On 9/17/05, Soumyadip Modak <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >=20 > On Sat, 2005-09-17 at 13:00 +0530, Prashant Verma wrote: > > b)There are perhaps a few people on the list with a really good > > insight into Linux. How would the theks get the benefit of their > > expertise? >=20 > I believe you were not in the list when the idea of GLTs was presented. > We are not looking at Linux gurus in attendance. We want ordinary > mortals to meet on a regular basis and share their experiences, their > problems and possible solutions. The idea is of an informal adda not a > formal classroom environment that the so called meetings usually turn > into.
I visited the GLT-Mad website and also read other material (including=20 Sankarshan's excellent article on GLT-Mad -=20 http://www.ilug-cal.org/?q=3Dnode/view/176 ). My take is that theks are an= =20 alternative to formal classroom environment (as you have stated) or is an= =20 attemp to break down the formal structure of prescribed learning, as stated= =20 in Sankarshan's article. Since a LUG is neither of these - not a formal=20 classroom environment, nor a place where prescribed learning is provided in= =20 a formal structure, how can the theks be considered an alternative to LUGs?= =20 Theks are important and have utility, but so do LUG meetings. If the LUG meetings turn into a classroom, that must be addressed in the LU= G=20 meetings and care should be taken to ensure that the LUG does not lose sigh= t=20 of its objectives. One of the important activities of a LUG must be to thro= w=20 together developers, power users and users together into a 'primordial soup= '=20 :-) and see what happens. Often what emerges may not be so interesting=20 immediately as what it evolves into. Is the mailing list an alternative for the LUG meetings? No. In the words o= f=20 Dipankar Das (quoting from Sankarshan's article): "The Internet has a=20 curious paradox. At one end it breaks down barriers of geography and=20 politics, on the other it takes away the vitality of personal interaction"= =20 says, Dipankar Das. Is a LUG meeting useless if only a few people show up? Again, no. Given=20 enough time and nurturing, it will attract more participation and will turn= =20 into something very valuable for the community. > that is a good enough meeting ground for Linux users > > (than a largely non-functioning LUG as we have now). >=20 > That's a matter of perception. There are people who are quite active in > the FOSS world in iLUG-Cal itself. >=20 I agree that there are people who are quite active in the Linux world from= =20 Kolkata and I stated as much in my last email ("some people with a very goo= d=20 insight into Linux"). But that's individuals who are active. The LUG appear= s=20 to be inactive because two indicators of a LUG's activity: mailing list and= =20 meetings seem to indicate that the LUG is languishing. Since that was a long email, I'll summarize: a)Theks are good and have their place. So do LUGs. LUGs and Theks have non= =20 overlapping scope (one is not an alternative to the other). b)Let's have monthly LUG meetings. Prashant Verma -- To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the body "unsubscribe ilug-cal" and an empty subject line. FAQ: http://www.ilug-cal.org/node.php?id=3
