Editing Incubator escapee wiki:Meetup (section)

==Procedure and advice==
[[File:The 2016 Art+Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-thon.webm|thumb|upright=2.0|2016 Art+Feminism Wikipedia edit-a-thon]]

[[File:Wikipedia-logo-v2-en.png|frameless|right]]
* Create the page
** Use or create a sub page of ''Wikipedia:Meetup'' to organize the meeting.
** Make it easy to sign up, with simple subsections like ''Likely attendees'', ''Possible attendees'' and ''Regrets'' for signup lists, as at [[Wikipedia:Meetup/NYC|Meetup/NYC]].
** See [[:File:Wikipedia Meetups – 2008 Wikimania Alexandria lightning talk.pdf|Wikipedia Meetups – A design pattern catalogue]] for advice about Locations, Timing, People, and Topics.
* Attract attendees
** Solicit invitations of geographically local Wikipedia users.
** Create a [[Wikipedia:Geonotice|geonotice]] request.
** Create a list of Wikipedians interested in future and regular meetups for a given location where they can sign up (alternatively, userboxes with corresponding categories can be used).
*** Use an info box like &#123;{[[Wikipedia:Meetup/Melbourne/Invite]]}} for mass invitations.
** Use other media outside of Wikipedia to advertise to non-Wikipedia users
*** Post a couple of notices on [[Craigslist]] (free).
*** Word of mouth is always an option.
** Don't be afraid to spam people: Make a big list like [[Wikipedia:Meetup/NYC/Invite list|Meetup/NYC/Invite list]] from all people who have ever expressed interest in attending a meetup, as well as all people in categories like [[:Category:Wikipedians in Philadelphia]], the [[Special:Whatlinkshere/Template:User Philadelphia|Philadelphia userbox]] and other regional categories.
*** Don't ''manually'' post notices to all the editors who are listed in a geographical category. Simply post a request at [[WP:BOTREQ]], asking for a bot owner to have a bot deliver the (specified) message to everyone in the category.
** Place notices at talk pages like [[Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Philadelphia]] and even [[Talk:Philadelphia]].
** Contact your local chapter – if you have one – who will be able to contact people in the local area, or help you in other ways.
* Organize event
** Organize location
** Organize eating arrangements
** Settle on a definite time and place, and don't change it.  If someone is just '''bold''', people will know about the date a few weeks in advance (instead of a couple of days), which will make planning easier for individuals.  Getting input from everyone is good, but you don't need a formal vote on everything, which can delay the process.
** Consider whether you want any sort of agenda for the meetup (like a discussion on a specific topic, or [[meta:Wikimedia chapters|forming a local chapter]]).