I have a small (4 core members) existing group of SSC/LW readers who meet up for lunch once a week, which gives us the raw materials to start such a group. We plan to meet at least once a month, if not once a week. We'll probably start with the Hammertime sequence for content.

I want to optimize for introducing non-Rationalists to Rationality; I have several friends who might get involved just because they trust me.

I most desire feedback from people who have experience with such a project; what are the common failure modes, what can I do to make this as easy as possible, what are the best meeting environments, what can I do to make this helpful for people not already in our community?