[Events] Python Project Night mentoring

[Asheesh Laroia]

Some quick thoughts:

You've probably seen
http://user-groups-beta.openhatch.org/#project-night-- I'd love to
incorporate your ideas into that doc, too. Check out the
user-groups-beta guide; it has a few tips I stand behind. Heck, I'll paste
them here:

* Inviting language on your event page to indicate all are welcome, whether
newcomers, experienced Python programmers, or something else.

* A collection of volunteers who are willing to spend the evening answering
others' questions.

* A landing page for newcomers with links to tested resources. You can base
yours off this page: https://openhatch.org/wiki/Project_night

* A food sponsor, if possible.

and this intro text:

<blockquote>
Hello, everyone! I'm name, organizer of this Python user group.

Thanks for coming to the project night. We have wifi here, and food and
drinks that you can take; thanks to sponsor name for making that possible.

We're excited about having people of all experience levels in Python here
today, and to support them, we have a few people who are excited about
helping beginners. Can I get those people to stand up?

We've labeled a table as the "Beginner's corner," so if you specially want
mentorship today, go visit there and say hi to the person next to you, and
talk with one of the lovely people who want to help you have a great time
with Python.

I'll be here all evening, so if you need anything else, just ask me. Thanks
to all of you for coming!
</blockquote>

I'll also quote this text (Google it for the source):


At event
--------

* Show up to the venue a little early, and make sure food and drinks work
out fine.

* At the venue, organize the seating into smallish groups (3-10 people per
table), and put a white 8.5x11 sheet of paper on that table with the
words, written with a Sharpie, "Newcomers corner".

* Optionally, also put a label on other tables, so people can self-sort
into things they're interested in doing. Perhaps this list: "Django",
"Non-Django web", "GIS", "Civic Hacking"

* When the event begins, stand up at the front and say: "Welcome to
Project Night! I'm {{ NAME }}. Thanks for coming. The goal of the event is
that people meet each other and/or work on projects related to Python that
are interesting to them. The event is welcoming to newcomers, and so we've
put some resources on the web and we have some people specially interested
in helping newcomers. Can they stand up? Great, now all those people
should be at the table labeled, 'Newcomers corner.' Same with the
newcomers, if you want to be in a place where people want to help you.
Thanks to our sponsors, {{ SPONSORNAMEHERE }}, and thanks to {{ HOSTNAME
}} for providing space. Now, go forth and work on projects, or chat!"

* Be available for random questions about the event during the event.

* Optional: Take photos so that afterward, you can remember how
amazingly great the event was.


Cheers!
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