The Squid List FAQ

Subscription Info

    1. How do you subscribe to The Squid List via RSS? #

      You can subscribe to The Squid List RSS feed here:

      http://feeds.laughingsquid.com/squidlist

    2. How do you subscribe to The Squid List via email?You can subscribe to The Squid List via email using the FeedBurner RSS-to-Email list.

      Here’s more info on the FeedBurner email subscription service:

        1. converts the main RSS feed to email using FeedBurner
        1. includes a daily digest of new events, showing the full event descriptions, with the title linking back to the event listing on the online calendar
        1. email sent between 9-11am Pacific Time
        1. email sent as HTML (plain-text option may be available in the future)
        1. includes an “Email This” link for each event, which can be used to forward the event information to someone else via email
      1. To unsubscribe from the list, click the unsubscribe link that is listed at the bottom of each email.

  1. Can you follow The Squid List on Twitter?Yes, just subscribe to The Squid List Twitter account.

  2. Do you ever sell or give away the addresses on The Squid List?Absolutely not! When you subscribe to The Squid List your address will only be used for The Squid List and nothing else. Your privacy is a major concern of ours.

  3. My email address was either unsubscribed from the list or I’m still subscribed, but I’m not receiving any of the posts to the list. Do you have any idea what might be causing this?There are several possibilities, including the following:

    – Bounced Email: If your email address starts repeatedly bouncing, it will automatically be removed from the list. If this happens, just re-subscribe to the list once your email is working again or use a different address that is not having problems.

    – Misconfigured Vacation Reply: If your vacation reply settings are miscofigured and they are sending out a reply for each post you receive, then you may be unsubscribed. A properly configured vacation reply only sends out one reply per day or even better once per week. If it sends out a reply for each post then it is really an autoresponder, not a vacation reply. If this happens, just re-subscribe to the list once you are back from your trip.

    – False Spam Reporting: If our post are miss-identified as spam by the mail system that you are on and it sends us spam complaints, you will be unsubscribed. If this happens, you should re-subscribe from a different location that does not have erroneous spam filters installed. If you are using AOL, then we suggest using a different email address. AOL is notorious for blocking valid email. The same is often true for HotMail and Yahoo Mail. If you are looking for a good free email service, check out Google’s Gmail.

    – Content Filtering: If you work at a company that is filtering your email and sending content warnings to us, you will be unsubscribed. If this happens, you should re-subscribe from a different location that does not censor your email.

General Squid List Info

    1. What is the Squid List? #

      The Squid List is Laughing Squid’s curated list of unique art, culture and technology events taking place in the San Francisco Bay Area. Here’s more info on The History of The Squid List.

    2. How do I subscribe to The Squid List?Here are our subscription options (both RSS and email)
    3. How can I advertise on The Squid List? #

      You can purchase ads on The Squid List through AdSense.

    4. Ok, but you guys write up all the announcements that you post, right?No, most of the posts are composed by the person producing or promoting the event and then submitted to post to the list (see Submission Guidelines). So please don’t email us for more info about an event posted to the list, we have the same info that you do on the posts that we send out. If there is no contact info on the post, then you’ll have to take your chances with any unclear or inaccurate info on the announcement, although we try very hard to make sure that all relevant info is included in the emails we receive for posting.
    5. Why was the Squid List started and long has it been around?Here’s our blog post on The History of The Squid List.
    6. So, I’m moving to another city, is there something like the Squid List there?Yes, our good friend Jeff Stark launched a list in New York City, called Nonsense NYC.

      Currently we’re not aware of any other public events lists outside of San Francisco and New York that are similar to the Squid List. We’re sure they exist. If we find out about any, we will list them here.

    7. Can you guarantee that if I go to an event you post I will like it and have a good time?Absolutely not! There are no guarantees with this list. All we can do is post the events and trust that what the event producers say will happen will in fact take place, it’s up to you to take the risk by attending. Some events are amazing and others downright suck.

      WARNING: If you attend an event that is posted to The Squid List, then it is at your own risk. We are not able to confirm the accuracy of the information that is submitted to us and we cannot guarantee that you will get your money’s worth or enjoy the event.

    8. Have there been any articles written about the list?Yes, check out our Press and Media page for articles written about The Squid List and Laughing Squid in general.
    9. How is the Squid List funded?Basically the list is a labor of love that we do in our free time. We’ve always kept the list free and not charge people if we post the events they send us. The business side of Laughing Squid, Laughing Squid Web Hosting, helps pay the bills. If you know someone who needs to host their website, please send them our way.

      Another way to help support The Squid List is by visiting our sponsors or advertising directly on The Squid List.

Event Submission Guidelines

  1. How do I submit an event write-up to be considered for the list?It’s easy, just fill out our Event Submission Form
  2. If my event is approved for The Squid List, when should I expect to see it appear on the list and online calendar?Events are posted in the order we receive them and when they are posted depends the amount of submissions in the queue. Sometimes it is within a couple of days, other times it may take a week for your event to be posted. We recommend that you submit your event at least a week before the date of the event.

    You can confirm that your event was posted by looking it up on the online calendar or doing a search for it.

    PLEASE NOTE: Due to the high volume of event submissions we receive each week, we do not have the resources to individually confirm that we have received an event submission or when each event will be posted (assuming it is something that we post). If you feel that an event is appropriate for the list, then go ahead and submit it and if selected, it will be posted to the list.

  3. What format should I use to submit events?Please submit all event as plan-text only. If you cut-and-past from Word or insert any special special characters into your event write-up, it can cause problems with the list and your event may be deleted.
  4. Can I submit an event on someone else’s behalf?Please do not submit another person’s event to this list without the event’s organizer permission. Even if you think their event might be appropriate for the general Squid List community, the organizer might have different reasons for limiting their announcement to a smaller audience. You can always email them privately and suggest that they submit their event here, but leave the final decision and event entry up to the actual organizer.

  5. Can I submit events that repeat daily or weekly?In the interest of variety and to showcase unique events, we do not post repeat or recurring events, ie. events that take place daily or weekly on an ongoing basis. The focus of the list is mainly individual events.

    For art shows and plays, please submit only the opening night to the list, not the entire run of the show. You can list those dates in your write-up for the opening.

  6. Can I submit my event calendar or each individual event at my venue?No, we do not post event calendars to The Squid List or each individual event that takes place at a venue. You are welcome to submit the occasional special event, but in the interest of variety be we are not going to post your entire calendar or each individual event.

  7. How do I make a correction to an event that has been posted to the Squid List?If you need to make a correction to an event that you have previously submitted to The Squid List, please resubmit the corrected write-up using our online submission form. Please add “(Correction)” after the event title of the new listing in order to differentiate it from the old, incorrect listing.
  8. What kind’s of events can I submit for posting?The focus of the list is unique events. We tend to avoid mainstream events such as popular bands on tour, comedians at established comedy clubs, over-commercialized events, etc. To get a better idea of the kinds of events we post, please see our online calendar.

    If you think your event is appropriate for the list, go ahead and submit it, but we can’t guarantee it will go out. It’s just not possible to post everything we receive. Please don’t be offended if we don’t respond to you to confirm that your post is going to go out or why it did not go out. It usually ends up being a debate as to why we should make this one exception. Hopefully this FAQ and the event submission form will help you understand our posting rationale and process. We simply don’t have the resources to reply to every request or question that we receive concerning the Squid List. If you want to see if your event was posted to the list, just look for it on our online calendar.

  9. What don’t you post to the list?In general we DO NOT normally post the following events to The Squid List:
      1. We do not post calls for submissions, entries, performers or venue announcements,
        etc.
      2. We do not post TV shows, radio shows, netcasts/webcasts, online events or online galleries.

    Even though The Squid List lives on the internet, the list focuses
    on events in the physical realm.

      1. Classes, workshops, seminars, etc.
      1. We do not post jobs available/wanted, places for rent, people looking for places to rent, and so on…
      2. We do not post sales/shopping events, yard sales, books sales, showcase sales, sample sales, auctions, etc.

    Craig’s List is a great resource for these kinds of posts.

      1. We do not post events limited to just one group of people.

    In general we do not post events that are just for women only, men only, gay/lesbian only, single only, couples only, rich only, members only, cephalopods only etc. We prefer to posts events that are open to everyone to attend.

    1. Here’s a partial list of some of the kinds of events that we generally DO NOT post:
      1. sales/shopping events
      2. garage sales/yardsales
      3. auctions
      4. TV shows
      5. radio shows
      6. netcasts/webcasts
      7. online events
      8. online galleries
      9. classes
      10. workshops
      11. seminars
      12. dance lessons
      13. hobby clubs/meetings
      14. Yoga demonstrations/classes/workshops
      15. spiritual enlightenment events
      16. career fairs
      17. corporate/company team-building/training events
      18. singles/dating events
      19. vacation packages
      20. group trips
      21. weekend get-aways

At first this may seem a little restrictive, but what makes The Squid List so useful to so many people is the fact that we do not post everything. It’s not that we don’t like these kinds of events, we just don’t post them to our list. There are many other lists and online resources that cover these types of events. In general, the fact that The Squid List is a curated list, helps keep the focus on art, culture and technology events.

Check out The Squid List and you’ll have a better idea of what kind of events we post.