[Ruby] halloween meeting?

[James Moore]

Speaking as an occasional human attendee, I'm with Ryan.  An internet
connection is irrelevant.  I certainly have been known to jot down notes for
things to take a look at when I get home, but it normally would be
counterproductive to do it at the actual meeting.

Far and away the best value for meetings for me has been the ability to ask
questions about Ruby guts that are badly explained.  I've certainly soaked
up my share of wisdom, getting things like singleton classes clarified.
It's also a great place to ask about bits of code that are widely used, but
are perhaps less than elegant Ruby.  ("Err, that bit of code over there.
Looks like it sucks.  Is that just a beginner talking, or does it actually
cause camels to wrinkle their noses in disgust?"  And then at some point you
stop thinking you're a beginner...)

Completely aside from the social bits, how much do you think it's worth to
have that good a group of Ruby people in the same room talking about useful
stuff?  I have a hard time believing that time spent getting something off
the net is more valuable than time talking with actual instances of people.

  - James Moore