I built a site for hosting events

Recently I started the Columbus Vintage Computing Club, it's a group for nerds like me that enjoy classic computers and software. Our first meeting was a week ago and it was an absolute blast. We had a Tandy and Vic20 on display, and lengthy discussions down memory lane!

While I was planning the group, I knew I needed somewhere to post about the club and see who was interested in attending. I've run groups before (previously the Frontend Columbus group), so I went to the platform I knew best, Meetup.

The first thing I noticed was Meetup absolutely chugged on my laptop. A site for posting groups and events should not bring my laptop to it's knees, but I guess that's the JavaScript filled world we live in.

The next thing I noticed (after investing the time in creating my group and event), was that as a free-tier peasant, I was only allowed to have 10 people RSVP to my event. Absolutely insane! Everywhere Meetup was shoving their subscription infront of me, begging for my cash, just so I can run a free event for computer nerds.

So fuck Meetup, I built Kai.

Kai is a free and open-source platform for posting groups and organizing events. Open to anyone, no ads, no tracking. You can check it out at KaiMeet.com.

It's beta, it's rough around the edges, and I only loaded in support for U.S. cities at the moment (want to use it somewhere else, email me!). But it works for my club, maybe it'll work for yours?

More features will be coming as needed for the club I host, or if people reach out and ask for things. You can also open a PR on Github. Kai will be run as Donationware (BuyMeACoffee link). If ya like it, help me pay the server cost.

Kai represents something interesting that, to be honest, I'm excited to watch: the fall of SaaS companies that have ruined the internet. I'm not saying Kai will be disruptive, but somebody's version of what I'm doing will be. And people will keep doing this now that creating software is accessible.

Those services that pray on being the only game in town, that sell your data to advertising partners and shove subscriptions in your face? They should be freaking the fuck out right now.