Reading threads in other discussions, and subjects of GTGs came up. I am never really sure about these - is there an accepted way of asking? , a "Rule of thumb" ?

To explain further my dilemma is always am I being forward suggesting by e.g personal message that I will be in an area and if person A is interested we could meet for coffee/drink etc?
I would hate to think that I was bothering anybody – just because a person lives in a touristy area and is helpful to those who ask about it, doesn’t mean they wish to be bothered by every passer by who happens to read Slow Travel.

Is there a certain level of “interactivity” suggested beforehand – e.g on Gold star blogs or multiple exchanges on local forums?
Maybe I am just being stereotypically English and reticent.

Having read back through the last two paragraphs, this comes across as terribly serious, and it isn’t meant to be, but I am interested in how these things are usually arranged.

TimW

Personally, I post in the GTG forum, if I'm going to be somewhere and I want to meet other people; it's up to others to reply. That way I'm bothering no one. They decide if they want to meet me for coffee, drinks, etc. The only people I would consider bothering privately for a GTG are the other mods , and those with whom I feel I already have a "personal" relationship with (i.e., I've already met them or we've corresponded regularly through e-mail, Private message, or even phone).

A friend used to joke that we were one of the 'must-see' sights of Umbria since it seemed that for a while every slow traveler who visited Umbria made a stop at our house! Altho that might be an exaggeration, we have been contacted by quite a few STer's over the years, and if we're here we always say yes!

Altho I can't imagine saying 'no' to anyone, I guess if I wasn't interested in meeting up I'd just say we had plans. We have missed a lot of people because we usually go back to the states in April/May, but since we're usually here and we're retired, why not?

As Kim suggested, I'd post somethinon the gtg froum, or contact people thru a PM or email them directly. Usually people email us directly and say 'we'll be in your area on these dates, would you like to meet for pizza one night?' or something similiar. Nothing ventured, nothing gained! We're a pretty friendly bunch around here!

quote:

Originally posted by Kim:
Personally, I post in the GTG forum, if I'm going to be somewhere and I want to meet other people; it's up to others to reply.

Me too.

So far it's worked out great.

It really depends on the people. I don't think there are any set rules other than the normal social ones.