EVE_NT London is the longest running EVE player event in the world, having run for over 10 years!
Same Bar as always, Same City, Same day of the week.
Goodman’s Field Wetherspoons, Tower Hamlets, London.
Saturday, November 18th 2017
From 11am to last orders. (And usually beyond)
As usual we’re inviting you all, the entire player base, as well as CCP and all their affiliates along for another player gathering in Central London.
So come raise a few glasses and trade some stories of Internet Spaceships.
Plenty of time to get hotels, train and plane tickets booked, so come and join us for the weekend!
Please feel free to discuss, and please state your attendance in this thread (It helps with planning)!
I went to the VETO Eve meet up before (last year I think) and because I’m fairly shy I found it a really challenging experience.
This is not to say that I wouldn’t go to one again, just that I think it would be good if there were some (easy to organise) things put in place to make it more user-friendly to people who don’t know other pilots in real life and first-timers. Here are my suggestions:
Could we please have some kind of table sign/s (saying something like ‘Welcome to the Eve Meetup’) so that people coming into the pub know where the meet actually is?
When I came to the meet last time the pub was quite full and it was quite hard to know where people were because there was no clear sign and a lot of noise.
Could there be a table in the area where the meetup is happening that’s reserved for shy and new people (with a sign on it that says this) and a few empty chairs, please?
When I came last time it was really hard to get involved in any conversations because all the tables were fully occupied and everyone seemed to know each other. In the end, I hardly talked to anyone because there was no way ‘in’ and I didn’t know anyone.
Could people maybe have some kind of sticky name badge (real name and game name?) on so that they’re a bit more approachable? We could even try a system of sticky dots onto the name badges (something that has worked well at previous Con type events that I’ve been to) to indicate newbies, shy people and so on.
I hope these are helpful ideas. Like I said above, I would really like to come to another meetup but it was really uncomfortable last time for me and I know there were a few other newbies there who felt similarly.
There used to be pretty good signage at some meets (especially when they were pushing Valkyrie betas) but essentially just go for the large area with the obvious nerds en masse in Eve Shirts.There was a guy that used to do name tags for all attendees (that hammer guy?), but we haven’t had any in a while, although some older attendees still wear them.
Coming to one of these meets for the first time can be a daunting experience, but you do pretty much just have to dive into a conversation. The only thing I can recommend for newbies is turning up early when nerds are less drunk, less shouty, more introductory, and seating is more readily available. The calm before the storm, so to speak.
I should also be in attendance, but as a bitter vet I’ll be turning up later and will be hanging out with other bitter vets.
I do take the point about arriving early and I guess that might help, but I hope the organisers at least consider some of the points I made in my post.
The gist of it really was how to make meets more approachable for people who are newbies and others who are fairly shy. For of a lot of us walking into a room with no name badges or way in is really daunting.
The London meets have always been player driven, so it’s down to the players to make it a better meet. If you have ideas you think could make the meet better, then it’s up to you to implement them. As such, it sounds like you could kill two birds with one stone here…
Buy a roll of ‘Hello My Name Is’ stickers. Turn up early with a pen, buy a pint, sit at a table, and ask if anyone wants a sticker. People will say ‘yes’ and then you’ve got a viable way to get people to introduce themselves to you. As your confidence increases you can go around other tables and offer people stickers, meet even more people.
Then you’ll forever be known as ‘The Name Tag Guy’. At subsequent meets you can get proper name tags printed up for players who say they’re coming in advance. Then you become a valued member of the community, and the rest is history.
This WILL be awesome, enjoy guys! 
