Well, if DefCon can go down without too many arrests than I think TropeCon could be feasible.

Perhaps, but Pædo Hunt.

Well..., hm, yeah. Over 18.

Well, that problem could be solved by the fact that most of that demographic wouldn't be allowed to go to such a meet anyway.

Also: whenever I imagine a troper meet, it starts with "All my troper friends are inexplicably there! Yay!" and then when I start thinking about the practicalities I go almost straight to "So it's After the End and the tropers have banded together against the hordes of the apocalypse" or "The government assembles a Genre Savvy task force for the most dangerous missions" or "Fast Eddie is building us a space station to live on" or something. So Yeah.

From what I've seen Fast Eddie do I think if we just threw enough money at him he could do it.

New plan:

• Start campaigning around high schools' & colleges' campuses for a fund for students to study media.
• Throw the money from this at Fast Eddie
• Fast Eddie hires Richard Branson to build the Troper Station

You know, organizing stuff like this isn't impossible, it's just work. I think that having regional meets would be a good place to start.

A lot of the funding would have to be from the participants because they are the ones who want the event. I doubt that there would be corporate sponsorship available until there was a demonstrated benefit for sponsorship. And while I don't know Fast Eddie any better than anyone else here I am fairly certain that he has a full life and that he may not have time or an interest in something like this.

I think it would be a cool thing, but I don't know that I would attend.

If we start with just regional meetings that would be good. The question is how to divide the regions.

There is a map of the Tropers locations. Using this we could figure out the ways to divide regions into meetings.

There is a start in the US with the Tropers Unite threads. I know there was a meet up on the West Coast last summer. I don't know how it went.

There looks like something might could be happening within the European Union.

Yeah, I suppose if enough people took action in their own regions we could set a standard for regional meetings. Also, they would be good practice for how to set up Troper Conventions.

What sort of things would Tropers want to see/do at one of these?

Good question.

A lot of it will depend on how far they have to travel to get there. If I'm driving an hour or two for it, lunch, some bookstore prowling and maybe a movie would be good. But if I have to travel four or five hours, or take the train or a bus, it better be a weekend's worth of stuff.

I would want to be able to find my own adventures, too. I need a lot of alone time.

Oh, indeed. Even the people who don't need "alone time" won't all want to do the same thing at the same time. From past experience in helping to set up real-life meet-ups of online communities, over-scheduling is probably a bigger problem than under-scheduling.

Activities need to be spread out, so that someone who can only get there for Saturday evening and part of Sunday doesn't get left out of everything.

The big one I've gone to in the past in NYC is usually about 200 people all told, and the big draw is on Sunday night (watching the finale of The Amazing Race). Most people come in Friday or early Saturday. There are sub-groups that do things together — one has lunch in Little Italy on Sunday; a bunch go to Sephora for playing with make-up. Then we all get together and watch the show and party, then Monday, those that haven't had to leave already haul their hungover butts to a dimsum lunch. Those are the only things that are "scheduled" — the rest of the time you just met up with people who want to do the same thing you do, or go off on your own. I always take about 3/4 of a day shopping in the fabric district for the stuff I can't get at home.

Only one scheduled event? That has to save on costs of renting out a place.

The whole reason for it is to watch the show together. Everything else is extra.

Well, considering most of the meaning of the Fora Meet would be to meet the people we talk to so often I suppose only a meet and greet sort of thing would really be needed. Then everyone could do their own thing.

Though Furiko proposed a movie marathon, which I think is a cool idea.

I also proposed sex, but no one took me up on the offer.

I'm sure there are plenty who would, Furiko.

"So it's After The End and the tropers have banded together against the hordes of the apocalypse"

lol

@Furiko: >.>

I don't have a job and I can't drive, soo… Can I interest any of you in vacationing in the California Russian River area? A lot of hotels and resorts have rooms open right now.

Oh, and in general for traveling cheaply - Couch Surfing.

Hey, should we make meetups coincide with conventions? People have time and travel set aside.

Should we make a separate thread for that, or do you think there's not enough interest?

^ This is something that's occurred to me as well; I probably would make such a thread if I planned on going to a convention (which I really want to do sometime this year, actually).

I think that'd be a good idea.

I like how Lull's plan for a TroperCon involves a Troper Con.

I will be an independant citizen On March 15th, 2012.

So Yeah.