Resources and Help

Site Update FAQs

What You Need to Know

• NA Meetups has a brand-new site! Rewritten from the ground up, the new site makes it easier to find and schedule meetups, improves RSVPs, adds new ways to find events, and so much more. For a full description of everything that’s new, visit the change log.
• Use your existing account to log on. Your events and venues have been pulled over from the old site.

 

What You Need to Do

• Please update your account. The new site uses a new membership system. When you first log on, you’ll be prompted to update your profile. At minimum, add a display name and make sure your email address is the one you want to use for meetups. This and any other contact data you add will be attached to your events and your dedicated organizers page (coming later this year).
• Check your upcoming events. If you have upcoming events, please review these and make sure they are correct.
• Help me update past events. While your past events and venues have been pulled into the new site, the links between them have, for the most part, been broken.When you log on, take a second and edit your past events — choose the appropriate venues for those events. This will help me with some future features for the site.

Common Questions

Do I need to create an account in order to use the site?

You only need to create an account if your want to post a meetup.

 

I submitted a meetup but it’s not live on the site yet. What gives?

In order to cut down on spam, all events are reviewed by the back office before being posted to the site.

The back office might edit your post for clarity, reject your meetup entirely, or publish it to the site.

Meetups are checked twice a week so please make sure you post them EARLY. This also ensures Adam has time to announce them on air. Last minute posts will be handled on a case by case basis, but we won’t run around like chickens with no heads if your event it tomorrow and you didn’t remember to post it until 1 am that morning and then you drunk email us and expect it to go live right away.

I mean we got lives, man.

If you still need help, contact the back office.

 

Where can I find RSVPs for my events?

RSVPs can be found under “My Meetups.”

 

Can I edit events after I submit them?

Yep. Simply click on “My Events” and edit an event on the list. You can also set an event as “Cancelled” or “Postponed” which will show up on the front end of the event.

 

How do I submit a meetup report?

No Agenda Meetups does not currently host meetup reports (tho this may change in the future.)

If you have a meetup report, please email it directly to Adam with the subject line “Meetup Report.”

The best meetup reports are short audio clips of attendees introducing themselves, or other short vignettes that give the atmosphere of the meetup.

How to Hold a Meetup

How to pick a venue?

• The place you pick should have easy parking or be close to public transportation (or both).
• It should be kid-friendly / family friendly.
• The best meetups have been at a local tavern, brewery, or bar that has a roomy, open layout.
• A public venue is better than a private home.

What if a restaurant wants a reservation?

• Avoid places that want you to reserve a space, or want to put you in a private room. That isn’t the way these things work. There is no way to gauge attendance based on the RSVPs, because these are usually ridiculously inaccurate.

Why should it be kid friendly/family friendly?

• Every event, so far, has had a few babies and kids in tow. This way both parents can attend the event. In all instances the kids have been a great addition, and a pleasure to have.

Should I tell the venue that a group is coming?

• NO. The silly idea that some restaurants and bars have that you should coordinate and organize a group of people you’ve never met is insane and impossible. Attendees are responsible for their own bar / food tab.

How do No Agenda Fans find each other?

• When you post your event, add a description and say where to meet (left side of the bar; on the patio; near the kegs; etc.). The first few minutes of a meet up are always awkward — it’s like a blind date. I recommend the use of a code phrase to identify each other (“In the morning!”) which gets some odd looks from people who aren?t fans, but the people who know are obvious.

How do I know how many people will come?

• You don’t. The site does include an RSVP feature but not everyone who RSVPs will show up — and not everyone who shows up will have RSVP’d.

Tips from Michigan Local #1

The following was forwarded by Sir Timothy from Michigan Local #1, who notes “This a comparison of different tactics for hosting meetups from our experience in Michigan. Though of course a host can decide what works best in their area.”

Brewpub/Tavern/Bar
Pros	Often a roomy, open layout to encourage mingling in little groups around various tables or benches. Often no need for a reservation, people can just show up. Organizer doesn’t need to deal with RSVPs or other logistics as much.
Cons	Not easy for newbies to tell who’s there for the meetup and who is just another patron, although No Agenda wear and knight/dame rings help with identification. Hard to have one big conversation with everyone a part of it. Lazy or inept staff can sometimes try to put a bunch of drinks on one person’s bill.
Sit Down Restaurant
Pros	Can try different cuisines for different meetups. Some places have large round tables for the full No Agenda Round Table effect. Is more easy for newbies to tell where the No Agenda contingent is, based on table decorations and No Agenda clothing. Easier billing per person when staff can see people in a consistent location for the event. Make sure the place will do separate checks. Tip generously, be courteous, and cultivate long term relationship with a good place and come back often as regulars. Multiple tables can happen if extra people attend. Sometimes places will just add another table to the same row. Also, if you get fewer attendees, the place can easily use unneeded seating for other parties and not lose business.
Cons	Some effort for RSVP handling. Works well for smaller groups. Some places have bad acoustics for everyone around a large table to hear each other. Not everyone may send an RSVP so plan on 10-20% more than you think.
Private Room
Pros	Easiest for newbies to find where the No Agenda producers are. Wonderful privacy to discuss issues of the day without interruption or noise of main dining area. Quiet enough for everyone around the table(s) to hear what’s being said. Some private rooms can handle even a large group and don’t cost extra if you have a minimum number to order entrees. Luxurious to have everyone in one space.
Cons	Private rooms can be difficult to find and may cost extra or not depending on the place. Sometimes merely a minimum number of seatings is required without a surcharge for the room as long as everyone orders dinner and drink. Effort for RSVP handling.

Heads on Sticks

Contact the Back Office

Site Updates

Thursday, September 1, 2022

• Small updates to the contact form and resources page
• Band-aideded bug where some users would not have a username displayed.
• Updated registration form to make a display name required.

Sunday, March 27, 2022

Organizer email addresses (and phone numbers, etc.) are now hidden by default.

This data will be shown only to logged in users, and to anyone who RSVPs for your meetup (RSVPs receive an auto-generated message which contains your email address.)

 

Tuesday, February 22, 2022

– Fixed location and zip-based search
– Map view fixed and re-activated

Sunday, February 20, 2022

Your Brand-New NA Meetups Site!

I’m happy to announce the BRAND-NEW No Agenda Meetups site!

This is a complete, ground-up rewrite, and I’m really excited to present it to the community.

I’ve updated practically every part of the site, added new features, tweaked how things look, worked to make everything clearer and simpler, and put the “fun” back into “Meetups” —  ?

Here’s just some of what’s new:

• Look, new! I mean — new look! — The site has a new look and layout and clearer navigation.
• Easier communication between organizers and attendees — One of the most requested features for NA Meetups! When you RSVP for a meetup, you’ll get a confirmation email. You can now reply directly to that email and your reply will go to the organizer — so you can ask questions or communicate directly with your host. Organizers can now email all of their attendees directly to update them or provide new details.
• Organizers can now duplicate past meetups — just hit “Duplicate” under any event on the “My Events” page, then update with a new date and time or location.
• Better features for organizers — There is now a dedicated “My Events” tab at the top of the site where organizers can see all of their events and event RSVPs.
• Cancel or postpone events — You can now set the status of an event as “cancelled” or “postponed” if needed, and this will be marked on the events list.
• New views — View upcoming events in different ways – show events happening today, view as a calendar, view as a list or view meetups on a map (broken at the moment; coming soon).
• New search and filter features — You can now search and filter all posted meetups. Show only meetups happening in a specific country or state, show meetups by a specific organizer, search for meetups near a specific location, etc.
• New accounts system — An entirely new accounts system for No Agenda Meetups accounts. Add links to your social media profiles (including NA Social). You can also easily update your password or email without having to reach out to the admin!
• Find past events — Before, old events disappeared off the site once they happened. Now, past events can be found by choosing a past date from the dropdown, or scrolling backwards through the list. (Looking for a meetup that happened a couple of weeks ago in Philadelphia? Use the new filter option to show only Philly meetups then scroll into the past to see previous meetups!)
• Added security — Added email and phone number obfuscation to prevent spam harvesters.
• Other things too boring to mention

And even more to come!

I want to thank the beta testers who helped test the site during development — you know who you are!

If you get value from this site, please consider a donation!

There’s lots of time and talent put into NA Meetups – your treasure helps keep it up and running and allows me to make upgrades like this.

Thank you for your courage!