Re: [PLUG] New space for PLUG meetings

[Jeff Abrahamson <abrahj01@molbio.sbphrd.com>]

On Tue, Oct 10, 2000 at 11:17:08PM -0400, la keuf wrote:
> Mike Leone wrote:
> 
> > >Issues with this site:
> > >
> > >* We must provide them with a list of names of possible attendees for each
> > >  meeting.  Your name will be checked against the list at the door.  This
> > >  basically meens that you would *need* to rsvp once, and your name would
> > >  then stay on the list for future meetings.
> >
> > Can't we just give them a list of all mailing list members?

> [no, the list doesn't have names]

There's a technical solution that also preserves anonymity.

We set up a registration web page so that people can register
themselves to be on the permanent list. If you for some reason don't
want your real name used, no problem, pick a nom de plume
(s/plume/meeting/ ?). I've never seen a security service yet that
checks ID.

Some number of days before the meeting, we generate, say, 50 extra
names and pass the whole list to Cigna. After that, when people come
to the site to register, we point out that they have to show up as
$rand_name, where $rand_name is a name picked from the random list. We
keep track of which names we issue so that we only issue them once.

So if I'm a newbie, I look at the PLUG site (how else would I find out
about PLUG's meeting time/place anyway?), see that the meeting is in a
couple days and that I'm offered a "key" to get in. My key is the
secret pass phrase, "My name is John Sedgewich." The next person would
get a different name.

A checkbox could handle gender. Or we could stick with Chris, Pat,
Sam, etc. and various foreign-sounding names that are difficult to map
to gender.

The list will be long, but they didn't say they needed a short list,
just a list.


(Or, sort of like in Buckeroo Bonzai, where all the aliens had the
same name and birthday, we can have a dozen Chris Johnsons on the
list, the "spare" people.)

-- 
 Jeff Abrahamson
 610/270-4845
 abrahj01@molbio.sbphrd.com


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