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c
Cole
01/30/2023, 1:33 PMI was wondering what people thought about an app I've been thinking about for virtual communities to use.
I've been thinking about something called like "AFK Meetup" and it would be a place for members to list an approximate area of the globe they are in so if people are traveling, then it could be easier to start something with the people in an area to try to get together.
I'd prioritize it as a Slack App + Discord app with a simple web interface, and perhaps I'd even make it easier to create get togethers across multiple communities.
I'm curious to hear @Ivan Reese and other community organizers' thoughts or concerns. I have two groups I manage that I'd try it with between HyperTalk discord and Rust East Coast discord
I particularly like the idea of it being across meetups, so while I'm in Brazil (Rio de Janeiro) these two weeks, I could check in one interface if there are any community members across multiple servers that are also in RJ (or have listed RJ as a place they spend some time)
It could also link it to a Twitter bio / name or something, but that's perhaps over doing the core idea.
cc @Alan Laidlaw, @Paul Butler, @Jess Martin, & @Garth Goldwater who I've discussed organizer stuff with before :-)
j
Jess Martin
01/30/2023, 3:09 PMinteresting! I've used https://smallworld.kiwi/ when visiting NYC to find people to meet up with, and to invite specific people to Tools for Thought Rocks events. So I'd definitely be open to giving it a try.
I particularly like the idea of it being across meetups, so while I'm in Brazil (Rio de Janeiro) these two weeks, I could check in one interface if there are any community members across multiple serversYes, please. I also spend a good time spanning multiple discords / slacks, so this would be very helpful.
i
Ivan Reese
01/30/2023, 4:52 PMYeah, this sounds like something that'd be nice to have.
The only concern I have is the same concern I always have with the intersection of "official community thing" and "meeting up with strangers in-person". That being: for some folks, meeting up in-person is NBD. For others, it's really scary, and for any number of reasons. So I'm hesitant/reluctant to make anything about in-person meetups seem "official", because that might suggest a level of safety and/or supervision that doesn't exist.
In short, I just want everyone to have the right expectations.
c
Cole
01/30/2023, 5:02 PM@Ivan Reese, that's a great point. I will need to consider some of this concern area. I think I'd like to take some cues from Discord's safety UX where you cannot "browse" people, unless you share a community with them. Or, maybe even more precise privacy of location tooling.
The existence of these tools put onto the individual would probably be good, but also it could indicate more clearly that it is about "self-organized" groups linked by virtual communities.
i
Ivan Reese
01/30/2023, 5:05 PMYeah, that "browse" point is spot on. If you can browse people by location, I think a lot of folks will completely nope out of that.
c
Cole
01/30/2023, 5:05 PMAs well, making the event organizing happen "off platform" could help. So, you could see someone from FoC is in Turkey or whatever and you DM them after seeing them in this opt-in "directory"