It was a bitter sweet reunion for Arab bloggers and activists at the Fourth Arab Bloggers Meeting, which kicked off in Amman, Jordan, this morning.

The four-day gathering, bringing around 80 bloggers, activists and academics from across the region and beyond, includes a three-day retreat for Arab bloggers, which culminates with a public meeting on Thursday.

Missing from the meeting were prominent bloggers Egyptian Alaa Abdel Fattah and Syrian Bassel Al Safadi, both in jail in their countries.

Palestinan Abir Kopty tallies up those missing:

#ab14 @freebassel & @alaa in jail, 2 Iraqi bloggers didn't get visa, a Syrian blogger was denied entry 2 Jordan. U r missed here guys!

— Abir Kopty (@AbirKopty) January 20, 2014

Bahraini activist Mohammed Al Maskati fondly remembers Abdel Fattah – a constant at all previous gatherings:

المدون المصري علاء عبدالفتاح كان المفترض ان يكون معنا في ملتقى المدونين العرب و لكن للاسف هو خلف القضبان بسبب آرائه #AB14 #Bahrain #Egypt

— Mohammed Al-Maskati (@MohdMaskati) January 20, 2014

The Egyptian blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah was supposed to be with us at the Arab Bloggers meeting. Unfortunately, he is in prison [in his country] because of his opinion

Red tape also prevented some invited Iraqi and Syrian bloggers from making it to the gathering, generating complaints about the difficulties facing certain Arabs when traveling in Arab countries.

Jordanian Sara Obeidat suggests:

The next #arabbloggers meeting should be held in Sweden-maybe then we can guarantee a visa for our #iraqi& #syrian bloggers #ab14 #JO #3eib

— Sara Obeidat (@saraobeidat) January 20, 2014

Syrian Leila Nacahwati echoes this sentiment:

So we´re going to have to think of doing the Arab Bloggers meeting in a non-Arab country (sic). #Ab14

— Leila Nachawati Rego (@leila_na) January 20, 2014

Despite the no shows, the meeting is generating positive vibes and energy.

Global Voices executive director Ivan Sigal is ecstatic:

#ab14 starting soon! @advox. Great to be in Amman

— Ivan Sigal (@ivonotes) January 20, 2014

Not everyone is as excited. Others have other grievances.

Security guru Jacob Appelbaum feels left out*:

I wish I could be at the Arab Bloggers Meeting. #ab14

— Jacob Appelbaum (@ioerror) January 19, 2014

Ali Al Amer complains that all the tweets, on the event hashtag #ab14, are in English [Ar]**:

هاشتاق ملتقى المدونين العرب كل التغريدات فيه باللغة الأنجليزية! #ab14

— علي العامر (@_3amr) January 20, 2014

All the tweets in the Arab Bloggers Meeting hashtag are in English

And Yemeni blogger Afrah Nasser makes a note on gender representation***:

Glad to know there are 3 Yemeni speakers in #AB14 – Though, it'd have been greater if there was a diverse gender distribution.

— Afrah Nasser (@Afrahnasser) January 19, 2014

For more on the meeting, check out the hashtag #ab14

Here's a list of the Twitter handles of attendees