[Baypiggies] BayPIGgies name [was: April agenda?]

[Rich Morin]

My take is that a user group's name isn't ever going to be
very important as a draw, but that it could be a detriment.
If folks are finding the current name to be a problem, pick
a boring name for official use (the "in crowd" can show how
cool they are by using the old name :-).


This leaves the question of geographic location and spread.
If you want some expert advice on this sort of thing, ask
Rick Moen; he has made quite a study of the relevant issues.
Meanwhile, here are some data points:

  One SFPUG (Perl) holds its meetings at various locations
  in San Francisco, trying to keep them accessible to BART,
  etc.  This works OK for the northern peninsula and much of
  the East Bay, but not so well for the Valley.  However,
  they hold their meetings at 8 pm, which makes commuting at
  least feasible.

  Another SFPUG (PostgreSQL) rotates their meetings between
  SF, Oakland, and the south bay.   This spreads the pain...


If it were my decision, I think I'd try to define a region
that covers the "inner" bay area: Alameda, San Francisco,
San Mateo, and San Jose counties.  Folks from Contra Costa
and Marin are welcome to attend, but no special effort gets
made on their behalf.

I would attempt to have at least one meeting a month, but
allow more meetings (in different locations) if there are
enough volunteers and attendees to make it happen.  Some
speakers might well be willing to do two sessions in the
same month (e.g., one on SF; one in the Valley), because
this would let them amortize their preparation time.


I would also think about having some weekend meetings.  A
Saturday or Sunday afternoon tutorial every few months
might be a good way to help bring the newbies up to speed.

Alternatively, a heavy-duty technical session might bring
some experts out of the woodwork...

-r

P.S.  I dunno if the Python community has anything like
      the Perl Mongers, but I think they provide just
      about the right amount of cohesion for the local
      chapters, without requiring any formality at all.
      See http://www.pm.org
-- 
http://www.cfcl.com/rdm            Rich Morin
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