mirror of https://github.com/tLDP/LDP
1542 lines
76 KiB
Plaintext
1542 lines
76 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:%20rick@linuxmafia.com%20"></author>
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<date>v1.7.5, 2004-01-09
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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, workstations, PDAs, and embedded systems. It was
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developed on the i386 and now supports a huge range of processors from
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tiny to colossal:
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<itemize>
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<item><bf>Diverse <url name="PDA / embedded / microcontroller / router"
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url="http://www.uclinux.org/ports/"> devices:</bf>
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<itemize>
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<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>
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<item>Analog Devices, Inc.'s <url name="Blackfin DSP" url="http://linuxdevices.com/news/NS9596714596.html"></item>
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<item>Axis Communications <url name="ETRAX series" url="http://developer.axis.com/software/"> ("CRIS" = Code Reduced Instruction Set RISC architecture)</item>
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<item>Elan SC520 and SC300</item>
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<item>Fujitsu <url name="FR-V" url="http://sources.redhat.com/ecos/hardware.html#FR-V"></item>
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<item>Hitachi <url name="H8" url="http://www.uclinux.org/pub/uClinux/ports/h8/"> series</item>
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<item>Intel i960</item>
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<item>Intel IA32-compatibles (Cyrix MediaGX, STMicroelectronics <url name="STPC" url="http://www.stmcu.com/forums-cat-132-6.html">, ZF Micro ZFx86)</item>
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<item>Matsushita <url name="AM3x" url="http://sources.redhat.com/ecos/hardware.html#Matsushita%20AM3x"></item>
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<item>MIPS-compatibles (Toshiba <url name="TMPRxxxx / TXnnnn" url="http://www.bluecat.com/products/bluecat/bluecatbsp.php3#mips">, NEC <url name="VR" url="http://www.linux-vr.org/"> series, <url name="Realtek 8181" url="http://www.deakin.edu.au/~btfo/networking/minitar.html">)</item>
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<item>Motorola 680x0-based machines (Motorola VMEbus boards, <url name="ISICAD Prisma" url="http://ds.dial.pipex.com/town/way/fr30/"> machines, and Motorola <url name="Dragonball" url="http://www.linuxdevices.com/products/PD5338609592.html"> & <url name="ColdFire" url="http://www.uclinux.org/ports/coldfire/"> CPUs, and Cisco 2500/3000/4000 series routers)</item>
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<item>Motorola embedded <url name="PowerPC" url="http://penguinppc.org/embedded/hardware/"> (including MPC / PowerQUICC I, II, III families)</item>
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<item>NEC <url name="V850E" url="http://www.ee.nec.de/_uclinux/"></item>
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<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>
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<item>Samsung <url name="CalmRISC" url="http://sources.redhat.com/ecos/hardware.html#CalmRISC"></item>
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<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>
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</itemize>
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</item>
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<item><bf>Intel <url name="8086 / 80286"
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url="http://elks.sourceforge.net/"></bf>.</item>
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<item><bf>Intel IA32 family:</bf> i386, i486, Pentium, Pentium Pro,
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Pentium II, Pentium III, Xeon, and Pentium IV processors,
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as well as IA32 clones from AMD, Cyrix, VIA, IDT, Winchip,
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NexGen, Transmeta, VIA C3 Ezra "CentaurHauls", and others.</item>
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<item><bf>Intel/HP <url name="IA64"
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url="http://www.linuxia64.org/">:</bf> Trillian/Itanium/Itanium2</item>
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<item><bf>AMD <url name="x86-64 Hammer"
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url="http://www.x86-64.org/downloads"> family</bf> (including AMD Opteron)</item>
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<item><bf>Motorola <url name="68020-68040"
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url="http://www.linux-m68k.org/"> series (with MMU)</bf>:
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<url name="m68k Mac" url="http://www.mac.linux-m68k.org/">,
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Amiga, Atari ST/TT/Medusa/Falcon, HP/Apollo Domain,
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<url name="HP9000/300"
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url="http://www.tazenda.demon.co.uk/phil/linux-hp/">,
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<url name="sun3" url="http://sun3.sammy.net/sun3/">, and
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<url name="Sinclair Q40"
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url="http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Bay/2602/q40.html">.
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</item>
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<item><bf>Motorola/IBM <url name="PowerPC"
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url="http://linuxppc64.org/"> family:</bf> Most
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<url name="PowerMac"
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url="http://penguinppc.org/dev/pmac/"> (including G3/G4/G5) /
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<url name="CHRP" url="http://penguinppc.org/dev/chrp/"> /
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<url name="PReP" url="http://penguinppc.org/dev/prep/"> /
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<url name="POP" url="http://penguinppc.org/dev/pop/">,
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<url name="Amiga PowerUP System"
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url="http://linux-apus.sourceforge.net/">,
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and IBM <url name="PPC64"
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url="http://linuxppc64.org/"> (AS/400, RS/6000).</item>
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<item><bf><url name="MIPS"url="http://www.linux-mips.org/">:</bf>
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most SGI, Cobalt Qube,
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<url name="DECStation" url="http://decstation.unix-ag.org/">,
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Sony <url name="PlayStation2"
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url="http://playstation2-linux.com/">, and many others</item>
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<item><bf>DEC <url name="Alpha" url="http://www.alphalinux.org/"></bf></item>
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<item><bf>HP <url name="PA-RISC" url="http://www.parisc-linux.org/"></bf></item>
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<item><bf>SPARC International <url name="SPARC32 / SPARC64" url="http://www.ultralinux.org/"></bf></item>
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<item><bf>Digital <url name="VAX"
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url="http://linux-vax.sourceforge.net/"> minicomputers and MicroVAXen</bf></item>
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<item><bf>Mainframes:</bf> <url name="IBM S/390 / zSeries"
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url="http://www10.software.ibm.com/developerworks/opensource/linux390/index.shtml"> and <url name="Fujitsu AP1000+ (SuperSPARC cluster)" url="http://cap.anu.edu.au/cap/projects/linux/"></item>
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</itemize>
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Note that some items listed were probably one-time forks, little or not
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at all maintained since creation. On some of the rarer architectures,
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<url name="NetBSD" url="http://www.netbsd.org/"> may be more practical.
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(Soon, the <url name="Debian GNU/NetBSD"
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url="http://www.debian.org/ports/netbsd/"> port should be solid enough to
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serve as a compromise option, furnishing Linux userspace code on the
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highly portable NetBSD kernel.)
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If seriously interested in the subject of Linux ports, please see also
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<url name="Xose Vazquez Perez's Linux ports page"
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url="http://perso.wanadoo.es/xose/linux/linux_ports.html">, if only because
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hardware support is more complex than just generic CPU functionality,
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encompassing support for myriad bus variations and other subtle hardware
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issues (especially for
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<url name="Linux PDA / embedded / microcontroller / router ports"
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url="http://www.linuxdevices.com/">).
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The above list aims mostly to generally illustrate the breadth of
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Linux's reach.
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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 other 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
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what Linux is suitable for?
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In large part, LUGs provide the answers, which is why LUGs are vital to
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the Linux movement: Because your town, village, or metropolis sports no
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Linux Corporation "regional office", the LUG takes on many of the same
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roles a regional office does for a large multi-national 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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and 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 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 USA, 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 USA, 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 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. So, the same force that sent traditional user
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groups into decline propelled Linux forward and inspired new groups
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concerned exclusively with it.
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To give just one indication of how LUGs differ from traditional
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user groups: Traditional groups must closely
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monitor what software users redistribute at meetings.
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While illegal copying of restricted proprietary software certainly
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occurred, it was officially discouraged -- 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 forbidden, 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. Offers or requests to copy
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distribution-restricted proprietary software of any sort should be
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heavily discouraged anywhere in LUGs, and declared off-topic for all
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Linux user group on-line forums, for legal reasons.)
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<sect1>Summary
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<p>
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For the Linux movement to grow, among other requirements,
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LUGs must proliferate and succeed. Because of Linux's
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unusual nature, 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 news outlets.
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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 already 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, in 76 locations in India, and
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over 100 other countries, including Russia, China, and most of Western
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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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<item><url name="LUGs in India" url="http://nt.linuxforu.com/lfyusergroup/lfyusergroup.asp"></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 <url name="Linux Advocacy mini-HOWTO"
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||
url="http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/Advocacy.html">, available at the
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||
<url name="Linux Documentation Project" url="http://www.tldp.org/">,
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||
gives some helpful suggestions, as does Don Marti's excellent
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||
<url name="Linuxmanship" 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
|
||
promoting 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
|
||
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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||
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New Linux users already in contact with a LUG are ahead
|
||
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
|
||
quest to install, run, and learn Linux.
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||
|
||
It is, therefore, important for LUGs to advocate Linux, because
|
||
their advocacy is effective, well-supported, and free.
|
||
|
||
<sect1>The limits of advocacy
|
||
<p>
|
||
Advocacy can be mis-aimed; advocacy can go wrong and be
|
||
counterproductive; advocacy can be simply inappropriate in the first
|
||
place. The matter merits careful thought, to avoid wasted time or
|
||
worse.
|
||
|
||
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
|
||
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
|
||
list is real or artificial). Save your effort for someone more
|
||
receptive.
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||
|
||
Along those lines, bear in mind that, for many people, perhaps most, an
|
||
"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
|
||
urging them to adopt a piece of software without
|
||
benefiting materially, so they assume there must be something in
|
||
it for you and will push back, and
|
||
act as if they're doing you a personal favour to even listen, let alone
|
||
try your recommendations.
|
||
|
||
I recommend bringing such discussions back to Earth
|
||
immediately, by pointing out that software policy should be based in
|
||
one's own long-term self interest, that you have zero personal stake in
|
||
their choices, and that you have better uses for your time than speaking
|
||
to an unreceptive audience. After that, if
|
||
they're still interested, at least you won't face the same artificial
|
||
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
|
||
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
|
||
"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
|
||
could mention. (Why not just make information available for those
|
||
receptive to it, and stop there? That meets any reasonable person's
|
||
needs.)
|
||
|
||
Last, understand that the notion of "use value" for software is quite
|
||
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
|
||
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
|
||
-- 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
|
||
capability and webmail) as opposed to listing software as a retail-style
|
||
line-item with pricing: After all, any software project has costs,
|
||
even if the acquisition price tag is zero, and the real point of open
|
||
source isn't initial cost but rather long-term control over IT -- a key
|
||
part of one's operations: With proprietary systems, the user (or
|
||
business) has lost control of IT, and is on the wrong side of a monopoly
|
||
relationship with one's vendor. With open source, the user is in
|
||
control, and nobody can take that away. Explained that way (as
|
||
opportunity to reduce and control IT risk), people readily understand
|
||
the difference -- especially CEOs -- and it's much more significant over
|
||
the long term than acquisition cost.
|
||
|
||
<sect1>Linux education
|
||
<p>
|
||
Not only is it the business of a LUG to advocate 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
|
||
real-world difference in one's local area. While universities and
|
||
colleges are increasingly including Linux in their curriculums, for
|
||
sundry reasons, this won't reach some Linux 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
|
||
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.
|
||
|
||
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,
|
||
community and social organisations, and other non-corporate
|
||
environments. This accomplishes the goal of Linux 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
|
||
participation, through awareness and education efforts -- extending to
|
||
the community the same generous spirit characteristic of 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
|
||
surrounding community.
|
||
|
||
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.
|
||
|
||
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
|
||
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
|
||
experienced ones.
|
||
|
||
Finally, 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
|
||
the LUG develops: technical presentations, tutorials, local FAQs, etc.
|
||
LUGs' documentation often fails to benefit the worldwide Linux
|
||
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
|
||
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
|
||
should mean much more.
|
||
|
||
LUGs have the opportunity to support:
|
||
|
||
<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 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
|
||
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,
|
||
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/">.
|
||
|
||
Standout on-line magazines with weekly or better publication cycles
|
||
include <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/">.
|
||
|
||
All of these resources have eased LUGs' job of spreading essential
|
||
news and information -- about bug fixes, security problems, patches,
|
||
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,
|
||
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
|
||
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>
|
||
|
||
LUGs can help Linux 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
|
||
consultants, since their routine or simple requests for support are
|
||
handled by LUGs <it>gratis</it>, while their complex needs and problems --
|
||
the kind requiring paid services -- can be fielded by consultants found
|
||
through the LUG.
|
||
|
||
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 users needing consulting services and
|
||
professionals offering 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), <it>including what they receive for free</it>. 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 re-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 become a bit ugly. 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.
|
||
|
||
Telltale signs that a questioner may need to be transitioned to consulting-based assistance include:
|
||
|
||
<itemize>
|
||
<item>An insistence on getting solutions in "recipe" (rote) form,
|
||
with the apparent aim of not needing to learn technological
|
||
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.
|
||
<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).
|
||
<item>Demands that answers be recast or delivered more quickly
|
||
(suggesting that the questioner's time and trouble are
|
||
valuable, but that helpers' are not).
|
||
<item>Asking unusually complex, time-consuming, and/or multipart
|
||
questions.
|
||
</itemize>
|
||
|
||
In general, LUG members are especially delighted to help, on a volunteer
|
||
basis, members who seem likely to participate in the Linux "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
|
||
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
|
||
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.
|
||
|
||
<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
|
||
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.
|
||
|
||
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).
|
||
Some LUG expertise in these areas may help businesses make the leap
|
||
into 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
|
||
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:%20cbbrowne@cbbrowne.com%20"> has thought about this issue as much as
|
||
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,
|
||
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
|
||
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 user 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 USA, 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 (Knoppix for Kids) 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 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
|
||
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 are 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.
|
||
|
||
Arguably, a well-maintained Web site is the one must-have, among those
|
||
Internet resources. My essay
|
||
<url name="Recipe for a Successful Linux User Group"
|
||
url="http://linuxmafia.com/faq/Linux_PR/newlug.html">, for that reason,
|
||
spends considerable time discussing Web issues. Quoting it (in outline form):
|
||
|
||
<itemize>
|
||
<item>You need a Web page.
|
||
<item>Your Web page needs a reasonable URL.
|
||
<item>You need a regular meeting location.
|
||
<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>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.
|
||
<item>Design your Web page to be forgiving of deferred maintenance.
|
||
<item>Always include the day of the week, when you cite event dates. Always check that day of the week, first, using gcal.
|
||
<item>Place time-sensitive and key information prominently near the top of your main Web page.
|
||
<item>Include maps and directions to your events.
|
||
<item>Emphasise on your main page that your meeting will be free of charge and open to the public (if it is).
|
||
<item>You'll want to include an RSVP "mailto" hyperlink, on some events.
|
||
<item>Use referral pages.
|
||
<item>Make sure every page has a revision date and maintainer link.
|
||
<item>Check all links, at intervals.
|
||
<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.)
|
||
</itemize>
|
||
|
||
That essay partly supplements (and partly overlaps) this HOWTO.
|
||
|
||
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/"> 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
|
||
popular software, and expertise and funding in planning special
|
||
LUG events. More information can be found at the
|
||
<url name="http://www.tux.org/" url="http://www.tux.org/">
|
||
Web site.
|
||
|
||
</descrip>
|
||
|
||
<sect1>Founding a LUG
|
||
<p>
|
||
|
||
<itemize>
|
||
|
||
<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>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 Torvalds'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 / open source 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).</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' strengths.</item>
|
||
<item>Maintain good relations with Linux vendors, VARs, developers, etc.</item>
|
||
<item>Identify and contact Linux 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>
|
||
</itemize>
|
||
|
||
<sect>Legal and political issues
|
||
<p>
|
||
|
||
<sect1>Organisational legal issues
|
||
<p>
|
||
The case for formal LUG organisation can be debated:
|
||
|
||
<it>Pro:</it> Incorporation and recognised tax-exemption limits
|
||
liability and helps the group carry insurance. It aids fundraising.
|
||
It avoids claims for tax on group income.
|
||
|
||
<it>Con:</it> Liability shouldn't be a problem for modestly careful
|
||
people. (You're not doing skydiving, after all.) Fundraising isn't needed
|
||
for a group whose activities needn't involve significant expenses.
|
||
(Dead-tree newsletters are so 1980.) Not needing a treasury, you avoid
|
||
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
|
||
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
|
||
your own poison: If 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.
|
||
|
||
<sect2>United States of America
|
||
<p>
|
||
There are at least two different legal statuses a LUG in the USA 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 entities. 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.
|
||
|
||
<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, 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="Thomas.Kappler@stud.uni-karlsruhe.de"> 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">.
|
||
|
||
<sect1>Other legal issues
|
||
<p>
|
||
|
||
<sect2>Bootlegging
|
||
<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
|
||
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
|
||
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
|
||
group forums, but for antitrst legal reasons it's a bad idea to get into
|
||
"How much do you charge to do [foo]" discussions, there.
|
||
|
||
<sect1>Software politics
|
||
<p>
|
||
<url name="Chris Browne" url="mailto:%20cbbrowne@cbbrowne.com%20"> 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 / open-source 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 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
|
||
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,
|
||
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 implies 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 substantive profit, people are not
|
||
typically too worried about minor details such as alleged misspending of
|
||
<it>immaterial</it> sums. The same cannot be said of 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.
|
||
|
||
<sect1>Elections, democracy, and turnover
|
||
<p>
|
||
Governing your LUG democratically is absolutely vital -- if and
|
||
only if you believe it is. I intend that remark somewhat less cynically
|
||
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
|
||
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
|
||
soul more.
|
||
|
||
It's tempting to mock such exercises as empty posturing, but such
|
||
is not (much) my intent. Rather, I
|
||
mention them to point out something more significant: Attracting and
|
||
retaining key volunteers is vital to the group's success. Anything that
|
||
makes that happen is good. It seems likely that the
|
||
"democratic" exercise stressed in some groups, substantive or not,
|
||
encourages participation, and gives those elected a sense of status,
|
||
legitimacy, and involvement. Those are Good Things.
|
||
|
||
Thus, if elections and formal structure help attract key
|
||
participants, use them. If those deter participants,
|
||
lose them. If door-prizes and garage sales bring people in, do
|
||
door-prizes and garage sales. Participation, as much as software, is
|
||
the lifeblood of your LUG.
|
||
|
||
The reason I spoke of "key" volunteers, above, is because, inevitably, a
|
||
very few people will do almost all of the needed work. It's just the
|
||
way things go, in volunteer groups. An anecdote may help illustrate my
|
||
point: Towards the end of my long tenure as editor and typesetter of
|
||
San Francisco PC User Group's 40-page monthly magazine, I was repeatedly
|
||
urged to make magazine management more "democratic". I finally replied
|
||
to the club president, "See that guy over there? That's Ed, one of my
|
||
editorial staff. Ed just proofread twelve articles for the current
|
||
issue. So, I figure he gets twelve votes." The president and other
|
||
club politicos were dismayed by my work-based recasting of their
|
||
democratic ideals: Their notion was that each biped should have an equal
|
||
say in editorial policy, regardless of ability to typeset or proofread,
|
||
or whether they had ever done <it>anything</it> to assist magazine
|
||
production. Although he looked quite unhappy about doing so, the
|
||
president dropped the subject. I figured that, when it came right down
|
||
to it, he'd decide that the club needed people who got work done more
|
||
than they needed his brand of "democracy".
|
||
|
||
But we weren't quite done: A month or so later, I was introduced to a
|
||
"Publications Committee", who arrived with the intent of doing nothing but
|
||
vote on matters of newsletter policy (i.e., issue "executive" orders to the
|
||
volunteer production staff). Their first shock came when I listened politely
|
||
to their advice but then applied my editorial judgement as usual. Much
|
||
worse, though: I also assigned them work, as part of my staff. Almost
|
||
all immediately lost interest. (Bossing around other people seemed likely
|
||
to be fun; doing actual work was not.)
|
||
|
||
The point is that the widespread urge to vote on everything is at best
|
||
orthogonal to any desire to perform needed work; at worst, the former
|
||
serves as an excuse to compulsively meddle in others' performance
|
||
of the latter.
|
||
|
||
To sum up: Have all the "democracy" that makes you happy, but watching after
|
||
the well-being of your key volunteers is what matters. (To quote Candide,
|
||
"We must cultivate our garden.")
|
||
|
||
Last, plan for your replacement: If your LUG is a college student
|
||
group, and must go through a paperwork deathmarch every year to stay
|
||
accredited, make sure that and all other vital processes are documented,
|
||
so new LUG officers needn't figure everything out from scratch. Think
|
||
of it as a systems-engineering problem: You're trying to eliminate
|
||
single points of failure.
|
||
|
||
And what works for the guys in the next town may not work for your crowd:
|
||
Surprise! The keys to this puzzle are still being sought. So, please
|
||
experiment, and let me know what works for you, so I can tell others.
|
||
Have fun!
|
||
|
||
<sect>About this document
|
||
|
||
<sect1>Terms of use
|
||
<p>
|
||
|
||
Copyright (C) 2003-2004, 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/">.
|
||
|
||
<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
|
||
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:%20rick@linuxmafia.com%20">. <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'm particularly trying to
|
||
include more on LUGs outside the USA. 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 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
|
||
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 touch-up,
|
||
correction of broken URLs, etc.</item>
|
||
<item>1.6.4: Further minor fixes and additions.</item>
|
||
<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>
|
||
<item>1.6.6: More small fixes, added Yahoo LUG list.</item>
|
||
<item>1.6.7: Added formal-organisational pros/cons, "Elections,
|
||
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,
|
||
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>1.7.3: 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>
|
||
<item>1.7.4: Added LinuxWorld Magazine, fixed URL of Recipe for
|
||
a Successful Linux User Group, which I moved. Added Tux.Org and
|
||
LinuxUserGroups.org as LUG support organisations.
|
||
<item>1.7.5: Added several more embedded CPUs to the supported list, implemented licence change to Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 1.0 after securiing permission from Kendall Clark.</item>
|
||
</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.
|
||
|
||
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
|
||
open-source software movements, 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>Jeff Garvas</item>
|
||
<item>James Hertzler</item>
|
||
<item>Greg Hankins</item>
|
||
<item>Thomas Kappler</item>
|
||
<item>Hugo van der Kooij</item>
|
||
<item>Charles Lindahl</item>
|
||
<item>Don Marti</item>
|
||
</itemize>
|
||
|
||
</article>
|
||
|