On Fri, Jan 20, 2006 at 12:35:31AM -0700, Brent Thomson wrote: > > Here are my thoughts:
Pizza & sodas are a bad idea, but I agree wholeheartedly with your other
comments.
> - review the content of the UUG meetings
I've already ranted about this. :)
> - encourage technical and innovative conversations on the list (it's
> been a while since it was substantially more than chit-chat)
Jake chose the word "passion" when bringing up this discussion, and I
think it's right on.
I think a lot of people in the world are looking at Linux differently
than we oldtimers used to, and I now believe that the UUG will die if it
continues to follow this trend. Let me contrast the old attitude and
the new attitude:
OLD ATTITUDE:
- "I just set up an Apache server in my dorm room on a computer I bought
for $10, and I learned a new programming language and created an
interactive web page."
- "I noticed that the network in my apartment was slow, so I downloaded
Ethereal and used it to track down which computer was causing
problems."
- "I installed a Samba client on my laptop, figured out which people in
my dorm building were sharing movies over SMB, and I connected to
their public shares and did 'cd \con\con' to crash their computer."
("someone I know" may possibly have done something like this to
improve network performance).
- "I learned iptables so I could set up a personal firewall for my
apartment."
NEW ATTITUDE:
- "Linux is ready for the desktop! I've gone three weeks without
opening an xterm!!!"
- "I love Linux, because you get to pick between GNOME and KDE. I'm
learning so much about Linux. I've tried all of the backgrounds that
come with Linux."
- "I'm extremely experienced with Linux, because I've installed four
different distros. Even though I never did anything with any of
them."
- "I can't wait until they port Internet Explorer to Linux."
- "I wish we could have a UUG meeting on XMMS skins."
Sure, Linux is growing, and is being used more and more on the desktop,
but frankly, the desktop is boring as heck. Sure, when a new feature
comes out, like Xorg transparency, it's pretty cool, but I really don't
care much about programs that start with "k" or "g". I'm glad they're
there, and I may even use them from time to time, but as far as a user
group goes, there's nothing to discuss.
Making things happen that you never dreamed possible is what's cool.
I've played around with Asterisk a little over the last week or two, and
it's awesome.
I really think we need to get "passionate" again. We need members of
the UUG trying new things, having fun, and then sharing with each other.
The more of this the current members do, the more we'll attract new
members, and the more fun we'll all have.
> - make specific requests to individuals when volunteers are in short
> supply (I know I'm setting myself up with that one)
It's amazing how much more willing people are to help when they're asked
individually.
> - pizza & sodas; "the mooch factor's pretty high in this crowd" :-)
I really disagree with this, but I'm not going to really get going on it
right now. It comes down to: a) we don't have a budget except for
emergencies, b) getting a source of income is a lot of work, and c) once
everyone expects pizza, you choose a retarded meeting over a good one
just because it's sponsored by a company that will bring food.
--
Andrew McNabb
http://www.mcnabbs.org/andrew/
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