Thanks for the reply Nik, Comments added:
> Like Nick says - writing for clarification can be a pain... > Yep, but I fully expect the pain to diminish with increasing experience. > Jim Cheetham has given us a Wiki knowledgebase to share building an > alternative reference point to the list: http://clug.inode.co.nz . David > Kirk has offered something similar through http://ostc.dyndns.org , & > Chris Sawtell tried before those. Why these forums are yet to take off > is worthy of separate examination, but the short answer is you may > establish a dialogue there (esp the CLUGwiki) & thereby help strengthen > the G/LUG. A whole different level of dialogue is likely to result from > such initiative, just to suit. > What's a Wiki?....don't respond I'll look it up ;-) >Improvement can only come from direct > effort for it, and showing up for that purpose is the only thing that > counts there. So can you commit to the monthly timetable? > Yes, I would fully expect to commit to something of interest. > I say this while arriving at a position of being in two minds about it > myself. Having taken the initiave to organise regular meetings for CLUG, > I did it from the belief that work opportunities existed with FOSS but > that these depended on growing the GNU/Linux user base. That would > provide the necessary client demand, which couldn't be won over without > the positive, interpersonal 'hand-holding' environment of consistent > support meetings. So maintaining the meetings is critical as GNU/Linux's > public interface. This is a key aspect of our difference from the > Winworld, where usage & acceptance is so generalised that organised > support is unnecessary or available super cheaply. > I now question the viability of this sequence though, having experienced > the difficulties of an integrated GNU/Linux community. The answer comes > simply from people's involvement though, and remains "show up" and make > CLUG - as Nick makes clear - more closely what you need it to be. This > applies equally to all our membership. > Am I a member? Is there a registration process?...seems answer is Yes and No. Point to raise here (again from experience)...Who runs the CLUG events? When a Newbie turns up there is no current introduction 'procedure'. A Newbie has no idea who is who (does anyone?) and who does what! I have to admit coming from a customer service environment I find such situations extremely frustrating. Some of you may get an idea where this is leading to....Name Badges! Horror of horrors...formality...rules...regulations...not in my back yard. I have no desire to see a rigid constitution develop (heck as a Newbie I'll easily get ex-communicated) but a loose framework might be nice. A badge with name, and two or three coloured dots indicating...time in club, distro preference, organiser status might be nice. Is a badge any more difficult to organise than a clean pair of Y-fronts?? (come to think of it - probably requires female input somewhere along the line ;-) ) > Practically, Chris Sawtell is going to book us into the St Albans venue > for our first gathering there, next month. This will be a > trouble-shooting session in part, from a high-speed hub. Let's hope the > date is suitable for you. The issue of newbie vs experienced needs & > compatibility is never going to leave us. One could argue that CLUG's > mismanagement of it is the reason why our attendances slumped from 50+ > to half a dozen through 2003, and it's time to constructively deal with > it. Bear with us Ralph, and you'll (make us) find what you want. > Certainly will ;-) > My best guess is that two meetings a month is exactly what GNU/Linux > needs to grow locally. > Have been wanting to suggest this but too afraid (status anxiety). Maybe two / month in winter with one / month in summer?? Not mentioning Mandrake shows > your distance from the Installfest moment, because some modems seemed > more readily solved with it at the time. > Mandrake was tried and failed miserably with my DeskNote...and previously with my Laptop. With the popularity of portable computers these days might it not be a good idea to focus 'initial intros' to a single distribution that works on such platforms. as peaoples skills develop they may then move on to try other flavours at will. Portable computers also make the feasability of a half hour get round the table at each meeting a distinct possibility. > > > Sitting down for half an our at the next fixup meeting with voluntary > help should sort all of this out for you, moreso than October 14. > Great stuff...look forward to it. > >Connecting to another computer - The DSE 802.11b discussion recently and > >wi-fi networking with a wok antennae looked like a great fun and highly > >educational project...Does anyone work in one of the high-rise office > >buildings in town?? > > > Now you're being adventurous ;-) , but you will find people keen on the > same projects through this list, once you've met them. > Anything to reduce the stranglehold of Telecom on communications within NZ ! > > Agreed - join the 'pressure' for agreeing standard toolsets. But don't > expect "distro specialists" to actually be available when you need them > - work on becoming one yourself. Or see the practicality of becoming a > distro generalist (of diverse capabilities) where possible, as I do. > Intend to, but need a 'grounding' first... Regards Ralph
