[nflug] any meetings? (fwd)
Cyber Source
peter at thecybersource.com
Mon Nov 21 10:40:31 EST 2005
JS Kelly wrote:
>Ah -- I didn't realize there was a pattern to the "is there a meeting this
>week" mails (I'm New Around Here). And since I am (new around here) I hope
>you won't take it ill if I ask a few questions. I'm not trying to be
>critical -- so if it sounds so, please don't take it that way.
>
>Poking around the NFLUG web site (and mailing list archives) it seems like
>this -- where someone asks if there will be a meeting and then, as often
>as not, there is none -- is not a new trend. Now that I know that meetings
>are held every third Sunday, I can plan for that in my calendar. But I
>think it would be helpful for others like me (especially those who didn't
>sign up for the mailing list) if there were a calendar posted to the NFLUG
>web site. The front page of the site looks as if it were last updated in
>2003, so for other people who are also New Around Here, this might keep
>them from popping in to a meeting, not being sure if there actually is
>one. I would be happy to code up an HTML calendar of all the third Sundays
>in 2006, if it would be wanted? I think it would also help to be more
>assertive about meetings -- eg to send out an announcement around the
>first of the month stating that "This month's meeting is
>(date/time/address)" rather than wait until the Thursday or Friday before
>the third Sunday to discuss whether there will be one at all.
>
>The third Sunday in November is today, and it has already been established
>that there wasn't a meeting today. The third Sunday next month is December
>18, and although that isn't all that near the 25th, the weeks around
>Christmas tend to be really very busy for me, so I expect I wouldn't be
>able to make that meeting. However, the third Sunday in January is January
>15: is it OK to propose that date as a "plenary meeting" where everyone
>who is reading this mail will come? And we can discuss things like
>speakers and topics and installfests and LinuxWorld Toronto (er, or some
>other, closer conference/meeting that is maybe more convenient -- when I
>say I am new around here, I mean to Buffalo too)? I'd be happy to
>"sponsor" the pizza for everyone who comes, that meeting.
>
>I'm not sure if I agree with Ron that the primary reason for a LUG is
>outreach to new/end-users only, but it's definitely "a" primary reason,
>and, I'd guess that at each LUG meeting there would be some time set aside
>to answer questions for new users? But if we were to start planning in
>January for an Installfest in perhaps April or May (so that the weather is
>nice but school is still in session) we could probably get it written up
>in the Buffalo News & other outlets (and post it to the NFLUG web site),
>which would help with outreach to totally new users (if that is indeed an
>aim of the LUG -- is it?) How do the meetings tend to be structured?
>
>At least every other time that "is there a meeting this month" gets
>discussed, there is a conversation about getting speakers to come to
>events. What speakers have we had in the past, and what kind of speakers
>do we want? It seems to me (and apologies if I am wrong) that Buffalo is
>sort of a small place, and that most of those people we could get as
>speakers are quite likely already involved in either NFLUG or UB-FREEUNIX
>or BPLUG. Speaking of which, why are there three affinity groups around
>the same topic, when none of them seem to be all that active? How much
>overlap is there in membership, and has it ever been discussed to
>consolidate their activitites?
>
>As David Aquilina mentioned (and thank you, David, for your mail), lining
>up speakers is the kind of thing one needs to do a few months in advance.
>I would be happy to help coordinate something like that. I'd be curious,
>though, to learn how one gets someone like Bob Young to come to a LUG
>meeting. Was he in the area anyway? Did Red Hat pay for his travel
>expenses? How does that work, in general?
>
>As for local speakers, it seems like someone from SUNY Buffalo to talk
>about their Linux cluster might be a worthwhile topic (?); then I for one
>would be very curious to hear how the April 2003 "open documents"
>resolution from the University of Buffalo
>
>http://lists.canopener.ca/pipermail/discuss/2003-April/000940.html
>
>turned out in Real Life. Is that the kind of topics/speakers we mean when
>we say we need to like up some topics and speakers, or do we want more
>practical topics like "shell scripting" or "security," where members step
>up to take the floor as speaker for that month?
>
>And finally, if Bob is in Rochester every weekend and coming to a Sunday
>meeting constitutes a two-hour round trip for him to come, do we want to
>discuss holding the meetings on a weeknight instead?
>
>Thank you for your patience,
>-nora
>
>
>On Sat, 19 Nov 2005, Joshua Ronne Altemoos wrote:
>
>
>
>>Date: Sat, 19 Nov 2005 15:36:39 -0500 (EST)
>>From: Joshua Ronne Altemoos <joshua at wolfnix.net>
>>Reply-To: nflug at nflug.org
>>To: nflug at nflug.org
>>Subject: Re: [nflug] any meetings?
>>
>>The meeting place is at the ansonia center you can get there by Rail by
>>getting off at the theather station and walking down main past studio
>>arena and it is right there just amke sure you are at the right door and
>>you would ring teh NYCLU office. The meetings are always the 3rd sunday of
>>the month if convient and if people say they will come.
>>
>>
>>
>>josh
>>
>>
>>>
>>>PS (sorry i thought of it only after hitting send) -- as for topics, how
>>>about "community outreach and member recruitment so that future meetings
>>>are better attended" =)
>>>-n
>>>
>>>On Sat, 19 Nov 2005, JS Kelly wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>I'd like vey much to come to meetings. One thing that has kept me away
>>>>is
>>>>that they are always announced so suddenly -- is there any value in
>>>>doing
>>>>a standing meeting (every third Thursday of the month, or something like
>>>>that?). Doing it on a weekday would also mean that it doesn't cost you
>>>>an
>>>>extra trip from Rochester. The other thing I was a little bit concerned
>>>>about was actually finding the meeting; after reading about how
>>>>confusing
>>>>it was to find it in the new downtown location. In the winter months
>>>>(basically, when it is snowing) I would have to come in by bus, because
>>>>I
>>>>only have a "summer car." That's fine, but I mention it because it means
>>>>that the downtown location is more convenient for me than any of the
>>>>suburban ones that have been proposed every once in a while when the
>>>>topic
>>>>comes up.
>>>>
>>>>thanks,
>>>>-nora
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>On Fri, 18 Nov 2005, Robert Meyer wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>Date: Fri, 18 Nov 2005 11:55:02 -0800 (PST)
>>>>>From: Robert Meyer <meyer_rm at yahoo.com>
>>>>>Reply-To: nflug at nflug.org
>>>>>To: nflug at nflug.org
>>>>>Subject: Re: [nflug] any meetings?
>>>>>
>>>>>Well, the response when I've asked about who is going to be at a
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>meeting has
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>been quite underwhelming. I've been spending weekends in Rochester so
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>it's an
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>hour trip for me to come back for a meeting. This something that I
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>wouldn't
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>mind doing if there was going to be decent attendance but the last
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>time I asked
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>who was going to be there, I got two responses.
>>>>>
>>>>>I can't be available this weekend due to prior commitments. I need to
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>know how
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>many people are interested in attending meetings. The last several
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>have had
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>very few attendees. One meeting, if it wasn't for Ron bringing his
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>students, I
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>would have been the only person to show up.
>>>>>
>>>>>So, if we're going to have meetings, we need to find out if anyone is
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>going to
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>show up and we also need people to offer topics for discussion and to
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>volunteer
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>to present things.
>>>>>
>>>>>What say, folks?
>>>>>
>>>>>Cheers!
>>>>>
>>>>>Bob
>>>>>
>>>>>--- anthonyriga <torrodimerda at yahoo.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>---------------------------------
>>>>>> Yahoo! FareChase - Search multiple travel sites in one click. >
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>_______________________________________________
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>nflug mailing list
>>>>>>nflug at nflug.org
>>>>>>http://www.nflug.org/mailman/listinfo/nflug
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>__________________________________
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>>>>>http://farechase.yahoo.com
>>>>>_______________________________________________
>>>>>nflug mailing list
>>>>>nflug at nflug.org
>>>>>http://www.nflug.org/mailman/listinfo/nflug
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>Nora Mikes
>>>>jskelly at jskelly.com
>>>>
>>>>_______________________________________________
>>>>nflug mailing list
>>>>nflug at nflug.org
>>>>http://www.nflug.org/mailman/listinfo/nflug
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>Nora Mikes
>>>jskelly at jskelly.com
>>>
>>>_______________________________________________
>>>nflug mailing list
>>>nflug at nflug.org
>>>http://www.nflug.org/mailman/listinfo/nflug
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>_______________________________________________
>>nflug mailing list
>>nflug at nflug.org
>>http://www.nflug.org/mailman/listinfo/nflug
>>
>>
>>
>
>Nora Mikes
>jskelly at jskelly.com
>
>
>
>_______________________________________________
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>nflug at nflug.org
>http://www.nflug.org/mailman/listinfo/nflug
>
>
>
Hello Nora,
Since your new, let me bring you up to speed a little. Yes our lug lacks
in a few areas but you will find many extremely knowledgeable people on
this list who will be more than happy to help you no matter what level
of Linux or computing help you need. And if I may speak for the group,
we are more than happy to hear ideas on better meeting places, forums,
whatever. However, we need to have more than just talk. Ron's "wait and
see" policy is his usual stance and as typical with that attitude, he
has contributed as much. Everyone talks about coming to the meetings and
few show, it can be disappointing to those that have arranged it. Frank
and myself have opened our homes to the meetings in an effort to keep
the meetings going when our usual meeting place(s) were being moved
around, etc.. I have seen Bob repeatedly ask the group, who plans on
coming and what topics are of interest, only to see Josh and maybe 1
other respond. So, my point is this... From a new persons view, I can
completely understand your questions and I too would love to see a more
structured LUG with regular meetings after all, we all LOVE Linux right!
However, for things to change, we really need someone with the time and
ambition to spearhead things and get things going properly. If we all
take the "wait and see" approach, things will never change. I am also
not trying to usurp Bob but he keeps asking for help, so those that can,
should.
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