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[Whitney]

Do I need to designate a room as a meeting hall? Let's say I don't want there to be parties... ever. Can't I just build all the chairs and tables but not set it up as a meeting hall? Will there be any negative effects?

It's easy enough to get Idle Dwarves to gather there anyway by putting a Meeting Area Zone over it.

[MrFake]

No, you don't need one.

One negative effect will be dwarfs eating at the tables, unless you forbid the chairs (forbid the material through the [t] menu).  That should prevent them from using the chairs to eat, and they don't do anything else with them anyway.  For that matter, why are you building tables and chairs in the meeting area?  Is it also the dining room?  Well, in that case, eating at the tables is not a negative effect, but negative thoughts from a crowded dining room will be.

A meeting zone works just like a meeting hall or statue garden, except you don't get parties or weddings in it.

[Quietust]

Meeting halls are not necessary - an activity zone is definitely sufficient, and does indeed work wonders in preventing parties.

In the case of dining halls, you'll still want to designate the table as a Dining Room so that your dwarves get happy thoughts from eating there - just leave the "meeting hall" setting turned off and drop an activity zone there instead.

[Hyndis]

If you have no meeting hall or meeting zone dwarves will hang out randomly all over the map. Its very nice if you want to build a realistic looking city, but you will need to keep your military active or else dwarves will get eaten by goblins. Alternatively be creative with walls, magma, and raised bridges. Without a meeting hall or meeting zone dwarves also do tend to spend a lot more time in their own rooms. Almost all of their free time, actually.

There is no downside to not having a meeting hall. It just gathers dwarves and animals together. A meeting zone does the same thing with the added bonus of no parties.

[MrFake]

If you have no meeting hall or meeting zone dwarves will hang out randomly all over the map.

Not randomly.  Dwarfs hang around spots that they've recently frequented.  If they have something to do once in a while (eat and drink, for instance), they won't scatter about.  If they often travel across the map to do something, like fish, they'll hang around across the map.  Stray animals don't do jack, so they scatter.

A meeting area is a good way to get dwarfs to ignore their hangout spots, like on top of the damned atomsmasher, and congregate in one place.

[Whitney]

Meeting halls are not necessary - an activity zone is definitely sufficient, and does indeed work wonders in preventing parties.

In the case of dining halls, you'll still want to designate the table as a Dining Room so that your dwarves get happy thoughts from eating there - just leave the "meeting hall" setting turned off and drop an activity zone there instead.

Alright. I did forget to mention I use it as a dining hall for my dwarves. But this answered it perfectly. Much appreciated, everyone.

[Shakma]

I think you also need a meeting zone if you order all dwarfs inside.  Without it they won't know where to go.

[Hyndis]

I think you also need a meeting zone if you order all dwarfs inside.  Without it they won't know where to go.

Thats correct. Without an underground meeting zone your dwarves will just freeze.

Also if you have both an above and below ground meeting zone, if you order all of your dwarves inside they will all move from half in each to all in the below ground meeting zone.

You can use two meeting zones with the soldiers stay inside command to creatively force your guards outside to fight. On average, 50% of the guards will be in each meeting zone. Thus if you do this, and have, say, 20 soldiers, 10 of them will be in the outside meeting zone, allowing you to order around soldiers without actually having to order them around. Its more of a "guard this area" command in that case, with all of the civies safely inside, protected by the other half of your military should the gates fall.

[assimilateur]

Isn't this all pretty redundant? I mean, you might as well make your dining room a meeting hall, but as long as you put a meeting area over it, they will not party. Or did I mix something up here?

[Quietust]

Placing a meeting area on top of a meeting hall won't prevent parties - the idea is to place the meeting area instead of flagging the dining room as a meeting hall.

[Duuvian]

I think you also need a meeting zone if you order all dwarfs inside.  Without it they won't know where to go.

Thats correct. Without an underground meeting zone your dwarves will just freeze.

Also if you have both an above and below ground meeting zone, if you order all of your dwarves inside they will all move from half in each to all in the below ground meeting zone.

Cool, I didn't know this and it explains why I have to draft the fools who are outside during an ambush. Thanks.