Now, to the other thing. I split my answer, because these will probably evolve to two different threads. For those of you who do not have patience for how I developed my conclusions, you are welcome to jump to the end to "So where am I getting at?".
And a reminder: I am hamakor member since founding, and hamakor board member since May 2005. Since summer 2004, JLC (Jerusalem Linux club) Telux and Haifux have been trying to cooperate on the W2L preparation, mainly preparing slides and PR, but (strongly on summer 2005) money issues. Who gets how much (mainly from hamakor), where does this money go. In its time, this looked like a great idea. Why do the PR each club to it own, when PR can centrally done using hamako? Why write slides twice? The problem is that when things are centrally run, especially in an individualist community like the FOSS community, everybody has an opinion on how EXACTLY things should centrally be run. Suddenly, a decision which might have affected 60 people at most, may now affect "the whole country" (about 180 people?). PR became the main issue of the preparation of thw W2L, and the actual doing, for example writing the lectures or coming to give them, became less important. Another issue is the necessity of the W2L events at all. It is not so hard to install Linux nowadays. The actuall installation party was not even done this year at Haifa. I think the main role of the W2L events is something that can be PR-ed in order to introduce Linux to the Linux-hostile or Linux-afraid comunity. The most important side effect the W2L has is that people who are not hostile to Linux, but have not been properly introduced (and do not speak to strangeers), have a chance to come and meet the Haifux people. Some of them we convince to take part in Haifux. Many times, this new blood (which are many times people who are familiar with Linux, but have just moved to a new geographic area, started learning in the Technion, or just heard of Haifux from the PR to W2L) skip the W2L, and if they remember us, they come after W2L is over. If they do not, we lose them. I did not do a survey, but I have a feeling that this year, after the W2L, we got a lot less "new blood" than in previous years. Many of the people in Haifux are students. They come for 3-4 years at most. Some of them take an interest in their last years in the Technion. And then they are geographically gone. The Haifux "hard core" are people who simply really live in Haifa, so they stay longer. So where am I getting at? 1.Money makes relationships sour. I think we should avoid the huge monetary expanses W2L causes. 2.W2L has little effect and little need. 3.If Haifux needs new blood, new blood should be raised for Haifux. Not W2L people, but people who take an interest in Linux. 4.In order to get people who are interested in Linux to come to Haifux, listen and contribute, we need to PR Linux where Linux is of intererest, in English as well as in Hebrew: *whatsup.org.il *linmagazine.co.il *relevant workplaces - intel, ibm, netmanage, get contact people inside companies in the area who will forward the announcements *Technion, HaifaU, Oranim, Brauda. Especially as semester starts. Especially at relevant OS courses. What do you say, is it really NOW? *The electronic announcements board in Taub building. Telux does that, why can't we? 5.This PR is not a one time thing costing thousands of shekels, but constant reminders, including real information (abstract+slides URL) regarding the lecture. A busy person, the kind who can contribute to Haifux, will not come to learn about "Linux", but may come to discuss specific subjects at high level. 6.Lecturers: Hand in the slides a week in advance, to allow for PR. Take lecturing seriously - do not cancel at the last minute. Can't blame a person who does not book his/her calendar for a lecture described at one word only. If you have contacts at any of those institutions or others, and wish to forward the announcement on a regular basis, please contact me to be appointed a contact point for this place (no need to do the work twice). Thanks, Orna. On Wed, 15 Mar 2006, Ohad Lutzky wrote: > Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2006 18:55:27 +0200 > From: Ohad Lutzky <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: Eli Billauer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Cc: Haifa Linux club <haifux@haifux.org> > Subject: Re: [Haifux] Honey, I shrunk the club > > Hear hear for more lectures, shorter lectures, 'check it out, here it is, get info here here and here' lectures. Now, specifically, not ALL lectures... some lectures do deserve the full two-hour span, but not all. Now, the question is does this mean more lectures (because they'd be easier and more attractive to write) (always good), same amount, or less lectures (because we'll be running out of subjects)? In the third case, will we have Orna coming up with a gavel and asking if there's any new business? On 3/15/06, Eli Billauer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Erez Hadad wrote: > > >OMG people. You sound like its time to close the shop and go home. > > > > > Noone wants to close the shop. But we need to find out why the sales go > down. > > I didn't answer my own question, by the way: I have found myself coming > less, simply because I know much more about Linux than I did six years > ago. Guy's lecture about GTk opened my eyes to a tool I couldn't dream > of, at the time. But this has happened less and less, as time went by. > > And let's face it, guys (and girls): This shop has been open for seven > years, and has kept more or less the same format. Time to open our eyes, > and realize that the world around us has changed? For example: > > 1. Linux and open source are not small and unknown movements anymore. > 2. Most computer-competent people are not afraid of installing Linux > (technically). > 3. The amount of information about Linux on the web has increased > dramatically (answered questions in forums and "survival" guides in > particular) > ...etc. > > One of the outcomes is that it becomes less and less relevant to cover a > subject completely, top to bottom. The info is all in the web. If you > know that a tool exists, and you know a few keywords to google for, you > have all you need to get going. > > The Perl community has realized this a long time ago. They have > lightning talks. We had one such session, and I think we all agree that > it was a success. > > But rather than forcing people down to 5 or 10 minutes, I would > encourage people to make short talks about those things that are too > small for a two hours lecture. How many times have you found yourself > discovering something, saying to yourself that you have to tell everyone > about it, but realized that you'll have to work too hard to develop that > into a full lecture? > > So I think we should try another format: Several short talks for each > lecture. "Short" could be anything from five minutes to one hour, if the > subject is cool enough. With or without slides, with live demonstrations > whenever possible. > > Show the point. Share the main pieces of wisdoms. Links and google > words. Thank you. Next. > > It should be less of a bother to prepare a lecture, and less of a > headache to listen to it. > > And if not anything else, several lecturers assures a minimal number of > participants. ;) > > What do you think? > Eli > > -- > Web: http://www.billauer.co.il > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Haifa Linux Club Mailing List (http://www.haifux.org) > To unsub send an empty message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > -- To necessity... and beyond! Ohad Lutzky ��h�������X�����m���� !j'�Ɗ�N�����zwZ�驷)��Ơz�!j'���칻 �&ޅ���+ Orna. -- Orna Agmon http://ladypine.org/ http://haifux.org/~ladypine/ ICQ: 348759096 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Haifa Linux Club Mailing List (http://www.haifux.org) To unsub send an empty message to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
