Here are my more concrete suggestions: 1. Make a big deal out of the meetings and install fests. I remember the days when Ross and I would print fliers and such for the meetings (wow, that was a long time ago). Get the schedule done early for the meetings. Get cool presenters. Post a list of potential topics and let people vote for their favorites.
2. Give out bajillions of SSS & distro disks, branded with the UUG logo (and an optional sponsor). My company sponsored one round of disks a while back. I'm willing to put my money where my mouth is and stock the club with blank media again. We've employed some of the best talent from the UUG and we probably owe a little something in return. 3. Get feedback from non-UUG-ers. Ask questions at the booths, install fests, etc. and record the responses. Use the data to form the club into what Joe Student will find most useful. 4. Do away with the newbie mailing list. It seems that the decline of the club started about the same time as the newbie list was created. Giving the wiley veterans a chance to explain even basic principles does three things: 1) it puts in writing ever-improving explanations of *nix principles and tricks; 2) it gives everyone a chance to eliminate misconceptions (their own and others'); 3) it gives the old-timers a chance to see the pain points that still exist in the software. The easy questions also give us something to talk about and introduce the young-uns to the rest of the group. If the volume of mail makes multiple lists necessary, make the split by topic, not demographic. 5. Bring back the superstars. I don't believe one must be a BYU student to be a UUG officer (correct me if I'm wrong). Get an Art or Stuart type to play some role and breathe life back into the meetings and activities. Even if their roles is more of an advisory one, I think it could help. -Brent Andrew McNabb wrote: > On Fri, Jan 20, 2006 at 10:55:19AM -0700, David D Turley wrote: > >>Sorry to jump in on this, but being away from campus for over 12 years I >>had some ideas... > > > When I mentioned freshmen and sophomores who are really enthusiastic, I > was thinking of people that are already familiar with Linux. Certainly, > many of the best members of the UUG became acquainted with Linux while > at school (either through coursework or through the UUG). But if we > aren't even getting the people who when coming to school are already > excited about Linux, then there's a serious problem. I would imagine > that an increasing number of students arrive with a familiarity with > Linux, and even when I was a freshman there were two or three people on > my floor in the dorms who used Linux extensively. > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > -------------------- > BYU Unix Users Group > http://uug.byu.edu/ > > The opinions expressed in this message are the responsibility of their > author. They are not endorsed by BYU, the BYU CS Department or BYU-UUG. > ___________________________________________________________________ > List Info: http://uug.byu.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/uug-list -------------------- BYU Unix Users Group http://uug.byu.edu/ The opinions expressed in this message are the responsibility of their author. They are not endorsed by BYU, the BYU CS Department or BYU-UUG. ___________________________________________________________________ List Info: http://uug.byu.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/uug-list
