Linux Use In Dublin

jaqian

Now we got the basics how about we start lloking at what we want from our BLUG. Like are there many ppl here who'd like to try Linux but don't know how to install it or whats right for their system etc or just a bit nervous mucking with their sysytem on their own? If yes maybe we could have a meet somewhere and give them an intro to Linux. Whatever way it goes I think we should have a meet to really get the ball rolling.

jaqian

Here's some interesting hints/suggestions on setting up a LUG:

Arguably, a well-maintained Web site is the one must-have, among those Internet resources. My essay Recipe for a Successful Linux User Group(http://linuxmafia.com/faq/Linux_PR/newlug.html), for that reason, spends considerable time discussing Web issues. Quoting it (in outline form):


You need a Web page.
Your Web page needs a reasonable URL.
You need a regular meeting location.
You need a regular meeting time.
You need to avoid meeting-time conflicts.
You need to make sure that meetings happen as advertised, without fail.
You need a core of several Linux enthusiasts.
Your core volunteers need out-of-band methods of communication.
You need to get on the main lists of LUGs, and keep your entries accurate.
You must have login access to maintain your Web pages, as needed.
Design your Web page to be forgiving of deferred maintenance.
Always include the day of the week, when you cite event dates. Always check that day of the week, first, using gcal.
Place time-sensitive and key information prominently near the top of your main Web page.
Include maps and directions to your events.
Emphasise on your main page that your meeting will be free of charge and open to the public (if it is).
You'll want to include an RSVP "mailto" hyperlink, on some events.
Use referral pages.
Make sure every page has a revision date and maintainer link.
Check all links, at intervals.
You may want to consider establishing a LUG mailing list.
You don't need to be in the Internet Service Provider business.
Don't go into any other business, either.
Walk the walk. (Do the LUG's computing on Linux.)

Rest of document can be found here: http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/User-Group-HOWTO-5.html

Syth

I think it's a bad idea to be so seperate from ILUG. If people want a mailingl list, why not ask for a linux.ie one? Same for webspace. Or if you want to do events, why not just do them as ILUG events? Boards.ie Linux users and ILUG don't have to be and shouldn't be seperate entities. What is the goals of this BLUG? Are they seperate from the goals of ILUG?

kdouglas

sounds like a good idea, branching off from the ilug completely is probably not the best way to go about it but holding regular meetings in dublin would be good,
im currently an admin with netsoc in dit, i could probably organise a venue for meetings in on of the dit campus' around dublin

masteroftherealm

Make sure you all either sign up on the ggroup or send the email my friends.

Karoma

I do think that the "BLUG" should be autonomous. My reasoning is that the established community would be based on the values and ethics of Boards.ie, and could avoid the rather elitist reputation that the ILUG has been awarded.
This doesn't not mean that any "BLUG" should be isolated or in competition with the ILUG though!

I don't think google groups,etc. is necessary or desirable when it's Boards.ie based ..and has a perfectly (well, almost perfectly) working vBulletin.

I'll enter myself as nooB, with what limited knowledge and (even more) limited download/burning resources that I have.

masteroftherealm

Yeah I agree but we were just coming from the easiest way to get a mailinglist going as having a forum or thread here could get messy eventually.

Karoma

If we delete our posts discussing GGroups,etc. and look how tidy the thread is:)

masteroftherealm

But wait till people start asking advice(",)

wes

kdouglas wrote:

sounds like a good idea, branching off from the ilug completely is probably not the best way to go about it but holding regular meetings in dublin would be good,
im currently an admin with netsoc in dit, i could probably organise a venue for meetings in on of the dit campus' around dublin

Great to see the DIT Netsoc getting involved in this !

Syth

kdouglas wrote:

sounds like a good idea, branching off from the ilug completely is probably not the best way to go about it but holding regular meetings in dublin would be good,
im currently an admin with netsoc in dit, i could probably organise a venue for meetings in on of the dit campus' around dublin

I'm a sysadmin at UCD's netsoc. However we don't run a lot of events. Note: Having nearly all your committe in final year is not a good idea!

WizZard

I'm up for this. I'm a Gentoo user mainly but have experience in Red Hat/Fedora, FreeBSD, and have dabbled in Debian.

masteroftherealm

sign u sign up ;p

jaqian

I'd like to see us have our own web-page hosted on linux.ie along with our own mailing list. I don't think being separete from ILUG is the way to go either but I definitely think there is a demand there for meet-ups etc.

@Master: So how many members do we have now? Has everyone signed up? How about a roll-call of signed up members?

So when are we going to have our first meet-up?

masteroftherealm

So far 11members with two active mailing list topics.

jaqian

Deadly. Thats a great start. So when we gonna have our first meet up?

jaqian

I was thinking of announcing ourselves to ILUG asking them for a mailing list and some webspace. Eveyone cool with that?

masteroftherealm

Yeah approve.

HomunQlus

I'm cool with that

jaqian

Grand so. I'll keep you posted.

jaqian

Right so heres the update. I just emailed the ILUG mailing list just gotta wait for the replies. Here's what I said:


Announce: Creation of Boards.ie LUG (BLUG)

Hi all,
A load of us over on Boards.ie have got together to form a LUG. We've decided to call ourselves the Boards.ie LUG or BLUG for short. So far we've eleven members of varying skills/experience. We'll be looking to having a meet-up etc where we can show off our different distros and share our experiences and maybe a couple of beers ;-) . And with the kind offer of a venue from the sysadmin of DIT Netsoc all we'll have to do is agree a date/time.

We would appreciate it if we could get a mailing list going on ILUG and a webpage if that is possible. Look forward to hearing from you.


Regards,
Jaqian

masteroftherealm

Sounds god. Nice work.

Khannie

Fair play. Keep us posted.

jaqian

Cheers. Wait & see what happens now.

Syth

Right linux and boards.ie... how can I combine those two...

I once wrote a perl script that would look at all the posts a person made in the last month and tell you what they active on. I called it 'stalk.pl'.

Any other Linuxy boards.ie hacks people have done? Most people interested in Linux are also interested in hacking. BLUG could also feature as a boards.ie hacking group?

masteroftherealm

:v: No comment but I like it.

Khannie

I presume you mean "coding" rather than the modern interpretation of "hacking".

I'm handy with perl and c++. I automate a lot of my work with perl.

masteroftherealm

I was coming from the old skool perspective as in real sys admin and security testing.

Syth

Khannie wrote:

I presume you mean "coding" rather than the modern interpretation of "hacking".

Original and true meaning of hackers, hacking and hack all the way. Though I'm just a young lad, and can hardly claim to 'remember the good old days'.

For those who don't know what I mean, check out the Jargon File entry on hacker and the Wikipedia entry on hacker

jaqian

Hey lads looks like we'll have to change our moniker to something else as BLUG is already taken by the Belfast LUG.

Any suggestions? What about bieLUG?