THE TEXTFILES.COM RUMSPRINGA
Wednesday, October 5th, 2005
News Restaurant, Boston, Massachusetts, USA 7:30pm - ?

Rumspringa is a Pennsylvania German term meaning, literately, "Running Around". Like many people who run websites, I take some of my greatest pleasure in meeting people who use the site and talking to them face-to-face. But I don't want to have another dreary meeting, held furtively in the back of a pizza place or using borrowed public space; I'd like to try something a little special and different.

THE IDEA

The idea is simple: assemble, in real life, some of the people who use the textfiles.com site or its related sites (bbsdocumentary.com and all the *.textfiles.com sub-sites). Have it in a really nice place, in a function room set aside for the occasion. Let the chips fall where they may, conversation-wise, but have on the agenda a couple of short (30 minutes or less) speeches about interesting subjects for people to enjoy while having a drink or eating. Treat people with respect, and get treated with respect. Meet, learn, gain some insight, have some fun.

THE VENUE

The News Restaurant is an ultra-lounge with hours of 5pm to 4am, serving a full menu the entire time, which is about as rare as you can get in the Boston area. They have an excellent function room in a back area of the restaurant, with a separate bar and eating area. The menu is varied, ranging from breakfast to dinner food, with many interesting items, all served late into the night.

THE ITINERARY

This is a rough itinerary for the evening; all times are variable, and there's no rush or requirement to purchase food and drink, although that always helps with the expense of the room. Since this event is happening in the middle of a week (it was less expensive and easier to get the function room), the idea was for "events" like the speeches to happen well into the event, so people had plenty of time to come home after work (if needed) and get to the location on time.

7:30pm Function Room opens
8:00pm Welcome and ordering of drinks or dinner
8:30pm Jason Scott speech
9:00pm Second Guest speech
10:30pm Room closes, move downstairs

THE FUTURE

If this rumspringa is a rousing success, it could be the start of a monthly get-together, with speeches from various interesting folks brought in to discuss subjects over a late dinner. There's no reason not to keep them going, to record the speeches and make them available online, and otherwise have a real different type of event going.

If things don't work out, hey - it'll be a great one-time party. Consider coming.

Questions and RSVPs can be addressed to rumspringa@textfiles.com.

- Jason Scott