Gatherings
Monthly, seventy-five minutes, on video, twelve people, one case. That is the whole calendar, and keeping it that way is a decision rather than a limitation.
The monthly session
One case, brought by a member who has attended at least twice. Ten minutes to set out the decision, an hour on it, five minutes at the end where the person who brought it says what they are going to do. That last five minutes is the part that makes people prepare properly.
Sessions are not recorded. Chatham House applies permanently and a recording is the fastest way to make a room careful, which is the same as making it useless.
On conferences
There will eventually be something in person. It will happen when there are enough members who have worked together in the room for a room-sized event to be worth travelling for, and not before.
Running a conference first and building the community afterwards is the standard sequence and it produces the standard result: a sponsor hall, a keynote track, and hallway conversations that are the only part anyone remembers. If we get to an event, it will be built out of the hallway.
What would have to be true
- Enough members who have presented, so the programme is drawn from people the room already trusts rather than from a call for speakers.
- A funding model that does not involve vendors, because the moment a sponsor pays for the room the room is a channel.
- A format where the default activity is working on a real problem rather than listening.
Sessions are for members. Membership is one question, and you can answer it here. Read how the room works first, particularly the rules about who is not in it.