshots, but many more welcoming and friendly people who want to share their joy of skating and are just looking to spend time relaxing with others. my experience going a few times in an earnest attempt to check out the scene as an adult

amelius 1y ago

With so many people in a room ... it almost feels like being online :)