VCommunity
We are exploring whether there is a community here worth building.
That sentence is deliberate. There is no membership roll to point at, no chapter network and no venue. There is an idea, some writing, and a growing list of people who read it and recognised themselves.
Where things stand
Most new communities describe themselves in the present tense long before it is true, on the theory that confidence attracts people. It does, briefly, and then they notice.
So, plainly: this is a website, a body of writing and an interest list. What happens next depends entirely on how many people turn out to be here and where they are. If forty people in one city register, that city gets something first. If they are spread across four countries, it will look different, and probably start online.
Everything on this page below is a possibility, not a programme. It is set out in detail because knowing what is being aimed at is the only way to judge whether you want to be part of it.
Not everyone studying everything. Everyone remaining interested in everything.
Possible activities
What this could turn into.
None of these are scheduled. All of them are wanted.
Talks
One person, one subject they know far too much about, forty minutes, questions afterwards.
Workshops
Hands on the actual thing. Soldering, sourdough, sharpening, sight-reading, statistics.
Field visits
Working places: observatories, foundries, sewage works, archives, reed beds, server halls.
Skill exchanges
You teach the thing you know; somebody teaches you theirs. No money changes hands.
Reading groups
Something difficult, read properly, argued about in a room with a fixed end time.
Maker sessions
Shared tools, shared expertise, and several people mildly out of their depth together.
Local gatherings
Small, informal, and organised by whoever is nearest. A pub table is a legitimate venue.
Collaborative projects
Work that needs three unrelated specialisms and would not otherwise get done.
An annual gathering
Eventually, if there are enough of us to make a weekend worth anybody’s travel.
Taking part now
Three things that are useful today.
- 01
Register your interest
It takes two minutes and tells us where people are and what they know. It is currently the single most useful thing anyone can do.
- 02
Tell us what you would come to
The form asks. Answers shape what gets attempted first, and vague enthusiasm is less useful than one specific thing you would travel for.
- 03
Mention it to one person
You almost certainly know somebody who fits this description and has never had a word for it. This is how a scattered population finds itself.