Intro
To everyone running an anniversary party, thank you. Someone had to overcome the bystander effect, and today it seems like that’s you. I’m glad you did, and I expect your guests will be too. This guide aims to give you some advice and inspiration as well as coordinate.
The Basics
If you want to know if someone else is running one or if there would be interest in your city, check this spreadsheet.
If you’re up for running an anniversary party, pick a time and a place and announce it. If you haven't already, please fill out this form: https://tinyurl.com/hpmor-ten. If you have any questions, you can always reach out at skyler [at] rationalitymeetups [dot] org. Everything else is commentary.
What will you need to do at the party itself?
As much or as little as you want, mostly. The basics:
- Arrive a bit early.
- Be noticeable—maybe have a sign that says “HPMOR” in big letters.
- Talk to people who show up.
If you want to do more, there’s some suggestions in Improvements.
Time & Place
Time: The default time is 6pm local time on Pi Day (Friday March 14th) but you’re the host. If you want to do it earlier or later in the day, you can. You can also do it on a nearby day if Friday isn't ideal.
Place: The best option depends on how many people you expect. Easiest answers first:
- Coffee shop: Pick somewhere easily accessible to local forms of transport (near a bus stop, near a parking lot, etc). Publicly commit to being there for a certain duration of time, like an hour. That makes it easy for other people to come without needing to RSVP, and you can bring a book to read if nobody shows up.
Private house: This can be a bit of a higher barrier to entry, so make it clear in your invitation that everyone is welcome and this isn’t just for your close friends.[2] How many people can come obviously depends on the size of your house, but one rule of thumb is you can probably take twice the number of people as you have chairs/seats.
- Public communal spaces: Board game venues, restaurants or pubs that have private rooms, picnic grounds and parks, things like that. This probably will require a phone call with the owner to check if they’re able to host you, and might have to pay to rent the space. If it’s a pub, check if there’s an age restriction.
- University or Campus spots: If you’re a student, you might be able to book a classroom or social area at a library. It’s possible you’ll need to be affiliated with some kind of student organization to do this. If you want your anniversary event to be just for students, that’s okay — just specify that in the description.
Announcements
- If you don’t know where to announce it, then I suggest posting an event on HPMOR Wrap Party Facebook or on the Community page of LessWrong.
- If your city already has rationalist meetups of some kind, then whatever announcement tool is used for those is probably good for this. If the normal tool isn’t public, I suggest making a public post somewhere as well.
- I’ll be collecting everyone who fills out the form for a big announcement post a week or so beforehand.
Improvements
You’ve got the basics down. That makes anything else into a bonus. However, bonuses are pretty great. Here’s some low-hanging fruit that could make things better.
- Food! Having snacks for guests is great. Bowls of chips and nuts work well, pizza is ever popular, I’m partial to sliced veggies myself. If you’re meeting in a restaurant, check what options they have.
- Name tags! I’m a fan of these ones, but anything in the genre will likely work.
- (If you’re an organizer and getting reimbursed for snacks or name tags or the like would help, I can help with that. If you’re interested in chipping in to reimburse others for HPMOR anniversary parties, please donate to Lightcone Infrastructure.)
- Games! There’s HPMOR themed Werewolf/Avalon. There’s Rationality Cardinality, which says it bears no relation to Cards Against Humanity. You could play Quidditch (without the Snitch, obviously.) There's a Harry Potter Fanfiction game. (Comes in two parts: part 1, part 2.) Or you could play normal games, we’re not going to stop you.
- Nerd out about HPMOR! Do dramatic readings of your favourite moments. Have a whiteboard or a wall and a pad of sticky notes where people can write their favourite quotes. Recommend each other some recursive fanfiction. Show off your hardcopy of HPMOR or cool fanart you drew. (I've got a collection of HPMOR fanart if you want to add it!) Come in a black cloak and cosplay the characters; I've already got my Hogwarts uniform.
- Share how HPMOR affected you! For a small gathering, you could take turns. For large ones, you could have a place to write notes. If you or your guests are interested in sharing those stories more widely, there’s a document set up for collecting these.
- Take a picture! Group pictures are fun. People generally like smiling at a camera. Plus, then you can post a link to the picture and everyone else can see how cool your party was. If you do, please send me a copy!
- Consider if you want to do this more often? If your group had enough fun, and you don’t already have a rationalist meetup group nearby, you could always start one. The easiest way is to tell people there will be another meetup a month later, perhaps at the same time and place. If you want advice or resources, that exists.
Once again, thank you.