Weâll have to agree to disagree then. It sounds more like your hope would be that I might organize a meeting, but then just let things happen as they may when everyone shows up. Part of my agenda might be to print cards and have everyone sign some. So say 20 people attend and I have them all sign ten cards, and then everyone gets to take 10 with them. As an attendee, you donât have to sign cards if you donât want to, and you donât have to take any cards you donât want. But those who choose to participate in the signing activity (letâs say in this case everyone does, for ease of numbers) will have to sign 200 cards in my example. We can socialize while we sign etc., etc. Except, wait, Paolo brought 200 cards he made and wants everyone to sign. And so did Mary and Sally and Joe. This has now turned into something quite different than what the organizer envisioned, and it has also moved from being the sort of event that your guidelines seem to intend to be promoting (some card signing with more emphasis on socializing) into exactly the opposite of what you seem to want. The above is a real world example, by the way.
My argument is not so much about who has the right to create cards for the meetup; if you want to make cards for the meetup and take that off my plate and volunteer to do so, that is great. My concern is more about who is controlling the agenda and proceedings once it starts. The more people who bring extra cards to sign, the more I lose control of that. It feels like youâd love to have me got to the time and effort of organizing a event, but when the event begins, you want me to just step back and watch what happens. That was where my comment about additional stress was coming from.
Please address the topic of virtual meetings in the guidelines. That topic has been brought up here and in other forum discussions and always seems to get overlooked. Respectfully request a response from the leadership on this topic.
Another point was brought up in the topic about an upcoming meetup in Austria.
Some would-be attendees complained that the list was almost full but none of the listed people had commented on the forum.
One of the hosts replied that âitâs a postcrossing meeting, not a forum members meeting, so people can sign up via postcrossing as well. There are also Postcrossers who are not Forum members.â
It looks like some users canât forget the old forum with a separate account from the main Postcrossing site⌠You may want to address this point, as well.
I donât think itâs a problem. If you - as an organiser - plan with 10 cards per person, just state that this is the maximum amount for signing per person. It doesnât matter which cards are getting signed though⌠only the amount matters. Iâve been to some meetings that limited the number of cards per participant, so the signing would not be the only possible activity.
The issue is how those got their spots? If the community (of aficionados or otherwise) at large didnât get a chance, then itâs not an open/welcoming meetup, right?
The Meetups Guidelines being discussed here already make it that more explicit (âMeetups should be open to everyone in Postcrossing, without discrimination.â) so that the community is aware of it and doesnât let those issues take place.
If a meeting is already full when it is announced to the community, we will do our best not to add the meeting to the meetups calendar (and, by extension, the logo cannot be used on those meetup postcards). This is already what we (try to) do and that wonât change â the Meetups Guidelines will mostly raise awareness (and make it more explicit) of some things that are OK and not OK to do.
So, the meeting was organized⌠in someoneâs profile page? Probably not. And accessing the forum is now even easier for everyone to easily participate, so I donât understand the reasoning.
The Postcrossing forum is the common place to the whole community and where all meetings are announced (to then be added to the meetups calendar). How people get a spot is not covered by the Meetups Guidelines being discussed â I suppose that can be done on the meetup topic itself but also via forum message, via direct message (on website), email or even other ways â as long it doesnât require to necessarily sign up for a social network elsewhere (âMake sure everyone can join the meetup and receive all information without having to create an account on another website or social network.â). The focus here is in preventing that a meetup is already full when it is announced on the forum to the community, which makes it not open to everyone.
I think the issue with someone bringing an unreasonable amount of postcards for others to sign is a valid one. But, that doesnât get necessarily get fixed through limiting to the host the rights to do a meetup postcard.
The problem can just as well happen by someone who simply brings their entire collection of blank cards from home to get signed (and we all know how large that can be! ) which creates the same problem that way. Limiting who can design the meetup postcards doesnât address that.
I think Mary, Sally and Joe are probably brilliant postcrossers, but that Paolo guy and his 200 postcards looks like a pain for everyone â I think you should report him.
Now, more seriously, I understand the concern. But I also think we are in fact already addressing exactly that with this part of the Meetups Guidelines:
Itâs fine to write some postcards during the meetup, but please try to limit the number of postcards you ask others to sign: allow postcrossers time to chat and be social as well.
This gives the host legitimacy to, for example, put a reasonable cap on the number of postcards people request everyone else to sign (either explicitly or by how you frame the event goals/agenda), minimizing the chance of things going crazy with the amount of postcards being signed. It also gives participants the right/legitimacy to say no if they are requested to sign an ungodly amount of postcards that they donât really want to.
Morevoer, a host can also frame the meeting goals (or the events taking place) in such a way that the emphasis is more on being social â if thatâs the goal. If the schedule says thereâs a visit to a museum followed by a meal at 1-2pm, and then a boat tour along the river â that also minimizes the chance of someone requesting others to sign too many postcards they donât want to.
The Meetups Guidelines donât invalidate online gatherings.
As I already said, I think thatâs a separate discussion which I think is relevant but beyond this topic. This is why your previous request was moved. Iâm still waiting for other people to chime in on that â we would like to hear other peopleâs thoughts on it, too. Anyone interested in that should share their thoughts there.
Will do in the future. I found the topic only a few days before the gathering took place.
Probably via a WhatsApp chat.
Is Paolo your Italian alter ego?
Your comment made me smile, and reminded me of my first big Postcrossing meeting in Vienna in 2018 (sounds like a century ago, huh?). I had been signing thousands of postcards for at least 4 or 5 hours, I think. Around 6 or 7pm, when most attendees had already left, a âbrilliant postcrosserâ gave me her 250 postcards to sign. My wrist was aching, so I only put my initial on themâŚ
Yes, that is also possible. However, having co-hosted a few meetups in Catalonia, I have noticed the locals usually communicate via instant messengers like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger. Thatâs why I only mentioned WhatsApp to keep it short.
What is a Meetup Book, please tell me more. Iâm organizing my first F2F Meetup here in Minnesota, just want to be in the know in case someone brings one. Lynne
For me and for many other postcrossers it would be so much more interesting and better if the language in the whole meeting topic was English again!!!
You know this card?
It applies to many of us. Or not specific that we plan our whole holiday around it but that we want to do a meet-up abroad and make a citytrip of it but now with only the main topic in English and the rest in the own language itâs really not interesting anymore. (not everybody is a polyglot) You canât follow what they all writing and getting all through Google Translate is a hell of job for some meetings with lots and lots of comments. Maybe you could think about it to change this from the 1st of January again? It would be helpful for a lot of us because i.m.o. this was a step back so returning all to English would be TOP!!! Thanks in advance to think about it
You donât have to use Google translator, your browser can easily translate the sites into your chosen language.
And you can always ask in English and at least in the German section the people have no problems to add an additional explaination in English.
There are a lot of people who can only understand and write very simple English. For them, it is a great thing that the Meetup section of their country is in their native language. Imho it is good as it is now
Hi! I took part of Estonian meetup on 01.10.2022 in Viru Hotel in Tallinnn-itâs my very first meeting -never done that -I do agree with this general ideas but -itâs would be better (in my mind) if in meetups place everybody had their username on shirts (like sticker post it paper or so that where we all could see the username) -secondly I think it would be nice if someone says some words by microphone (when it starts) like âHelloo postcrossing enthusiasts today we have -⌠hours to be here and do You know that inside this nice gathering we do have inside post going on ⌠and maybe some words for organizations people like âthank Youâ- because if You are on first time -like I was -You find Yourself inside with people whom: 1) You donât know-what is ok 2) itâs like shock because usually some do know and some donât and if You have no glue how long time it is (ok they say it on gathering day in forums ect ) but I say itâs important to say it or show it on gatherings too -like ânow we have 3 hours left â 3) all what itâs connected with eating ect should be written on some board like -because some pay extra and some are just visiting 4) I think would be nice if postcrossing people could collect something extra on every meeting -maybe itâs a stamp or some sticker from those who gather this because itâs like a âpausâ for those who came -maybe on a table should be note -âhere are those who made this meet up -You are welcome to have their stamps on Your postcardâ because-ok I doooo like to post a postcard yea but I do think if You come from a street or just stepping a by You should have the list of -where is easy to see (event plan) or a big clock what shows time left -or meetup those who made it-5) inside post -like what itâs common in every gathering -what I did understand-this idea rules should have a extra table -where people could take the papers ect to dooo that -not that You have to ask people to people -itâs maybe sooooo common but if You are on a first time -You simply do not know what to expect-itâs total waw and ect -like simple rules -âsend it inside the roomâ-âput stamp to others postcards what are inside this envelopeâ-âbe cool because itâs postcrossingâ⌠ect âŚ6) would be nice if the room had a station of water or just coffeee -where those who do not write can be and talk -some are shy -this would take the stress out. In big plan what I did learn from this gathering was: 1) postcrossing people arenât old /I had this imagination that is old people hobby ect/ no they are from every age group 2) postcrossing people are very friendly-I should say itâs like âwarm breezeâ -You feel that You are surrounded with people who are soooooo positive 3) postcrossing people loooove the postcards -itâs like waw every postcrossing person has one story about their loved postcard -here is an idea ! 4) I never thought that I could take part of any gathering -because Estonia is sooo far -in worldwide way 5) postcards what I saw -waw 6) we have postcrossing fans -like 600 postcards sent -thousands sent ect -I think itâs important to say it by microphone that we do have people with high list and if anyone had any questions of postcrossing things they can ask and talk -because if You send less -You do have questions and itâs nice that people with the same hobby can help each other 7) postcrossing-if we think how much positive energy every day go by simple postcard-waw we are heroes!!! Sooo I say: âthank You â for those who made this Estonian first meetup on 01.10.2022- first time -the hard time ! -thank You for those whom I met -thank You one person who sent me Vaasa meetup postcard (what a surprise this was) and I hope that there will be more meetups where people could meet and see âthis â what You will feel when You are there. Thank You!
Probably not. And accessing the forum is now even easier for everyone to easily participate, so I donât understand the reasoning.
) which creates the same problem that way. Limiting who can design the meetup postcards doesnât address that.
