Socialising at QED

One of the best things about attending QED is the social side – from chatting and hanging out in the bar and social spaces, to sharing thoughts digitally with other attendees during talks and panels. With that in mind, we have a few ways to help make socialising a little easier!

Virtual socialising – The Discord

We’ve partnered with our good friends at Skeptics in the Pub Online, who have created a number of QED spaces in their highly-active Discord server – meaning that if you get chatting to someone at QED, you’ll be able to continue the conversation long after the weekend is over.

To join in the conversation during QED, attendees simply need to download the Discord app – or use the web app – and visit sitp.online/discord.

From there, you’ll be asked to accept the rules of the channel, and then you’ll be taken to a handy QED homepage explaining the various channels, how they’re moderated, and how the server works outside of QED weekend. You’ll also see a quick beginner’s guide to Discord, for those using for the first time.

The QED channels on the Skeptics in the Pub Online Discord server are open now, so feel free to join in and get the conversation started – you don’t need to wait until the weekend!

In person socialising – The Buddy System

New to QED? Our attendees are very friendly, and will usually do their best to make you feel welcome. But if you need a helping hand, this year we’re introducing and trialling QED Buddies. A few of our good friends at Skeptics in the Pub Online will be on hand to say hello and introduce you to people if you’re feeling a little shy. They’ll be wearing purple lanyards when they’re available for some social support, and they’ll be happy for you to walk up and ask them ‘are you a buddy?’ to get a conversation going.

Need a break? – The Quiet Room

Over the course of the weekend, we have a quiet room so you can take a breather if you need to decompress. This year, for the Friday Night Mixer, we’ll have the room open from 4pm until 9pm, so even if you find social situations a little overwhelming you can be sure you’ll have a place to reset if you need to.

See you all very, very soon!