My thumbnail estimates for groups I have particpated in are: 300 in TCPHP , 200 in tcWebPros , 4-500 in TCLUG , 50 or so in tcbug . There's certainly overlap, but my focus is pretty narrow. The success of minnēbar hints at thousands of other talented individuals participating locally in Java, Ruby, information architecture, design, standards, graphics and media. There was a big open source presence, which is fantastic!
Apart from large conferences such as Apachecon, this was the first technical gathering I've been to where I didn't know a whole lot of people. Since we've been so busy with hardware provisioning lately, I didn't much time and I didn't get to lend a hand as much as I would have liked to.
In the past, I've been an organizer or an active participant in the community prior to attending such a gathering. There are always new faces, but I've usually had friends to make introductions, or my reputation has preceded me.
Fortunately, the "Minnesota factor" that Ben was concerned about didn't seem to apply, and people warmed right up. The sessions were lively and participatory, and there was a lot of time to gather in the common areas and chat informally with new acquaintences.
This is a great starting point and I'm excited about what's to come!
