From Olle, a tip about making events that include everyone, especially newcomers:
There were at least two new faces at the meetup, and I had been given a hint by Morgan about the article Breaking Cliques at Events. In it, a method for reminding people that the longer they’ve been in a group, the more responsibility they have to welcome newcomers to it: “Take the number of years you’ve been in the group. That number is how many new people you say hello to at a meetup.”
Most groups I’ve been a member of give little thought to this, adopting a “it was hard for me to become a part of the group, so don’t expect a free pass, newbie” attitude. That’s not a good way to run a railroad.