Reminder: Slashdot Anniversary Meetups, Free T-Shirts

As you may have heard, Slashdot will be celebrating its 15th anniversary in October. As part of that celebration, we've set up a page to organize meetups for Slashdot users to hang out and shoot the breeze in meatspace for a change. We're going to be sending out bunches of free T-shirts to many of these gatherings, and we'll be printing them and sending them out pretty soon. So if you're planning on attending and haven't signed up yet, make sure you do so by the end of the day, so that we can be sure to have enough T-shirts on hand for you. (You can still sign up later, of course, but you may miss your chance at a free shirt.) Slashdot staff will be hosting parties in Ann Arbor, San Francisco, New York, and Raleigh [Edit: And Austin! :) ] (sign up for any of these, or others, on the anniversary party page by filtering for your preferred location). We hope to see you there, or hear about your own meetups!

Comments

Public Places (beyond the CreepZone)

[Anonymous Coward]

So far the only one listed for my city is a VERY creepy sounding hot tub party.

Look, no offence but I don't want to IMAGINE fellow Slashdotter's in swimwear let alone see it. And no free t-shirt is going to scrub that imagery from my mind.

If someone want to set up a meetup at something less socially awkward (and more public) then it's on otherwise... ick no

Re:Public Places (beyond the CreepZone)

[Anonymous Coward]

Come on man... there's only one person attending my..., err, his hot tub party. It's bottoms optional, so really the Slashdot t-shirt is all you need.

Re:Public Places (beyond the CreepZone)

[Anonymous Coward]

It changes everything. I'd have to dress different. I'd have to act different. I'd have to grow a moustache and get all kinds of robes and lotions and I'd need a new bedspread and new curtains I'd have to get thick carpeting and weirdo lighting. I'd have to get new friends. I'd have to get orgy friends. ... Naw, I'm not ready for it.

Big problem.

[Capt.DrumkenBum]

I am a cheep bastard, so I really want a free /. t-shirt. But I don't want to have any of you freaks in my house. Or anywhere near my house for that matter. I think I am going to have to quickly created some new /. accounts.

Re:Big problem.

[wisnoskij]

I would love a free /. shirt, but also do not want to meet anyone in meatspace.

Re:Big problem.

[Capt.DrumkenBum]

We should create a virtual party. Perhaps a forum of some kind could be used.

Re:Big problem.

[MichaelSmith]

Reddit would be ideal for that.

Same Weekend as GSOC Mentors Summit

[joelsherrill]

I wonder if any mentors attending are interested in having a meetup that evening. A group of FOSS folks will already be in the same location. Might as well add to the party. :)

Sure keep reminding me...

[GameboyRMH]

...that I live in the middle of nowhere :-(

Maybe third time's the charm and I'll make it to the 20 year party.

Re:Sure keep reminding me...

[timothy]

That sucks; I'm sorry. OTOH, we're operating on a budget ... Where in Nowhere are you, exactly?

We're glad and interested to see some international parties -- somewhat unexpected that the largest one organized is in Mexico City. But coverage in the U.S. is uneven; chalk it up to demographics, either weird or obvious, and luck.

Dear Atlanta

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow you suck. Seriously.

Re:Dear Atlanta

[busyqth]

Wow you suck. Seriously.

Actually, I'd say that the lack of a slashdot meetup is a good sign that Atlanta must be a pretty decent, normal place.

Want t-shirt logo for banner

[Dr.Who]

Is it possible to get the Slashdot's 15th Anniversary Shirt logo with black instead of white lettering, black instead of white lines, and a transparent background sized to fit a 11" * 17" paper? I would like to print a few as banners/signs for the Slashdot party.

n.b.Join me at Larkspur Landing Shopping Center on 2012-10-26T19:45-7

Re:Want t-shirt logo for banner

[Anonymous Coward]

i live in larkspur but going to sf party......

Re:Want t-shirt logo for banner

[Dr.Who]

They are at different times. You can go to both!

What sizes of T-shirts?

[Maow]

I'm hoping not to get a small or extra large (just large) T-shirt.

How is Slashdot going to size the shirts?

Seems each attendee ought to specify a shirt size.

Re:What sizes of T-shirts?

[KiloByte]

At least the ThinkGeek site lists S up to XXXL for universal and S up to XXL for female versions, so a variety of sizes is available and I guess the failure to mention this is just an omission.

Re:What sizes of T-shirts?

[Maow]

At least the ThinkGeek site lists S up to XXXL for universal and S up to XXL for female versions, so a variety of sizes is available and I guess the failure to mention this is just an omission.

Vancouver has a paltry 5 attendees listed, so I hope they don't send one shirt of each size. Seems an oversight and I hope they contact people to ask what is needed...

Odd

[ElectricTurtle]

I know that /. has been sold to Dice, but isn't the HQ still in Virginia? And Yet the only party in VA is in the middle of nowhere and nobody's going. What gives? I'm going to have to go to DC... bleh.

Re:Odd

[Anonymous Coward]

meatspace and virtual space are very different?

Re:Odd

[timothy]

Heh, the various layers of company attachments / name changes / etc. have made for some confusion over the years, incl. often for employees. The "main office" for Slashdot, though, is still in Dexter, MI (near Ann Arbor), as it has been for something like a decade. (I forget which year it moved there, exactly.) I've visited there 2 or 3 or maybe 4 times over the years. SourceForge / Geeknet proper has some people in San Francisco and NYC as well as VA; ThinkGeek's offices have been in VA the whole time it's been associated w/ Slashdot (and as far as I know it was was also founded there ... have no reason to think otherwise, and lots of reason to think so), and Yes, a lot of parent company backend stuff has been out of that office. But (sorry, pedantry) I don't think one could ever make the case that *Slashdot's* HQ has been in VA -- but it's nice to have the organization of a company with things like billing / payroll / businessy stuff in general, which lets Slashdot concentrate on stories and discussions about glowing animals, software licensing, model rockets, etc. OTOH, the ThinkGeek folks (being very gracious and fun to hang out with) have let me work from there on several occasions when I was on the east coast and within driving range of their place. Their kitchen always has cool stuff in it, like a giant Death Star cookie jar.

Dice is in Iowa ... and although I've been briefly in Iowa while on road trips a few years back, that's about it. Pretty place, IMO, at least during the times I was there.

The parties [suffer / benefit] from the uncertainties of crowd-sourcing; there's some Shaker-meeting uncertainty, but that also makes things interesting. We hope the ones that transpire turn out to be interesting and fun.

 

ThinkGeek and intl shipping

[KiloByte]

You can get these shirts on ThinkGeek as well, but there's one issue: $51 shipping (cheapest option) to Europe for a single shirt seems to be some joke.

Reverse network effect

[certron]

This seems like the downside to globally-distributed networks. Even the NYC meeting only has 8 people right now. Depending on where I choose to go, I will immediately double the attendance at either NJ event. If I start my own, I'll probably be the only attendee.

Where is everyone? On the Internet.

Re:Reverse network effect

[timothy]

You're not wrong, of course -- but a SNAFU meant that the NYC party got added a lot later than we'd meant it to, so that number isn't what it might have been. They should have some extra shirts on hand, though, to help make up for the shorter time there was to sign up before the t-shirt deadline. And you're right about attendance; there's some critical mass to it ... once people see at least a handful of attendees at a party in striking distance, at least up to their personal tolerance for crowds, it might sound more fun than does a closer one with a smaller crowd.

 

Pasadena Calif area

[mrflash818]

If there will be any Pasadena Calif area celebrations, I am interested in attending. Will also post any such parties to the SGVLUG grp.

Re:Pasadena Calif area

[mrflash818]

Found one.

Austin TX

[Anonymous Coward]

Hey, I'm going to the Austin TX one, as 'anonymous coward' -- can I still get a tee-shirt? -- Linas

Re:Austin TX

[timothy]

They may send me a few extra shirts, so, hopefully the answer's Yes. Remind me in person that you asked, in case someone must go figuratively hungry.

Too geeky

[edis]

Please, consider shipping some Medium sized unit(s) to those distant places, that are not covered by ThinkGeek neither. That's right, EU country may not necessary be on the list of civilized options, while you came with appealing shirts this season. Congratulations from afar!

Guess I'll just have to pay the shipping...

[Zontar The Mindless]

...for a shirt, since the chances of getting anyone to come to Stockholm this time year otherwise than at gunpoint seem minimal.

Europe - Netherlands - Groningen - Groningen

[Razgorov Prikazka]

At the junction Kerklaan - Grachtstraat there is a little café called 'de Bres'.
Everyone from the whole of Yurp is welcome!
Come and drink beers, and celebrate the anniversary of our digital overlords from across the pond!
Bring some good vibes and a smile, and all will be fine!

Search under 'other' in the sign-up page.

Re:Europe - Netherlands - Groningen - Groningen

[Razgorov Prikazka]

Oh there is a canal at the other end of the street, I'll see if I can arrange a nice gator / crock for the attendees!
It is supposed to be really like omg cool and whatever! http://weirdthings.com/2012/09/hot-new-kids-party-trend-live-alligator-pool-party/
But bigger=better of course! Here is a pica of me at the last party.... http://i.qkme.me/35tr21.jpg
If it turns out to be too difficult, maybe sharks with frikkin lasers attached to their heads are a nice option.

The goal here is to find the future-hand-bag and get it out of the water. First one wins.
Of course, this being a /. party tools, apparatus, gizmo's, gadgets and pick-up's with winches are more than welcome! (TNT... mmnot so cool)

London is now added

[Saphati]

I can't believe there was not a location set for London yet. Now there is one. At the Scooter Cafe behind Waterloo. It is a great little cafe.

Shipping costs

[Jerry Smith]

A thinkgeek-shirt would cost me $18, the shipping would add $26: time to do some overseas promotion?

troll alert

[demoncleaner925]

how do you troll a slashdot party?

Sign-up deadline

[Guppy]

So if you're planning on attending and haven't signed up yet, make sure you do so by the end of the day, so that we can be sure to have enough T-shirts on hand for you. (You can still sign up later, of course, but you may miss your chance at a free shirt.)

Whups, is that "may" or "will" miss your chance? Just signed up this morning (Saturday).

Re:Sign-up deadline

[bzipitidoo]

Just signed up this morning (Saturday).

Same here.

Be nice if they could post the reminder by the beginning of the day, rather than after 5 PM. Maybe we should be happy they didn't wait until 5 minutes before midnight?

Re:Sign-up deadline

[timothy]

So: The official, officious cut-off's been reached, which sounds like "will." But truly, it's "may," in that a) often people overbook themselves, which means that any a particular gathering, there may be one or several no-shows who've requested shirts, and b) at least some of the parties will have a few extra shirts mailed.

user poll

[neither_geek_nor_ner]

On the subject of Slashdot users' parties, why not conduct an anonymous poll to find out the distribution of slashdotters. There is definitely a big percentage of non-US slashdotters who would like to attend 'official' /. get-togethers in their neighbourhood(non-US). Or am I being too optimistic?

When/how will the hosts receive the shirts?

[Cyfun]

Will the party organizers be getting a private message at some point asking for their address so /. knows where to send the apparel? Or will we just be getting emailed patterns for iron-on's? :D

Need shirts urgently for Brisbane, Australia party

[rarez]

I'm willing to cover the postage costs I'm in the process of finding people to attend but will need shirts or some other memorabilia to make it seem like a real Slashdot party....If an admin could email me that would be appreciated or if anyone know's an email I can contact to get some that would be good.

Cheers,
Rarez