----- Marc Farnum Rendino <mvg...@gmail.com> wrote: > I think you've identified a problem (low activity) and a solution > state (new members), however: > > I believe that would take more than a name change. > > And the "more" is the critical part, not the name change. :)
Agreed, to a large extent. As Josh and others point out, the only way a special-interest community survives is if there's, well, interest. If *we* want for there to be a regional group focused on [supertopic here], *we* need to either provide or provision* the content. This problem is neither unique to VAGUE nor technology UGs in general. There have been times when a small subset seemed juiced enough to consistently solicit (cajole, really) VAGUErants into making presos. Each time I've seen that happen, thought, it's quickly devolved into "Josh mobilizing the group AND the presenter". The coefficient of static friction on this crowd is amazing. ;-) * Don't forget that we could invite others in to do our dirty work! I don't mean to threadjack into a lovefest for jsled (however well-deserved such a thing may be); only to point out that communities crumble when they lean too heavily on a single person to muster all the energy and purpose. What happens when Josh finally throws up his hands and says, "To hell with you all"? We could rely on a string of Benevolent Cruise Directors to sustain our community, but there's no guarantee that the next one is waiting in the wings. There have always been "hot spots" of activity and chatter among the membership, for as long as I've been participating. This is natural and points the way toward something self-sustaining. We just need more than one guy who takes personal responsibility for the well-being of the organization to get closer to the sustainable ideal. > I suggest that the name change should be a side issue which doesn't > detract from the central point of increasing activity and attracting > new members. This is where I diverge from Marc, slightly. Language is powerful. A name that more-closely defines our shared vision for the group could go a long way toward 1) widening the current membership's imaginations, when it comes to developing ideas for pertinent content, and 2) broadening the base of new users finding us through [search engine of choice], who might otherwise pass us up as a bunch of suspenders-wearing graybeards stuck reminiscing about System V. (With apologies to the suspenders-wearing graybeards stuck reminiscing about System V among us.) I *do not* think, however, that discussion of a new focus for the group should distract from kicking off the 2010-2011 "VAGUE Season" with any of the fine presos that have been offered so far. (Or any others that may be lurking out there, waiting for the right moment. You know who you are: the same people they're always talking about on public radio during Pledge Drive, waiting to swoop in and save the day at the last minute with your contribution... :-)) All that said, I can do something on federated identity management and web single-sign-on with Shibboleth[1], if there's interest. $0.02, -sth [1]http://shibboleth.internet2.edu sam hooker|s...@noiseplant.com|http://www.noiseplant.com Sorte supernorum scriptor libri potiatur!
