Meetup tip- if you email the organizer and tell them you're glad someone is running things in your town, sometimes they're happy to run future meetups or grab a coffee some other day.
Just FYI the Kuala Lumpur meetup has been pushed back a week to 8 Sep, still same place and time (Doris if you're reading this feel free to corroborate / contradict as necessary!)
A year or two ago there was one in Cavendish Vermont, population ~1,400 for a population density of around 35 per square mile. Cavendish got about ten people! And in doing so completely threw off my estimates for how many people go to which ACX Everywhere meetups.
> 1. If you’re reading this, you’re invited. Please don’t feel like you “won’t be welcome” just because you’re new to the blog, demographically different from the average reader, don’t want to buy anything at the cafe or restaurant where it’s held, or hate ACX and everything it stands for. You’ll be fine!
Even if you’ve been permanently banned from posting or commenting on LessWrong or some other part of its diaspora? That would be tempting.
I have a bunch of conflicted feelings about that line.
First, as far as I can tell it's just true that adding that line helps people on the fence about going decide to come, and those marginal extra attendees have a good time and enrich the local group. To paraphrase an old joke, the definition of an ACX reader is someone who disagrees with Scott Alexander. Putting asterisks on that sentence is straightforwardly bad marketing copy, right?
Second, I do actually take that sentence pretty seriously. I've argued with a few organizers over it, asking them to make a space accessible even for some attendees they might not otherwise want. ACX Everywhere is a landing pad and an introduction for a lot of weirdos, and I actively like it as a kind of melting pot for different branches of the community that might not otherwise cross the streams so to speak.
Third, while I take it seriously, I don't take it as a sworn oath or something on that level and I do generally trust local organizers. There was a draft of this announcement that had a footnote on that sentence, the contents of which basically said that if the local organizer (that is, the person whose name is on that meetup as Contact) says you're banned, you're banned from that event. I actually care more about the local organizer having that power than whether you'd been banned from some overarching part of the diaspora; it seems pretty plausible to me that someone might get asked to leave, say, Tokyo ACX, but still be welcome at say, Austin LW. (Cities picked basically at random.) The diaspora is big and has some large cultural differences between the different parts. Take alcohol; some meetups are in pubs where drinking is expected and the culture might be that getting a bit drunk is fun, other meetups are in college classrooms where having alcohol at all would be flatly against the rules.
(That said, organizers do talk to each other and if someone gets banned from three different local groups, they might not get to start over at a fourth.)
I left the footnote out primarily because it hasn't actually been used against an organizer that I've heard of, and therefore isn't worth the cost in marginal anxious readers deciding that maybe they shouldn't go to their first meetup. If I hear of someone who has been banned trying to push their way in on the strength of that sentence, that will probably change the calculation and I'll want that footnote.
> Unless noted otherwise we will meet at Marienweg 43 in 50858 Cologne on the 2nd Saturday of each month at 5 pm.
Now, it could be that they plan to hold an ACX meetup in the early hours of the morning, and have the LW meetup exactly twelve hours later, but I think it is more likely that both meetings are one and the same and happen at what the locals would call 17:00 and the anglophones insist on calling 5:00 PM.
Listing "Manhattan, New York" and "Brooklyn, New York" is confusing. I think what people expect to look for is "New York, New York". Could you add an entry that maybe links from there to the other two, or something? Thanks!
I had a note to get a duplicate entry (akin to what I do for Boston and Cambridge, or for Kitchener and Waterloo) for New York City and Manhattan, and failed to make that happen. Fixed, and thanks for pointing out "Brooklyn" should be included in that.
I know the bit about the Israel one having a secure location nearby isn't really funny, but it did make me think that all ACX meetups should have a place of refuge nearby in case NYT journalists or something like that turn up.
This is my first time attending an ACX meetup, let alone organizing one. I look forward to seeing everyone in the greater Detroit area with an interest in this.
Thanks for sharing the list of global ACX meetups! It's amazing to see so many people connecting across different cities, and the effort put into organizing these events is truly commendable. It's always great to know there's a welcoming place for discussions, regardless of where you're from or how long you've been involved in the community.
This looks great! Sadly, the only one in my local area is scheduled for a day when I'll be out of town on a business trip. Figures.
Meetup tip- if you email the organizer and tell them you're glad someone is running things in your town, sometimes they're happy to run future meetups or grab a coffee some other day.
You've got Scotland, UK, and United Kingdom as separate top-level country entries....
Sorted now (just as I was writing a stupid comment about independent republic of Yorkshire).
That's cool that there's one at Fort Meade lol. I wonder how many NSA employees read this blog!
I've been wondering that too, but if they told us they might have to kill us.
Nice work, Scott. We need more projects like yours. When enough people do constructive things, negative movements become irrelevant. Thanks.
Just FYI the Kuala Lumpur meetup has been pushed back a week to 8 Sep, still same place and time (Doris if you're reading this feel free to corroborate / contradict as necessary!)
Doris let me know, I've made sure the post gets updated accordingly.
Thanks Skyler, appreciate it.
Iraq, even!
But yea that thing in Grass Valley I might go to. Glad to see that corner of NorCal represented here.
Stone Lake, WisconSON. Population: 544, County population: ~16k. That's bold, must be the most rural meetup yet. Hope it works out!
A year or two ago there was one in Cavendish Vermont, population ~1,400 for a population density of around 35 per square mile. Cavendish got about ten people! And in doing so completely threw off my estimates for how many people go to which ACX Everywhere meetups.
The Oxford meetup seems to be at 6.30 am. Presumably this is a typo?
Presumably yes, and I've presumed to fix it. Thanks for pointing it out!
Thank you for organizing! I think you have listed the state of Oregon twice - with some of the meetings in one, and some in the other.
Yeeeep, that sure happened. Should be fixed now, thank you.
> 1. If you’re reading this, you’re invited. Please don’t feel like you “won’t be welcome” just because you’re new to the blog, demographically different from the average reader, don’t want to buy anything at the cafe or restaurant where it’s held, or hate ACX and everything it stands for. You’ll be fine!
Even if you’ve been permanently banned from posting or commenting on LessWrong or some other part of its diaspora? That would be tempting.
I have a bunch of conflicted feelings about that line.
First, as far as I can tell it's just true that adding that line helps people on the fence about going decide to come, and those marginal extra attendees have a good time and enrich the local group. To paraphrase an old joke, the definition of an ACX reader is someone who disagrees with Scott Alexander. Putting asterisks on that sentence is straightforwardly bad marketing copy, right?
Second, I do actually take that sentence pretty seriously. I've argued with a few organizers over it, asking them to make a space accessible even for some attendees they might not otherwise want. ACX Everywhere is a landing pad and an introduction for a lot of weirdos, and I actively like it as a kind of melting pot for different branches of the community that might not otherwise cross the streams so to speak.
Third, while I take it seriously, I don't take it as a sworn oath or something on that level and I do generally trust local organizers. There was a draft of this announcement that had a footnote on that sentence, the contents of which basically said that if the local organizer (that is, the person whose name is on that meetup as Contact) says you're banned, you're banned from that event. I actually care more about the local organizer having that power than whether you'd been banned from some overarching part of the diaspora; it seems pretty plausible to me that someone might get asked to leave, say, Tokyo ACX, but still be welcome at say, Austin LW. (Cities picked basically at random.) The diaspora is big and has some large cultural differences between the different parts. Take alcohol; some meetups are in pubs where drinking is expected and the culture might be that getting a bit drunk is fun, other meetups are in college classrooms where having alcohol at all would be flatly against the rules.
(That said, organizers do talk to each other and if someone gets banned from three different local groups, they might not get to start over at a fourth.)
I left the footnote out primarily because it hasn't actually been used against an organizer that I've heard of, and therefore isn't worth the cost in marginal anxious readers deciding that maybe they shouldn't go to their first meetup. If I hear of someone who has been banned trying to push their way in on the strength of that sentence, that will probably change the calculation and I'll want that footnote.
Pleasantly surprised by Iraq and Nigeria. And doubly surprised that the Nigeria one is taking place in the northern part of the country.
Hope to see everyone at the Hong Kong meetup! We usually get 12-15 attendees, and there is always spirited discussion :-)
> COLOGNE, GERMANY
> Contact: Marcel Müller
> Contact Info: marcel_mueller[at]mail[d ot]de
> Time: Saturday, October 12th, 05:00 AM
From the group link https://www.lesswrong.com/groups/2QwpKyXvwiZ53G4HP :
> Unless noted otherwise we will meet at Marienweg 43 in 50858 Cologne on the 2nd Saturday of each month at 5 pm.
Now, it could be that they plan to hold an ACX meetup in the early hours of the morning, and have the LW meetup exactly twelve hours later, but I think it is more likely that both meetings are one and the same and happen at what the locals would call 17:00 and the anglophones insist on calling 5:00 PM.
Huh, I'm usually better about spotting the weird AM times. Should be fixed! Thank you for pointing it out.
Listing "Manhattan, New York" and "Brooklyn, New York" is confusing. I think what people expect to look for is "New York, New York". Could you add an entry that maybe links from there to the other two, or something? Thanks!
I had a note to get a duplicate entry (akin to what I do for Boston and Cambridge, or for Kitchener and Waterloo) for New York City and Manhattan, and failed to make that happen. Fixed, and thanks for pointing out "Brooklyn" should be included in that.
I know the bit about the Israel one having a secure location nearby isn't really funny, but it did make me think that all ACX meetups should have a place of refuge nearby in case NYT journalists or something like that turn up.
This is my first time attending an ACX meetup, let alone organizing one. I look forward to seeing everyone in the greater Detroit area with an interest in this.
Thanks for sharing the list of global ACX meetups! It's amazing to see so many people connecting across different cities, and the effort put into organizing these events is truly commendable. It's always great to know there's a welcoming place for discussions, regardless of where you're from or how long you've been involved in the community.
By the way, for events like these where refreshments or drinks are served, I think you’ll find this product useful: https://mcdonaldpaper.com/safepro-hcsefkp1020-printed-corrugated-kraft-jacket-sleeve-for-10-24-oz-cups-1000-cs/. These cup sleeves are perfect for large gatherings, providing comfort and safety when handling hot beverages. With 1,000 pieces in the set, they’re ideal for events of any size.