These results show the combined responses of eleven respondents to the Oldenburg Interest Survey. It's still not too late to take the survey. Check out the Oldenburg main page for more information on just what the project is about.
Total respondants: 11
Zip Codes:
55408: 1
n/a: 1
55122: 2
55401: 4
08817: 1
55101: 2
Proximity Requirements:
- 1.5m; in warehouse district strongly preferred.
- 10 miles
- About half an hour tops.
- Within walking distance
- unsure
- 20 miles
- >2 miles
- 15 miles
- 5 minute drive
- 20 - 25 mi
- 30 miles or less
Services Wanted:
Kitchen: 4
Sleeping space: 2
Wireless internet: 9
Kitchen with dinner service: 1
Computer terminal: 5
Honor cash bar: 9
Open bar: 1
Newspaper subscription: 6
Honor snack bar: 9
Other Services Wanted:
- Small library or magazines
- Deck of cards, board games, other group activities.
- at least one space with old-fashioned library silence (a non-
chatty, concentration-allowing room)
- cable/satellite service. I'd love to have a place not a sports
bar to watch Packer games.
- TV, DVD player, stereo of some sort, POKER TABLE, complimentary
or honor cash cigar bar, board game library (donated or
loaned to by members).
- Perhaps a game like foosball.
- Some type of gaming area, i.e. convertible poker table. Comfy
furniture that could double as sleeping area.
- I don't really need any of the above to join, however, I think
all would be nice if the club could afford them.
- i think that free or really cheap soda and water wouls be wise,
although ifs absence prolly wouldn't keep me from going to
the club.
- Magazine subscriptions might be nice (I'd suggest The
Economist, which I enjoy reading but don't feel like
subscribing to).; A way to watch movies.; I don't think a
kitchen is necessary so long as the club is near
restaurants.; Sleeping space = couch.
Dues:
Mean: 41 Median: 30 Size: 10
Acceptable Smoking Policies:
Snipers: 1
Smoking outside only: 9
Smoking in a designated area: 6
No smoking restrictions: 1
Smoking restricted to certain hours or days: 4
Pipe smoking only: 4
Ideal Member Count:
- There must be enough so someone is usually there
- 50
- 20
- 35
- 30-50
- 30
- 40
- 200
- 10-20
- 25-50
- 20-40
Initiation Fee:
Mean: 92.5 Median: 150 Size: 10
TV:
Yes : 6 (54.55%)
No : 5 (45.45%)
Guest Policies:
- Must be accompanied by a member.
- A limit on the monthly visits? Otherwise people may not feel
inclined to join if they can tag along with their
membership-holding friend whenever they please.
- One at a time, never unescorted?
- maximum number per year per member and maximum visits per year
per guest
- First visit for that person is free, then a charge per visit
unless they join.
- must be accompanied by a member; 2 non-member guests per member
should be permitted in the club at any given time. Some
mechanism should be in plaace to prevent freeloaders --
maybe a 1- or 2-hour visit limit?
- guests restricted to certain hours, and can only stay for a
limited amount of time. Wouldn't want guests freeloading in
with their friend(s).
- open guest days, free guest "passes" of some sort to be handed
out in moderation, guest can' come more than X amount of
times per month on a pass.; Should it be possible to reserve
it for events filled with non-members? I'd say probably no,
but it will probably come up, so best to formulate a
policy.;
- Ok if brought with a member and unless they join, leaves with
the member. Maybe small ~$10 cover or similar.
- I think it should be pretty "lax" initially. Maybe instead of
restrictions on # of visits or something like that, consider
members only events so there is an incentive to join. (Want
what you can't have sort of thing).
Names:
- Un4club, er, no, just kidding.
- The Appalachian Club
- Oldenburg's
- WAM (WAM Aren't Masons) ;)
- works for me
- Third Place
- Perhaps an appropriate Simpsons place name
- ACM? ;) just kidding. Don't know, but I don't really care for
"The Oldenburg".
- Super secret Treehouse of /Awesome
Attractions:
- Neutral area to organize activities, hang out and enjoy oneself
in the company of others.
- Quiet place to write that's not home or a coffee shop,
serendipitous place to run into peeps, social space
replicating what we used to have in ACM.
- It's nice to have the constant availability of a place to hang
out without always having to impose on a few.
- Being able to hold an event with members that doesn't impose on
someone's home; a neutral space to say, hold a poker
tournament.
- I still haven't found my ideal hang-out place in 3 years of
living downtown.
- the "social" part of the club, I don't really care about the
services, I'd rather have weekly/monthly events scheduled
- familiarity of location and persons
- It would be a place where intelligent conversation could be
counted on.
- I like the idea of a "third place" that (thank god) has nothing
to do with politics.; The idea of ACM Redux may be just
simple nostalgia for my college days, but it does sound fun.
Concerns:
- How new members are chosen.
- I think it's likely that it will be too far out of the way for
most people to go to regularly. The great thing about ACM
was that it was where you already where. When I lived in the
dorms, I rarely went to ACM, because I just went back to my
room. But after I moved off campus, I had nowhere else to
go, so I hung out in ACM.; I wonder about the expense of
renting space for the club. ACM was subsidized by the
University. Perhaps with the current glut of office space,
it would be easy to find something.
- Financial solidity without burdening the members, obviously the
more members the less of an issue this becomes. You could
make an argument for a sliding membership fee scale based on
the number of members with a hard bottom cap. Also
litigation concerns would need to be dissuaded with some
sort of written contract on a member by member basis. With a
kitchen comes Health inspectors, what would be done about
cleanup and upkeep? There are umpteen licensing issues as
well, food, beverage, alcohol, etc.
- MORONS.
- I think conversation should be encouraged. A TV, computer
terminal, or too many things could possibly discourage this.
A few things, such as newspapers, are ok. They can make it
easier for new members or when there are few members
present.
- I worry that annoying people will spend all their time there,
being really loud, so i can't sit there quietly and write.
Also, on the smoking thing - I'm not really interested in
paying a lot of money to hang out somewhere that aggravates
my allergies. But I fear that the majority will want it
since so many places don't allow smoking. I also have a
concern about TV. I don't have good TV filters, having been
raised largely without its influence, and I loathe the TVs
in bars. I feel they detract from the conversation and they
catch my eye and make me watch things like televised golf.
I'd prefer not to have those in our social space.
- Possible personal conflicts can put a damper on the spirit of a
club.
- Egomaniacs. People monoplozing the conversation with talk about
career advancements, their new car, and what little Johnny
did today.
- Having enough members to make it financially feasible.
- interpersonal conflict, financing
May Join:
Yes : 9 (81.82%)
No : 1 (9.09%)
other: 1 (9.09%)
Comments:
- I think this is a great idea, but I do not live in the US. I
hope you will post information on how you organise the club
in your blog.
- It is an interesting idea. I would recommend reading Bowling
Alone (http://www.bowlingalone.com/) before proceeding for
ideas.; There are a few other groups who have been inspired
by the "third place"/Bowling Alone argument.; I would list
Meetup.com first, as the founders explicitly credit Bowling
Alone as their inspiration. Before hijacked (j/k) by
politicians, Meetup was a quiet little site where knitters
and Oprah fans could hook up. It has a large number of
interest groups meeting once a month:
http://www.meetup.com/browse/; Second, there's Utne
Magazine's "Let's Talk America" conversational salons.
http://www.letstalkamerica.org/ ; Jenny's friends also have
a monthly book club which I go to often.; Also, this reminds
me somewhat of the various users groups around town.
- It is an interesting idea, though I see the 2 difficulties, 1.
getting everything setup initially. 2. Keeping interest high
enough to continue a profitable (i.e. non-money-losing)
venture. Everything else is gravy.
- Besides money, would there be any membership requirements?;
Seems like a nice idea, in a time when bowling alone is so
common.; Appalachian meens meeting place in Iroqois.
- I miss the ACM hangout times. I don't have the kind of free
time I once did, but I would use this if it were in the
Warehouse district. I'm not likely to drive anywhere, and I
don't much care for biking into Northeast. I am not keen on
there being snacks on hand, because restocking is a lot of
work (I know; I used to do it for ACM) and none of us have
teen-aged metabolisms anymore. I don't object to booze on
hand, but I don't plan to use it much; interferes with the
thinking.
- it's sweet.