Europe Time Scheduling

I am quoting this from another thread to facilitate discussing this problem without derailing that thread.

This seems to be an ongoing problem.

What can be done to help this situation? Of course there's the obvious, two meetings. But is this practical or doable?

Also, are there any meetings being set up that have the reverse affect? What happens when a European member sets up a meeting?

Any thoughts/ideas are welcomed.


For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move.
Robert Louis Stevenson

Of course 100 people aren't going to attend a meeting at a time inconvenient for them, in order to accomodate the 1 person who lives nine time zones away. What, honestly, would you expect? And apart from people in Europe, what about people in Asia? Should we schedule everything at 19:00 CET, when most in America are at work and most in Asia are asleep or perhaps going through early morning activities?

There is no way to solve this problem short of having multiple meetings, one for each group of time zones where SL residents are concentrated. There are enough problems within time zones - for example, town halls are scheduled during hours when most U.S. adults are either still at work or going home.

Huns,

I don't think I'm alone in Europe planning to come to the convention in NYC (am I ???). I'm certainly not expecting 100 people to change their planning for me either.

I'm just stating the obvious, an inworld meeting on a weekday between 6pm and 9pm game time (3am and 6am CET) is just about the worst possible time for a meeting that might involve Europeans.

Is 8 to 11 unworkable for you ? or 4 to 7 ? or a time in the week end ? Or do you just don't give a damn and it has to be centered about what fits YOU best and is comfortable, while others can't even mention what might be workable?

And for the records, I probably live "9 time zones away" from YOU, which you seem to equate to Outer-Elbonia, but I'm not 9 time zones away from many other people in SL.

Looking forward to NYC nonetheless (which is 3 time zones away from Huns).

Multiple meetings is the only sollution. It is hard enough picking a meeting time that works for people in continental US, where the majority of residents are from. I am in the US and most meetings are held while I am at work and can not attend. I am betting people with my problem far out weighs the European problem.

Up until last week, I was working 2nd shift in the US and a lot of these meetings were hard for me to attend.

One question I was wondering about is why don't more European members organize meetings? Is there a way to get volunteers from Europe to be a contact to organize similar meetings for Europe?

For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move.
Robert Louis Stevenson

IF Linden lab and SL shall be/become that place for all of the world people to meet in.. there are only solutions including same meeting several times.. and that will then of course get new problems - logistic ones..

I can imagine one day when LL have an office in Europa and one in Asia.. and in USA of course.. and all of them are communicating with each other.

IF the representation in Europa and Asia are LL or co-operative company/s are not my decition)

I was up early early early!! - morning to attend the 5000 grid test and that following Monday - day I was blurry most day at work... no good no good. but for once it was ”ok”...

But as now.. i feel not as 100% a resident.. You are welcome to be here, pay for it but sorry we cant have meetings at times that are good for you abroad to.... But I meet many nice Americans.... that probably are awake in the middle of night, my evening/day))

***

.....maybe we shall ad were we live?

I live in Europa ->> Scandinavia - Sweden - have been in most of the world (lucky me!) and I have 5 iClocks at my desktop (http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/18285) as I have friends al over the world.. not only in lovely SL..

The only viable solution to this is definitely having multiple meetings. Times that are convenient for European members are often inconvenient for west coast US members, and definitely invconvenient for a lot of Asian countries and elsewhere. The global time zone spread is way too large to accomodate everyone comfortably. Instead of the constant complaints about inconvenient European times (which of course inconvenience someone else), more effort needs to be put into scheduling events multiple times.

As I see it, correct me if I am wrong, but a vast majority of LL's employees are in San Francisco, CA which is in the Pacific Time Zone. It makes sense that they would hold meetings while they are actually AT work.

Unless new offices open up around the world or unless LL would pay employees to "work" after hours or before normal business hours, we all are at the mercy of their work schedules.

ok it's an ongoing "problem"

Some say.. duel times.. some say "become nocturnal" ect.



1. Personal events should not have to cater to the world. Each SL'er has the right to put events in times which may not suit the rest of the world. Yes there are better times to suit the world, but if they don't suit the HOST there is the issue that it IS a personal event.

2. Linden Events involving ALL of SL should take greater consideration of log-in times esp. if SL wishes to grow and become international

3. Private Events wishing as much attendance as possible SHOULD be aware of the same thing to maximize who can make it.

Now as far as Lindens caring and doing something about it.. customers will speak. If LL remains USA oriented, it is likely that the userbase will too. However, LL has expressed interest in being "international". I don't think this will happen over night. Residents can get started by getting educated on "world time".

All world wide events including weather and astronomical events... you can use GMT which is available in LSL.

Changing the way people think about time is the only way to open this "gate" to everyone. Those particularly intelligent can do it now. Those who have no idea it's WINTER on the other side of the earth I don't have much hope for. *(and no it's not cause they are 6 months ahead on the calendar.. geez)

Events around the clock... as SL goes, so will the proportions of international communities in here, I hope. And I hope with this comes more convenient times for each and everyone to attend, no matter where in the world are you. For the record, I'm often up at like 3 AM SL time feeling the magic moments of sunrise about to drift on me, and I like attending meetings in my PJs!

8-11 what, AM or PM? If it's AM, it'll work for you, but not for Asia. If it's PM, it'll work for Asia, but not for you. So how do we choose?

The industry norm is for service providers to have their offices staffed 24x7x365. Not necessarily a full complement at 3AM, but at least a few people at the office to oversee operations and answer phones. Customer service lines should be open at all hours, ESPECIALLY since they take calls from around the globe. As it is today, they are open from 8AM-6PM Pacific time.

...and pls pls remember or learn about the clock system in the world not al world are divided in AM or PM..

11 PM for USA are 2300 for us... where I live in Sweden.. So after noon... we change to 13, 14, 15, 16 and so on until Ghost Hour 2400.. then we start over with 0100

God Morning all! Now 08.45 and late breakfast for me.. Must be 5.45 AM then...

I hereby dedicate a room in my house as a European office. I shall require state-of-the-art equipment of course

One problem with multiple meetings is that very often everything is decided and the first/biggest/best meeting and the others are pointless. Or have much much less point than the first anyway. And if you don't decide everything at the first you might decide different things at each, and then need a round up meeting to clear things up, which can only be at one time zone anyway. Unless you have two meetings of that one too...

Somebody stop me I haven't had much sleep and I see this going on for a while..

Go to bed, before I come there and make you.

Done and done, all better now.. I'm hungry..

Agreed this is a huge problem, but could be solved in many ways.

I think there is too much emphasis on making an meeting "available to all". there is never a time it will be available to all. 1pm game time is great for the number of people awake.. but if you count the hour that people work there is little to ZERO overlap of available times.

As Zapotheth has stated though, if there IS only one meeting and that meeting suits one geographic area, it will mean that those who can attend will have the most influence.

I think a well defined meeting system.. those that follow the modern ideas of minutes and other procedures will eventually replace the literal "cow call" style of meetings now.

The geographic location of the HOST of the meeting is likely to set that influence (not on purpose as so many suggest).

Of course if you have problem with someone across the sea dictating policy and rules when you are so far away... well heck do what we did starting with dumping tea in the sea NO TAXATION WITHOUT.. *needle slip

uh.. where was I.

I like SL being international. I like that I can sit in a circle and share poetry with those around the world. But even if we can break borders of distance, the one of time will be at issue for as long as the sun shines and the earth turns.

There will be be no "golden" meeting time... forget it. If there was all 1000 meetings would be at the same time and you'd get a new problem. Meetings held at times that are "exclusionary" to other places is not going to go away for as long as you are talking about a 1 hour slice of a 24 hour day where people work and sleep during every bit of it.

What needs to be done is take power out of attendance of meetings if multiple ones can not be held. Meetings held at the "best" times for the world are often really bad time for me! So getting the "most" amount of people will STILL leave people out because it's not just about being 'awake'.