Hello all,
Some of you mentioned last month that you'd like to play a game of
GeekUp Shuffle/Roulette with memory sticks.
I'm currently attempting to get a bulk order of 1Gb sticks sorted out
for this Tuesday's Manchester GeekUp, but want to confirm people still
want to play. Concept and house rules below, if you want to play,
please mail me off-list to make sure we have enough players for the
first round.
Concept
-------
You will get a USB stick to play. You will spend the time between
receiving a USB stick and the next meeting creating whatever you feel
is appropriate for a Geek "mixtape". You will add files, images,
source code, music, whatever you feel you want to do share on the
stick. This is a chance to revel in your style of geekery and share
with others you may not have spoken to before.
At the next meeting you attend, you will hand over your stick to me,
it will be checked to make sure you're not distributing viruses, and
then put in a box and shuffled to be pulled out by other players
randomly so we all walk away with another stick. That stick's content
can be "consumed" and re-used in the next round, and so on...
You may create one "mixtape" and reuse in multiple rounds, but adding/
extending/changing it will keep the game more interesting as time goes
by.
The point is, we all learn a little bit more about each other and what
we're interested in. Hopefully, it encourages some more conversations
and creativity! You may remain anonymous if you wish, but you are
encouraged to leave a file on the device with your details and an
introduction note explaining what is on the device.
If I'm not able to secure USB sticks for Tuesday, the first round will
be played "online" via an app you'll upload a zip file to that will be
randomly shared to other players. It won't be anywhere near as fun as
physically shuffling sticks around, but it will get us started.
House Rules
----------
0. Acceptance of house rules is a prerequisite of playing, so if you
don't want to keep to the rules, please don't play.
1. You are expected to return a stick you take to the game in the next
round in working order with your content. If you can't make a meeting
one month, no worries, however if you're planning to stay away for a
while, please post the stick back to me and it'll be re-entered into
the game.
2. If you lose or damage your stick, please let me know - I will not
be angry, but will replace it and we will hold a remembrance service
in memory of its USB-sticky-goodness.
3. If you don't get a stick (assuming I can distribute them this
month), you can go on a waiting list and we'll get you in the game at
the latest in the following month.
4. Prohibited content you should not put on your stick includes
viruses or clearly illegal content. If your stick is found to have
malicious content, we may take a dim view of your participation. Also,
please resist your urge to share your extensive porn collection or
other material that some might deem offensive - we want this to be
family-friendly.
5. We can not police the legal status of every piece of content on
every stick. Please try to err towards Freely (CC/GPL/BSD/etc.),
licensed content where you can, and mark content you suspect could be
"dubious" to share as such so that those who wish to avoid any legal
issues can easily skirt around it. Filling your stick with w4rez is
lazy, dull and you may be openly mocked on the mailing list.
6. The stick should be kept in a format that can be easily mounted
without guesswork in order for it to be virus-scanned. If your stick
doesn't mount, we may withdraw it from the game as an assumed damaged
stick and you might not get to pick up a new stick from another player
that month
7. Please keep it fun!
--
Paul Robinson
http://vagueware.com :: p...@vagueware.com :: +44 (0) 7740 465746
Vagueware Limited is registered in England/Wales, number 05700421
Registered Office: 3 Tivoli Place, Ilkley, W. Yorkshire, LS29 8SU
Correspondence: 13 Crossland Road, Manchester, M21 9DU
