From e1469866969b91fe6fecfd8c2ae5a44c3315bd09 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: gferg <>
Date: Wed, 14 Mar 2007 13:53:38 +0000
Subject: [PATCH] updated
---
LDP/howto/docbook/HOWTO-INDEX/howtoChap.sgml | 2 +-
LDP/howto/docbook/HOWTO-INDEX/miscSect.sgml | 2 +-
LDP/howto/linuxdoc/User-Group-HOWTO.sgml | 582 ++++++++++---------
3 files changed, 313 insertions(+), 273 deletions(-)
diff --git a/LDP/howto/docbook/HOWTO-INDEX/howtoChap.sgml b/LDP/howto/docbook/HOWTO-INDEX/howtoChap.sgml
index df736421..2595acd8 100644
--- a/LDP/howto/docbook/HOWTO-INDEX/howtoChap.sgml
+++ b/LDP/howto/docbook/HOWTO-INDEX/howtoChap.sgml
@@ -4655,7 +4655,7 @@ system's user authentication.
User-Group-HOWTO,
Linux User Group HOWTO
-Updated: Oct 2004.
+Updated: Mar 2007.
A guide to founding, maintaining, and growing a Linux User Group.
diff --git a/LDP/howto/docbook/HOWTO-INDEX/miscSect.sgml b/LDP/howto/docbook/HOWTO-INDEX/miscSect.sgml
index 47122bbf..5acc99a2 100644
--- a/LDP/howto/docbook/HOWTO-INDEX/miscSect.sgml
+++ b/LDP/howto/docbook/HOWTO-INDEX/miscSect.sgml
@@ -272,7 +272,7 @@ takes place in the Linux world of development.
User-Group-HOWTO,
Linux User Group HOWTO
-Updated: Oct 2004.
+Updated: Mar 2007.
A guide to founding, maintaining, and growing a Linux User Group.
diff --git a/LDP/howto/linuxdoc/User-Group-HOWTO.sgml b/LDP/howto/linuxdoc/User-Group-HOWTO.sgml
index b7da959d..ca83080f 100644
--- a/LDP/howto/linuxdoc/User-Group-HOWTO.sgml
+++ b/LDP/howto/linuxdoc/User-Group-HOWTO.sgml
@@ -4,11 +4,11 @@
Linux User Group HOWTO
<author><url name="Rick Moen" url="mailto:%20rick@linuxmafia.com%20"></author>
-<date>v1.7.8, 2004-10-01
+<date>v1.7.9, 2007-03-12
<abstract>
The Linux User Group HOWTO is a guide to founding, maintaining, and
-growing a Linux user group, co-authored by Kendall Clark and Rick Moen
+growing a GNU/Linux user group, co-authored by Kendall Clark and Rick Moen
(now maintained by Rick Moen).
</abstract>
@@ -19,9 +19,9 @@ growing a Linux user group, co-authored by Kendall Clark and Rick Moen
<sect1>Purpose
<p>
The Linux User Group HOWTO is intended to serve as a guide to founding,
-maintaining, and growing a Linux user group.
+maintaining, and growing a GNU/Linux user group.
-Linux is a freely-distributable implementation of Unix for personal
+GNU/Linux is a freely-distributable implementation of Unix for personal
computers, servers, workstations, PDAs, and embedded systems. It was
developed on the i386 and now supports a huge range of processors from
tiny to colossal:
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ tiny to colossal:
<item><bf>Diverse <url name="PDA / embedded / microcontroller / router"
url="http://www.uclinux.org/ports/"> devices:</bf>
<itemize>
- <item>Advanced RISC Machines, Ltd. <url name="ARM" url="http://www.arm.uk.linux.org/"> family (StrongARM SA-1110, XScale, ARM6, ARM7, ARM2, ARM250, ARM3i, ARM610, ARM710, ARM720T, and ARM920T)</item>
+ <item>Advanced RISC Machines, Ltd. <url name="ARM" url="http://www.arm.uk.linux.org/"> family (StrongARM SA-1110, XScale, ARM6, ARM7, ARM2, ARM250, ARM3i, ARM610, ARM710, ARM720T, and ARM920T, including Sigma Designs DVD systems using ARM cores)</item>
<item>Analog Devices, Inc.'s <url name="Blackfin DSP" url="http://linuxdevices.com/news/NS9596714596.html"></item>
<item>Axis Communications <url name="ETRAX series" url="http://developer.axis.com/software/"> ("CRIS" = Code Reduced Instruction Set RISC architecture)</item>
<item>Elan SC520 and SC300</item>
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ tiny to colossal:
<item>Renesas Technology (formerly Hitachi) SH3/SH4 (SuperH: <url name="link1" url="http://www.superhlinux.com/"> <url name="link2" url="http://linuxsh.sourceforge.net/">)</item>
<item>Samsung <url name="CalmRISC" url="http://sources.redhat.com/ecos/hardware.html#CalmRISC"></item>
<item>Texas Instruments's <url name="DM64x" url="http://linuxdevices.com/news/NS3468265897.html"> and <url name="C54x DSP" url="http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS9254493853.html"> families</item>
+ <item>Xilinx <url name="SoftBlaze" url="http://www.itee.uq.edu.au/~jwilliams/mblaze-uclinux/"> soft processor implemented on Xilinx FPGAs</item>
</itemize>
</item>
<item><bf>Intel <url name="8086 / 80286"
@@ -109,14 +110,14 @@ at all maintained since creation. On some of the rarer architectures,
<url name="NetBSD" url="http://www.netbsd.org/"> may be more practical.
(Soon, the <url name="Debian GNU/NetBSD"
url="http://www.debian.org/ports/netbsd/"> port should be solid enough to
-serve as a compromise option, furnishing Linux userspace code on the
+serve as a compromise option, furnishing GNU/Linux userspace code on the
highly portable NetBSD kernel.)
If seriously interested in the subject of Linux ports, please see also
<url name="Xose Vazquez Perez's Linux ports page"
-url="http://perso.wanadoo.es/xose/linux/linux_ports.html"> and
+url="http://www.itp.uni-hannover.de/ports/linux_ports.html"> and
<url name="Jerome Pinot's Linux architectures list"
-url="http://ngc891.blogdns.net/kernel/docs/arch.txt">, if only because
+url="http://web.archive.org/web/20050308130348/http://ngc891.blogdns.net/kernel/docs/arch.txt"> (static mirrors, as both pages vanished in 2005), if only because
hardware support is more complex than just generic CPU functionality,
encompassing support for myriad bus variations and other subtle hardware
issues (especially for
@@ -134,42 +135,51 @@ For general information about computer user groups, please see the
<url name="Association of PC Users Groups"
url="http://www.apcug.org/">.
-<sect>What is a Linux user group?
+<sect>What is a GNU/Linux user group?
<p>
-<sect1>What is Linux?
+<sect1>What is GNU/Linux?
<p>
-To fully appreciate LUGs' role in the Linux movement, it helps to
-understand what makes Linux unique.
+To fully appreciate LUGs' role in the GNU/Linux movement, it helps to
+understand what makes GNU/Linux unique.
-Linux as an operating system is powerful -- but Linux as an
-<it><bf>idea</bf></it> about software development is even more so. Linux
+GNU/Linux as an operating system is powerful -- but GNU/Linux as an
+<it><bf>idea</bf></it> about software development is even more so. GNU/Linux
is a <bf>free</bf> operating system: It's licensed under the GNU General
Public Licence. Thus, source code is freely available in perpetuity to
anyone. It's maintained by a unstructured group of programmers
world-wide, under technical direction from Linus Torvalds and other key
-developers. Linux as a movement has no central structure, bureaucracy,
+developers. GNU/Linux as a movement has no central structure, bureaucracy,
or other entity to direct its affairs. While this situation has
advantages, it poses challenges for allocation of human resources,
effective advocacy, public relations, user education, and training.
-<sect1>How is Linux unique?
<p>
-Linux's loose structure is unlikely to change. That's a good thing:
-Linux works precisely because people are free to come and go as they
+(This HOWTO credits the Free Software Foundation's
+<url name="GNU Project" url="http://www.gnu.org/gnu/gnu-history.html">
+as the crucial motive force behind creating and furthering a free
+aka open source integrated system. Thus, it refers to "distributions"
+comprising the GNU operating system atop the Linux kernel as "GNU/Linux".
+Yes, the term is awkward, and FSF's request for credit isn't widely
+honoured; but the justice of FSF's claim is obvious.)
+
+<sect1>How is GNU/Linux unique?
+<p>
+GNU/Linux's loose structure is unlikely to change. That's a good thing:
+It works precisely because people are free to come and go as they
please: <bf>Free programmers are happy programmers are effective
programmers</bf>.
-However, this loose structure can disorient the new Linux user: Whom
+However, this loose structure can disorient the new user: Whom
does she call for support, training, or education? How does she know
-what Linux is suitable for?
+what GNU/Linux is suitable for?
-In large part, LUGs provide the answers, which is why LUGs are vital to
-the Linux movement: Because your town, village, or metropolis sports no
+In part, LUGs provide the answers, which is why LUGs are vital to
+the movement: Because your town, village, or metropolis sports no
Linux Corporation "regional office", the LUG takes on many of the same
roles a regional office does for a large multi-national corporation.
-Linux is unique in neither having nor being burdened by central
+GNU/Linux is unique in neither having nor being burdened by central
structures or bureaucracies to allocate its resources, train its users,
and support its products. These jobs get done through diverse means: the
Internet, consultants, VARs, support companies, colleges, and
@@ -196,11 +206,11 @@ sometimes, even ran electronic bulletin board systems (BBSes). With the
advent of the Internet, however, many services that user groups once
provided migrated to things like CompuServe and the Web.
-Linux's rise, however, coincided with and was intensified by the
+GNU/Linux's rise, however, coincided with and was intensified by the
general public "discovering" the Internet. As the Internet grew more
-popular, so did Linux: The Internet brought to Linux new users,
+popular, so did GNU/Linux: The Internet brought new users,
developers, and vendors. So, the same force that sent traditional user
-groups into decline propelled Linux forward and inspired new groups
+groups into decline propelled GNU/Linux forward, and inspired new groups
concerned exclusively with it.
To give just one indication of how LUGs differ from traditional
@@ -209,26 +219,26 @@ monitor what software users redistribute at meetings.
While illegal copying of restricted proprietary software certainly
occurred, it was officially discouraged -- for good reason.
At LUG meetings, however, that entire mindset simply does not apply:
-Far from being forbidden, unrestricted copying of Linux
+Far from being forbidden, unrestricted copying of GNU/Linux
should be among a LUG's primary goals. In fact, there is anecdotal
evidence of traditional user groups having difficulty adapting to
-Linux's ability to be lawfully copied at will.
+GNU/Linux's ability to be lawfully copied at will.
-(Caveat: A few Linux distributions bundle Linux with proprietary
+(Caveat: A few distributions bundle GNU/Linux with proprietary
software packages whose terms don't permit public redistribution.
Check licence terms, if in doubt. Offers or requests to copy
distribution-restricted proprietary software of any sort should be
heavily discouraged anywhere in LUGs, and declared off-topic for all
-Linux user group on-line forums, for legal reasons.)
+GNU/Linux user group on-line forums, for legal reasons.)
<sect1>Summary
<p>
-For the Linux movement to grow, among other requirements,
-LUGs must proliferate and succeed. Because of Linux's
+For the GNU/Linux movement to grow, among other requirements,
+LUGs must proliferate and succeed. Because of GNU/Linux's
unusual nature, LUGs must provide some of the same functions a "regional
office" provides for large computer corporations like IBM, Microsoft,
-and Sun. LUGs can and must train, support, and educate Linux users,
-coordinate Linux consultants, advocate Linux as a computing solution,
+and Sun. LUGs can and must train, support, and educate users,
+coordinate consultants, advocate GNU/Linux as a computing solution,
and even serve as liaison to local news outlets.
<sect>What LUGs exist?
@@ -244,31 +254,31 @@ LUG, your first task should be to find any nearby existing LUGs.
<it>Your best bet may be to join a LUG already established in your area,
rather than founding one.</it>
-As of mid-2003, there are LUGs in all 50 US states plus the District of
-Columbia, nine of Canada's ten provinces, all six of Australia's states
-plus the Australian Capital Territory, in 76 locations in India, and
-over 100 other countries, including Russia, China, and most of Western
-and Eastern Europe.
+As of 2007, there are LUGs in all 50 US states plus the District of
+Columbia, all of Canada's ten provinces and three territories, all six of
+Australia's states plus the Australian Capital Territory, in 76 locations
+in India, and over 100 other countries, including Russia, China, and most
+of Western and Eastern Europe.
<itemize>
- <item><url name="Groups of Linux Users Everywhere (GLUE)" url="http://www.ssc.com:8080/glue/groups/"></item>
<item><url name="LUGs WorldWide Project" url="http://lugww.counter.li.org/"></item>
<item><url name="Linux Online -- User Groups" url="http://www.linux.org/groups/"></item>
- <item><url name="Red Hat User Group Program" url="http://www.redhat.com/apps/community/LUG/"></item>
+ <item><url name="LinuxHQ User Groups" url="http://www.linuxhq.com/users/groups/"></item>
+ <item><url name="Red Hat Army of Friends" url="http://www.redhat.com/opensourcenow/army_of_friends.html"></item>
+ <item><url name="Free Software Foundation GNU Users Groups" url="http://www.gnu.org/gnu/gnu-user-groups.html"></item>
<item><url name="Open Directory: LUGS" url="http://dmoz.org/Computers/Software/Operating_Systems/Linux/User_Groups/"></item>
+ <item><url name="Wikipedia Category:Linux User Groups" url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Linux_User_Groups"></item>
<item><url name="Yahoo Linux > User Groups" url="http://dir.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Software/Operating_Systems/Unix/Linux/User_Groups/">
<item><url name="LUG Webring" url="http://nlug.org/webring/"></item>
+ <item><url name="O'Reilly LinuxGroups" url="http://wiki.oreillynet.com/usergroups/index.cgi?LinuxGroups"></item>
+ <item><url name="LinuxForYou Magazine (of India) LUG List" url="http://www.linuxforu.com/ShowLugs.php"></item>
<item><url name="CLUE: the Canadian Linux Users' Exchange" url="http://www.linux.ca/"></item>
<item><url name="UK Linux User Groups" url="http://www.lug.org.uk/"></item>
<item><url name="Linux Australia" url="http://www.linux.org.au/"></item>
- <item><url name="LUGs in India" url="http://nt.linuxforu.com/lfyusergroup/lfyusergroup.asp"></item>
+ <item><url name="Linux India" url="http://www.linux-india.org/"></item>
<item><url name="I Linux User Group italiani" url="http://www.linux.it/LUG/"></item>
</itemize>
-<p>
-It appears GLUE is more comprehensive for the USA, while the LUGs
-WorldWide Project offers better coverage elsewhere.
-
<sect1>Solidarity versus convenience
<p>
While (most) LUG lists on the Web are well-maintained, likely they don't
@@ -298,7 +308,7 @@ effect on other groups.
<sect>What does a LUG do?
<p>
LUGs' goals are as varied as their locales. There is no LUG master
-plan, nor will this document supply one. Remember: Linux is free from
+plan, nor will this document supply one. Remember: GNU/Linux is free from
bureaucracy and centralised control; so are LUGs.
It is possible, however, to identify a core set of goals for a
@@ -316,17 +326,17 @@ membership's needs.
<sect1>Linux advocacy
<p>
-The urge to advocate the use of Linux is widely felt. When you find
+The urge to advocate the use of GNU/Linux is widely felt. When you find
something that works well, you want to tell as many people as you can.
-LUGs' role in Linux advocacy cannot be overestimated, especially since
-wide-scale commercial acceptance of Linux is only newly underway. While
-it is certainly beneficial to the Linux movement, each and every time a
-computer journalist writes a positive review of Linux, it is also
-beneficial every time satisfied Linux users brief their friends,
+LUGs' role in advocacy cannot be overestimated, especially since
+wide-scale commercial acceptance is only newly underway. While
+it is certainly beneficial to the movement, each and every time a
+computer journalist writes a positive review of GNU/Linux, it is also
+beneficial every time satisfied GNU/Linux users brief their friends,
colleagues, employees, or employers.
-There is effective advocacy, and there is ineffective carping: As Linux
-users, we must be constantly vigilant to advocate Linux in such a way as
+There is effective advocacy, and there is ineffective carping: As
+users, we must be constantly vigilant to advocate GNU/Linux in such a way as
to reflect positively on the product, its creators and developers, and
our fellow users. The <url name="Linux Advocacy mini-HOWTO"
url="http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/Advocacy.html">, available at the
@@ -335,22 +345,22 @@ gives some helpful suggestions, as does Don Marti's excellent
<url name="Linuxmanship" url="http://zgp.org/~dmarti/linuxmanship/"> essay.
Suffice it to say that advocacy is important to a LUG's mission.
-A time may come when Linux advocacy is irrelevant, because Linux has
+A time may come when advocacy is irrelevant, because GNU/Linux has
more or less won the day, when the phrase "no one ever got fired for
using Linux" becomes reality. Until then, LUGs play a vital role in
-promoting Linux use. They do so because their advocacy is free,
+promoting GNU/Linux use. They do so because their advocacy is free,
well-intentioned, and backed up by organisational commitment. If a
-person encounters Linux through a LUG's efforts, then that new
+person encounters GNU/Linux through a LUG's efforts, then that new
user's already ahead of the game: <it>She knows of an organisation that
-will help her install, configure, and even maintain Linux on whatever
+will help her install, configure, and even maintain GNU/Linux on whatever
computers she's willing to dedicate to it.</it>
-New Linux users already in contact with a LUG are ahead
-of others whose interest in Linux has been piqued by a computer
+New users already in contact with a LUG are ahead
+of others whose interest in GNU/Linux has been piqued by a computer
journalist, but who have no one to whom to turn for aid in their
-quest to install, run, and learn Linux.
+quest to install, run, and learn GNU/Linux.
-It is, therefore, important for LUGs to advocate Linux, because
+It is, therefore, important for LUGs to advocate GNU/Linux, because
their advocacy is effective, well-supported, and free.
<sect1>The limits of advocacy
@@ -364,7 +374,7 @@ Many attempts at advocacy fail ignominiously because the advocate fails
to listen to what the other party feels she wants or needs. (As Eric
S. Raymond says, "Appeal to the prospect's interests and values, not to
yours.") If that person wants exactly the proprietary-OS setup she
-already has, then advocating Linux wastes your time and hers. If her
+already has, then advocacy wastes your time and hers. If her
stated requirements equate exactly to MS-Project, MS-Visio, and
Outlook/Exchange groupware, then trying to "sell" her what she doesn't
want will only annoy everyone (regardless of whether her requirements
@@ -391,14 +401,14 @@ obstacle.
At the same time, make sure you don't live up to the stereotype of the
OS advocate, either. Just proclaiming your views at someone without
invitation is downright rude and offensive. Moreover, when done
-concerning Linux, it's also pointless: Unlike the case with proprietary
-OSes, Linux will not live or die by the level of its acceptance and
+concerning GNU/Linux, it's also pointless: Unlike the case with proprietary
+OSes, our OS will not live or die by the level of its acceptance and
release/maintenance of ported applications. It and all key applications
are open source: the programmer community that maintains it is
self-supporting, and would keep it advancing and and healthy regardless
of whether the business world and general public uses it with wild
abandon, only a little, or not at all. Because of its open-source
-licence terms, source code is permanently available. Linux cannot be
+licence terms, source code is permanently available. GNU/Linux cannot be
"withdrawn from the market" on account of insufficient popularity, or at
the whim of some company. Accordingly, there is simply no point in
arm-twisting OS advocacy -- unlike that of some OS-user communities we
@@ -411,14 +421,14 @@ foreign to most people -- the notion of measuring software's value by
what you can do with it. The habit of valuing everything at
<it>acquisition cost</it> is deeply ingrained. In 1996, I heard a young
fellow from Caldera Systems speak at a Berkeley, California LUG about
-the origins of Caldera Network Desktop (the initial name of their Linux
+the origins of Caldera Network Desktop (the initial name of their GNU/Linux
distribution) in Novell, Inc.'s "Corsair" desktop-OS project: In
surveying corporate CEOs and CTOs, they found corporate officers to be
inherently unhappy with anything they could get for free. So, Caldera
offered them a solution -- by charging money.
Seen from this perspective, being conservative about the costs and
-difficulties of Linux deployments helps make them positively attractive
+difficulties of GNU/Linux deployments helps make them positively attractive
-- and protects your credibility as a spokesman. Even better would be
to frame the discussion of costs in terms of the cost of functionality
(e.g., 1000-seat Internet-capable company e-mail with offline-user
@@ -436,71 +446,71 @@ the long term than acquisition cost.
<sect1>Linux education
<p>
-Not only is it the business of a LUG to advocate Linux usage, but
+Not only is it the business of a LUG to advocate GNU/Linux usage, but
also to train members, as well as the nearby computing public,
-to use Linux and associated components -- a goal that can make a huge
+to use our OS and associated components -- a goal that can make a huge
real-world difference in one's local area. While universities and
-colleges are increasingly including Linux in their curricula, for
-sundry reasons, this won't reach some Linux users. For those, a LUG can
+colleges are increasingly including GNU/Linux in their curricula, for
+sundry reasons, this won't reach some users. For those, a LUG can
give basic or advanced help in system administration, programming,
Internet and intranet technologies, etc.
In an ironic twist, many LUGs have turned out to be a backbone of
corporate support: Every worker expanding her computer skills through
LUG participation is one fewer the company must train. Though home
-Linux administration doesn't exactly scale to running corporate data
+GNU/Linux administration doesn't exactly scale to running corporate data
warehouses, call centres, or similar high-availability facilities, it's
light years better preparation than MS-Windows experience. As Linux has
advanced into journaling filesystems, high availability, real-time
extensions, and other high-end Unix features, the already blurry line
-between Linux and "real" Unixes has been increasingly vanishing.
+between GNU/Linux and "real" Unixes has been increasingly vanishing.
Not only is such education a form of worker training, but it will also
serve, as information technology becomes increasingly vital to the
global economy, as community service: In the USA's metropolitan areas,
-for example, LUGs have taken Linux into local schools, small businesses,
+for example, LUGs have taken GNU/Linux into local schools, small businesses,
community and social organisations, and other non-corporate
-environments. This accomplishes the goal of Linux advocacy and also
+environments. This accomplishes the goal of advocacy and also
educates the general public. As more such organisations seek Internet
presence, provide their personnel dial-in access, or other
-Linux-relevant functions, LUGs gain opportunities for community
+GNU/Linux-relevant functions, LUGs gain opportunities for community
participation, through awareness and education efforts -- extending to
-the community the same generous spirit characteristic of Linux and the
+the community the same generous spirit characteristic of GNU/Linux and the
free software / open source community from its very beginning. Most
-Linux users can't program like Torvalds, but we can all give time and
-effort to other Linux users, the Linux community, and the broader
+users can't program like Torvalds, but we can all give time and
+effort to other users, the GNU/Linux community, and the broader
surrounding community.
-Linux is a natural fit for these organisations, because deployments
+GNU/Linux is a natural fit for these organisations, because deployments
don't commit them to expensive licence, upgrade, or maintenance fees.
Being technically elegant and economical, it also runs very well on
cast-off corporate hardware that non-profit organisations are only too
-happy to use: The unused Pentium 133 in the closet can do <bf>real
-work</bf>, if someone installs Linux on it.
+happy to use: The unused Pentium II in the closet can do <bf>real
+work</bf>, if someone installs GNU/Linux on it.
-In addition, Linux education assists other LUG goals over time, in
-particular that of Linux support: Better education means better
-support, which in turn facilitates education, and eases the Linux
+In addition, education assists other LUG goals over time, in
+particular that of support: Better education means better
+support, which in turn facilitates education, and eases the
community's growth. Thus, education forms the entire effort's keystone:
If only two or three percent of a LUG assume the remainder's support
burden, that LUG's growth will be stifled. One thing you can count on:
<bf><it>If new and inexperienced users don't get needed help
from their LUG, they won't participate there for long</it></bf>.
If a larger percentage of members support the rest, the LUG will not
-face that limitation. Linux education -- and, equally, support for
-allied projects such as the Apache Web server, XFree86, TeX, LaTeX, etc.
--- is key to this dynamic: Education turns new Linux users into
+face that limitation. education -- and, equally, support for
+allied projects such as the Apache Web server, X.org, Freedesktop.org,
+TeX, LaTeX, etc. -- is key to this dynamic: Education turns new users into
experienced ones.
-Finally, Linux is a self-documenting operating environment: In other words,
+Finally, GNU/Linux is a self-documenting operating environment: In other words,
writing and publicising our community's documentation is up to us.
Therefore, make sure LUG members know of the <url name="Linux
Documentation Project" url="http://www.tldp.org/"> and its worldwide
mirrors. Consider operating an LDP mirror site. Also, make sure to
publicise -- through <tt>comp.os.linux.announce</tt>, the LDP, and other
-pertinent sources of Linux information -- any relevant documentation
+pertinent sources of information -- any relevant documentation
the LUG develops: technical presentations, tutorials, local FAQs, etc.
-LUGs' documentation often fails to benefit the worldwide Linux
+LUGs' documentation often fails to benefit the worldwide
community for no better reason than not notifying the outside world.
Don't let that happen: It is highly probable that if someone at one LUG
had a question or problem with something, then others elsewhere
@@ -509,8 +519,8 @@ will have it, too.
<sect1>Linux support
<p>
Of course, for the <bf>newcomer</bf>, the primary role of a
-LUG is Linux support -- but it is a mistake to suppose that Linux
-support means only <it>technical</it> support for new Linux users. It
+LUG is GNU/Linux support -- but it is a mistake to suppose that
+support means only <it>technical</it> support for new users. It
should mean much more.
LUGs have the opportunity to support:
@@ -519,29 +529,28 @@ LUGs have the opportunity to support:
<item>users</item>
<item>consultants</item>
<item>businesses, non-profit organisations, and schools</item>
- <item>the Linux movement</item>
+ <item>the GNU/Linux movement</item>
</itemize>
<sect2>Users
<p>
-New Linux users' most frequent complaint, once they have Linux
+New users' most frequent complaint, once they have GNU/Linux
installed, is the steep learning curve characteristic of all modern
Unixes. With that learning curve, however, comes the power and
flexibility of a real operating system. A LUG is often the a new
user's main resource to flatten the learning curve.
-During Linux's first decade, it gained some first-class journalistic
+During GNU/Linux's first decade, it gained some first-class journalistic
resources, which should not be neglected: The main monthly magazines
of longest standing are <url name="Linux Journal"
url="http://www.linuxjournal.com/"> and <url name="Linux Gazette"
-url="http://linuxgazette.net/"> (on-line; note new site). More recently,
+url="http://linuxgazette.net/">. More recently,
they've been joined by
<url name="LinuxFocus" url="http://www.linuxfocus.org/"> (on-line),
<url name="Linux Format" url="http://www.linuxformat.co.uk/">,
<url name="LinuxUser and Developer" url="http://www.linuxuser.co.uk/">,
-<url name="Linux Magazine" url="http://linux-magazine.com/">,
-<url name="Linux For You" url="http://www.linuxforu.com/">, and
-<url name="LinuxWorld Magazine" url="http://www.linuxworld.com/magazine/">.
+<url name="Linux Magazine" url="http://linux-magazine.com/">, and
+<url name="Linux For You" url="http://www.linuxforu.com/">.
Standout on-line magazines with weekly or better publication cycles
include <url name="Linux Weekly News" url="http://lwn.net/">,
@@ -555,12 +564,12 @@ new kernels, etc., but new users must still be made aware of
them, and taught that the newest kernels are always
available from <url name="ftp.kernel.org" url="ftp://ftp.kernel.org">,
that the <url name="Linux Documentation Project" url="http://www.tldp.org/">
-has newer versions of Linux HOWTOs than do CD-based Linux distributions,
+has newer versions of Linux HOWTOs than do CD-based GNU/Linux distributions,
and so on.
Intermediate and advanced users
also benefit from proliferation of timely and useful tips, facts,
-and secrets. Because of the Linux world's manifold aspects, even
+and secrets. Because of the GNU/Linux world's manifold aspects, even
advanced users often learn new tricks or techniques simply by
participating in a LUG. Sometimes, they learn of software packages
they didn't know existed; sometimes, they just remember arcane
@@ -569,7 +578,7 @@ they didn't know existed; sometimes, they just remember arcane
<sect2>Consultants
<p>
-LUGs can help Linux consultants find their customers and vice-versa,
+LUGs can help consultants find their customers and vice-versa,
by providing a forum where they can come together.
Consultants also aid LUGs by providing experienced leadership.
New and inexperienced users gain benefit from both LUGs and
@@ -582,7 +591,7 @@ The line between support requests needing a consultant and those
that don't is sometimes indistinct; but, in most cases, the difference
is clear. While a LUG doesn't want to gain the reputation for
pawning new users off unnecessarily on consultants -- as this is simply
-rude and very anti-Linux behaviour -- there is no reason for LUGs not to
+rude and very anti-GNU/Linux behaviour -- there is no reason for LUGs not to
help broker contacts between users needing consulting services and
professionals offering them.
@@ -605,7 +614,7 @@ In the consulting world, there's a saying about applying "invoice therapy"
to such behaviour: Because of the value system alluded to above, if
your consulting advice is poorly heeded and poorly used, it just might
be the case that you need to charge more. By contrast, the technical
-Linux community has often been characterised as a "gift culture", with a
+community has often been characterised as a "gift culture", with a
radically different value system: Members gain status through enhanced
reputation among peers, which in turn they improve through visible
participation: code, documentation, technical assistance to the public,
@@ -627,7 +636,7 @@ Telltale signs that a questioner may need to be transitioned to consulting-based
fundamentals.
<item>Asking the same questions (or ones closely related) repeatedly.
<item>Insisting on <it>private</it> assistance from helpers active in
- <it>public</it> (Linux community) forums.
+ <it>public</it> (GNU/Linux community) forums.
<item>Vague problem descriptions, or ones that change with time.
<item>Interrupting answers in order to ask additional questions
(suggesting lack of attention to the answers).
@@ -639,7 +648,7 @@ Telltale signs that a questioner may need to be transitioned to consulting-based
</itemize>
In general, LUG members are especially delighted to help, on a volunteer
-basis, members who seem likely to participate in the Linux "gift
+basis, members who seem likely to participate in the "gift
culture" by picking up its body of lore and, in turn, perpetuating it
by teaching others in their turn. Certainly, there's nothing wrong with
having other priorities and values, but such folk may in some cases be
@@ -647,34 +656,34 @@ best referred to paid assistance, as a better fit for their needs.
An additional observation that may or may not be useful, at this point:
There are things one may be willing to do for free, to assist others in the
-Linux community, that one will refuse to do for money: Shifting from
+community, that one will refuse to do for money: Shifting from
assisting someone as a volunteer fundamentally changes the relationship.
A fellow computerist who suddenly becomes a customer is a very different
person; one's responsibilities are quite different, and greater. You're
advised to be aware, if not wary, of this distinction.
Please see Joshua Drake's <url name="Linux Consultants Guide"
-url="http://www.tldp.org/LDP/lcg/html/"> for an
-international list of Linux consultants.
+url="http://www.commandprompt.com/community/consultants/guide/"> for an
+international list of GNU/Linux consultants.
<sect2>Businesses, non-profit organisations, and schools
<p>
LUGs also have the opportunity to support local businesses and
organisations. This support has two aspects: First, LUGs can support
-businesses and organisations wanting to use Linux (and Linux-based
+businesses and organisations wanting to use our OS (and its
applications) as a part of their
computing and IT efforts. Second, LUGs can support local businesses
-and organisations developing software for Linux, cater to Linux users,
-support or install Linux, etc.
+and organisations developing software for GNU/Linux, cater to users,
+support or install distributions, etc.
-The support LUGs can provide to local businesses wanting to use Linux as
+The support LUGs can provide to local businesses wanting to use GNU/Linux as
a part of their computing operations differs little from the help LUGs
-give individuals trying Linux at home. For example, compiling the Linux
+give individuals trying GNU/Linux at home. For example, compiling the Linux
kernel doesn't really differ. Supporting businesses, however, may
-require supporting proprietary Linux software -- e.g., the Oracle, Sybase,
+require supporting proprietary software -- e.g., the Oracle, Sybase,
and DB2 databases (or VMware, Win4Lin, and such things).
Some LUG expertise in these areas may help businesses make the leap
-into Linux deployments.
+into GNU/Linux deployments.
This leads us directly to the second kind of support a LUG can give to
local businesses: LUGs can serve as a clearinghouse for information
@@ -689,14 +698,14 @@ available in few other places. For example:
</itemize>
Maintaining and making this kind of information public not only helps
-the LUG members, but also helps Linux-friendly businesses and encourages
-them to continue to be Linux-friendly. It may even, in some cases, help
+the LUG members, but also helps friendly businesses and encourages
+them to continue to be GNU/Linux-friendly. It may even, in some cases, help
further a competitive environment in which other businesses are
encouraged to follow suit.
<sect2>Free / open-source software development
<p>
-Finally, LUGs may also support the Linux movement by soliciting and
+Finally, LUGs may also support the movement by soliciting and
organising charitable giving. <url name="Chris Browne"
url="mailto:%20cbbrowne@cbbrowne.com%20"> has thought about this issue as much as
anyone I know, and he contributes the following:
@@ -704,14 +713,14 @@ anyone I know, and he contributes the following:
<sect3>Chris Browne on free software / open source philanthropy
<p>
A further involvement can be to encourage sponsorship of various
-Linux-related organisations in a financial way. With the <url
-url="http://counter.li.org" name="multiple millions"> of Linux users,
+GNU/Linux-related organisations in a financial way. With the <url
+url="http://counter.li.org" name="multiple millions"> of users,
it would be entirely plausible for grateful users to individually
contribute a little. Given millions of users, and the not-unreasonable
-sum of a hundred dollars of "gratitude" per Linux user ($100 being
+sum of a hundred dollars of "gratitude" per user ($100 being
roughly the sum <it>not</it> spent this year upgrading a Microsoft OS),
that could add up to <it>hundreds of millions</it> of dollars towards
-development of improved Linux tools and applications.
+development of improved GNU/Linux tools and applications.
<p>
A user group can encourage members to contribute to various
@@ -733,12 +742,13 @@ making US contributions tax-deductible.
<p>
Here are organisations with activities particularly directed towards
-development of software working with Linux:
+development of software working with GNU/Linux:
<itemize>
+<item><url url="http://www.linux-foundation.org/en/About" name="The Linux Foundation">
<item><url url="http://www.li.org/grants/grantdonation.php" name=" Linux International Development Grant Fund Donations">
-<item><url url="http://www.debian.org/donations.html" name="Debian/Software In the Public Interest">
-<item><url url="http://www.fsf.org/help/donate.html" name="Free Software Foundation">
+<item><url url="http://www.debian.org/donations.html" name="Debian / Software In the Public Interest">
+<item><url url="https://www.fsf.org/associate/support_freedom" name="Free Software Foundation">
<item><url url="http://www.kde.org/helping/" name="KDE Project">
<item><url url="http://www.gnome.org/friends/" name="GNOME Foundation">
</itemize>
@@ -746,11 +756,11 @@ development of software working with Linux:
<p>
Contributions to these organisations have the direct effect of
supporting creation of freely redistributable software usable with
-Linux. Dollar for dollar, such contributions almost certainly yield
-greater benefit to the Linux community than any other kind of spending.
+GNU/Linux. Dollar for dollar, such contributions almost certainly yield
+greater benefit to the community than any other kind of spending.
<p>
-There are also organisations less directly associated with Linux, that
+There are also organisations less directly associated with GNU/Linux, that
may nonetheless be worthy of assistance, such as:
<itemize>
@@ -774,7 +784,7 @@ world.
<p>
The <url url="http://www.tug.org/" name="TeX Users Group (TUG)"> is
working on the "next generation" version of the LaTeX publishing
-system, known as LaTeX3. Linux is one of the platforms on which TeX
+system, known as LaTeX3. GNU/Linux is one of the platforms on which TeX
and LaTeX are best supported.
<p> Donations for the project can be sent to:
<tscreen>
@@ -786,17 +796,9 @@ PO Box 2311
Portland, OR 97208-2311
</verb>
</tscreen>
-or, for those in Europe,
-<tscreen>
-<verb>
-UK TUG
-c/o Dr RWD Nickalls (Chairman, UK-TuG)
-Department of Anæsthesia,
-Nottingham City Hospital NHS Trust,
-Hucknall Road,
-Nottingham, NG5 1PB, UK
-</verb>
-</tscreen>
+
+Alternatively, donations can be made
+<url url="https://www.tug.org/donate.html" name="online">.
<item> <URL URL="http://promo.net/pg/" name="Project Gutenberg">
@@ -804,7 +806,7 @@ Nottingham, NG5 1PB, UK
Project Gutenberg's purpose is to make freely available in electronic
form the texts of public-domain books. This isn't directly a "Linux
thing", but seems fairly worthy, and they actively encourage platform
-independence, which means their "products" are quite usable with Linux.
+independence, which means their "products" are quite usable with GNU/Linux.
<item> <url url="http://www.osef.org/donations.html" name="Open Source
Education Foundation">
@@ -822,11 +824,11 @@ computer for student computer labs.
<item> <url url="http://www.pingos.org/" name="PingoS e.V.">
<p>"PingoS e.V." is a registered non-profit entity with the goal of
-promoting the use of Linux in schools. Any German school can use it
-for free support concerning Linux, and PingoS staff give
-presentations about Linux in schools. Also, PingoS e.V. is the legal
+promoting the use of GNU/Linux in schools. Any German school can use it
+for free support concerning GNU/Linux, and PingoS staff give
+presentations about GNU/Linux in schools. Also, PingoS e.V. is the legal
head of SelfLinux, a project aiming to create a comprehensive and
-free set of German-language documentation about Linux and free /
+free set of German-language documentation about GNU/Linux and free /
open-source software.
<item> <url url="http://www.osafoundation.org/donations.htm" name="Open
@@ -838,30 +840,30 @@ with its pioneering personal information manager, Chandler.
</itemize>
-(Please note that suggested additions to the above list of Linux-relevant
+(Please note that suggested additions to the above list of GNU/Linux-relevant
charities are most welcome.)
<sect2>Linux movement
<p>
-I have referred throughout this HOWTO to what I call the <bf>Linux
+I have referred throughout this HOWTO to what I call the <bf>GNU/Linux
movement</bf>. There really is no better way to describe the
-international Linux phenomenon: It isn't a bureaucracy, but is
+international GNU/Linux phenomenon: It isn't a bureaucracy, but is
organised. It isn't a corporation, but is important to businesses
-everywhere. The best way for a LUG to support the international Linux
-movement is to keep the local Linux community robust, vibrant, and
-growing. Linux is <it>developed</it> internationally, which is easy
+everywhere. The best way for a LUG to support the international GNU/Linux
+movement is to keep the local community robust, vibrant, and
+growing. GNU/Linux is <it>developed</it> internationally, which is easy
enough to see by reading the kernel source code's
<file>MAINTAINERS</file> file -- but
-Linux is also <it>used</it> internationally. This ever-expanding
-user base is key to Linux's continued success, and is where the LUGs
+GNU/Linux is also <it>used</it> internationally. This ever-expanding
+user base is key to GNU/Linux's continued success, and is where the LUGs
are vital.
-The Linux movement's strength internationally lies in offering
+The movement's strength internationally lies in offering
unprecedented computing power and sophistication for its cost and
freedom. The keys are value and independence from proprietary control.
Every time a new person, group, business, or organisation experiences
-Linux's inherent value, the Linux movement grows. LUGs help that
+GNU/Linux's inherent value, the movement grows. LUGs help that
happen.
<sect1>Linux socialising
@@ -872,12 +874,12 @@ many or to what degree LUGs do it. While it would be strange to
have a LUG that didn't engage in the other goals, there may be
LUGs for which socialising isn't a factor.
-It seems, however, that whenever two or three Linux users get together,
+It seems, however, that whenever two or three GNU/Linux users get together,
fun, hijinks, and, often, beer follow. Linus Tovalds has
always had one enduring goal for Linux: to have more fun. For hackers,
-kernel developers, and Linux users, there's nothing quite like
+kernel developers, and GNU/Linux users, there's nothing quite like
downloading a new kernel, recompiling an old one, fooling with a
-window manager, or hacking some code. Linux's sheer fun keeps many
+window manager, or hacking some code. GNU/Linux's sheer fun keeps many
LUGs together, and leads LUGs naturally to socialising.
By "socialising", here I mean primarily sharing experiences, forming
@@ -885,12 +887,12 @@ friendships, and mutually-shared admiration and respect. There is
another meaning, however -- one social scientists call
<it>acculturation</it>. In any movement, institution, or human
community, there is the need for some process or pattern of events in
-and by which, to put it in Linux terms, newcomers are turned into
+and by which, to put it in GNU/Linux terms, newcomers are turned into
hackers. In other words, acculturation turns you from "one of them" to
"one of us".
-It is important that new Linux users come to learn what Linux culture,
-concepts, traditions, and vocabulary. Linux acculturation, unlike "real
+It is important that new users come to learn GNU/Linux culture,
+concepts, traditions, and vocabulary. GNU/Linux acculturation, unlike "real
world" acculturation, can occur on mailing lists and Usenet, although
the latter's efficacy is challenged by poorly acculturated users and by
spam. LUGs are often much more efficient at this task than are mailing
@@ -917,18 +919,18 @@ most user groups). LUGs have these kinds of meetings:
<item>technical presentations</item>
<item>informal discussion groups</item>
<item>user group business</item>
- <item>Linux installation</item>
+ <item>GNU/Linux installation</item>
<item>configuration and bug-squashing</item>
</itemize>
What do LUGs do at these meetings?
<itemize>
- <item>Install Linux for newcomers and strangers.</item>
- <item>Teach members about Linux.</item>
- <item>Compare Linux to other operating systems.</item>
- <item>Teach members about software running on Linux.</item>
- <item>Discuss Linux advocacy.</item>
+ <item>Install distributions for newcomers and strangers.</item>
+ <item>Teach members about GNU/Linux.</item>
+ <item>Compare GNU/Linux to other operating systems.</item>
+ <item>Teach members about application software.</item>
+ <item>Discuss advocacy.</item>
<item>Discuss the free software / open-source movement.</item>
<item>Discuss user group business.</item>
<item>Eat, drink, and be merry.</item>
@@ -938,8 +940,8 @@ What do LUGs do at these meetings?
<sect1>Online resources
<p>
The commercial rise of the Internet coincided roughly with that of
-Linux; the latter owes something to the former. The 'Net has always been
-important to Linux development. LUGs are no different: Most have Web
+GNU/Linux; the latter owes something to the former. The 'Net has always been
+important to development. LUGs are no different: Most have Web
pages, if not whole Web sites. In fact, I'm not sure how else to find a
LUG, but to check the Web.
@@ -948,12 +950,12 @@ technologies they can: Web sites, mailing lists, wikis, ftp, e-mail, Web
discussion forums, netnews, etc. As the world of commerce is
discovering, the 'Net is an effective way to advertise, inform, educate,
and even sell. The other reason LUGs make extensive use of Internet
-technology is that the very essence of Linux is to <it>provide</it>
+technology is that the very essence of GNU/Linux is to <it>provide</it>
a stable and rich platform to deploy these technologies. So,
not only do LUGs benefit from, say, establishment of a Web site,
because it advertises their existence and helps organise members,
but, in deploying these technologies, LUG members
-learn about them and see Linux at work.
+learn about them and see GNU/Linux at work.
Arguably, a well-maintained Web site is the one must-have, among those
Internet resources. My essay
@@ -968,7 +970,7 @@ spends considerable time discussing Web issues. Quoting it (in outline form):
<item>You need a regular meeting time.
<item>You need to avoid meeting-time conflicts.
<item>You need to make sure that meetings happen as advertised, without fail.
- <item>You need a core of several Linux enthusiasts.
+ <item>You need a core of several enthusiasts.
<item>Your core volunteers need out-of-band methods of communication.
<item>You need to get on the main lists of LUGs, and keep your entries accurate.
<item>You must have login access to maintain your Web pages, as needed.
@@ -984,7 +986,7 @@ spends considerable time discussing Web issues. Quoting it (in outline form):
<item>You may want to consider establishing a LUG mailing list.
<item>You don't need to be in the Internet Service Provider business.
<item>Don't go into any other business, either.
- <item>Walk the walk. (Do the LUG's computing on Linux.)
+ <item>Walk the walk. (Do the LUG's computing on GNU/Linux.)
</itemize>
That essay partly supplements (and partly overlaps) this HOWTO.
@@ -994,9 +996,6 @@ Some LUGs using the Internet effectively:
<itemize>
<item><url name="Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts" url="http://www.ale.org/"></item>
-
- <item><url name="BLUG - BHZ Linux Users Group (Brazil)" url="http://www.artsoft.com.br/blug/"></item>
-
<item><url name="Boston Linux and Unix" url="http://www.blu.org/"></item>
@@ -1010,9 +1009,14 @@ Some LUGs using the Internet effectively:
<item><url name="Korean Linux Users Group" url="http://www.lug.or.kr/"></item>
- <item><url name="Linux México" url="http://www.linux.org.mx/"></item>
+ <item><url name="LinuxBH - Comunidade de Software Livre de Belo Horizonte (Brazil)" url="http://www.linuxbh.org/"></item>
- <item><url name="Linux User Group Austria" url="http://www.luga.or.at/"></item>
+
+ <item><url name="Linux México (La Cofradía Digital)" url="http://www.linux.org.mx/"></item>
+
+ <item><url name="Linux User Group Austria" url="http://www.luga.at/"></item>
+
+ <item><url name="Linux User Group of Davis" url="http://www.lugod.org/"></item>
<item><url name="Linux User Group of Rochester" url="http://www.lugor.org/"></item>
@@ -1022,7 +1026,7 @@ Some LUGs using the Internet effectively:
<item><url name="North Texas Linux Users Group" url="http://www.ntlug.org/"></item>
- <item><url name="Ottawa Carleton Linux Users Group" url="http://www.oclug.on.ca/"></item>
+ <item><url name="Ottawa Canada Linux Users Group" url="http://www.oclug.on.ca/"></item>
<item><url name="Provence Linux Users Group" url="http://www.plugfr.org/"></item>
@@ -1050,39 +1054,11 @@ for anyone wanting to found, maintain, or grow a LUG.
<sect1>LUG support organisations
<p>
-There are several organisations offering assistance to LUGs.
+There once were numerous organisations offering assistance to LUGs.
+One of the long-time ones remains active:
<descrip>
- <tag>GLUE:</tag> Groups of Linux Users Everywhere is a user group
- coordination and support program started by SSC, the same people who
- publish <it>Linux Journal</it>. The <url name="GLUE program"
- url="http://www.ssc.com:8080/glue/groups/"> offers substantial
- benefits to your LUG membership, and can be joined free of
- charge at <url name="http://www.ssc.com:8080/glue/free_listing"
- url="http://www.ssc.com:8080/glue/free_listing">.
-
- <tag>Cleveland Linux User's Group:</tag> Own the Internet domain
- <tt>lug.net</tt>. They will provide your LUG an Internet domain name
- at <tt>lug.net</tt>: your-LUG-name-or-city.<tt>lug.net</tt>. More
- information may be found by e-mailing <htmlurl name="Jeff
- Garvas" url="mailto:%20jeff@cia.net%20">.
-
- <tag>Red Hat, Inc.'s User Group Program:</tag> Assists LUGs to
- develop and grow. More information may be found at <url
- url="http://www.redhat.com/apps/community/LUG/" name="Red Hat Web
- site">.
-
- <tag>LinuxUserGroups.org:</tag> A vendor-independent volunteer
- project to provide LUGs all over the world with the resources
- they need to run, form, and work with other Linux user groups.
- There is a discussion mailing list for LUG volunteers, and
- other resources. More information can be found at the
- <url url="http://LinuxUserGroups.org/"
- name="http://LinuxUserGroups.org/"> Web site, or by e-mailing
- founder <htmlurl name="Kara Pritchard"
- url="mailto:%20kara@luci.org%20">.
-
<tag>Tux.Org:</tag> Tux.Org is an umbrella organisation for
LUGs and open-source software development projects, providing
a corporate entity, Web hosting, mailing lists, mirrors of
@@ -1101,7 +1077,7 @@ There are several organisations offering assistance to LUGs.
<item>Determine the nearest existing LUG.</item>
<item>Announce your intentions on <tt>comp.os.linux.announce</tt> and on an appropriate regional hierarchy.</item>
<item>Announce your intention wherever computer users are in your area: bookstores, swap meets, cybercafes, colleges corporations, Internet service providers, etc.</item>
- <item>Find Linux-friendly businesses or institutions in your area willing to help you form the LUG.</item>
+ <item>Find friendly businesses or institutions in your area willing to help you form the LUG.</item>
<item>Form a mailing list or some means of communication among the people who express an interest in forming a LUG.</item>
<item>Ask key people specifically for help in spreading the word about your intention to form a LUG.</item>
<item>Solicit space on a Web server to put a few HTML pages together about the group.</item>
@@ -1118,7 +1094,7 @@ There are several organisations offering assistance to LUGs.
<item>Make the barriers to LUG membership as low as possible.</item>
<item>Make the LUG's Web site a priority: Keep all information current, make it easy to find details about meetings (who, what, and where), and make contact information and feedback mechanisms prominent.</item>
- <item>Install Linux for anyone who wants it.</item>
+ <item>Install distributions for anyone who wants it.</item>
<item>Post flyers, messages, or handbills wherever computer users are in your area.</item>
<item>Secure dedicated leadership.</item>
<item>Follow Linus Torvalds's <it>benevolent dictator</it> model of leadership.</item>
@@ -1126,31 +1102,30 @@ There are several organisations offering assistance to LUGs.
<item>Start a mailing list devoted to technical support and ask the "gurus" to participate on it.</item>
<item>Schedule a mixture of advanced and basic, formal and informal, presentations.</item>
<item>Support the software development efforts of your members.</item>
- <item>Find way to raise money without dues: for instance, selling Linux merchandise to your members and to others.</item>
+ <item>Find way to raise money without dues: for instance, selling GNU/Linux merchandise to your members and to others.</item>
<item>Consider securing formal legal standing for the group, such as incorporation or tax-exempt status.</item>
<item>Find out if your meeting place is restricting growth of the LUG.</item>
- <item>Meet in conjunction with swap meets, computer shows, or other community events where computer users -- i.e., potential Linux converts -- are likely to gather.</item>
- <item>Elect formal leadership for the LUG as soon as is practical: Some helpful officers might include President, Treasurer, Secretary, Meeting Host (general announcements, speaker introductions, opening and closing remarks, etc.), Publicity Coordinator (handles Usenet and e-mail postings, local publicity), and Program Coordinator (organises and schedules speakers at LUG meetings).</item>
+ <item>Meet in conjunction with swap meets, computer shows, or other community events where computer users -- i.e., potential GNU/Linux users -- are likely to gather.</item>
+ <item>Elect formal leadership for the LUG as soon as practical: Some helpful officers might include President, Treasurer, Secretary, Meeting Host (general announcements, speaker introductions, opening and closing remarks, etc.), Publicity Coordinator (handles Usenet and e-mail postings, local publicity), and Program Coordinator (organises and schedules speakers at LUG meetings).</item>
<item>Provide ways for members and others to give feedback about the direction, goals, and strategies of the LUG.</item>
- <item>Support Linux and free software / open source development efforts by donating Web space, a mailing list, or ftp site.</item>
+ <item>Support GNU/Linux and free software / open source development efforts by donating Web space, a mailing list, or an ftp site.</item>
<item>Establish an ftp/Web site for relevant software.</item>
<item>Archive everything the LUG does for the Web site.</item>
- <item>Solicit "door prizes" from Linux vendors, VARs, etc. to give away at meetings.</item>
+ <item>Solicit "door prizes" from GNU/Linux vendors, VARs, etc. to give away at meetings.</item>
<item>Give credit where due.</item>
- <item>Join SSC's GLUE (Groups of Linux Users Everywhere).</item>
<item>Submit your LUG's information to all the LUG lists.</item>
<item>Publicise your meetings on appropriate Usenet groups and in local computer publications and newspapers.</item>
- <item>Compose promotional materials, like Postscript files, for instance, members can use to help publicise the LUG at workplaces, bookstores, computer stores, etc.</item>
+ <item>Compose promotional materials, like PostScript files, for instance, members can use to help publicise the LUG at workplaces, bookstores, computer stores, etc.</item>
<item>Make sure you know what LUG members want the LUG to do.</item>
<item>Release press releases to local media outlets about any unusual LUG events like an Installation Fest, Net Day, etc.</item>
<item>Use LUG resources and members to help local non-profit organisations and schools with their Information Technology needs.</item>
- <item>Advocate the use of Linux zealously but responsibly.</item>
+ <item>Advocate the use of our OS enthusiastically but responsibly.</item>
<item>Play to LUG members' strengths.</item>
- <item>Maintain good relations with Linux vendors, VARs, developers, etc.</item>
- <item>Identify and contact Linux consultants in your area.</item>
+ <item>Maintain good relations with vendors, VARs, developers, etc.</item>
+ <item>Identify and contact consultants in your area.</item>
<item>Network with the leaders of other LUGs in your area, state, region, or country to share experiences, tricks, and resources.</item>
- <item>Keep LUG members advised on the state of Linux software -- new kernels, bugs, fixes, patches, security advisories -- and the state of the Linux world at large -- new ports, trademark and licensing issues, where Torvalds is living and working, etc.</item>
- <item>Notify the Linux Documentation Project -- and other pertinent sources of Linux information -- about the documentation the LUG produces: technical presentations, tutorials, local HOWTOs, etc.</item>
+ <item>Keep LUG members advised on the state of software -- new kernels, bugs, fixes, patches, security advisories -- and the state of the GNU/Linux world at large -- new ports, trademark and licensing issues, where Torvalds is living and working, etc.</item>
+ <item>Notify the Linux Documentation Project -- and other pertinent sources of GNU/Linux information -- about the documentation the LUG produces: technical presentations, tutorials, local HOWTOs, etc.</item>
</itemize>
<sect>Legal and political issues
@@ -1171,12 +1146,12 @@ for a group whose activities needn't involve significant expenses.
needing to argue over it, file reports about it, or fear it being taxed
away. Meeting space can usually be gotten for free at ISPs, colleges,
pizza parlours, brewpubs, coffeehouses, computer-training firms,
-Linux-oriented companies, or other friendly institutions, and can
+GNU/Linux-oriented companies, or other friendly institutions, and can
therefore be free of charge to the public. No revenues and no expenses
means less need for organisation and concomitant hassles.
For whatever it's worth, this HOWTO's originator and second maintainer lean,
-respectively, towards the pro and con sides of the debate -- but choose
+respectively, towards the pro and con sides of the issue -- but choose
your own poison: If interested in formally organising your LUG, this
section will introduce you to some relevant issues.
@@ -1185,6 +1160,47 @@ counsel. These issues require the expertise of competent legal
counsel; you should, before acting on any of the statements made in
this section, consult an attorney.
+
+<sect2>Canada
+<p>
+Thanks to <htmlurl name="Chris Browne" url="mailto:%20cbbrowne@cbbrowne.com%20">
+for the following comments about the Canadian situation.
+
+<p>
+The Canadian tax environment strongly parallels the US environment (for which,
+see below), in that the "charitable organisation" status confers similar tax
+advantages for donors over mere "not for profit" status, while
+requiring that similar sorts of added paperwork be filed by the
+"charity" with the tax authorities in order to attain and maintain
+certified charity status.
+
+<sect2>Germany
+<p>
+Correspondent <htmlurl name="Thomas Kappler" url="mailto:%20Thomas.Kappler@stud.uni-karlsruhe.de%20"> warns that the process of founding a non-profit entity in Germany
+is a bit complicated, but comprehensively covered at <url
+name="http://www.wegweiser-buergergesellschaft.de/praxishilfen/arbeit_im_verein/vereinsrecht/vereinsgruendung_1.php" url="http://www.wegweiser-buergergesellschaft.de/praxishilfen/arbeit_im_verein/vereinsrecht/vereinsgruendung_1.php">.
+
+<sect2>Sweden
+<p>
+In Sweden, LUGs are not required to register, but then are regarded as
+clubs. Registration with Skatteverket (national tax authority) offers
+two classification options: non-profit organisation or "economical
+association". The latter is an organisation where the goal is to benefit
+its members economically, and as such is probably unsuitable, being
+traditionally used for collectives of companies, or building societies
+/ co-operative tenant-owners, and such).
+
+Non-profit organisations in Sweden doesn't have specific laws to follow.
+Rather, general Swedish law applies: They can hire people and they can
+make profit. Generally they don't pay tax on their profits. (Profits
+stay in the organisation; unlike the case with "economical associations",
+members don't receive business proceeds.) To be able to do business, you
+must register with Skatteverket to get an "organisation number", allowing
+the group to pay and get paid. Otherwise you will probably have to
+arrange business through a member in his/her individual capacity.
+It may then also be possible, after securing an organisation number to
+apply for government financial support.
+
<sect2>United States of America
<p>
There are at least two different legal statuses a LUG in the USA may
@@ -1229,24 +1245,30 @@ Finally, there are resources available on the Internet for non-profit
and tax-exempt organisations. Some of the material is probably
relevant to your LUG.
-<sect2>Canada
-<p>
-Thanks to <htmlurl name="Chris Browne" url="mailto:%20cbbrowne@cbbrowne.com%20">
-for the following comments about the Canadian situation.
+Common Misconceptions Debunked:
-<p>
-The Canadian tax environment strongly parallels the US environment, in
-that the "charitable organisation" status confers similar tax
-advantages for donors over mere "not for profit" status, while
-requiring that similar sorts of added paperwork be filed by the
-"charity" with the tax authorities in order to attain and maintain
-certified charity status.
-
-<sect2>Germany
-<p>
-Correspondent <htmlurl name="Thomas Kappler" url="mailto:%20Thomas.Kappler@stud.uni-karlsruhe.de%20"> warns that the process of founding a non-profit entity in Germany
-is a bit complicated, but comprehensively covered at <url
-name="http://www.wegweiser-buergergesellschaft.de/praxishilfen/arbeit_im_verein/vereinsrecht/vereinsgruendung_1.php" url="http://www.wegweiser-buergergesellschaft.de/praxishilfen/arbeit_im_verein/vereinsrecht/vereinsgruendung_1.php">.
+<itemize>
+ <item>Incorporation and tax-exempt status are separate issues. You don't have to be incorporated to get recognition of tax-exempt status. You don't have to be tax-exempt to be incorporated. (Odds are, you honestly don't want either. You just probably assume you do.)
+ <item>The "liability shield" one can get from incorporating doesn't
+protect volunteers from legal liability. All it does is prevent any
+plaintiffs from suing individual shareholders (LUG members, in this case)
+for tort damages <it>merely because they own the corporation</it>, if the
+corporation itself is alleged to have wronged the plaintiff. Plaintiff's
+maximum haul in damages from suing the corporation is limited to the
+corporate net assets, in that one case. However, volunteers are still
+fully liable for any personal involvement they're alleged to have had.
+ <item>Umbrella insurance coverage against tort liability (i.e., against civil litigation) for your volunteers almost certainly costs far too much for your group to afford (think $800 each and every year in premium payouts, give or take, to buy $1M in general liability insurance coverage), if you can find it at all.
+ <item>IRS recognition as a tax-exempt group doesn't mean donations to
+your group necessarily becomes tax-deductible: Automatic deductibility is
+reserved to <it>charities only</it>, IRS category 501(c)(3), which must obey
+extremely stifling restrictions on group activities (e.g., it would then
+become illegal to host anti-DMCA events or support any other political
+activity), and must meet exacting paperwork and auditing standards. It's
+difficult to envision 501(c)(3) charity status actually making functional
+sense for any Linux group -- though one continually hears it recommended by
+those who imagines being able to tell people their donations will be guaratneed tax deductible must justify any accompanying disadvantages. Most LUGs would logically file for recognition as a "social and recreation club", category <url url="http://www.t-tlaw.com/lr-06.htm" name="501(c)(7)">.
+ <item>In any event, unless one wishes to become a registered charity to render incoming donations tax-deductible, there is <it>literally no point</it> in applying for IRS recognition of your small, informal Linux group under any of the Internal Revenue Code 501(c) tax-exempt statuses, because IRS simply doesn't care about groups with annual gross revenues less than $25,000, and <url url="http://www.guidestar.org/news/features/990_myths.jsp" name="doesn't want to hear from them">.
+</itemize>
<sect1>Other legal issues
<p>
@@ -1255,21 +1277,21 @@ name="http://www.wegweiser-buergergesellschaft.de/praxishilfen/arbeit_im_verein/
<p>
As a reminder, it's vital that offers or requests to copy
distribution-restricted proprietary software of any sort be heavily
-discouraged anywhere in LUGs, and banned as off-topic from all Linux user
+discouraged anywhere in LUGs, and banned as off-topic from all GNU/Linux user
group on-line forums. This is not generally even an issue -- much less
so than among proprietary-OS users -- but (e.g.) one LUG of my
acquaintance briefly used a single LUG-owned copy of PowerQuest's
Partition Magic on all NTFS-formatted machines brought to its
-installfests for dual-boot Linux installation, on a very dubious theory
+installfests for dual-boot OS installations, on a very dubious theory
of legality.
If it smells unlawful, it almost certainly is. Beware.
<sect2>Antitrust
<p>
-It's healthy to discuss the Linux consulting business in general in user
+It's healthy to discuss the consulting business in general in user
group forums, but for antitrust legal reasons it's a bad idea to get into
-"How much do you charge to do [foo]" discussions, there.
+"How much do you charge to do [foo]?" discussions, there.
<sect1>Software politics
<p>
@@ -1279,28 +1301,28 @@ often crop up (lightly edited and expanded by the HOWTO maintainer):
<sect2>People have different feelings about free / open-source software
<p>
-Linux users are a diverse bunch. As soon as you try to put a lot of
+GNU/Linux users are a diverse bunch. As soon as you try to put a lot of
them together, <it>some</it> problem issues can arise. Some, who are
nearly political radicals, believe all software, always, should be
"free". Because Caldera charges quite a lot of money for its
distribution, and doesn't give all profits over to <it>(pick favorite
advocacy organisation)</it>, it must be "evil". Ditto Red Hat or
-SuSE. Keep in mind that all three of these companies have made and
+SUSE. Keep in mind that all three of these companies have made and
continue to make significant contributions to free / open-source software.
(HOWTO maintainer's note: The above was a 1998 note, from before
-Caldera exited the Linux business, renamed itself to The SCO Group,
+Caldera exited the GNU/Linux business, renamed itself to The SCO Group,
Inc., and launched a major copyright / contract / patent / trade-secret
-lawsuit and PR campaign against Linux users. My, those times do change.
+lawsuit and PR campaign against GNU/Linux users. My, those times do change.
Still, we're grateful to the Caldera Systems that <em> was </em>, for
its gracious donation of hardware to help Alan Cox develop SMP kernel
support, for funding the development of RPM, and for its extensive past
-kernel source contributions and work to combine the Linux and historical
+kernel source contributions and work to combine the GNU/Linux and historical
Unix codebases.)
<p>
Others may figure they can find some way to highly exploit the
-"freeness" of the Linux platform for fun and profit. Be aware that many
+"freeness" of the GNU/Linux platform for fun and profit. Be aware that many
users of the BSD Unix variants consider <it>their</it> licences that
<it>do</it> permit companies to build "privatised" custom versions of
their kernels and C libraries preferable to the "enforced permanent
@@ -1326,8 +1348,8 @@ them to the OSI's "license-discuss" mailing list and the Debian
Project's "debian-legal" mailing list, where substantive analysis is
possible and encouraged.
-<item> Linux benefits from contributions from many places, including
-proprietary-software vendors, e.g., in the Linux kernel, XFree86, and
+<item> GNU/Linux benefits from contributions from many places, including
+proprietary-software vendors, e.g., in the Linux kernel, X.org, and
gcc.
<item> Proprietary implies neither better nor horrible.
@@ -1337,7 +1359,7 @@ gcc.
<p>
The main principle can be extended well beyond this; computer "holy
wars" have long been waged over endless battlegrounds, including
-Linux vs. other Unix variants vs. Microsoft OSes, the "IBM PC" vs.
+GNU/Linux vs. other Unix variants vs. Microsoft OSes, the "IBM PC" vs.
sundry Motorola 68000-based systems, the 1970s' varied 8-bit systems
against each other, KDE versus GNOME....
@@ -1384,7 +1406,7 @@ with the local tax authorities, which would represent a minimum
financial disclosure to members.
<p>
-With the growth of Linux-based financial software, regular reports are
+With the growth of GNU/Linux-based financial software, regular reports are
now quite practical. With the growth of the Internet, it should even be
possible to publish these on the World-Wide Web.
@@ -1396,7 +1418,7 @@ than it probably sounds, as I shall explain.
Tangible stakes at issue in LUG politics tend to be minuscule to the point of
comic opera: There are typically no real assets. Differences of view
-can be resolved by either engineering around them with technology (the Linux-ey
+can be resolved by either engineering around them with technology (the GNU/Linux-ey
solution) or by letting each camp run efforts in parallel. Moreover, even the
most militantly "democratic" LUGs typically field, like clockwork,
exactly as many candidates as there are offices to be filled -- not a
@@ -1470,17 +1492,17 @@ Have fun!
<sect1>Terms of use
<p>
-Copyright (C) 2003-2004, Rick Moen. Copyright (C) 1997-1998 by Kendall Grant
+Copyright (C) 2003-2007, Rick Moen. Copyright (C) 1997-1998 by Kendall Grant
Clark. This document may be distributed under the terms set forth
-in the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 licence at <url
-name="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/1.0/"
-url="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/1.0/">, or, at your
+in the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 licence at <url
+name="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"
+url="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">, or, at your
option, any later version.
<sect1>New versions
<p>
New versions of the Linux User Group HOWTO will be periodically
-uploaded to various Linux Web and ftp sites, principally <url
+uploaded to various GNU/Linux Web and ftp sites, principally <url
url="http://linuxmafia.com/lug/" name="http://linuxmafia.com/lug/"> and
the <url name="Linux Documentation Project"
url="http://www.tldp.org/">.
@@ -1508,7 +1530,7 @@ things your group does meriting description here.
<item>1.5.1: Changed Web location for this document and author's e-mail address.</item>
<item>1.5.2: New copyright notice and licence.</item>
<item>1.5.3: Miscellaneous edits and minor re-organisations.</item>
- <item>1.6: Added Chris Browne's material: Linux philanthropic
+ <item>1.6: Added Chris Browne's material: GNU/Linux philanthropic
donations and LUG political considerations.</item>
<item>1.6.1: Very minor additions.</item>
<item>1.6.2: Minor corrections.</item>
@@ -1525,13 +1547,13 @@ democracy, and turnover" section, Web site suggestions, and link
to "Recipe for a Successful Linux User Group" essay. Fixed mis-tagged
sections under "Legal and political issues".</item>
<item>1.6.8: Fixed small glitches. Rewrote section concerning
-Linux news outlets; parts of sections concerning consultants, businesses,
+GNU/Linux news outlets; parts of sections concerning consultants, businesses,
and elections.</item>
<item>1.6.9: Minor corrections.</item>
<item>1.7.0: Caught up with GLUE membership having become free
of charge.</item>
<item>1.7.1: Added a bunch more newly supported embedded CPUs.</item>
- <item>1.7.2: Added more on processor support; furnished matching URLs. Added details about Linux in India, and Linux For You magazine. Expanded legal issues section.</item>
+ <item>1.7.2: Added more on processor support; furnished matching URLs. Added details about GNU/Linux in India, and Linux For You magazine. Expanded legal issues section.</item>
<item>1.7.3: Added mention of Debian GNU/NetBSD to the CPU ports
section. Reorganised and further expanded the latter. Recorded Linux
Gazette's move to new hosting. Added LinuxFocus.</item>
@@ -1549,6 +1571,21 @@ e-mail address. Added Volgograd LUG to Online Resources.</item>
used some data from it. Added "I Linux User Group italiani".
Corrected capitalisation of PingoS. After securing permission from
Kendall Clark, added "or any later version" clause to document licence.</item>
+ <item>1.7.9: Corrected India Linux link and added LinuxForYou, per
+suggestions from Rohit Kumar. Added Linux Foundation to list of candidates
+for receiving monetary support. Made fixes to Red Hat LUG list (reincarnated
+as "Army of Friends" database), as suggested by Vincenzo Virgilio. Added
+LinuxHQ and O'Reilly LUG lists and FSF GNU User Groups list. Added Wikipedia
+Category:LUGs page. Dropped the GLUE site, which SSC, Inc. tragically deleted
+in mid-2006 without allowing anyone a chance to adopt it. Added kernel
+support for two more embedded chip families. Substituted static mirrors for
+two (vanished) pages listing Linux kernel ports. Dropped LinuxWorld
+Magazine (vanished). Remove references to getting help in founding LUGs
+from Red Hat User Group Program and Kara Pritchard's LinuxUserGroups.org
+(both vanished) and from lug.net (deactivated). Added Swedish tax/regulatory
+details from Martin Karlsson. Added analysis of issues surrounding incorporation, tax-exempt status, and insurance in the USA. Found new URLs for a vast
+number of links. Updated licence to CC BY-SA 3.0, to incorporate improvements.
+</item>
</itemize>
@@ -1562,7 +1599,7 @@ over and renovate his creation starting in 2003.
Warm regards and thanks to <url name="Chris Browne"
url="mailto:%20cbbrowne@cbbrowne.com%20"> for describing the situation with
non-profit and charitable groups in Canada, his thoughts on financial
-donations as a way to participate in Linux and the free software and
+donations as a way to participate in GNU/Linux and the free software and
open-source software movements, and his ideas about the kinds of
political issues likely to arise within LUGs.
@@ -1571,12 +1608,15 @@ suggestions:
<itemize>
<item>Jeff Garvas</item>
- <item>James Hertzler</item>
<item>Greg Hankins</item>
+ <item>James Hertzler</item>
<item>Thomas Kappler</item>
+ <item>Martin Karlsson</item>
<item>Hugo van der Kooij</item>
+ <item>Rohit Kumar</item>
<item>Charles Lindahl</item>
<item>Don Marti</item>
+ <item>Vincenzo Virgilio</item>
</itemize>