Getting new members and such

[Bill Mudry]

At 08:49 PM 11/8/04 -0500, you wrote:
>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 think that is a good balance. How much moderation you might need would
depend on how many people come. If there are a lot of people and enough
team leaders, you could break into a few different groups (SIG's) each with
its own broad subject area to handle. The larger the attendance, the harder
it can be to satisfy everyone's interests unless part of the meeting subdivides
into different topic groups.


>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

Time and time and time again for me. Some things just are not explained well
on the Net and not everyone can afford a sizeable library of books. Some
issues can be answered in a dialogue in minutes that can take days in
email dialogue. When something doesn't work, I have other things in life
to attend to and would prefer to get an answer as soon as possible.

>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

Letting others get to know each other, what each knows and does allows 
learning and
support to continue on a more personal scale between meetings. As you say, 
often
just a few words can unplug a bottleneck that is holding someone back.

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

Bill Mudry
email: billmudry-MwcKTmeKVNQ at public.gmane.org



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