Meta: I’m unsure how I feel about having this all publicly. I initially was going to say “I really think Solstices should have a feedback form set up to launch immediately afterwards so that you can get accurate feedback quickly.” This has some properties:
nobody anchors off each other (or overcompensates for anti-anchoring)
by default you hear feedback on a the single-best and worst things people can remember. The feedback you get from a formal survey gives you a better sense of how the thing actually was overall. It tells you which parts were “okay but not great”, and you see a lot of moderate positive feedback that you’ll probably miss by default.
You avoid a weird giant public meta thread
On the flipside… you gain a weird giant public meta thread. Whether this is good or bad I think depends on the organizers—some people probably could really use a break before dealing with public opinion. I know I personally usually prefer to straight up find out what people liked and didn’t like and start thinking about how to do a better job next year.
The giant meta-thread also serves a function of actually giving people who haven’t been to Solstice yet a better sense of what it’s like. Comments beget more comments which draw attention, and keep the thing in the public zeitgeist more.
Nitpick: might give people a slightly better sense of what it’s like, but mostly it’s a meta-discussion that’s gone way off the rails and has little to do with what actually happened on Saturday, and is more about What Is Or Should Be The Ultimate Idea Of Solstice, Really.
This actually suits me fine—I’m thinking mostly of people who’ve never been to Solstice and aren’t sure why they might want to. Talking about Platonic Ideal Solstice gives them a sense of what we’re striving for, and the surrounding discussion gives a sense of where things are currently at.
I think I would have created this post even if there was a feedback form, specifically because it is public. A feedback form response goes only to the organizers (if that), and is unlikely to get to the ears of anyone else planning anything in the future.
Meta: I’m unsure how I feel about having this all publicly. I initially was going to say “I really think Solstices should have a feedback form set up to launch immediately afterwards so that you can get accurate feedback quickly.” This has some properties:
nobody anchors off each other (or overcompensates for anti-anchoring)
by default you hear feedback on a the single-best and worst things people can remember. The feedback you get from a formal survey gives you a better sense of how the thing actually was overall. It tells you which parts were “okay but not great”, and you see a lot of moderate positive feedback that you’ll probably miss by default.
You avoid a weird giant public meta thread
On the flipside… you gain a weird giant public meta thread. Whether this is good or bad I think depends on the organizers—some people probably could really use a break before dealing with public opinion. I know I personally usually prefer to straight up find out what people liked and didn’t like and start thinking about how to do a better job next year.
The giant meta-thread also serves a function of actually giving people who haven’t been to Solstice yet a better sense of what it’s like. Comments beget more comments which draw attention, and keep the thing in the public zeitgeist more.
Nitpick: might give people a slightly better sense of what it’s like, but mostly it’s a meta-discussion that’s gone way off the rails and has little to do with what actually happened on Saturday, and is more about What Is Or Should Be The Ultimate Idea Of Solstice, Really.
This actually suits me fine—I’m thinking mostly of people who’ve never been to Solstice and aren’t sure why they might want to. Talking about Platonic Ideal Solstice gives them a sense of what we’re striving for, and the surrounding discussion gives a sense of where things are currently at.
I think I would have created this post even if there was a feedback form, specifically because it is public. A feedback form response goes only to the organizers (if that), and is unlikely to get to the ears of anyone else planning anything in the future.