Getting new members and such

[Paul Mora]

On Mon, 08 Nov 2004 10:13:30 -0500, Bill Mudry <billmudry-MwcKTmeKVNQ at public.gmane.org> wrote:

> Those who already really know their stuff well rarely need the help of others
> and therefore do not have any dependencies for attending meetings ---- 
> unless it is for the social interaction and a night out. If you want to grow the 
> Linux crowd, you have to help people who have heard about it by offering 
> workshops.

Perhaps this component can be added to TLUG/NewTLUG... a more "social"
aspect.  Have people get to know other people, what they do, what
they've done with Linux,and what their future projects may be.

Perhaps divide the time in half; the first half have a
lecture/workshop on a particular topic, and then in the second half,
open the floor up to people, to ask a question, talk about something
cool they found, or are doing, etc.  It may also be a good idea to
moderate this part; perhaps have the questions submitted beforehand,
and keep the discussion to a set time (say 15 minutes), after which
the next question/topic is introduced.

I realize that many people are inherently shy, or may not want to ask
questions out loud in front of everyone else.  But this kind of
community giving/receiving I think is the reason we all attend
TLUG/NewTLUG at all; to learn a bit, and to share a bit.

> Once a person knows a subject well, it can seem easy to that person even
> if it is very involved and they can lose sight of what it is like for new Linux
> users or potential ones. If a person starts with enthusiasm only to see that
> they get stuck, not able to get basic things running, that enthusiasm will die
> out quite quickly. That is where workshop sessions on a regular basis means
> gold to beginners --- me included.

Absolutely.  Often times it's just something small; like a particular
command or changing an option in a config file; finding it can be a
very frustrating experience.  I get questions all the time; "How do
you get this to work?" and often times, it's something I've read, or
searched on, or even fought through myself, and I can answer it off
the top of my head, or refer to a web site or something.  Every little
bit helps.

pm

-- 
Paul Mora
email: paulmora-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org
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