Given the somewhat-skeletal information on their website, we might be able to reserve a conference room in the shiny new WID. It looks like it's free, so long as they approve of the organization, and we actually show up.
One of the Barriques cafes might be ideal- I'm more familiar with the Monroe Street location, but the one on the Capitol square is more spacious (it's apparently crowded during student-heavy hours, but less so in the evening).
Alternately, the Great Dane or the Old Fashioned are usually good places for a large group- they're not so quiet, but they don't have overwhelming background music or anything of the sort.
Great!
If somebody has quiet office conference space, that might be year-round optimal. (Like I did, but at the moment do not.) I trust LessWrongers can bring our own consumables & leave no trace.
Big vacant hotel lobby areas are also worth considering.
It's been a while since this summer's meetup; we should be having them at least quarterly, and probably monthly. And I said I'd set them up, so, let's put together a Madison meetup some time next week.
If no one voices a strong preference by, say, Friday, then it'll be at Indie Coffee again, on Wednesday, 16 February, at 6 pm. But we definitely don't want to meet on their patio, and it's a bit small inside for a dozen people or so. I'm not sure where else I'd hold it, though. A quiet, spacious bar or cafe? First floor of the WID? Someplace that we could meet, regularly, all year round would be preferable.
Thoughts?