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1. Embed this notice
   mekka okereke :verified: (mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io)'s status on Tuesday, 18-Jun-2024 10:00:10 JST mekka okereke :verified:

   I rarely drink at conferences. I rarely drink at work events.

   I can have a drink or two and still have fun. But some conference attendees don't know how to act, and don't keep their hands to themselves when they get drunk. This makes conferences more risky to attend for women.

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   • Embed this notice
     Paul Cantrell (inthehands@hachyderm.io)'s status on Tuesday, 18-Jun-2024 10:00:06 JST Paul Cantrell

     in reply to

     • Erin Kissane

     @kissane @mekkaokereke
     +1 to this distinction between “alcohol is present” and “alcohol is the main activity.” At this point, when I see that’s the situation, I just flat-out leave. Gone.

     And another +1 to the hell of alcohol with no water and no food available. This is hosting 101, folks.

   • Embed this notice
     mekka okereke :verified: (mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io)'s status on Tuesday, 18-Jun-2024 10:00:07 JST mekka okereke :verified:

     in reply to

     I rarely drink at work events or conferences, *because* I'm in a position of privilege and influence, and so people shadow me. They drink as much as I drink.

     I've tested this! I can affect how much beer is left over at the end of an event, just by whether or not I drink.🤯

     5/N

   • Embed this notice
     Erin Kissane (kissane@mas.to)'s status on Tuesday, 18-Jun-2024 10:00:07 JST Erin Kissane

     in reply to

     @mekkaokereke Full agreement, and fwiw I’ve also found that having alcohol (and alternatives) *around* during, say, an evening conference activity, is really different from “now we have the sponsored happy hour where the activity is just drinking.”

     (My worst tech conference experience was in London and they had an open bar serving ONLY alcohol when everyone was tired and hungry and hot—you had to go find a water fountain if you didn’t want wine or beer. It got messy fast.)

   • Embed this notice
     mekka okereke :verified: (mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io)'s status on Tuesday, 18-Jun-2024 10:00:08 JST mekka okereke :verified:

     in reply to

     So the question is not "alcohol or no alcohol?" It's "How do you want other people to feel at the conference? How do you ensure that everyone is having a good time?"

     I'll take a conference with a strong code of conduct committee and a whiskey tasting session, over dry and unsafe.

     4/N

     Evan Prodromou repeated this.
   • Embed this notice
     mekka okereke :verified: (mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io)'s status on Tuesday, 18-Jun-2024 10:00:09 JST mekka okereke :verified:

     in reply to

     I serve on the code of conduct committee for several of the tech conferences that I attend. If you get drunk and try to treat a tech conference like Tinder, then I'm one of the people that will throw you out.

     There are whole entire apps for hooking up. Don't be messy.

     2/N

   • Embed this notice
     mekka okereke :verified: (mekkaokereke@hachyderm.io)'s status on Tuesday, 18-Jun-2024 10:00:09 JST mekka okereke :verified:

     in reply to

     And for those of you that went to college with me and saw me throw people out of parties... relax. I don't mean physically throw people out of tech conferences.

     I mean "Politely ask them to leave, and write up why in our notes, so that they are not invited back."

     3/N

   • Embed this notice
     Evan Prodromou (evan@cosocial.ca)'s status on Tuesday, 18-Jun-2024 11:24:18 JST Evan Prodromou

     in reply to

     @mekkaokereke I need to remember this. Thanks.