[LRUG] The August Meeting

[George Palmer]

I went to an excellent panel at SXSW where they did this.  The way it
worked was a moderator started off and then elected who spoke next.
He tried to keep two 'mental queues', one for people who were
responding to the question and one for people who wanted to start a
new topic.  He'd also say we'll take this question next and then that
one, which seemed to keep the flow going nicely (if you wanted to
speak you just raised your hand between points).  He'd also cut the
topic off when it was running a bit low/dry and move on.  Might be
worth considering something along these lines.  You could even impose
a maximum time per topic where it was stopped regardless (say 5
minutes to allow for at least 3 topics in 15 minutes)

Anyway +1 for the start of the session.  It's a bit harsh on those
arriving late I admit, but better than the end when thoughts turn to
the pub.

George

> > One concern with this kind of discussion is that it's very easy for it
> > to become sidelined into a particular topic, or dominated by a select
> > few people. This is normally because people are passionate, and
> > there's nothing inherently wrong with that, but it can result in a
> > less interesting conversation for other people.
> >
> > So, if we were to try this out, I'd ask everyone to be respectful with
> > regards to involving other people in the conversation and encouraging
> > topics of discussion beyond their particular gripe-du-jour.
> >
> > Reading back, that sounds a bit cynical, but please don't take it that
> > way. I would love to try this out.
> >
> > Errrrrrmmmm....I mean,  +1.
> >
> > :P
> >
> > James
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