DAVID: NEVER EVER EVER EVER EEVVEERR use your OWN HOME for an event like this. it WILL be a nightmare later on. Trust me, been there, done it. Rent out a hall for a day or 2.
Yeah, never do that. Although you have a specific audience and I do believe in the good of people, you never know what they would do. Especially if too many people are there at once and create a mess. It just isnt a party with friends, but with Strangers.
1) DO NOT HAVE IT AT YOUR HOUSE. Just ask your lawyer/local police why. Rent a ballroom at a local hotel/convention center/church - instead. 2) Sell tickets online for the event. That way you know, how many people will come. Hope you have a great show. ☮
Yeah, it is easier to refund people who actually show up this way. People tend to take things a bit more seriously, when they have to pay money. It doesn't even have to be more than a buck or two and would primarily be intended for verification, IMO
I'll echo and suggest what many other commenters here have said....Don't have this event at your home! Generally people are kind and gracious but opening up your home and address is not something I'd be comfortable doing and you have a much larger audience than me. Find a local venue, figure out how much it costs, setup an event, sell tickets to cover the cost of the venue and the only drawback is you can't show off your new workspace. Wish you the best in whatever you decide, keep up the excellent content!
Good advice, and if he really did want to do a studio tour, maybe a bus or van could be rented to take select signed-up people from the event venue to his home and back.
I may be late to the party here, but I wanted to suggest first doing a 'register your interest' poll so you can get ballpark numbers and then look for suitable venues to match the numbers.
I am a member of the Dallas Maker Space . I would suggest you contact them as they definitely have the room and it fits nicely with their community mission . They are located near the 635 and 35 interchange which is pretty central to the DFW area , and easy to get to , which seems like a plus .
David, the open house sounds like a great idea, but I would highly recommend maintaining your privacy from the general public. I realize that you're pretty open to having people come by and see you in person, but you might want to think about renting out a conference center and organizing a get together that way (sort of like LTT meetups). I'm sure most of your fans are perfectly harmless, but there are a lot of crazy people out there that might take advantage of the situation. Just my two cents. *Note: Another option would be renting out space in a hotel. They often have venues that would be perfect for such an event.
Look at a library; they often have meeting rooms that can be scheduled for certain events. Check with the staff to make sure that soldering irons and stuff will be allowed.
A conference centre is probably the best idea or use a smaller venue maybe a hotel conference room(s) (idk if that's a thing since I'm not American and mostly think of a conference centre as being something like the ExCel in London, GB); or maybe rent out a large retail or wharehouse facility for a single (or multiple) day(s) if that is possible under US law, namely contract law... I would say rent out a pub venue similar to what is seen in the UK, usually at the back or the upstairs area of a public house but I don't quite think those venue types are a thing in America...
As other people have said, in regards to the repair day situation, it probably would be best to rent out some kind of public community center that would permit a large gathering. If you do go through with a repair, I would recommend you expect a lot of people, then expect very little. Only because it's always best to be extra prepared & ready then not. I do think the idea and concept of a repair day however is very nice and I'm sure many people would attend! You can also make it more then just a VIC-20 only repair day.
As for the gathering thing, maybe not at your house, people can be quite dodgy even if they seem like good types, I'd recommend hiring a space somewhere for a day or two at something like a community centre or a hotel (akin to how that VCF was held, but maybe not so huge a venue!), some youtubers have had problems with "fans" being too invasive into personal lives, so, your and your family's safety and privacy are paramount...
This was exactly what I was thinking... No way should anything like this be at anyone's personal property, it's just asking for trouble! A community hall or inexpensive hotel conference room is the way to go personally.
It would be wise to explicitly say that there will be "absolutely no sexual contact whatsoever" but you should also make sure you supply plenty of condoms because no matter what you say, there will be sex acts occuring in your house, in your studio, in the 6 cars parked on the driveway and even the 6 cars parked on the street. Good luck with it.
Congratulations on the response to the fundraiser David. Although fully with you on your original aims I must admit that I went through a sceptical phase because of project creep and a bit of possibly 'design by committee' due to the number of other people involved. But I was floored by your recent demonstration. Well done on holding it all together and producing something truly amazing . I hope it's a huge hit and would dearly love one in one of its future forms.
See if you can partner up with a local makerspace and have the event there. Ive been to your house and even with the studio I don't know how you'd accommodate such an event. Plus while I appreciate that you are open with your house to fellow nerds like me, there are personal and property safety issues.
Our local DFW Makerspace has been hostile to the Retro Computing Community. We had events there as part of various meetups, but there’s a lot of drama right now surrounding the venue and the DFW Retro Community. It’s also not very accessible, as it requires a keycard to get through multiple doors, and has been a pain to work around
Unfortunately if it was 25 years ago it might be a good idea I wouldn't do it. There is too much that can go wrong. The bad outweighs the good. He is a great person for suggesting though. But please don't do it.
I'd suggest renting a hall. Maybe make the event RSVP with a small charge per guest. It would allow you to subsidize the hall rental charge and get a feel for how many people to expect. I'd also say schedule it far ahead enough so you and the guests can plan ahead. It would be a cool event and would be great content for your channel.
You should definitely check out the comment spammer nuker tool that ThioJoe made. It makes cleaning up spam comments a breeze. It’s still a bad problem on CZcams, but if you feel like mitigating it on your channel, there are good options out there now.
Hey David, love your work, not anywhere near the states but it's very nice to see you want to interact with your fans, it shows your genuine passion for your work and the people who watch your videos. I don't think that having people at your home is a good idea though, I'm sure most are genuine and only want the best but it only takes the one wacko that doesn't know where to stop and how to respect boundaries to make for a very sticky situation. Looking forward to seeing what you make of your event, however it may go, wish all the best.
TBF, it is a big problem with CZcams channel owners. He's the 5th creator I've seen mention it in the last couple of months. Creators can spend hours per day trying to deal with it that could otherwise be spent making content for us to watch.
@@jase_allen People on this channel shouldn't be that stupid though. If someone falls for the scam and has even an ounce of knowledge (which they should, considering they're following a tech channel) I say good for the scammers.
Thanks for addressing the scammer issue. I experienced this in one of my comments on a recent video of yours. I also got another one on a different channel that I had commented on. I was pretty sure they were scams, but thanks for the clarification.
Forest Hill Civic and Convention Center could likely accommodate this in Kennedale. I would plan this out at least two months in advance so folks who want to fly in can make arrangements.
We have a repair cafe initiative here in Denmark. Several people get together and organize an afternoon where people can bring their stuff to get repaired. We have agreements with cafe owners. They give us some floor space and we give them some publicity and clientelle. It works great. I could see that working for you as well. Just be sure to get a core team of several people. If over 20 people show up it will be a hell to organize for 1-2 people. You need at least 5-6.
What have worked for me here in Chile is to do this kind of meetings in universities or other local education centers. They have the space, tables, chairs, parking space, bathrooms, etc to accommodate a lot of people in a safe way. At least here they have been very supportive of these activities and never charged us for these kind of events, even they have provided volunteers to help. From our side we promoted the events a lot so the hosts got the publicity of hosting science / technology events
You know, I’m not sure how I got into this channel. It must’ve been about 8 years ago now, but I still watch the videos. I had an older gentleman awhile back come into my store, definitely a programmer but 70/80s programmer. The joke is, I understood the joke on his shirt, it was a rather BASIC joke to be fair. Made him laugh, made me $5. Now he’s a regular customer, tips 3-5 every time he comes in. Thanks David, you allow me to get Taco Bell on my drive home at night because of your videos
My thoughts on the event; Hire a venue and sell tickets. Sell a set amount of tickets, so that you know how many people are going to be there Vs. How many people your chosen venue can hold. You don't even need to make a profit on the tickets, Just enough to cover venue costs.
David, in Switzerland, events where an expectedly high number of people might show up normally have a pre-booking. Which is a website where the first N people who register will be able to attend. If it is a time slot to visit a house for renting or buying for example (something crazy in Switzerland), the time and date when the website will start to receive bookings is well known. And you better have your message and personal data ready (they normally go in less than one minute). For events like visiting CERN, they don't tell when this booking opens (if you search online it is 2am normally but I guess they randomly change that). So it depends on the type of event and follows that idea that only people that really want to participate will make an effort to go through all the steps. Also, very unlikely that someone will miss the day after all that. Hope that gives you more ideas to work on. Really enjoy your channel, many thanks!
True but his address is public knowledge, He is easily to find, for many reasons but the easiest way to find him is He is listed as a business at his address and also is on a public electric car charge map.
Having gone to Amiga based retro events all my life, they always rented a space for the job. Community Centres, Schools, Hotels or Pubs all of which have ample parking and prevent people getting too comfortable in your personal living space. Generally 20 to 30 people would show up and we'd have a nice time.
Lots of people saying (sensibly) don’t use your house. Lots of good reasons for this, but the biggest one is probably just not to piss off your neighbours - nobody will thank you when a whole bunch of people inevitably turn up and fill the street with vehicles! Get a venue, charge a nominal fee for tickets, and you’ll thank yourself so much for it.
As a Texan myself let me give you some fair warning about the state. Texas is big. Like, really big. I drove diagonally across the state once, it took me a good two days of driving. Western Texas has some desert to it and the air is very dry but by and large Texas is pretty humid. In the summer it can get 112°F with 90% humidity. In the winter months it can get as low as 32°F-30°F and remember the humidity, so when the winds blow you're hit with very cold, damp air that will cut right through you. And if you're around the Gulf Coast area the wind is gonna blow. If you're from a place that gets a lot of snow and ice that might seem like nothing to you.
@@glenngriffon8032 I'm Australian, so i'm familar with big states! WA is heckin HUGE!!! Dunno Texas looks great. Its where ID software and alot of other reallt cool software companies had success. That contributes to why i like it id say too.
My suggestion for the computer repair event would be start with the RSVP to be able to get a feel for who would be expected to show up, then reserve a hall or suite and host the event at that location
@@raven4k998 i get scammers trying to scam me all the time through phone, internet, text, and email. I dont pay much attention to them but when i do i have fun with them.and waste their time and let them know i know their from Pakistan. They usually panic and hang up or stop talking
@@raven4k998 no i dont try and scam them. I just waste their time and lead them on, give false information to them (random name, random address, random social security numbers, random credit card numbers). Once they try realize i am not giveing them my information they get mad and either hang up on me, cuss me out, or make some obscene comments. I get my kix every time amd laugh.
7:35 If you have limited space I think best would be to do it through invites. Just let the people register for the event and pick the suitable amount from the pool of registrees. To avoid people registering and not showing up, ask for a small "security amount" (maybe like 20 bucks or so) that the picked people have to pay and will get returned when they show up. If they don't show up the amount can be donated to a charity.
@@andresbravo2003 nope, the original title was exactly as i stated, he changed it almost immediately after uploading, but it's still in my notifications log
Maybe a lottery, numbered raffle tickets, etc. (actual tickets or emailed) where the winning numbers are randomly generated on a...Vic 20?! You can sell said tickets for a reasonable price and after covering your expenses donate the remainder to a charitable cause or scholarship? The winners get invited to your Vic 20 Party and they get to go home with some merch like t-shirts and such afterwards? Maybe a pizza party, tacos, subs, wings, whatever appeals to you with the winners as well? You can also do a Q & A with the winners and share it with your viewers?
We just had a motorcycle meet up in our community. CZcamsr with less than 50k subs arranged it and over 40 people attended with some coming all the way to Maryland from Wisconsin and Texas. You have over 20 times that amount of subscribers!
I would not be able to attend, but using up a bunch of specifically VIC-20 units and parts by having a repair party sounds like a super fun, great idea! Everyone could bring their own equipment and tools, and some people could even set themselves up as specialty stations, like desoldering chips, testing chips, testing with the modern C64 cartridge/port tester, etc. Like an assembly line, even! Exciting!
It's ironic that CZcams can find 3.05 seconds of music that is accidentally in a video and neuter the whole thing, but apparently completely powerless against scam comments and posts. I feel for you making a living in a hostile environment like that. Keep fighting the good fight.
@@waisinet When they go to sell ads against these videos, one of the metrics they use is how many interactions a video has gotten. More interactions is more eyeballs is more money for ads. The spammers and fakes count as eyeballs and that means cash. Not a lot for each one but it adds up. With CZcams up against competition for those ad dollars, they need every dime they can get. They have every reason to do nothing about the problem.
Personally I would rent out a room/hall of some kind for the repair event and have some sort of video walkthrough of your studio area playing on a loop or a presentation of that video that you could narrate live. I don't know if I would feel comfortable having a bunch of people over at your house. Plus this would allow you to accommodate a larger group of people if the interest was there. You could have your own smallish 8-bit Guy Fest. :)
The scammer got me on your comments too. Didn't realize it wasn't you until they asked for shipping fee. That's when I stopped the chat. Thank you for addressing the issue on your channel, you are the best. Keep up the great work.
Even if you are okay with strangers entering your property and even if they ask turned out to be fantastic people... catering to that many people can really take up your time. You are the host and questions would be flying at you from every which way that you wouldn't be able to sit down and enjoy yourself.
I think he realizes that his job as the 8-bit guy comes with a certain amount of responsibility to his subscribers. You know, with the Patreon being a thing and all. David is very generous and goes above and beyond.
I think it would be really cool to get an in-person look at the studio building, but I think that should be a separate event from the repair fair so you can vet people a bit more closely and put people in small groups spread out over a period of time. You might also consider having the repair day at the building you and your brother have set up in (is that building called the Geek Pub too, or is your brother's channel just called that?) if you're comfortable with the public knowing where it is. You might still need to restrict the amount of people who show up, as it's probably a bigger space than your house, but I wouldn't wager it's as big as a conference hall or something.
Don't have anyone come to your house, there are too many scary out there people for that. Rent out a place according to a RSVP thingy and take a small entry fee to cover cost.
I'm so glad the Commander X16 absolutely destroyed its goal, been keeping up with progress on that forever and glad to see all the hard work coming to light! Also excited to see the final touches on the workshop. Keep up the great work David!
Wife and I drove from Canada to attend Blue and Brady's CA-1 course in Tahoe City... Was around 6600 KM round trip :) Fun times!! Side note, I no longer own a Vic20... the one I had ran 24/7 for YEARS, it ran the community info channel video on our local cable network. Not sure what I did with it in the end.
Just curious, I know that 8 bit guy is your main channel as well as your main source of income but would there be a possibility of any future update for 8 bit keys? Really love watching you fix and explain about all those keyboards!! ^^
In terms of advice on the event, why not just announce it to patrons? A bit more exclusive that way and you're more likely to have exact comments on who will show up
I’ve done small events like this, but never at my house. Work with a local hotel with convention space. Even with as low as 12 people, most places will work with you and even offer discounts on rooms, etc.
I've been subject to such messages myself - letting everyone know occasionallyb as you have on this occasion, is the best, and possibly only way to deal with it. 'Good on ya' from Aus.
Adding to the advice against having people coming to the house. If there is a hotel or community center nearby with a meeting room that is rentable, that would be how I would do it. Definitely having a signup page too! Maybe with the option to make donations to help cover the cost
Hi Dave. Good update for the channel. Yea, I would NOT hold an event like this at your house. NOW that said, what about that old E waste old equipment place? Could they host it? Many people who have a VIC might also be interested in purchasing other things if they saw them. What about Digi-key? Put together a new capacitor package for the VIC and commodore units folks. Another option (a fun one) do a "what part do you need?" They send a prepaid shipping label then video their before and afters to be featured on the channel. I do not have a VIC anymore but I sure miss the one I had, it was a ton of fun. Good luck on your adventure.
Unfortunately, the scammer problem is site wide. CZcams has chosen to draw a blind eye and let these scam bots exist for around a year now. There's little that individual creators can do to beat them. Hopefully CZcams realizes this is actually a severe problem and finds a solution soon.
You might consider using my MCL65+ to help debug a number of your VIC-20's. It is a 6502 drop-in replacement which uses a Teensy microcontroller to emulate the CPU. But for debugging we could simply run C code which performs focused tests on motherboard components. If you search for MCL64 Commodore 64 Tester you will see a similar project which I did for the 6510.
I just went through your blog - what an ingenious idea to use a microprocessor to simulate a CPU and dead-test computers from the inside-out! It's a real shame I haven't heard of this before, because now I really want to build one!
Thanks for making this video, especially those scammers who make those fake replies not only on your channel, but also on techmoan and quartering! Also I’m on the west side of Texas and would like to visit you if you do a repair club for vintage computers, but I wouldn’t do it at private residence, because your neighborhood needs some peace and quiet. Do it a local campus or public space.
You might check for other semi/public spaces. For example, our Public libraries have event spaces. Another is to talk with some schools, universities/college or tech schools. You might also check on the local Dallas maker spaces to see what they have to offer. It would be great advertisement for a Maker space to sponsor your event. You could also use Eventbrite (or so) as a Free event - which then has no Eventbrite fees - while allowing you to manage the attendance head count. BTW, I would never recommend offer to host an event like this at your home. 1. There's too much crazy going on. And with 1.39 mil subs, you are a dox'ing target for just a couple that might need emotional support. 2. There's an issue of Insurance. If someone became harmed at your event (like a solder back-splash), it could become a legal issue. And your Home Insurance could even drop you due to your business venture. You'll want all participants to sign an appropriate legal waiver to protect you (family/business) and them - even for the event space. (I know most Maker Spaces have them). Good luck. Looking forward to follow-up video on the event.
I've worked in the event industry for about a decade, two things I'd heavily suggest: 1) Make this a paid event. If you feel uncomfortable taking money from fans, then make it an accessible $5 or $10 per ticket and donate the funds to a local tech charity (this could be a really fun fundraiser if you wanted to go that direction). Or offer ticket costs at a similar cost to merch, attending is $25 and a t-shirt you'd sell would also be $25 and every attendee gets a t-shirt. So the ticket is really just pre-selling a product. Having a payment secures attendance, free events you can expect a lot of people to just not show up and take up space others who would have attended couldn't. 2) Don't host this at your home. It's hard enough to get people to leave when it's at a venue, if you can't just escape out the backdoor to get home because you are already at home this might end up gong on longer than expected. But beyond that, your address being that public isn't ideal. If you are stuck on it being at your place, maybe have a staging area. Meet up at a park (or a place for the charity, if you go the fundraising route, to do a demo) at X time then carpool over to your place kind of thing. Renting a school bus for a day isn't as expensive as one might thing, and it'd be a lot safer than providing anyone an address. And aside to this, I think you'll be surprised with the reach this event might have. If I was able to attend, I'd be down there and I am from Canada. Appreciate your content, and my best with your planning!
I'd see if you could do your event at the Dallas makerspace. I haven't been there in a few years but before covid they had several rooms that could support 30+ people.
I recommend not using your home at all; do an RSVP; and make sure its far out enough to where people can actually make it. Then as you approach the RSVP date, maybe rent one of those shared office spaces to accommodate your visitors. I've seen some that can be had for a few hundred bucks a day that can fit 100 people! You can also implement an upper limit on the event, and even split it into 2 or 3 days if the number of RSVP'ed folks is really large!
David, to echo what others have suggested. I recommend you find a local hotel that has meeting/event rooms available. You may be charged a bit more to have extra power strips etc run, but this will give you an open controlled space for the group to set up and work, as well as room to provide you an opportunity to hold a group presentation and discussion. Most hotels will offer room discounts for attendees, since you are renting their event space (and possible some catering services). And, if people indicate that is why they are coming, you will get somewhat of an RSVP list. I also recommend you protect your privacy at home by renting a 12-pax van and selecting folks you have found to be most trustworthy and taking them for a tour of your studio without entering the main house. Best of luck! Sounds fun.
I think it's awesome that you are kind enough to invite people to come fix Vic-20's at your house. I respect your optimism and faith in humanity. Probably the hardest thing would be to target just the right amount of people without having to turn many away. If there is anything I could do to help, I would be happy to. I will try to get in touch with you on your webpage. Btw, we've met a couple of times at the Atari meetup. My name is James.
Good on you for doing your best to tackle scammers. Love your work, keep it up. (Try not to take it personally, you're doing your best, it's not your fault.)
Hi 8 Bit Guy! I second the suggestion of other viewers and suggest you to organize the event in a public space rather than at your place for privacy and safety reasons. Said that I have a working Vic 20, however my original one died a few years ago. I learned how to program using it and I always dreamed about to fix it but finding spare parts has become more and more difficult. I would love to do something like that if I lived in Texas! Unfortunately I'm quite far from it!
IDK if you know David but ThioJoe either developed or help develop a program for helping realisiticly sniping down scams and bots and such. It might be a direction you can go in until your youtube rep can do something for your channel. Big fan of your vid and i hope to see more in the future :)
For hosting larger events like this cost vs capacity is your main driver. To get your costs you will definitely need that capacity first. Then decide if you want to cap days so you can have an even spread of parts. Of course smaller groups is better, so nailing the sweet spot between number of participants to number of events will also be important. An ideal situation is to presale tickets to this event. Either the full amount or an amount that if they cancel it doesn’t leave you out of pocket.
David - I would absolutely create an RSVP system for sure as you mentioned, and only give the exact date and times to those who are selected for each time slot you create to avoid having too many people randomly show up and causing chaos.
FWIW... Suggestion: Have the open house and VIC-20 Fix'em Up Day as separate events. Locate the Fix'em Up Day at a local maker space, school cafeteria, church, public library, or a firehouse with a large community room. Heck, after Monday there will be a fair number of "Spirit Halloween" stores that will be empty... :D
First thing to do i would say is get a poll on interest with sub polls on how likely they would be able to make it. I.e the difference of living really nearby or a city or more away. You can always get a temporary discord channel setup to talk to those people for feedback until you have a plan your happy with. Edit- because i forgot to mention because others already have is I’m quite sceptical of using your own house because ultimately that would be doxxing yourself unless you already keep your address public.
You could talk with a local church to hire out a large room, and then you could use their parking lot. They would appreciate the money, and maybe charge a small entrance fee to cover it.
Strongly disagree with a church. Many people wouldn't want their money going to a church, especially a random one that doesn't match their beliefs/values. A maker space you could probably use for free, or some kind of community center or hotel event room would be much better.
Most people have said this already, but please don't have it at your home. That just seems like a bad idea all around, trust me that there are many ways that can go wrong. Just having a meeting in a public place or renting out a location or something will be a lot better for you and the people you want to see. Also you should look into the tool by ThioJoe that he made to combat spam, it does wonders for a lot of channels. Glad to hear nothing too serious was wrong and it just was some scammers. There is a beta option in your channel settings to enable stricter filters I think, you can also try enabling that and see if that helps as well. Anyway, great job with the X16 and keep up the great work! Sending well wishes. 😄
Hi David, I’m not a VIC20 owner and I live in the U.K, but I’d strongly suggest not inviting people to your home for an event like this. There must be some sort of community venue with parking you could use, maybe touch base with Neil at RMC for advice as he’s familiar with organising “similar” viewer/supporter days, albeit at a dedicated venue, away from his home. Great channel! Keep up the good work.
I think the Vic-20 repair day thing is a great idea, but instead of having cars being parked on your street, you can rent a convention centre or possibly an event hall and have your customers cars parked on the hall's lot. My suggestion for the time is the weekend from 9am-5pm because Saturdays and Sundays are days that some people have day offs and I think you will have more customers that can come. Hopefully you can make a video about how the day/days went and keep on planning more awesome stuff!
I think it’s a super idea, but what are you going to use it for? The last video I saw this open house was on the power generator video that was a few videos back. I thought of putting a chair down under it in the summer.
One thing you can do that I hear helps a lot is you can just filter out comments that use specific emojis from being public. Like Just filtering out that present, and that curved up arrow emoji would likely filter out TONS of these bots. If it comes down to it just filter out all emojis in general, they all love to use them for some reason.
Cannot wait for the next video... I've been a fan of the 8 bit guy for years now nearly 18 and enjoying old technology before I was even born have a nice day.
Yep, David is one of my favorite CZcamsrs, as he usually covers topics from the 80s. I am a child of the 80s. Suppose people enjoy nostalgia most of stuff happened when being 8-22 (that's my range) years old. I was subsribing to other well known CZcamsrs too after I noticed they have 80s topics. But being a decade or two younger thah David here, they often drift into the 90s or even 00s. I time which has a zero nostalgia factor for me. So I am not watching them often anymore.
I would love to bring in my Vic 20, I'm sure it needs a video chip but anyway. I work at a large facility that builds Aircraft subsystems and has a lot of room and parking, as well as a lot of good equipment that could be used for doing the repairs. Good soldering stations, desoldering stations, Microscopes, oscilloscopes, precision power supplies etc. Depending on the interest this might be doable here. We are located in Haltom City.
Agreed with many other people in here who have advised not having an event at your house. Your space looks super cool but sadly every fandom has a critical mass where crazy people start showing up and I would not want you to accidentally wind up with a safety risk as a result. The suggestion others have made about hosting the event at a "neutral site" that doesn't involve inviting loads of people into your home is a good one and I think you should take it. Hopefully it will be on a workable day for me because I'd love to drop by!
Yeah, the next best thing would be to have an off-site parking arrangement and either Uber participants in/out or have some sort of designated shuttle person.
Hi David. When I organized a pastry masterclasses I had llimited space in the show kitchen where I hold the event. if the request was more than i could use, i simply split them in 10 pax groups in different time...
There have been tons of horror stories revolving meet and greet type events of CZcamsrs. These things turn into disasters if proper regulations are not met. If you haven’t heard of tanacon, I strongly suggest looking into that as a reference. I would recommend hosting an event at something like a convention center, somewhere in Texas. That way you can have as many people as you want, security, parking, just a general meet and greet type of thing. No but seriously, you do not want another Tanacon. People passing out from heat exhaustion, ESPECIALLY in Texas.
As another fairly popular CZcamsr that used to be open about meeting up with fans in my private space, I would highly recommend to keep good control of your privacy. It takes that one psycho guy that for whatever reason turns against you to end up in a nightmare. There are mostly good guys in this space, but eventually you will run to the rotten one.
DAVID: NEVER EVER EVER EVER EEVVEERR use your OWN HOME for an event like this. it WILL be a nightmare later on. Trust me, been there, done it. Rent out a hall for a day or 2.
Yeah, never do that. Although you have a specific audience and I do believe in the good of people, you never know what they would do. Especially if too many people are there at once and create a mess.
It just isnt a party with friends, but with Strangers.
@@conan_three Yeah, but I can't go for that. No (no), no can do.
I AM SCAMMER GUY! you have woN MAC BOOK JUSS SEND ME MONEYS I MAKE ALL YOUR DREEMS COME TRUES
I hope he doesn't use his home there is too many crazys around now a days unfortunately.
@@conan_three yeah he might just be confronted by a Maneater
1) DO NOT HAVE IT AT YOUR HOUSE.
Just ask your lawyer/local police why.
Rent a ballroom at a local hotel/convention center/church - instead.
2) Sell tickets online for the event.
That way you know, how many people will come.
Hope you have a great show.
☮
Yeah, it is easier to refund people who actually show up this way. People tend to take things a bit more seriously, when they have to pay money. It doesn't even have to be more than a buck or two and would primarily be intended for verification, IMO
Agree 110% - DON'T DO IT! It would be a nightmare in so many different ways. Rent somewhere and sell tickets for a nominal fee...
correction, no need to SELL tickets. But an RSVP system is probably the way to go
Excellent points well made!
@@DerelictCountry a $1 as the R in RSVP does wonders :)
I'll echo and suggest what many other commenters here have said....Don't have this event at your home! Generally people are kind and gracious but opening up your home and address is not something I'd be comfortable doing and you have a much larger audience than me. Find a local venue, figure out how much it costs, setup an event, sell tickets to cover the cost of the venue and the only drawback is you can't show off your new workspace. Wish you the best in whatever you decide, keep up the excellent content!
Ditto!
Good advice, and if he really did want to do a studio tour, maybe a bus or van could be rented to take select signed-up people from the event venue to his home and back.
@@darryl2154 LIke VIP tickets for sale and random drawing for an equal amount of people that paid.
I mean bro already leaked his address
I may be late to the party here, but I wanted to suggest first doing a 'register your interest' poll so you can get ballpark numbers and then look for suitable venues to match the numbers.
I am a member of the Dallas Maker Space . I would suggest you contact them as they definitely have the room and it fits nicely with their community mission . They are located near the 635 and 35 interchange which is pretty central to the DFW area , and easy to get to , which seems like a plus .
David, the open house sounds like a great idea, but I would highly recommend maintaining your privacy from the general public. I realize that you're pretty open to having people come by and see you in person, but you might want to think about renting out a conference center and organizing a get together that way (sort of like LTT meetups). I'm sure most of your fans are perfectly harmless, but there are a lot of crazy people out there that might take advantage of the situation. Just my two cents.
*Note: Another option would be renting out space in a hotel. They often have venues that would be perfect for such an event.
Agreed
Very good advice...
agreed. better to organize this somewhere else than his house. better be safe, than sorry.
Look at a library; they often have meeting rooms that can be scheduled for certain events. Check with the staff to make sure that soldering irons and stuff will be allowed.
A conference centre is probably the best idea or use a smaller venue maybe a hotel conference room(s) (idk if that's a thing since I'm not American and mostly think of a conference centre as being something like the ExCel in London, GB); or maybe rent out a large retail or wharehouse facility for a single (or multiple) day(s) if that is possible under US law, namely contract law...
I would say rent out a pub venue similar to what is seen in the UK, usually at the back or the upstairs area of a public house but I don't quite think those venue types are a thing in America...
Owning only specifically VIC-20 spare parts is the most hilariously 8-Bit Guy thing ever.
In another universe he's "The VIC-20 Guy".
@@KatriceMetaluna the 8 vic guy
@@SamuelVelter i like it
There was an electronics store that had thousands a few years ago. I bought a few dozen myself.
@@KatriceMetaluna Good everywhere but Germany!
As other people have said, in regards to the repair day situation, it probably would be best to rent out some kind of public community center that would permit a large gathering. If you do go through with a repair, I would recommend you expect a lot of people, then expect very little. Only because it's always best to be extra prepared & ready then not. I do think the idea and concept of a repair day however is very nice and I'm sure many people would attend! You can also make it more then just a VIC-20 only repair day.
I would not trust unknown people at My address, each person should have ID.
As for the gathering thing, maybe not at your house, people can be quite dodgy even if they seem like good types, I'd recommend hiring a space somewhere for a day or two at something like a community centre or a hotel (akin to how that VCF was held, but maybe not so huge a venue!), some youtubers have had problems with "fans" being too invasive into personal lives, so, your and your family's safety and privacy are paramount...
I AM SCAMMER GUY! you have woN MAC BOOK JUSS SEND ME MONEYS I MAKE ALL YOUR DREEMS COME TRUES
Yeah, not the best idea I've ever heard.
Very true…. Don’t take the risk
This was exactly what I was thinking... No way should anything like this be at anyone's personal property, it's just asking for trouble! A community hall or inexpensive hotel conference room is the way to go personally.
It would be wise to explicitly say that there will be "absolutely no sexual contact whatsoever" but you should also make sure you supply plenty of condoms because no matter what you say, there will be sex acts occuring in your house, in your studio, in the 6 cars parked on the driveway and even the 6 cars parked on the street. Good luck with it.
8-bit guy gonna be 16-bit soon
Then 32 bit then 64 but lol.
This man David grows fast. Look at him go.
He's going from 8-Bit Guy to 16-Bit Man
I was just thinking The 16-Bit Guy could be a cool idea before checking the comments xD
8gbit guy
Congratulations on the response to the fundraiser David. Although fully with you on your original aims I must admit that I went through a sceptical phase because of project creep and a bit of possibly 'design by committee' due to the number of other people involved. But I was floored by your recent demonstration. Well done on holding it all together and producing something truly amazing . I hope it's a huge hit and would dearly love one in one of its future forms.
See if you can partner up with a local makerspace and have the event there. Ive been to your house and even with the studio I don't know how you'd accommodate such an event. Plus while I appreciate that you are open with your house to fellow nerds like me, there are personal and property safety issues.
or a local coderdojo
yeah unfortunate but true bc i feel like so much stuff would get stolen i can't imagine the hassle it'd be to prevent property damage and the like
Lot of youtubers GROSSLY underestimate how many people would show up to a meetup. Tanacon is a big example.
Our local DFW Makerspace has been hostile to the Retro Computing Community. We had events there as part of various meetups, but there’s a lot of drama right now surrounding the venue and the DFW Retro Community. It’s also not very accessible, as it requires a keycard to get through multiple doors, and has been a pain to work around
Don’t have people over to your home. Your safety is so incredibly important. Maybe rent out a community center? Those are usually cheap!
Agreed. For sanity's sake, find another venue.
Unfortunately if it was 25 years ago it might be a good idea I wouldn't do it. There is too much that can go wrong. The bad outweighs the good. He is a great person for suggesting though. But please don't do it.
I AM SCAMMER GUY! you have woN MAC BOOK JUSS SEND ME MONEYS I MAKE ALL YOUR DREEMS COME TRUES
@@ZMAN_420 Getting sued among one of the many ways it could go wrong. I wrote a comment saying as much. Too many ways this can go South.
@@ZMAN_420 I guess you haven't discovered his gun channel yet.
I'd suggest renting a hall. Maybe make the event RSVP with a small charge per guest. It would allow you to subsidize the hall rental charge and get a feel for how many people to expect. I'd also say schedule it far ahead enough so you and the guests can plan ahead. It would be a cool event and would be great content for your channel.
You're awesome 8 Bit guy! Been watching for years and will continue to!
You should definitely check out the comment spammer nuker tool that ThioJoe made. It makes cleaning up spam comments a breeze. It’s still a bad problem on CZcams, but if you feel like mitigating it on your channel, there are good options out there now.
I forget that he makes legit videos now lol
(also omg antvenom hi!!)
I didn't know antvenom watched the 8-bit guy
Antvenom on a T8BG's youtube video? I never thought I'd see the day. Two of my favorite youtubers!
i was actually just thinking about that tool!
also what
Good idea! Also didn’t expect to see you here.
Hey David, love your work, not anywhere near the states but it's very nice to see you want to interact with your fans, it shows your genuine passion for your work and the people who watch your videos. I don't think that having people at your home is a good idea though, I'm sure most are genuine and only want the best but it only takes the one wacko that doesn't know where to stop and how to respect boundaries to make for a very sticky situation. Looking forward to seeing what you make of your event, however it may go, wish all the best.
I actually let out a sigh of relief when you mentioned the scammers. I thought it was going to be something more serious.
TBF, it is a big problem with CZcams channel owners. He's the 5th creator I've seen mention it in the last couple of months. Creators can spend hours per day trying to deal with it that could otherwise be spent making content for us to watch.
yea, same lol
@@jase_allen People on this channel shouldn't be that stupid though. If someone falls for the scam and has even an ounce of knowledge (which they should, considering they're following a tech channel) I say good for the scammers.
@@jase_allen I don't even like ThioJoe anymore but he made a great script for dealing with scammers.
@@the_kombinator Apple users are susceptible. I mean they pay hundreds if not thousands of dollars for a logo and a childproof-locked OS.
I feel like having a step in which you count how many people are interested BEFORE planning the event would be very helpful for something like that
Thanks for addressing the scammer issue. I experienced this in one of my comments on a recent video of yours. I also got another one on a different channel that I had commented on. I was pretty sure they were scams, but thanks for the clarification.
For the Vic-20 party you should rent out your local rec center/civic center. that way it’d be a lot safer for you and you’d have more room.
This is not great. You deserve 1-4 likes. Grow up.
@@ericB3444 You need to grow up. No need to post random hate comments. You deserve 1-4 dislikes, I’ve started with the first one.
@@ericB3444 I'm curious as to what you're complaining about.
Forest Hill Civic and Convention Center could likely accommodate this in Kennedale. I would plan this out at least two months in advance so folks who want to fly in can make arrangements.
We have a repair cafe initiative here in Denmark. Several people get together and organize an afternoon where people can bring their stuff to get repaired. We have agreements with cafe owners. They give us some floor space and we give them some publicity and clientelle. It works great. I could see that working for you as well. Just be sure to get a core team of several people. If over 20 people show up it will be a hell to organize for 1-2 people. You need at least 5-6.
What have worked for me here in Chile is to do this kind of meetings in universities or other local education centers. They have the space, tables, chairs, parking space, bathrooms, etc to accommodate a lot of people in a safe way. At least here they have been very supportive of these activities and never charged us for these kind of events, even they have provided volunteers to help. From our side we promoted the events a lot so the hosts got the publicity of hosting science / technology events
Great comment! Thanks
I love all your videos and I like all the progress you’ve made over the year!
I AM SCAMMER GUY! you have woN MAC BOOK JUSS SEND ME MONEYS I MAKE ALL YOUR DREEMS COME TRUES
You know, I’m not sure how I got into this channel. It must’ve been about 8 years ago now, but I still watch the videos.
I had an older gentleman awhile back come into my store, definitely a programmer but 70/80s programmer.
The joke is, I understood the joke on his shirt, it was a rather BASIC joke to be fair. Made him laugh, made me $5. Now he’s a regular customer, tips 3-5 every time he comes in. Thanks David, you allow me to get Taco Bell on my drive home at night because of your videos
I AM SCAMMER GUY! you have woN MAC BOOK JUSS SEND ME MONEYS I MAKE ALL YOUR DREEMS COME TRUES
My thoughts on the event; Hire a venue and sell tickets. Sell a set amount of tickets, so that you know how many people are going to be there Vs. How many people your chosen venue can hold. You don't even need to make a profit on the tickets, Just enough to cover venue costs.
good idea
David, in Switzerland, events where an expectedly high number of people might show up normally have a pre-booking. Which is a website where the first N people who register will be able to attend. If it is a time slot to visit a house for renting or buying for example (something crazy in Switzerland), the time and date when the website will start to receive bookings is well known. And you better have your message and personal data ready (they normally go in less than one minute). For events like visiting CERN, they don't tell when this booking opens (if you search online it is 2am normally but I guess they randomly change that). So it depends on the type of event and follows that idea that only people that really want to participate will make an effort to go through all the steps. Also, very unlikely that someone will miss the day after all that. Hope that gives you more ideas to work on.
Really enjoy your channel, many thanks!
I think an offsite location for this event would be wise. It solves some accommodation problems and maintains your privacy.
True but his address is public knowledge, He is easily to find, for many reasons but the easiest way to find him is He is listed as a business at his address and also is on a public electric car charge map.
What a fun thoughtful idea! Your supporters are generous with you because you are generous with them. This is really cool!
I AM SCAMMER GUY! you have woN MAC BOOK JUSS SEND ME MONEYS I MAKE ALL YOUR DREEMS COME TRUES
Having gone to Amiga based retro events all my life, they always rented a space for the job. Community Centres, Schools, Hotels or Pubs all of which have ample parking and prevent people getting too comfortable in your personal living space. Generally 20 to 30 people would show up and we'd have a nice time.
Lots of people saying (sensibly) don’t use your house. Lots of good reasons for this, but the biggest one is probably just not to piss off your neighbours - nobody will thank you when a whole bunch of people inevitably turn up and fill the street with vehicles!
Get a venue, charge a nominal fee for tickets, and you’ll thank yourself so much for it.
I like the studio update videos. I always enjoy how warm Texas looks.
I AM SCAMMER GUY! you have woN MAC BOOK JUSS SEND ME MONEYS I MAKE ALL YOUR DREEMS COME TRUES
As a Texan myself let me give you some fair warning about the state. Texas is big. Like, really big. I drove diagonally across the state once, it took me a good two days of driving.
Western Texas has some desert to it and the air is very dry but by and large Texas is pretty humid. In the summer it can get 112°F with 90% humidity. In the winter months it can get as low as 32°F-30°F and remember the humidity, so when the winds blow you're hit with very cold, damp air that will cut right through you. And if you're around the Gulf Coast area the wind is gonna blow.
If you're from a place that gets a lot of snow and ice that might seem like nothing to you.
@@glenngriffon8032 I'm Australian, so i'm familar with big states! WA is heckin HUGE!!! Dunno Texas looks great. Its where ID software and alot of other reallt cool software companies had success. That contributes to why i like it id say too.
My suggestion for the computer repair event would be start with the RSVP to be able to get a feel for who would be expected to show up, then reserve a hall or suite and host the event at that location
I AM SCAMMER GUY! you have woN MAC BOOK JUSS SEND ME MONEYS I MAKE ALL YOUR DREEMS COME TRUES
did you get a scammer trying to scam you?
@@raven4k998 i get scammers trying to scam me all the time through phone, internet, text, and email. I dont pay much attention to them but when i do i have fun with them.and waste their time and let them know i know their from Pakistan. They usually panic and hang up or stop talking
@@rigobertoalbarran9242 do you try to scam the scammers if so I like you a lot🤣
@@raven4k998 no i dont try and scam them. I just waste their time and lead them on, give false information to them (random name, random address, random social security numbers, random credit card numbers). Once they try realize i am not giveing them my information they get mad and either hang up on me, cuss me out, or make some obscene comments. I get my kix every time amd laugh.
7:35 If you have limited space I think best would be to do it through invites. Just let the people register for the event and pick the suitable amount from the pool of registrees. To avoid people registering and not showing up, ask for a small "security amount" (maybe like 20 bucks or so) that the picked people have to pay and will get returned when they show up. If they don't show up the amount can be donated to a charity.
Congrats on making your goal and I look forward to seeing the new update on Monday or Tuesday. Cheers and have a champion day.
News oct29 2022 will forever be in my memory as the old title! Lmfaooo
Same lol
this is the original title as he uploaded.
@@andresbravo2003 nope, the original title was exactly as i stated, he changed it almost immediately after uploading, but it's still in my notifications log
@@JAL_EDM same here
I AM SCAMMER GUY! you have woN MAC BOOK JUSS SEND ME MONEYS I MAKE ALL YOUR DREEMS COME TRUES
Maybe a lottery, numbered raffle tickets, etc. (actual tickets or emailed) where the winning numbers are randomly generated on a...Vic 20?! You can sell said tickets for a reasonable price and after covering your expenses donate the remainder to a charitable cause or scholarship? The winners get invited to your Vic 20 Party and they get to go home with some merch like t-shirts and such afterwards? Maybe a pizza party, tacos, subs, wings, whatever appeals to you with the winners as well? You can also do a Q & A with the winners and share it with your viewers?
We just had a motorcycle meet up in our community. CZcamsr with less than 50k subs arranged it and over 40 people attended with some coming all the way to Maryland from Wisconsin and Texas. You have over 20 times that amount of subscribers!
I would not be able to attend, but using up a bunch of specifically VIC-20 units and parts by having a repair party sounds like a super fun, great idea! Everyone could bring their own equipment and tools, and some people could even set themselves up as specialty stations, like desoldering chips, testing chips, testing with the modern C64 cartridge/port tester, etc. Like an assembly line, even! Exciting!
It's ironic that CZcams can find 3.05 seconds of music that is accidentally in a video and neuter the whole thing, but apparently completely powerless against scam comments and posts. I feel for you making a living in a hostile environment like that. Keep fighting the good fight.
It's because CZcams is making a fortune from these scammers
@@phononut no
@@phononut how does CZcams profit from those comments?
@@waisinet When they go to sell ads against these videos, one of the metrics they use is how many interactions a video has gotten. More interactions is more eyeballs is more money for ads. The spammers and fakes count as eyeballs and that means cash. Not a lot for each one but it adds up. With CZcams up against competition for those ad dollars, they need every dime they can get. They have every reason to do nothing about the problem.
@@phononut No advertiser would be willing to pay even a single dime more to have their ads not seen by a scambot.
Personally I would rent out a room/hall of some kind for the repair event and have some sort of video walkthrough of your studio area playing on a loop or a presentation of that video that you could narrate live. I don't know if I would feel comfortable having a bunch of people over at your house. Plus this would allow you to accommodate a larger group of people if the interest was there. You could have your own smallish 8-bit Guy Fest. :)
I AM SCAMMER GUY! you have woN MAC BOOK JUSS SEND ME MONEYS I MAKE ALL YOUR DREEMS COME TRUES
did you get the scammer?
Thanks for the updates! I love to hear Commander X16 is going so great!
The scammer got me on your comments too. Didn't realize it wasn't you until they asked for shipping fee. That's when I stopped the chat. Thank you for addressing the issue on your channel, you are the best. Keep up the great work.
Even if you are okay with strangers entering your property and even if they ask turned out to be fantastic people... catering to that many people can really take up your time. You are the host and questions would be flying at you from every which way that you wouldn't be able to sit down and enjoy yourself.
I think he realizes that his job as the 8-bit guy comes with a certain amount of responsibility to his subscribers. You know, with the Patreon being a thing and all. David is very generous and goes above and beyond.
You should set a poll up for the event that has options for how many people are intrested, how many could be going and how many aren’t
I think it would be really cool to get an in-person look at the studio building, but I think that should be a separate event from the repair fair so you can vet people a bit more closely and put people in small groups spread out over a period of time. You might also consider having the repair day at the building you and your brother have set up in (is that building called the Geek Pub too, or is your brother's channel just called that?) if you're comfortable with the public knowing where it is. You might still need to restrict the amount of people who show up, as it's probably a bigger space than your house, but I wouldn't wager it's as big as a conference hall or something.
Don't just have 500 people come over David!
Definitely do an RSVP system, and schedule them over multiple weekends with small groups.
THIS +1
Having unvetted people showing up to your house is not a good idea.
I AM SCAMMER GUY! you have woN MAC BOOK JUSS SEND ME MONEYS I MAKE ALL YOUR DREEMS COME TRUES
Don't have anyone come to your house, there are too many scary out there people for that. Rent out a place according to a RSVP thingy and take a small entry fee to cover cost.
I very much doubt even 50 people will show.
I'm so glad the Commander X16 absolutely destroyed its goal, been keeping up with progress on that forever and glad to see all the hard work coming to light! Also excited to see the final touches on the workshop. Keep up the great work David!
Keep up the great work! Wish I could meet you in person! Anyways all the best for your future projects. Keep it up!
Wife and I drove from Canada to attend Blue and Brady's CA-1 course in Tahoe City... Was around 6600 KM round trip :) Fun times!! Side note, I no longer own a Vic20... the one I had ran 24/7 for YEARS, it ran the community info channel video on our local cable network. Not sure what I did with it in the end.
Just curious, I know that 8 bit guy is your main channel as well as your main source of income but would there be a possibility of any future update for 8 bit keys?
Really love watching you fix and explain about all those keyboards!! ^^
In terms of advice on the event, why not just announce it to patrons? A bit more exclusive that way and you're more likely to have exact comments on who will show up
I AM SCAMMER GUY! you have woN MAC BOOK JUSS SEND ME MONEYS I MAKE ALL YOUR DREEMS COME TRUES
I’ve done small events like this, but never at my house. Work with a local hotel with convention space. Even with as low as 12 people, most places will work with you and even offer discounts on rooms, etc.
I've been subject to such messages myself - letting everyone know occasionallyb as you have on this occasion, is the best, and possibly only way to deal with it. 'Good on ya' from Aus.
Congrats on the success with the crowdfunding! Hope the project works out well!
Adding to the advice against having people coming to the house. If there is a hotel or community center nearby with a meeting room that is rentable, that would be how I would do it. Definitely having a signup page too! Maybe with the option to make donations to help cover the cost
I AM SCAMMER GUY! you have woN MAC BOOK JUSS SEND ME MONEYS I MAKE ALL YOUR DREEMS COME TRUES
why ? House addresses aren't private info, unless you think space is an issue, Dave can save a grand or two and have at his house
Hi Dave. Good update for the channel. Yea, I would NOT hold an event like this at your house. NOW that said, what about that old E waste old equipment place? Could they host it? Many people who have a VIC might also be interested in purchasing other things if they saw them. What about Digi-key? Put together a new capacitor package for the VIC and commodore units folks. Another option (a fun one) do a "what part do you need?" They send a prepaid shipping label then video their before and afters to be featured on the channel. I do not have a VIC anymore but I sure miss the one I had, it was a ton of fun. Good luck on your adventure.
David, thanks for addressing the scammer issue in this video! I feel like not enough folks on youtube do this.
Unfortunately, the scammer problem is site wide. CZcams has chosen to draw a blind eye and let these scam bots exist for around a year now. There's little that individual creators can do to beat them. Hopefully CZcams realizes this is actually a severe problem and finds a solution soon.
CZcams is too busy screwing their own users over copyright disputes to bother protecting them from scammers.
You might consider using my MCL65+ to help debug a number of your VIC-20's. It is a 6502 drop-in replacement which uses a Teensy microcontroller to emulate the CPU. But for debugging we could simply run C code which performs focused tests on motherboard components. If you search for MCL64 Commodore 64 Tester you will see a similar project which I did for the 6510.
I AM SCAMMER GUY! you have woN MAC BOOK JUSS SEND ME MONEYS I MAKE ALL YOUR DREEMS COME TRUES
I just went through your blog - what an ingenious idea to use a microprocessor to simulate a CPU and dead-test computers from the inside-out! It's a real shame I haven't heard of this before, because now I really want to build one!
@@thecorruptedbit5585 I have a few spare boards, could send you one. :)
@@microcorelabs7698 Sure! If you set it up on eBay I can even pay you for them (or at least pay for shipping)
Nice! Today's tech offers amazing possibilities in helping diagnose and repair vintage computers.
Thanks for making this video, especially those scammers who make those fake replies not only on your channel, but also on techmoan and quartering! Also I’m on the west side of Texas and would like to visit you if you do a repair club for vintage computers, but I wouldn’t do it at private residence, because your neighborhood needs some peace and quiet. Do it a local campus or public space.
This is freaking amazing! Great job Guys!!!
You might check for other semi/public spaces. For example, our Public libraries have event spaces. Another is to talk with some schools, universities/college or tech schools.
You might also check on the local Dallas maker spaces to see what they have to offer. It would be great advertisement for a Maker space to sponsor your event. You could also use Eventbrite (or so) as a Free event - which then has no Eventbrite fees - while allowing you to manage the attendance head count.
BTW, I would never recommend offer to host an event like this at your home.
1. There's too much crazy going on. And with 1.39 mil subs, you are a dox'ing target for just a couple that might need emotional support.
2. There's an issue of Insurance.
If someone became harmed at your event (like a solder back-splash), it could become a legal issue. And your Home Insurance could even drop you due to your business venture. You'll want all participants to sign an appropriate legal waiver to protect you (family/business) and them - even for the event space. (I know most Maker Spaces have them).
Good luck. Looking forward to follow-up video on the event.
YOU'RE ONE OF MY FAVOURITE CHANNELS, SIR. I STARTED WACTHING ARUODN 2013.
He’s the iBook guy!
Ah yes, _"AROUBD"._
@@tonanornottonull7132 That's what I remember!
You should go to the open house and get your Shift Lock key fixed.
@@tonanornottonull7132 I remember watching him as an 8 year old I don't recall why
I've worked in the event industry for about a decade, two things I'd heavily suggest:
1) Make this a paid event. If you feel uncomfortable taking money from fans, then make it an accessible $5 or $10 per ticket and donate the funds to a local tech charity (this could be a really fun fundraiser if you wanted to go that direction). Or offer ticket costs at a similar cost to merch, attending is $25 and a t-shirt you'd sell would also be $25 and every attendee gets a t-shirt. So the ticket is really just pre-selling a product. Having a payment secures attendance, free events you can expect a lot of people to just not show up and take up space others who would have attended couldn't.
2) Don't host this at your home. It's hard enough to get people to leave when it's at a venue, if you can't just escape out the backdoor to get home because you are already at home this might end up gong on longer than expected. But beyond that, your address being that public isn't ideal. If you are stuck on it being at your place, maybe have a staging area. Meet up at a park (or a place for the charity, if you go the fundraising route, to do a demo) at X time then carpool over to your place kind of thing. Renting a school bus for a day isn't as expensive as one might thing, and it'd be a lot safer than providing anyone an address.
And aside to this, I think you'll be surprised with the reach this event might have. If I was able to attend, I'd be down there and I am from Canada. Appreciate your content, and my best with your planning!
I like the old vintage ads with William Shatner in the VIC-20 ads! 👍
I'd see if you could do your event at the Dallas makerspace. I haven't been there in a few years but before covid they had several rooms that could support 30+ people.
I AM SCAMMER GUY! you have woN MAC BOOK JUSS SEND ME MONEYS I MAKE ALL YOUR DREEMS COME TRUES
I recommend not using your home at all; do an RSVP; and make sure its far out enough to where people can actually make it. Then as you approach the RSVP date, maybe rent one of those shared office spaces to accommodate your visitors. I've seen some that can be had for a few hundred bucks a day that can fit 100 people! You can also implement an upper limit on the event, and even split it into 2 or 3 days if the number of RSVP'ed folks is really large!
David, to echo what others have suggested. I recommend you find a local hotel that has meeting/event rooms available. You may be charged a bit more to have extra power strips etc run, but this will give you an open controlled space for the group to set up and work, as well as room to provide you an opportunity to hold a group presentation and discussion. Most hotels will offer room discounts for attendees, since you are renting their event space (and possible some catering services). And, if people indicate that is why they are coming, you will get somewhat of an RSVP list. I also recommend you protect your privacy at home by renting a 12-pax van and selecting folks you have found to be most trustworthy and taking them for a tour of your studio without entering the main house. Best of luck! Sounds fun.
So happy that you have exceeded your goals!
I think it's awesome that you are kind enough to invite people to come fix Vic-20's at your house. I respect your optimism and faith in humanity. Probably the hardest thing would be to target just the right amount of people without having to turn many away. If there is anything I could do to help, I would be happy to. I will try to get in touch with you on your webpage. Btw, we've met a couple of times at the Atari meetup. My name is James.
Congrats on the funding! Looking forward to seeing those Commanders :]
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Good on you for doing your best to tackle scammers. Love your work, keep it up. (Try not to take it personally, you're doing your best, it's not your fault.)
It really should be on CZcams to solve, and it's good to hear they are at least working on it.
Hi 8 Bit Guy! I second the suggestion of other viewers and suggest you to organize the event in a public space rather than at your place for privacy and safety reasons. Said that I have a working Vic 20, however my original one died a few years ago. I learned how to program using it and I always dreamed about to fix it but finding spare parts has become more and more difficult. I would love to do something like that if I lived in Texas! Unfortunately I'm quite far from it!
My suggestion for your limited space, never invited an unknown amount of people. Invites and when the list is full, the list is full. Love your work!
IDK if you know David but ThioJoe either developed or help develop a program for helping realisiticly sniping down scams and bots and such. It might be a direction you can go in until your youtube rep can do something for your channel. Big fan of your vid and i hope to see more in the future :)
For hosting larger events like this cost vs capacity is your main driver.
To get your costs you will definitely need that capacity first.
Then decide if you want to cap days so you can have an even spread of parts.
Of course smaller groups is better, so nailing the sweet spot between number of participants to number of events will also be important.
An ideal situation is to presale tickets to this event. Either the full amount or an amount that if they cancel it doesn’t leave you out of pocket.
David - I would absolutely create an RSVP system for sure as you mentioned, and only give the exact date and times to those who are selected for each time slot you create to avoid having too many people randomly show up and causing chaos.
FWIW... Suggestion: Have the open house and VIC-20 Fix'em Up Day as separate events. Locate the Fix'em Up Day at a local maker space, school cafeteria, church, public library, or a firehouse with a large community room. Heck, after Monday there will be a fair number of "Spirit Halloween" stores that will be empty... :D
Heck yea! Sounds fun! Can’t wait for the footage when you get it altogether after it’s finished! Keep it up! Your channel is a ton of fun!
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First thing to do i would say is get a poll on interest with sub polls on how likely they would be able to make it.
I.e the difference of living really nearby or a city or more away.
You can always get a temporary discord channel setup to talk to those people for feedback until you have a plan your happy with.
Edit- because i forgot to mention because others already have is I’m quite sceptical of using your own house because ultimately that would be doxxing yourself unless you already keep your address public.
I’d come but a bit to far from the UK! Looking forward to seeing the studio video though. 👍🏻
You could talk with a local church to hire out a large room, and then you could use their parking lot. They would appreciate the money, and maybe charge a small entrance fee to cover it.
Strongly disagree with a church. Many people wouldn't want their money going to a church, especially a random one that doesn't match their beliefs/values. A maker space you could probably use for free, or some kind of community center or hotel event room would be much better.
You have a big heart David. Great that you’re willing to help out. I bet you’d get 65 ppl if you thought 1/2 that.
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Most people have said this already, but please don't have it at your home. That just seems like a bad idea all around, trust me that there are many ways that can go wrong.
Just having a meeting in a public place or renting out a location or something will be a lot better for you and the people you want to see.
Also you should look into the tool by ThioJoe that he made to combat spam, it does wonders for a lot of channels.
Glad to hear nothing too serious was wrong and it just was some scammers. There is a beta option in your channel settings to enable stricter filters I think, you can also try enabling that and see if that helps as well.
Anyway, great job with the X16 and keep up the great work! Sending well wishes. 😄
Hi David, I’m not a VIC20 owner and I live in the U.K, but I’d strongly suggest not inviting people to your home for an event like this. There must be some sort of community venue with parking you could use, maybe touch base with Neil at RMC for advice as he’s familiar with organising “similar” viewer/supporter days, albeit at a dedicated venue, away from his home. Great channel! Keep up the good work.
I think the Vic-20 repair day thing is a great idea, but instead of having cars being parked on your street, you can rent a convention centre or possibly an event hall and have your customers cars parked on the hall's lot. My suggestion for the time is the weekend from 9am-5pm because Saturdays and Sundays are days that some people have day offs and I think you will have more customers that can come. Hopefully you can make a video about how the day/days went and keep on planning more awesome stuff!
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You can get a conference room at the public library for free. I used to run Ubuntu meetups in one of them every month.
I think it’s a super idea, but what are you going to use it for?
The last video I saw this open house was on the power generator video that was a few videos back.
I thought of putting a chair down under it in the summer.
One thing you can do that I hear helps a lot is you can just filter out comments that use specific emojis from being public. Like Just filtering out that present, and that curved up arrow emoji would likely filter out TONS of these bots. If it comes down to it just filter out all emojis in general, they all love to use them for some reason.
Wow congrats on achieving a crowd funded goal.. that's spectacular. 👍🎵🎯🎁
Cannot wait for the next video... I've been a fan of the 8 bit guy for years now nearly 18 and enjoying old technology before I was even born have a nice day.
Yep, David is one of my favorite CZcamsrs, as he usually covers topics from the 80s. I am a child of the 80s. Suppose people enjoy nostalgia most of stuff happened when being 8-22 (that's my range) years old.
I was subsribing to other well known CZcamsrs too after I noticed they have 80s topics. But being a decade or two younger thah David here, they often drift into the 90s or even 00s. I time which has a zero nostalgia factor for me. So I am not watching them often anymore.
I love hearing from young ones like you (I hate the words "kids" or "children"). YOU are the hope that the DIY community will survive.
I would love to bring in my Vic 20, I'm sure it needs a video chip but anyway.
I work at a large facility that builds Aircraft subsystems and has a lot of room and parking, as well as a lot of good equipment that could be used for doing the repairs. Good soldering stations, desoldering stations, Microscopes, oscilloscopes, precision power supplies etc. Depending on the interest this might be doable here. We are located in Haltom City.
As for having an event, I suggest finding a community center, library, church, or somewhere with a large meeting space. Usually there's a rental fee.
Hope you'll keep it up david, still getting updates.
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Agreed with many other people in here who have advised not having an event at your house. Your space looks super cool but sadly every fandom has a critical mass where crazy people start showing up and I would not want you to accidentally wind up with a safety risk as a result. The suggestion others have made about hosting the event at a "neutral site" that doesn't involve inviting loads of people into your home is a good one and I think you should take it. Hopefully it will be on a workable day for me because I'd love to drop by!
Yeah, the next best thing would be to have an off-site parking arrangement and either Uber participants in/out or have some sort of designated shuttle person.
Hi David. When I organized a pastry masterclasses I had llimited space in the show kitchen where I hold the event. if the request was more than i could use, i simply split them in 10 pax groups in different time...
Thanks for your videos. I have a lot 3.5 floppy any diy- upcycle- repurpose projects
There have been tons of horror stories revolving meet and greet type events of CZcamsrs. These things turn into disasters if proper regulations are not met. If you haven’t heard of tanacon, I strongly suggest looking into that as a reference. I would recommend hosting an event at something like a convention center, somewhere in Texas. That way you can have as many people as you want, security, parking, just a general meet and greet type of thing. No but seriously, you do not want another Tanacon. People passing out from heat exhaustion, ESPECIALLY in Texas.
As another fairly popular CZcamsr that used to be open about meeting up with fans in my private space, I would highly recommend to keep good control of your privacy. It takes that one psycho guy that for whatever reason turns against you to end up in a nightmare. There are mostly good guys in this space, but eventually you will run to the rotten one.