As a relative newbie, I have come to a partially-informed conclusion on the significance of GNU viz "Linux". Thanks to the thread contributors for helping this along, and not changing it. What follows are some main points to be made for the forming of a GNU/Linux User Group in Waiata/Canterbury.
1. Why have people not heard of GNU? GNU belongs in the "babies' milk", not as some debateable add-on for the untrained to despise as an inconvenience, says "Linux" history. If it's good enough for Linus (as seen on 'Revolution OS'), then it's good enough for me.
2. Just as we need GNU to understand our history, so too do we need GNU to chart our way forward.
Just a thought, there are a number of organisations that might be helpful in "concentrating" the message that might be of interest to you. The NZ Open Source Society (http://www.nzoss.org.nz) would welcome your energy, I hope, and so would http://openz.org/, the NZ Open Source vendor group.
At one level, why a "GNU/Linux" group? If it's the GNU heritage and philosophy that's important, why not just a "GNU" group - that would then be truly cross-platform, as GNU software runs on all Unixes, including Solaris, *BSD, Linux, and Windows (via cygwin especially).
And in this age of far-reaching communications, why just Canterbury, and not the whole of NZ? (What do you mean, it's not in Auckland?)
-jim
