Sounds like the same problem with <activity> meetups. Some people are there for dating, some people are there for <activity>.

Thing is, people have to realize this because mixing the two leads to misery.

Maybe they have to be explicitly told not to put their foot in it.

The coworking space I was at back in 2013 held regular weekly meetups in the common space. Sometimes cool tech was shown off, but a ton of promo talks was common. I won't say no to free pizza though.