[Discuss] Results from VLUG's AGM

[David Lee]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Alan W. Irwin" <irwin at beluga.phys.uvic.ca>
To: <discuss at vlug.org>
Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2007 6:36 PM
Subject: Re: [Discuss] Results from VLUG's AGM


> On 2007-12-12 16:47-0800 David Lee wrote:
>
>> I'm finding this rather ironic :)
>>
>> Years ago, we started as a(n) SIG at BB&C in the back room. The numbers 
>> started getting bigger and bigger. It was amazing how many we packed in 
>> that little room!
>> Then we finally ended up at Uvic.
>> Now the numbers are dwindling and dwindling and we're going back to a 
>> room at BB&C.
>>
>> There's a story in there somewhere. :)
>>
>> Maybe we should find out why the numbers are going down.
>
> One reason is that in the old days Linux was exciting and new but a real
> pain to install so you could have an interesting and viable club that
> focussed on installfests and presenting neat new software packages (e.g.,
> KDE, GNOME, the GIMP, EMACS, GNUPG) which hardly anybody had ever seen
> demonstrated before.
>
> Now Linux is main-stream.  For example, installs are largely boring these
> days (unless you, ahem, try cutting-edge hardware) and KDE, et. al are
> largely old hat.  At the same time, Linux is now deployed in a huge 
> variety
> of ways but with users who tend to be focussed only on a tiny subset of 
> the
> Linux possibilities. Some LUGs have adjusted well to these changes and are
> extremely active, but currently that does not seem to apply to VLUG.
> However, there is lots of hope for the VLUG future since the potential
> exists for VLUG to again become as successful as other LUGs.
>
> One place you should start is publicity. There are lots of Linux
> users in town who are potential club members, but they may have an 
> extremely
> focussed Linux interest, and they regard their time as valuable. So they 
> may
> not be too interested in general Linux presentations unless they are
> strongly reminded about them.  For example, if there was a timely reminder
> on list about each forthcoming meeting, and the meeting had a reasonably
> interesting general Linux topic, I would probably show up.  Just putting 
> up
> the meeting notice on the website is not good enough to attract me (unless 
> I
> remember to actually look at the website near the correct day), and I
> suspect that is true for lots of other potential attendees as well.
>
> In sum, to get the crowds out again you need well-organized meetings with 
> a
> definite topic, and better publicity of those meetings.  Also, I don't 
> think
> the BOD should take a committee approach to this since inevitably 
> something
> will fall between the cracks.  Thus, in my view the absolutely most
> important BOD (ex-officio?) position is meetings coordinator, and I hope 
> for
> the sake of the club's future that somebody has volunteered for that role
> who has the time/energy to do a good job.
>
> Alan
> __________________________
> Alan W. Irwin
>
> Astronomical research affiliation with Department of Physics and 
> Astronomy,
> University of Victoria (astrowww.phys.uvic.ca).
>
> Programming affiliations with the FreeEOS equation-of-state implementation
> for stellar interiors (freeeos.sf.net); PLplot scientific plotting 
> software
> package (plplot.org); the libLASi project (unifont.org/lasi); the Loads of
> Linux Links project (loll.sf.net); and the Linux Brochure Project
> (lbproject.sf.net).
> __________________________
>
> Linux-powered Science
> __________________________
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>
>
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I think at times the very thing we helped to build has come back to bite us.
If we needed information and advice we waited patiently for the next 
meeting. Now there's oodles of websites for Linux forums on-line. I log onto 
PCLinuxOS and can talk to my hearts content to like-minded souls.

Does anyone remember the demonstrations we used to set up in local shopping 
malls?
We'd set up a few computers and hand out brochures with gay abandon :)

David