Has anybody got experiences with Meetup .com. I'm in the UK but i know they are worldwide. They seem to charge a lot for their services but i'm not sure what people really get out of it. It seems typical of the internet to me that what used to be informal groups or clubs or societies are now almost impersonal, quite rigid, pay in advance money making making oppurtunities that i'm not totally sure about. I was going to go to a writers group tonight but am put off a) by the fact that they all seem to have written a lot (some are published authors and it seems more about getting published than about nurturing creativity) and b) i'm not sure really what i get for my £3. Just the chance to meet people who write i guess. Oh for the old old days when things were much less structured and easy going. Or is it just me.