4 ms·
Ask HN: Web events and houses of worship
How would you feel about attending a meetup/conference held in a house of worship (church, cathedral, mosque, synagogue etc)?
- jasonmesut 14y agoFuck it. It might be fun. And most conferences are preachy anyway - it might instil a bit of humility in the speakers.
- arranrp 14y agoEither that or give some folks a full blown god complex
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- andrewnez 14y agoI’d prefer a more neutral location personally, otherwise you may end up making an event that restricts who can attend based on their religious views.
- nishaanx 14y agoNo religion forbids entry into another house of worship. As long as no one preaches or condemns anyone else then there is no harm. If your place of work instilled a prayer room where all faiths were allowed to use it I'm sure you wouldn't quit your job or refuse entry into the building.
- alinajaf 14y ago> No religion forbids entry into another house of worship. Citation?
- onishiweb 14y agoI have done already...in a way. Reasons to be Appy last year was held at LSO St Luke's and it was actually quite a nice setting. Granted it's not your ordinary church but the building itself was great and had a large enough main room for the conference and little rooms to host coffee's and socialising.
- alinajaf 14y agoDoes LSO St Luke's really count? Correct me if I'm wrong but the venue is used primarily for musical performances, not as a 'house of worship'. It is a brilliant venue, my wife performs in a Gamelan ensemble there every year which is great fun.
- syed_innumalgi 14y agoMeeting/conference should be towards peace.
- johnonolan 14y agoNo thanks
- delano 14y agoA large part of meetups and conferences is the culture that they foster. Non-partisan venues are more appropriate because the venue plays such a large role in that (regardless of intent). Besides the obvious impact of alienating some portion of your audience (again, it's inevitable regardless of intent), you're losing an opportunity to build on the culture and possibly comprising what you have built already.
- alinajaf 14y agoAs a Dawkins-thumping atheist, I don't think I would mind too much. 'Houses of worship' happen to have some be the most beautifully architectured buildings so naturally make for good venues, irrespective of your religious beliefs or lack thereof. I do however doubt that any house of worship really wants me in it.
- nicholasjarnold 14y agoReligion is and has historically been a large divider of people. It may not always be a divider, and I'm not saying all people of any particular belief system are divisive or exclusive, but religious differences certainly tend to be hot button issues for many people. The point of a meetup or conference is to bring people together on a particular topic. So unless your purpose is a faith-based exercise, I think it would only dilute the original intent of getting people together for a 'web event'.
- Wintamute 14y agoIf the place of worship is happy to have me in it (i.e. a potential non-believer/counter-believer), then I'm happy to be in it.
- kmfrk 14y agoI consider myself pretty tolerant, but if the event involves any PHP, I have to say "no thank you". I think the event would work as a nice filter, which might bring out a different, interesting group of people. :)
- justhw 14y agoPHP as in the language??
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- midnightmonster 14y agoI would be curious if the event or the organizer had any connection to the venue. It wouldn't keep me from going, and it might make me notice it more just for the unexpected juxtaposition.
- arranrp 14y agoAs the organiser in question. I don't have any religious affiliation. I'm just aware of many wonderful buildings around my citys who's primary purpose is that of worship but design see's them very well suited to a conference.
- trafficlight 14y agoI don't have a problem with the building. I do have a problem if somebody starts to preach.
- arranrp 14y agoWould you be expecting that?
- trafficlight 14y agoIt's a reasonable assumption.
- arranrp 14y agoI go to vote at a church hall no one stops me and asks me if I've found Jesus. If I go to a conference the only subjects I expect to hear preached are semantics and semicolons.
- cpursley 14y agoThe same way I do about voting in such places. Not good.
- BigCanOfTuna 14y agoYour government (I'm assuming you live in the USA || Canada) supports "Houses of Worship" through tax exemptions. I'd feel like I was finally getting some value out of a church if a conference was held there. edit: Added Canada; we do the same.
- arranrp 14y agoI'm in the UK actually, but I do believe recognised religions get some forms of tax breaks in the UK as well though I'm not complealty sure.
- nanijoe 14y agoIf the venue does not require you to listen to their preaching/doctrine , why does it matter? Most of us have to deal with people on topics we don't see eye-to-eye on pretty regularly, why is this case different?
- nailer 14y agoI think programming is about logic and facts, which for me don't really gel with 'faith'. I'd be uncomfortable.
- nishaanx 14y agoThat is an amazing idea! Finally get use out of these majestic buildings and get useful, factual info for a change.