mirror of https://github.com/tLDP/LDP
1272 lines
60 KiB
Plaintext
1272 lines
60 KiB
Plaintext
<!doctype linuxdoc system>
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<article>
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<title>Linux User Group HOWTO
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<author><url name="Rick Moen" url="mailto:rick@linuxmafia.com"></author>
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<date>v1.6.6, 2003-08-04
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<abstract>
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The Linux User Group HOWTO is a guide to founding, maintaining, and
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growing a Linux user group, co-authored by Kendall Clark and Rick Moen
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(now maintained by Rick Moen).
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</abstract>
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<toc>
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<sect>Introduction
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<sect1>Purpose
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<p>
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The Linux User Group HOWTO is intended to serve as a guide to founding,
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maintaining, and growing a Linux user group.
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Linux is a freely-distributable implementation of Unix for personal
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computers, servers, and workstations. It was developed on the i386 and
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now supports i486, Pentium, Pentium Pro, Pentium II, Pentium III, and
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Pentium IV processors, as well as IA32 clones from AMD, Cyrix, VIA, IDT,
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Winchip, NexGen, Transmeta, VIA C3 Ezra "CentaurHauls", and others. It
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also supports most SPARC, DEC Alpha, PowerPC/PowerMac and G3/G4/G5, and
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the Motorola 68020-68040 series on Mac/Amiga/Atari ST.
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It supports as well the Hitachi H8 series, Motorola Dragonball, Motorola
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ColdFire, Motorola QUICC, ETRAX, Intel i960, NEC V850E, MPC, MediaGX,
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STPC, Hitachi SH3/SH4 "SuperH", Intel ARM/StrongARM, and PRISMA
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embedded/microcontroller/PDA machines, as well as Cisco 2500, 3000, and
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4000 series routers.
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It supports MIPS, PA-RISC, AMD x86-64 "Hammer", and IA64/Itanium
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minicomputers. It supports IBM S/390 and Fujitsu AP1000+ mainframes.
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<sect1>Other sources of information
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<p>
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If you want to learn more, the <url url="http://www.tldp.org/"
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name="Linux Documentation Project"> is a good place to start.
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For general information about computer user groups, please see the
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<url name="Association of PC Users Groups"
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url="http://www.apcug.org/">.
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<sect>What is a Linux user group?
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<p>
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<sect1>What is Linux?
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<p>
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To fully appreciate LUGs' role in the Linux movement, it helps to
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understand what makes Linux unique.
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Linux as an operating system is powerful -- but Linux as an
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<it><bf>idea</bf></it> about software development is even more so. Linux
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is a <bf>free</bf> operating system: It's licensed under the GNU General
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Public Licence. Thus, source code is freely available in perpetuity to
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anyone. It's maintained by a unstructured group of programmers
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world-wide, under technical direction from Linus Torvalds and other key
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developers. Linux as a movement has no central structure, bureaucracy,
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or any entity to direct its affairs. While this situation has
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advantages, it poses challenges for allocation of human resources,
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effective advocacy, public relations, user education, and training.
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<sect1>How is Linux unique?
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<p>
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Linux's loose structure is unlikely to change. That's a good thing:
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Linux works precisely because people are free to come and go as they
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please: <bf>Free programmers are happy programmers are effective
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programmers</bf>.
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However, this loose structure can disorient the new Linux user: Whom
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does she call for support, training, or education? How does she know for
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what uses Linux is suitable?
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In large part, LUGs provide the answers, which is why LUGs are
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vital to the Linux movement: Because your town, village, or metropolis
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sports no Linux Corporation "regional office", the LUG takes on
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many of the same roles such an office does for a large multi-national
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corporation.
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Linux is unique in neither having nor being burdened by central
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structures or bureaucracies to allocate its resources, train its users,
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or support its products. These jobs get done through diverse means: the
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Internet, consultants, VARs, support companies, colleges, and
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universities. However, increasingly, in many places around the globe,
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they are done by a LUG.
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<sect1>What is a user group?
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<p>
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Computer user groups, at least in the United States, are not new. In
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fact, they were central to the personal computer's history:
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Microcomputers arose in large part to satisfy demand for affordable,
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personal access to computing resources from electronics, ham radio, and
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other hobbyist user groups. Giants like IBM eventually discovered the
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PC to be a good and profitable thing, but initial impetus came from the
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grassroots.
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In the United States, user groups have changed -- many for the worse --
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with the times. The financial woes and dissolution of the largest user
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group ever, the Boston Computer Society, were well-reported; but, all
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over the US, most PC user groups have seen memberships decline.
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American user groups in their heyday produced newsletters, maintained
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shareware and diskette libraries, held meetings and social events, and,
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sometimes, even ran electronic bulletin board systems (BBSes). With the
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advent of the Internet, however, many services that user groups once
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provided migrated to things like CompuServe, AOL, and the Web.
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Linux's rise, however, coincided with and was intensified by the
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general public "discovering" the Internet. As the Internet grew more
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popular, so did Linux: The Internet brought to Linux new users,
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developers, and vendors.
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So, just as traditional PC user groups were declining because of the
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Internet's popularity, this popularity propelled Linux forward, creating
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demand for new groups concerned exclusively with Linux. To give just one
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indication of how LUGs differ from traditional user groups, I point out
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a curious fact: Traditional user groups must maintain fairly tight
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control over what software its users may copy and trade at meetings.
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While illegal copying of restricted proprietary software certainly
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occurred, it was officially discouraged -- and for good reason.
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At LUG meetings, however, that entire mindset simply does not apply:
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Far from being what a LUG must discourage, unrestricted copying of Linux
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should be among a LUG's primary goals. In fact, there is anecdotal
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evidence of traditional user groups having difficulty adapting to
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Linux's ability to be lawfully copied at will.
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(Caveat: A few Linux distributions bundle Linux with proprietary
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software packages whose terms don't permit public redistribution.
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Check licence terms, if in doubt.)
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<sect1>Summary
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<p>
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For the Linux movement to continue to flourish, along with other
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factors, LUGs must proliferate and succeed. Because of Linux's
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unique status, LUGs must provide some of the same functions a "regional
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office" provides for large computer corporations like IBM, Microsoft,
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and Sun. LUGs can and must train, support, and educate Linux users,
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coordinate Linux consultants, advocate Linux as a computing solution,
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and even serve as liaison to local media outlets such as newspapers and
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television.
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<sect>What LUGs exist?
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<p>
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Since this document is meant as a guide not only to maintaining and
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growing LUGs but also to founding them, we should, before going further,
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discuss what LUGs exist.
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<sect1>LUG lists
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<p>
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There are several LUG lists on the Web. If you are considering founding a
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LUG, your first task should be to find any nearby existing LUGs.
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<it>Your best bet may be to join a LUG already established in your area,
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rather than founding one.</it>
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As of mid-2003, there are LUGs in all 50 US states plus the District of
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Columbia, nine of Canada's ten provinces, all six of Australia's states
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plus the Australian Capital Territory, and over 100 other countries,
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including India, Russia, China, and most of Western and Eastern Europe.
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<itemize>
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<item><url name="Groups of Linux Users Everywhere (GLUE)" url="http://www.ssc.com:8080/glue/groups/"></item>
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<item><url name="LUGs WorldWide Project" url="http://lugww.counter.li.org/"></item>
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<item><url name="Linux Online -- User Groups" url="http://www.linux.org/groups/"></item>
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<item><url name="Red Hat User Group Program" url="http://www.redhat.com/apps/community/LUG/"></item>
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<item><url name="Open Directory: LUGS" url="http://dmoz.org/Computers/Software/Operating_Systems/Linux/User_Groups/"></item>
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<item><url name="Yahoo Linux > User Groups" url="http://dir.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Software/Operating_Systems/Unix/Linux/User_Groups/">
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<item><url name="LUG Webring" url="http://nlug.org/webring/"></item>
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<item><url name="CLUE: the Canadian Linux Users' Exchange" url="http://www.linux.ca/"></item>
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<item><url name="Linux Australia" url="http://www.linux.org.au/"></item>
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</itemize>
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<p>
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It appears GLUE is more comprehensive for the USA, while the LUGs
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WorldWide Project offers better coverage elsewhere.
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<sect1>Solidarity versus convenience
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<p>
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While (most) LUG lists on the Web are well-maintained, likely they don't
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list every LUG. If considering founding a LUG, I suggest, in addition to
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consulting these lists, posting a message to <url
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name="comp.os.linux.announce" url="news:comp.os.linux.announce">, <url
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name="comp.os.linux.misc" url="news:comp.os.linux.misc">, or an
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appropriate regional Usenet hierarchy, inquiring about nearby LUGs. You
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should also lodge a query (mailing list post, comment during a meeting)
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at any existing LUG you are aware of anywhere near your area,
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about LUGs near you. If no such (nearby) LUG exists, your postings will
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alert potential members to your initiative.
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Carefully balance convenience against solidarity: If a LUG exists in
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your metropolitan area but on the other side of the city, starting a new
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group may be better for convenience's sake. On the other hand, joining
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the other group may be better for reasons of unity and solidarity.
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<bf><it>Greater numbers almost always means greater power, influence,
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and efficiency</it></bf>. While two groups of 100 members each might be
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nice, one with 200 has advantages. Of course, if you live in a small
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town or village, any group is better than none.
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The point is that starting a LUG is a significant undertaking, which
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should be commenced with all relevant facts and some appreciation of the
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effect on other groups.
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<sect>What does a LUG do?
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<p>
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LUGs' goals are as varied as their locales. There is no LUG master
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plan, nor will this document supply one. Remember: Linux is free from
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bureaucracy and centralised control; so are LUGs.
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It is possible, however, to identify a core set of goals for a
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LUG:
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<itemize>
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<item>advocacy</item>
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<item>education</item>
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<item>support</item>
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<item>socialising</item>
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</itemize>
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Each LUG combines these and other goals uniquely, according to its
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membership's needs.
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<sect1>Linux advocacy
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<p>
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The urge to advocate the use of Linux is widely felt. When you find
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something that works well, you want to tell as many people as you can.
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LUGs' role in Linux advocacy cannot be overestimated, especially since
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wide-scale commercial acceptance of Linux is only newly underway. While
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it is certainly beneficial to the Linux movement, each and every time a
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computer journalist writes a positive review of Linux, it is also
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beneficial every time satisfied Linux users brief their friends,
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colleagues, employees, or employers.
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There is effective advocacy, and there is ineffective carping: As Linux
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users, we must be constantly vigilant to advocate Linux in such a way as
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to reflect positively on the product, its creators and developers, and
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our fellow users. The Linux Advocacy mini-HOWTO, available at the Linux
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Documentation Project, gives some helpful suggestions,
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as does Don Marti's excellent <url name="Linuxmanship"
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url="http://zgp.org/~dmarti/linuxmanship/"> essay.
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Suffice it to say that advocacy is important to a LUG's mission.
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A time may come when Linux advocacy is irrelevant, because Linux has
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more or less won the day, when the phrase "no one ever got fired for
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using Linux" becomes reality. Until then, LUGs play a vital role in
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promoting Linux use. They do so because their advocacy is free,
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well-intentioned, and backed up by organisational commitment. If a
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person encounters Linux through a LUG's efforts, then that new
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user's already ahead of the game: <it>She knows of an organisation that
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will help her install, configure, and even maintain Linux on whatever
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computers she's willing to dedicate to it.</it>
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New Linux users already in contact with a LUG are ahead
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of others whose interest in Linux has been piqued by a computer
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journalist, but who have no one to whom to turn for aid in their
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quest to install, run, and learn Linux.
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It is, therefore, important for LUGs to advocate Linux, because
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their advocacy is effective, well-supported, and free.
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<sect1>The limits of advocacy
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<p>
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Advocacy can be misaimed; advocacy can go wrong and be
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counterproductive; advocacy can be simply inappropriate in the first
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place. The matter merits careful thought, to avoid wasted time or
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worse.
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Many attempts at advocacy fail ignominiously because the advocate fails
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to listen to what the other party feels he wants or needs. (As Eric
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S. Raymond says, "Appeal to the prospect's interests and values, not to
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yours.") If that person wants exactly the proprietary-OS setup she
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already has, then advocating Linux wastes your time and hers. If her
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stated requirements equate exactly to MS-Project, MS-Visio, and
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Outlook/Exchange groupware, then trying to "sell" her what she doesn't
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want will only annoy everyone (regardless of whether her requirements
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list is real or artificial). Save your effort for someone more
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receptive.
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Along those lines, bear in mind that, for many people, perhaps most, an
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"advocate" is perceived as a salesman, and thus classified as someone to
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resist rather than listen to fairly. They've never heard of someone
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being enthusiastic for getting them to adopt a piece of software without
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standing to gain materially, so they assume there must be something in
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it for you, and will overtly or unconsciously decide to argue back, and
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suggest they'd be doing you a personal favour to even listen, let alone
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try your recommendations.
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I recommend bringing such discussions back to a rational basis
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immediately, by pointing out that software policy should be based in
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one's own long-term self interest, that you have no personal stake in
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what choices they make, and that you certainly wouldn't want to force
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them to listen to your analyses against their will. After that, if
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they're still interested, at least you won't face the same artificial
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obstacle.
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At the same time, make sure you don't live up to the stereotype of the
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OS advocate, either. Just shoving your views at someone is downright
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rude and offensive. Moreover, when done concerning Linux, it's
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also clueless: Unlike the case with proprietary OSes, Linux will not
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live or die by the level of corporate acceptance and release/maintenance
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of ported applications. It and all key applications are open source:
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the programmer community that maintains it is self-supporting, and would
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keep it advancing and and healthy regardless of whether the business
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world and general public uses it with wild abandon, only a little, or
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not at all. Because of its open-source licence terms, its raw source
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code is permanently available. Linux cannot be "withdrawn from the
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market" at the whim of some company. Accordingly, there is simply no
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point in pesky OS advocacy -- unlike that of some communities we could
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mention. (Why not just make information available for those receptive
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to it, and stop there? That meets any reasonable person's needs.)
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Last, understand that the notion of "use value" for software is quite
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foreign to most people -- the notion of measuring software's value by
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what you can do with it. The habit of valuing everything at
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<it>acquisition cost</it> is deeply ingrained. In 1996, I heard a young
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fellow from Caldera Systems speak at a Berkeley, California LUG about
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the origins of Caldera Network Desktop (the initial name of their Linux
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distribution) in Novell, Inc.'s "Corsair" desktop-OS project: In
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surveying corporate CEOs and CTOs, they found corporate officers to be
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inherently unhappy with anything they could get for free. So, Caldera
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offered them a solution -- by charging money.
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Seen from this perspective, being conservative about the costs and
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difficulties of Linux deployments helps make them positively attractive
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-- and protects your credibility as a spokesman. Even better would be
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to frame the discussion of costs in terms of the cost of functionality
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(e.g., 1000-seat Internet-capable company e-mail with offline-user
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capability and webmail) as opposed to listing software as a retail-style
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line-item with pricing: After all, any software project has costs,
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even if the acquisition price tag is zero, and the real point of open
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source isn't initial cost but rather long-term control over IT -- a key
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part of one's operations: With proprietary systems, the user (or
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business) has lost control of IT, and is on the wrong side of a monopoly
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relationship with one's vendor. With open source, the user is in
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control, and nobody can take that away. Explained that way (as
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opportunity to reduce and control IT risk), people readily understand
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the difference -- especially CEOs -- and it's much more significant over
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the long term than acquisition cost.
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<sect1>Linux education
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<p>
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Not only is it the business of a LUG to advocate Linux usage, but
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also to train members, as well as the nearby computing public,
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to use Linux and associated components -- a goal that can make a huge
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real-world difference in one's local area. While universities and
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colleges are increasingly including Linux in their curriculums, for
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sundry reasons, this won't reach some Linux users. For those, a LUG can
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give basic or advanced help in system administration, programming,
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Internet and intranet technologies, etc.
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In an ironic twist, many LUGs have turned out to be a backbone of
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corporate support: Every worker expanding her computer skills through
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LUG participation is one fewer the company must train. Though home
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Linux administration doesn't exactly scale to running corporate data
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warehouses, call centres, or similar high-availability facilities, it's
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light years better preparation than MS-Windows experience. As Linux has
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advanced into journaling filesystems, high availability, real-time
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extensions, and other high-end Unix features, the already blurry line
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between Linux and "real" Unixes has been increasingly vanishing.
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Not only is such education a form of worker training, but it will also
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serve, as information technology becomes increasingly vital to the
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global economy, as community service: In the USA's metropolitan areas,
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for example, LUGs have taken Linux into local schools, small businesses,
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community and social organisations, and other non-corporate
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environments. This accomplishes the goal of Linux advocacy and also
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educates the general public. As more such organisations seek Internet
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presence, provide their personnel dial-in access, or other
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Linux-relevant funcitons, LUGs gain opportunities for community
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participation, through awareness and education efforts -- extending to
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the community the same generous spirit characteristic of Linux and the
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free software / open source community from its very beginning. Most
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Linux users can't program like Torvalds, but we can all give time and
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effort to other Linux users, the Linux community, and the broader
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surrounding community.
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Linux is a natural fit for these organisations, because deployments
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don't commit them to expensive licence, upgrade, or maintenance fees.
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Being technically elegant and economical, it also runs very well on
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cast-off corporate hardware that non-profit organisations are only too
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happy to use: The unused Pentium 133 in the closet can do <bf>real
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work</bf>, if someone installs Linux on it.
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In addition, Linux education assists other LUG goals over time, in
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particular that of Linux support: Better education means better
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support, which in turn facilitates education, and eases the Linux
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community's growth. Thus, education forms the entire effort's keystone:
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If only two or three percent of a LUG assume the remainder's support
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burden, that LUG's growth will be stifled. One thing you can count on:
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<bf><it>If new and inexperienced users don't get needed help
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from their LUG, they won't participate there for long</it></bf>.
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If a larger percentage of members support the rest, the LUG will not
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face that limitation. Linux education -- and, equally, support for
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allied projects such as the Apache Web server, XFree86, TeX, LaTeX, etc.
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-- is key to this dynamic: Education turns new Linux users into
|
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experienced ones.
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Finally, Linux is a self-documenting operating environment: In other words,
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writing and publicising our community's documentation is up to us.
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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
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||
publicise -- through <tt>comp.os.linux.announce</tt>, the LDP, and other
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pertinent sources of Linux information -- any relevant documentation
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||
the LUG develops: technical presentations, tutorials, local FAQs, etc.
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LUGs' documentation often fails to benefit the worldwide Linux
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community for no better reason than not notifying the outside world.
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Don't let that happen: It is highly probable that if someone at one LUG
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had a question or problem with something, then others elsewhere
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will have it, too.
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|
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<sect1>Linux support
|
||
<p>
|
||
Of course, for the desperate <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
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can and should mean much more.
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LUGs have the opportunity to support:
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||
|
||
<itemize>
|
||
<item>users</item>
|
||
<item>consultants</item>
|
||
<item>businesses, non-profit organisations, and schools</item>
|
||
<item>the Linux movement</item>
|
||
</itemize>
|
||
|
||
<sect2>Users
|
||
<p>
|
||
New Linux users' most frequent complaint, once they have gotten Linux
|
||
installed, is the steep learning curve that is not unique to Linux but
|
||
is, rather, 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 only resource to flatten out the
|
||
learning curve.
|
||
|
||
However, even if a new Linux user doesn't yet know it, she needs more
|
||
than just support: Linux and the free software worlds are both moving
|
||
targets. LUGs form a valuable source of information on Linux and
|
||
other free software products. Not only does Linux lack a central
|
||
bureaucracy, but also for the most part lacks journalistic
|
||
infrastructure from which other computer systems' users benefit. The
|
||
movement does have resources like <url name="Linux Journal"
|
||
url="http://www.linuxjournal.com/"> and <url name="Linux Gazette"
|
||
url="http://www.linuxgazette.com/">, but new users may be unaware of
|
||
them. In addition, being <it>monthly</it> publications, they're often out
|
||
of date about bug fixes, security problems, patches, new kernels, etc.
|
||
This is where LUGs as sources and conduits of timely information can be
|
||
vital to all Linux users.
|
||
|
||
(Fairness requires amending the above old HOWTO text to mention standout
|
||
on-line news sources with weekly or better publication cycles, such as <url
|
||
name="Linux Weekly News" url="http://lwn.net/">, <url name="Linux
|
||
Today" url="http://linuxtoday.com">, <url name="FreshNews"
|
||
url="http://freshnews.org/">, and <url name="Newsforge"
|
||
url="http://newsforge.com/">.)
|
||
|
||
For example, until new Linux users know that the newest kernels are
|
||
available from <url name="ftp.kernel.org" url="ftp://ftp.kernel.org">
|
||
or that the <bf>Linux Documentation Project</bf> usually has newer
|
||
versions of Linux HOWTOs than does a CD-based Linux distribution,
|
||
LUGs, as primary support entities, should convey such
|
||
timely and useful information.
|
||
|
||
In fact, it may be a bit misleading to focus on the support role
|
||
LUGs provide new users: 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
|
||
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
|
||
<tt>vi</tt> command sequences they've not used since college.
|
||
|
||
<sect2>Consultants
|
||
<p>
|
||
It is, I think, obvious to claim that LUGs should support new users.
|
||
After all, if they don't do that, what else is there? It may not be as
|
||
obvious that LUGs can be an important resource for Linux consultants.
|
||
Both full-time and otherwise, Linux consultants can be an important part
|
||
of a LUG. How can the LUG support them?
|
||
|
||
The answer is that of a related question: What do Linux consultants
|
||
need? <bf><it>They need someone for whom to consult.</it></bf> A LUG
|
||
provides the best way for those <it>offering</it> Linux consulting to
|
||
find those who <it>need</it> their services. The LUG can informally
|
||
broker connections between consulting suppliers and consulting
|
||
consumers, simply by getting people interested in Linux in contact, as
|
||
will be detailed. The vital point is that LUGs can and should fill
|
||
<it>this</it> role, as well. Although the Linux Consultants Guide is an
|
||
important resource, it surely lists only a small fraction of available
|
||
Linux talent.
|
||
|
||
The relationship is mutually beneficial: Consultants aid LUGs by
|
||
providing experienced leadership, both technically and organisationally,
|
||
while LUGs aid consultants by putting them in contact with the kinds of
|
||
potential clients. New and inexperienced users gain benefit from both
|
||
LUGs and consultants, since their routine or simple requests for support
|
||
are handled by LUGs <it>gratis</it>, and their complex needs and
|
||
problems -- the kind obviously requiring a paid consultant's services --
|
||
can be handled by consultants the LUG helps them contact.
|
||
|
||
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
|
||
help broker contacts between the users who need consulting services
|
||
and the professionals who offer them.
|
||
|
||
Caveat: While "the difference is clear" to intelligent people of goodwill,
|
||
the Inevitable Ones are <it>also</it> always with us, who act willfully
|
||
dense about the limits of free support when they have pushed those
|
||
limits too far. Remember, too, my earlier point about the vast majority
|
||
of the population valuing everything at acquisition cost (instead of use
|
||
value), including what they receive for free. This leads some,
|
||
especially some in the corporate world, to use (and abuse) LUG
|
||
technical support with wild abandon, while simultaneously complaining
|
||
bitterly of its inadequate detail, insufficient promptness, supposedly
|
||
unfair expectations that the user learn and not ask minor variations on
|
||
the same question endlessly, etc. In other words, they treat relations
|
||
with LUG volunteers the way they would a paid support vendor, but one
|
||
they treat with <it>zero respect</it> because of its zero acquisition
|
||
cost.
|
||
|
||
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
|
||
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,
|
||
etc.
|
||
|
||
Clash between the two very different value-based cultures is inevitable
|
||
and can be a bit ugly, and LUG activists should be prepared to intercede
|
||
before the ingrate newcomer is handed her head on a platter, and
|
||
politely suggest that her needs would be better served by paid
|
||
(consultant-based) services. There will always be judgement calls;
|
||
the borderline is inherently debatable and a likely source of
|
||
controversy.
|
||
|
||
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
|
||
assisting someone as a volunteer fundamentally changes the relationship.
|
||
A fellow hobbyist who suddenly becomes a customer is a very different
|
||
person, and one's responsibilities are quite different. 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.
|
||
|
||
<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 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.
|
||
|
||
The support LUGs can provide to local businesses wanting to use 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
|
||
kernel doesn't really differ. Supporting businesses, however, may
|
||
require supporting proprietary Linux software -- e.g., the Oracle, Sybase,
|
||
and DB2 databases (or VMware, Win4Lin, and such things). If Linux is to
|
||
maintain momentum as a viable, general computing environment, it needs
|
||
software vendors willing to write for (and port to) Linux as a
|
||
proprietary-application platform. If LUGs helps business users evaluate
|
||
proprietary Linux solutions, more software vendors will consider Linux
|
||
in their development and planning.
|
||
|
||
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
|
||
available in few other places. For example:
|
||
|
||
<itemize>
|
||
|
||
<item>Which local ISP is Linux-friendly?</item>
|
||
<item>Are there any local hardware vendors building Linux PCs?</item>
|
||
<item>Does anyone sell Linux CDs locally?</item>
|
||
|
||
</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
|
||
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
|
||
organising charitable giving. <url name="Chris Browne"
|
||
url="mailto:cbbrowne@cbbrowne.com"> has thought about this issue as much as
|
||
anyone I know, and he contributes the following:
|
||
|
||
<sect3>Chris Browne on free software 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,
|
||
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 "gratefulness" per Linux 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.
|
||
|
||
<p>
|
||
A users group can encourage members to contribute to various
|
||
"development projects". Having some form of "charitable tax exemption"
|
||
status can encourage members to contribute directly to the group,
|
||
getting tax deductions as appropriate, with contributions flowing on to
|
||
other organisations.
|
||
|
||
<p>
|
||
It is appropriate, in any case, to encourage LUG members to direct
|
||
contributions to organisations with projects and goals they
|
||
individually wish to support.
|
||
|
||
<p>
|
||
This section lists possible candidates. None are explicitly being
|
||
recommended here, but the list represents useful food for
|
||
thought. Many are registered as charities in the United States, thus
|
||
making US contributions tax-deductible.
|
||
|
||
<p>
|
||
Here are organisations with activities particularly directed towards
|
||
development of software working with Linux:
|
||
|
||
<itemize>
|
||
<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.kde.org/helping/" name="KDE Project">
|
||
<item><url url="http://www.gnome.org/friends/" name="GNOME Foundation">
|
||
</itemize>
|
||
|
||
<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.
|
||
|
||
<p>
|
||
There are also organisations less directly associated with Linux, that
|
||
may nonetheless be worthy of assistance, such as:
|
||
|
||
<itemize>
|
||
<item>The <url url="http://www.eff.org/" name="Electronic Frontier Foundation">
|
||
|
||
<p>
|
||
Based in San Francisco, EFF is a donor-supported membership organization
|
||
working to protect our fundamental rights regardless of technology; to
|
||
educate the press, policy-makers, and the general public about civil
|
||
liberties issues related to technology; and to act as a defender of
|
||
those liberties. Among our various activities, EFF opposes misguided
|
||
legislation, initiates and defends court cases preserving individuals'
|
||
rights, launches global public campaigns, introduces leading edge
|
||
proposals and papers, hosts frequent educational events, engages the
|
||
press regularly, and publishes a comprehensive archive of digital civil
|
||
liberties information at one of the most linked-to Web sites in the
|
||
world.
|
||
|
||
<item>The LaTeX3 Project Fund
|
||
|
||
<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
|
||
and LaTeX are best supported.
|
||
<p> Donations for the project can be sent to:
|
||
<tscreen>
|
||
<verb>
|
||
TeX Users Group
|
||
P.O. Box 1239
|
||
Three Rivers, CA 93271-1239
|
||
USA
|
||
</verb>
|
||
</tscreen>
|
||
or, for those in Europe,
|
||
<tscreen>
|
||
<verb>
|
||
UK TUG
|
||
1 Eymore Close
|
||
Selly Oaks
|
||
Burmingham B29 4LB
|
||
UK
|
||
</verb>
|
||
</tscreen>
|
||
|
||
<item> <URL URL="http://promo.net/pg/" name="Project Gutenberg">
|
||
|
||
<p>
|
||
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.
|
||
|
||
<item> <url url="http://www.osef.org/donations.html" name="Open Source
|
||
Education Foundation">
|
||
|
||
<p>
|
||
The Open Source Education Foundation's purpose to enhance K-12 education
|
||
through the use of technologies and concepts derived from The Open
|
||
Source and Free Software movement. In conjunction with Tux4Kids, OSEF
|
||
created a bootable distribution of GNU/Linux based on Klaus Knopper's
|
||
Knoppix, aimed at kids, parents, teachers, and other school officials.
|
||
OSEF installs and supports school computer labs, and has developed a
|
||
"K12 Box" as a compact Plug and Play workstation computer for student
|
||
computer labs.
|
||
|
||
<item> <url url="http://www.osafoundation.org/donations.htm" name="Open
|
||
Source Applications Foundation">
|
||
|
||
<p>OSAF is Mitch Kapor's non-profit foundation to create and popularise
|
||
open-source application software of uncompromising quality, starting
|
||
with its pioneering personal information manager, Chandler.
|
||
|
||
</itemize>
|
||
|
||
(Please note that suggested additions to the above list of Linux-relevant
|
||
charities are most welcome.)
|
||
|
||
|
||
<sect2>Linux movement
|
||
<p>
|
||
I have referred throughout this HOWTO to what I call the <bf>Linux
|
||
movement</bf>. There really is no better way to describe the
|
||
international 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
|
||
enough to see by reading <file>/usr/src/linux/MAINTAINERS</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
|
||
are vital.
|
||
|
||
The Linux 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
|
||
happen.
|
||
|
||
<sect1>Linux socialising
|
||
<p>
|
||
The last goal of a LUG we'll cover is socialising -- in some ways,
|
||
the most difficult goal to discuss, because it isn't clear how
|
||
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,
|
||
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
|
||
downloading a new kernel, recompiling an old one, fooling with a
|
||
window manager, or hacking some code. Linux's sheer fun keeps many
|
||
LUGs together, and leads LUGs naturally to socialising.
|
||
|
||
By "socialising", here I mean primarily sharing experiences, forming
|
||
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
|
||
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
|
||
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 mailing lists
|
||
or newsgroups, precisely because of the former's greater interactivity
|
||
and personal focus.
|
||
|
||
<sect>LUG activities
|
||
<p>
|
||
In the previous section I focused exclusively on what LUGs do and
|
||
should do. This section's focus shifts to practical strategies.
|
||
|
||
There are, despite permutations of form, two basic things LUGs do:
|
||
First, members meet in physical space; second, they communicate
|
||
in cyberspace. Nearly everything LUGs do can be seen in terms of
|
||
meetings and online resources.
|
||
|
||
<sect1>Meetings
|
||
<p>
|
||
As I said above, physical meetings are synonymous with LUGs (and
|
||
most user groups). LUGs have these kinds of meetings:
|
||
|
||
<itemize>
|
||
<item>social</item>
|
||
<item>technical presentations</item>
|
||
<item>informal discussion groups</item>
|
||
<item>user group business</item>
|
||
<item>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>Discuss the free software / open-source movement</item>
|
||
<item>Discuss user group business</item>
|
||
<item>Eat, drink, and be merry</item>
|
||
</itemize>
|
||
|
||
|
||
<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
|
||
pages, if not whole Web sites. In fact, I'm not sure how else to find a
|
||
LUG, but to check the Web.
|
||
|
||
It makes sense, then, for a LUG to make use of whatever Internet
|
||
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>
|
||
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.
|
||
|
||
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>
|
||
|
||
<item><url name="Colorado Linux Users and Enthusiasts" url="http://clue.denver.co.us/"></item>
|
||
|
||
<item><url name="D<>sseldorfer Linux Users Group" url="http://www.dlug.de/"></item>
|
||
|
||
<item><url name="Essex Linux User Group" url="http://www.epos.demon.co.uk/"></item>
|
||
|
||
<item><url name="Israeli Group of Linux Users" url="http://www.linux.org.il/"></item>
|
||
|
||
<item><url name="Korean Linux Users Group" url="http://www.lug.or.kr/"></item>
|
||
|
||
<item><url name="Linux M<>xico" url="http://www.linux.org.mx/"></item>
|
||
|
||
<item><url name="Linux User Group Austria" url="http://www.luga.or.at/"></item>
|
||
|
||
<item><url name="Linux User Group of Rochester" url="http://www.lugor.org/"></item>
|
||
|
||
<item><url name="Linux User Group of Singapore" url="http://www.lugs.org.sg/"></item>
|
||
|
||
<item><url name="Nederlandse Linux Gebruikers Groep (Netherlands Linux Users Group or NLLGG)" url="http://www.nllgg.nl/"></item>
|
||
|
||
<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="Provence Linux Users Group" url="http://www.plugfr.org/"></item>
|
||
|
||
<item><url name="St. Petersburg Linux User Group" url="http://linux.spb.org/"></item>
|
||
|
||
<item><url name="Tokyo Linux Users Group" url="http://www.tlug.jp/"></item>
|
||
|
||
<item><url name="Turkish Linux User Group" url="http://www.linux.org.tr/"></item>
|
||
|
||
<item><url name="Victoria Linux User Group" url="http://www.vlug.org/"></item>
|
||
|
||
</itemize>
|
||
|
||
<p>
|
||
Please let me know if your LUG uses the Internet in an important or
|
||
interesting way; I'd like this list to include your group.
|
||
|
||
<sect>Practical suggestions
|
||
<p>
|
||
Finally, I want to make some very practical, even mundane, suggestions
|
||
for anyone wanting to found, maintain, or grow a LUG.
|
||
|
||
<sect1>LUG support organisations
|
||
<p>
|
||
|
||
There are several organisations offering assistance to LUGs.
|
||
|
||
<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/"> is an inexpensive way
|
||
for a LUG to provide some benefits to its membership.
|
||
|
||
<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:jeff@cia.net">.
|
||
|
||
<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">.
|
||
|
||
</descrip>
|
||
|
||
<sect1>Founding a LUG
|
||
<p>
|
||
|
||
<itemize>
|
||
|
||
<item>Determine the nearest pre-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 and universities, 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>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>
|
||
<item>Begin looking for a meeting place</item>
|
||
<item>Schedule an initial meeting</item>
|
||
<item>Discuss at the initial meeting the goals for the LUG</item>
|
||
|
||
</itemize>
|
||
|
||
<sect1>Maintaining and growing a LUG
|
||
<p>
|
||
|
||
<itemize>
|
||
|
||
<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>Post flyers, messages, or handbills wherever computer users are in your area</item>
|
||
<item>Secure dedicated leadership</item>
|
||
<item>Follow Linus's <it>benevolent dictator</it> model of leadership</item>
|
||
<item>Take the big decisions to the members for a vote</item>
|
||
<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>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>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 development efforts by donating Web space, a mailing list, or 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>Give credit where due</item>
|
||
<item>Join SSC's GLUE (Groups of Linux Users Everywhere) but be aware they charge a membership fee</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>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>Play to LUG members's strengths</item>
|
||
<item>Maintain good relations with Linux vendors, VARs, developers, etc.</item>
|
||
<item>Identify and contact Linux consultants in your area
|
||
<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 Linus 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>
|
||
</itemize>
|
||
|
||
<sect>Legal and political issues
|
||
<p>
|
||
|
||
<sect1>Legal issues
|
||
<p>
|
||
<sect1>United States
|
||
|
||
<p>
|
||
There is a strong case to be made for formal organisation of
|
||
LUGs. I will not make that case here. If, however, you are interested
|
||
in formally organising your LUG, this section will
|
||
introduce you to some relevant issues.
|
||
|
||
<bf>Note:</bf> this section should not be construed as competent legal
|
||
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.
|
||
|
||
There are at least two different legal statuses a LUG in the United
|
||
States may attain:
|
||
|
||
<enum>
|
||
<item>incorporation as a non-profit entity</item>
|
||
<item>tax-exemption</item>
|
||
</enum>
|
||
|
||
Although relevant statutes differ among states, most states
|
||
allow user groups to incorporate as non-profit entitites. Benefits
|
||
of incorporation for a LUG include limitations of liability
|
||
of LUG members and volunteers, as well as limitation or even exemption
|
||
from state corporate franchise taxes.
|
||
|
||
While you should consult competent legal counsel before incorporating
|
||
your LUG as a non-profit, you can probably reduce your legal
|
||
fees by being acquainted with relevant issues before consulting
|
||
with an attorney. I recommend the <it>Non-Lawyers' Non-Profit
|
||
Corporation Kit</it> (ISBN 0-937434-35-3).
|
||
|
||
As for the second status, tax-exemption, this is not a legal status, so
|
||
much as an Internal Revenue Service judgement. It's important to realise
|
||
non-profit incorporation <bf>does not</bf> ensure that IRS will rule
|
||
your LUG tax-exempt. It is quite possible for a non-profit corporation
|
||
to <bf>not</bf> be tax-exempt.
|
||
|
||
IRS has a relatively simple document explaining the criteria
|
||
and process for tax-exemption. It is <bf>Publication 557:</bf>
|
||
<it>Tax-Exempt Status for Your Organization</it>, available as
|
||
an Acrobat file from the IRS's Web site. I strongly recommend
|
||
you read this document <bf>before</bf> filing for non-profit incorporation.
|
||
While becoming a non-profit corporation cannot
|
||
ensure your LUG will be declared tax-exempt, some
|
||
incorporation methods will <bf>prevent</bf> IRS from declaring your
|
||
LUG tax-exempt. <it>Tax-Exempt Status for Your Organization</it>
|
||
clearly sets out necessary conditions for your LUG to be declared
|
||
tax-exempt.
|
||
|
||
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.
|
||
|
||
<sect1>Canada
|
||
<p>
|
||
Thanks to <htmlurl name="Chris Browne" url="mailto:cbbrowne@cbbrowne.com">
|
||
for the following comments about the Canadian situation.
|
||
|
||
<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.
|
||
|
||
<sect1>Germany
|
||
<p>
|
||
Correspondent <htmlurl name="Thomas Kappler" url="Thomas.Kappler@stud.uni-karlsruhe.de"> warns that the process of founding a non-profit entity in Germany
|
||
is a bit complicated, but is 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">.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
<sect1>Political issues
|
||
<p>
|
||
<url name="Chris Browne" url="mailto:cbbrowne@cbbrowne.com"> has the
|
||
following to say about the kinds of intra-LUG political dynamics that
|
||
often crop up (lightly edited and expanded by the HOWTO maintainer):
|
||
|
||
<sect2>People have different feelings about free software.
|
||
<p>
|
||
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 their
|
||
distribution, and doesn't give all profits over to <it>(pick favorite
|
||
advocacy organisation)</it>, they must be "evil". Ditto Red Hat or
|
||
SuSE. Keep in mind that all three of these companies have made and
|
||
continue to make significant contributions to free software.
|
||
|
||
(HOWTO maintainer's note: The above was a 1998 note, from before
|
||
Caldera exited the 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.
|
||
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
|
||
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
|
||
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
|
||
freeness" of the GPL as applied to the Linux kernel and GNU libc. Do
|
||
not presume that all people promoting this sort of view are necessarily
|
||
greedy leeches.
|
||
|
||
<p>
|
||
If/when these people gather, disagreements can occur.
|
||
|
||
<p>
|
||
Leaders should be clear on the following facts:
|
||
|
||
<itemize>
|
||
|
||
<item>There are a lot of opinions about the GPL and other open-source
|
||
licences and how they work -- mostly misinformed. It is easy to
|
||
misunderstand both the GPL and alternative licensing schemes. Most
|
||
attempts at debating same are, at root, pointless, ritualised symbolic
|
||
warfare among people who should know better. In the rare event that
|
||
participants actually aspire to understand the subject, please direct
|
||
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
|
||
gcc.
|
||
|
||
<item> Proprietary imples neither better nor horrible.
|
||
|
||
</itemize>
|
||
|
||
<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.
|
||
sundry Motorola 68000-based systems, the 1970s' varied 8-bit systems
|
||
against each other, KDE versus GNOME....
|
||
|
||
<p>
|
||
A wise LUG leader will seek to move past such differences, if only
|
||
because they're tedious. LUG leaders ideally therefore will have thick
|
||
skins.
|
||
|
||
<sect2>Non-profit organisations and money don't mix terribly well.
|
||
<p>
|
||
It is important to be careful with finances in any sort of non-profit.
|
||
In businesses, which focus on substative profit, people are not
|
||
typically too worried about minor details such as alleged misspending of
|
||
immaterial sums. The same cannot be said about non-profit
|
||
organisations. Some people are involved for reasons of principle, and
|
||
devote inordinate attention to otherwise minor issues. LUG business
|
||
meetings' potential for wide participation correspondingly expands the
|
||
potential for exactly such inordinate attention.
|
||
|
||
<p>
|
||
As a result, it is probably preferable for there to <it>not</it> be any
|
||
LUG membership fee, as that provides a specific thing for which people
|
||
can reasonably demand accountability. Fees not collected can't be
|
||
misused -- or squabbled over.
|
||
|
||
<p>
|
||
If there <it>is</it> a lot of money and/or other substantive property
|
||
the user group must be accountable to members.
|
||
|
||
<p>
|
||
Any vital, growing group, should have more than one active person. In
|
||
troubled nonprofits, financial information is often tightly held by
|
||
someone who will not willingly relinquish monetary control. Ideally,
|
||
there should be <it>some</it> LUG duty rotation, including duties
|
||
involving financial control.
|
||
|
||
<p>
|
||
Regular useful financial reports should be made available to those
|
||
who wish them. A LUG maintaining official "charitable status"
|
||
for tax purposes must file at least annual financial reports
|
||
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
|
||
now quite practical. With the growth of the Internet, it should even be
|
||
possible to publish these on the World-Wide Web.
|
||
|
||
|
||
<sect>About this document
|
||
|
||
<sect1>Terms of use
|
||
<p>
|
||
|
||
Copyright (C) 2003, Rick Moen. Copyright (C) 1997-1998 by Kendall Grant
|
||
Clark. This document may be distributed under the terms set forth
|
||
in the LDP licence at <url
|
||
name="http://www.tldp.org/COPYRIGHT.html"
|
||
url="http://www.tldp.org/COPYRIGHT.html">.
|
||
|
||
<sect1>New versions
|
||
<p>
|
||
New versions of the Linux User Group HOWTO will be periodically
|
||
uploaded to various Linux WWW 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/">.
|
||
|
||
<sect1>Please contribute to this HOWTO
|
||
<p>
|
||
I welcome questions about and feedback on this document. Please send
|
||
them to me at <htmlurl name="rick@linuxmafia.com"
|
||
url="mailto:rick@linuxmafia.com">. <it>I am especially interested in
|
||
hearing from LUG leaders around the world</it>. I'd like to include
|
||
real-life examples of things described here. I'd also like to include
|
||
more on LUGs outside the United States, to reduce this HOWTO's residual
|
||
US-centrism. Please let me know of things your group does meriting
|
||
description here.
|
||
|
||
<sect1>Document history
|
||
<p>
|
||
<itemize>
|
||
<item>1.0: Released on 13 July 1997.</item>
|
||
<item>1.1: Expanded online resources section.</item>
|
||
<item>1.3: Added LUG support organisations and expanded the Legal and Organisational Issues section.</item>
|
||
<item>1.3.1: General editing for clarity and conciseness.</item>
|
||
<item>1.4: General editing, added new LUG resources.</item>
|
||
<item>1.4.1: General editing for clarity.</item>
|
||
<item>1.5: Added some resources, some discussion of LUG documentation, also general editing.</item>
|
||
<item>1.5.1: Changed Web location for this document and author's e-mail address.</item>
|
||
<item>1.5.2: New copyright and licence.</item>
|
||
<item>1.5.3: Miscellaneous edits and minor re-organisations</item>
|
||
<item>1.6: Added Chris Browne's material: Linux philanthropic
|
||
donations and LUG political considerations.</item>
|
||
<item>1.6.1: Very minor additions.</item>
|
||
<item>1.6.2: Minor corrections.</item>
|
||
<item>1.6.3: Maintenance assumed by Rick Moen: General initial touchup,
|
||
correction of broken URLs, etc.
|
||
<item>1.6.4: Further minor fixes and additions.
|
||
<item>1.6.5: More-extensive edits, added "Limits of advocacy",
|
||
added caveat about conflicting value systems in support contexts. Added
|
||
more news sites, reordered examples of LUGs using Internet well. General
|
||
tightening of phrasing, greater brevity in places.
|
||
<item>1.6.6: More small fixes, added Yahoo LUG list.
|
||
</itemize>
|
||
|
||
|
||
<sect1>Acknowledgements
|
||
<p>
|
||
|
||
I would like to give a big thank-you to Kendall Grant Clark for the
|
||
initial versions of this document in 1997-1998, and for trusting me to take
|
||
over and renovate his creation starting in 2003.
|
||
|
||
Warn regards and thanks to <url name="Chris Browne"
|
||
url="mailto:cbbrowne@cbbrowne.com"> 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
|
||
movement, and his ideas about the kinds of political issues likely to
|
||
arise within LUGs.
|
||
|
||
In addition, the following people have made helpful comments and
|
||
suggestions:
|
||
|
||
<itemize>
|
||
<item>Hugo van der Kooij</item>
|
||
<item>Greg Hankins</item>
|
||
<item>Charles Lindahl</item>
|
||
<item>Jeff Garvas</item>
|
||
<item>James Hertzler</item>
|
||
<item>Thomas Kappler</item>
|
||
</itemize>
|
||
|
||
|
||
</article>
|
||
|