When we created Ping Pong In Vancouver we had three goals. One, to list places to play ping pong in Vancouver; two, to advocate for table tennis infrastructure in Vancouver’s parks and three, to connect ping pong players looking for playing partners. This month we looked into several solutions of varying complexities to the task of connecting players. First we tried MeetUp, a online service used to organize groups. Too expensive, too invasive. Next we tried various membership plugins for WordPress. Again, too expensive for our tiny budget, and way more than we need to simply connect ping pong players with one another. Finally, we elected to go with the least expensive, the least invasive, the most analog means of connecting people within a community: a cork message board complete with push-pins and note paper for you to leave your contact information. Keep in mind, like a bulletin board at in a community centre, it’s viewable by the public. Choose a user name and email you’re comfortable making public. When you fill out a Players Directory form, we convert your info from bot-readable text into a bitmapped image – a slip of paper – and pin-it to the board. It doesn’t just look homey, your email address and phone number are invisible to bots.