Oh yeah, I forgot to suggest doing rounds of names during the introductory period of the meetup. That’s helpful too. (A benefit of being the organizer is it’s much easier to remember everyone’s name, because if you have a bunch of regulars, you only have to remember one or two new names each week.)
I’m skeptical of making an FAQ for new people, unless it’s genuinely made up of questions that you, personally, have received in this circumstance. Seems likely to come off as condescending.
My strategy with people who seem like they come from very far outside the LW subculture is to try to meet them where they are… ask questions like “what did you find interesting about rationality / why did you come here?” and try to meet them in the middle, or have a productive conversation if you have obvious disagreements. Focus on areas where you have commonalities, rather than telling them everything they are wrong about right off the bat.
But I don’t get too much practice with this, since most of our new people find the meetups through the LW website.
Oh yeah, I forgot to suggest doing rounds of names during the introductory period of the meetup. That’s helpful too. (A benefit of being the organizer is it’s much easier to remember everyone’s name, because if you have a bunch of regulars, you only have to remember one or two new names each week.)
I’m skeptical of making an FAQ for new people, unless it’s genuinely made up of questions that you, personally, have received in this circumstance. Seems likely to come off as condescending.
My strategy with people who seem like they come from very far outside the LW subculture is to try to meet them where they are… ask questions like “what did you find interesting about rationality / why did you come here?” and try to meet them in the middle, or have a productive conversation if you have obvious disagreements. Focus on areas where you have commonalities, rather than telling them everything they are wrong about right off the bat.
But I don’t get too much practice with this, since most of our new people find the meetups through the LW website.