Terry Collins wrote:
> Complete and total waste of money. Why take funds for promoting Linux
> and give them to dead-tree sellers?
It was only a suggestion. One intended to get a discussion going on how
we could use the recent happenings to our advantage. I'm certainly not
going to push it any further if it clear that it is a 'total waste of
money'.
> > Sure, adverts are expensive... but it would probably attract people, who
> > might then become SLUG members. We would have to work out how much we
> > could spend on an advertisement compared to how many people we would
> > expect to have join.
>
> Might is the correct word.
> Has SLUG decided to get big?
Has SLUG decided to stay small?
> Is SLUG organised to handle large number of newbies?
Sometimes I don't think it's organised to handle newbies at all, at
least in terms of the SLUG meetings. Last month a guy attended for the
first time and stated that he was having problems with his Linux
installation. He asked that SLUG have what I would call a 'linux for
newbies' presentation because he had just started learning. He then sat
through a highly technical discussion about the Sparc related issues
with linux 2.4, followed by a presentation on the virtues of docbook.
The install fests might be different... but after that there is a large
gap from this to the slug meeting content.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the slug meetings and usually get something
out of them.
> Are you prepared to organise/help with installfests, etc for these
> people?
Yes I am. I have been only too happy to do a similar job with friends
who have wanted to try Linux, and I help out when possible on the Linux
mailing lists that I subscribe to. Unfortunately I do not have the
knowledge of many others on this list... I tend to help more people on
debian-user than on the slug list these days (not that there aren't
knowledgeable people there as well, but there tends to be many more
newbies). I have not however attended an installfest yet. Someone in
SLUG hates me and keeps organising them for days on which I'm not free.
> The best member promotion that SLUG can do is word of mouth. It
> generates numbers/people in a reasonably even flow that SLUG can
> handle and adapt too.
For some strange reason, I always feel like a Mormon, or even an Amway
salesman when using this approach. The people I regularly talk to
already know I'm into Linux. I don't force it on them, and so far none
of them have approached me with any interest. I did help one of my
friends to install Linux (after telling him about it over a beer one
night :), but I'm pretty sure it sits dormant on his PC now. The trouble
is that he didn't know what to do with it after installation (the 'now
what do I do?' syndrome). Slug could arguable help with this, but he's
not interested in coming to Slug meetings (living in Penrith doesn't
help either).
(Note: I have not contradicted myself - my friend did not ask me, I
asked him if he would like to try it. He was keen to try, but I suspect
he didn't know what he would be in for).
> Press releases can also be emailed to journalists and this would also
> promote the SLUG site and people as a source of comment on Linux and
> open source happenings. Of course, to make this really happen requires
> a group of people who are prepared to take this on as their thing for
> SLUG.
How about a new committee position then?
I don't know about any of you, but my blood boils when I hear
announcements on the nightly news such as "ILOVEYOU virus affects
computers everwhere" and "the virus may have affected nine in 10
Australian businesses". The first statement is blatently false for those
who know better and the second is a preventable situation. If this is
not an opportunity for us to get Linux out there, then I don't know what
is. My suggestions may not be the best ones to do the job, but they are
suggestions nonetheless. If you don't like them... fine. I just didn't
want to see a golden opportunity go to waste.
Matthew
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