Out of the Chat Room, Into the PubThe Pub Dialogues is a series of discussions--free and open to the public--as an effort to bring people out of the cyber-world and back into the real-world to talk together on subjects of importance to society. In the early days, people met at the Public House to discuss various topics; now-a-days they "meet" in chat rooms, online forums and social media websites. The human element has been nullified and as such discussion, debate and dialogue have turned venomous, hurtful, nasty and just plain ineffective. We want to bring people together so that they may discuss important topics like civil human beings; so that they may understand viewpoints outside of theirs; so that progress can be achieved; and so that new friends can be made. The pub is perfect place. Just like in the old days a pub is a place of comfort and camaraderie. It's a place where people go to "go out"; where everybody knows your name.The format for these discussions is rather simple. They will begin with participants remaining in a large group and our lead facilitator will open the session. An introduction will take about 10 min. We will outline the topic, the ground rules, and answer questions. The large group will then be split into several smaller groups, as these are more intimate and personal than one large group. Each group will be assigned a facilitator. After about 1hour we will reconvene to the large group to share experiences, ideas, etc.Our goals:

To bring people out of cyber-space and meet their neighbors
To address important (and therefore most likely contentious) topics to allow for the public an opportunity to discover solutions
To help people understand the "other side" of a topic
To display tools of effective communication that have been lost in the Information Age
To encourage people to "get out" more and meet each other

The first session will be held in Mercantile Room at the Wynkoop brewpub in downtown Denver on Tuesday, Jan. 31st from 6:30-9pm. It's free, open to everybody of all ages.