Linux World / Network World 2006

Christopher Browne cbbrowne-Re5JQEeQqe8AvxtiuMwx3w at public.gmane.org
Mon Oct 24 22:28:55 UTC 2005


On 10/24/05, Evan Leibovitch <evan-ieNeDk6JonTYtjvyW6yDsg at public.gmane.org> wrote:
> Meng Cheah wrote:
>
> > So if someone comes up to me and asks if I can suggest/recommend where
> > he can purchase a PC with Linux installed, I can recommend
> > www.sub500.com or Flipside Technology Services but not myself who may
> > be in that business?
>
> If you are staffing the local user group tradeshow booth, you are
> representing a community which may include others who also sell PCs with
> Linux installed. The best possible answer (for the group, if not for
> you) is "come to a meeting or ask on a mailing list and you'll find a
> number of possible answers". That answer draws the person into the
> community, which is the primary reason for having the LUG booth there.
> Alternately, you can suggest one of the many companies who are
> exhibiting PCs with Linux installed elsewhere at the show. That's being
> helpful.

I believe there were some problems with how the user group booth went,
two years ago.  I seem to recall it being overrun with people trying
to do 8 different things, and I certainly got the impression that
several were trying to hawk their own consulting services.

It seems to me that there are some probable participants in staffing
such a booth that might have an interest in that sort of thing, which
must be handled with great care lest it be really rather
inappropriate.

I'll definitely carry that issue with me into the discussion.

> You can mention that you do the service yourself, and if the person's
> interested you take their contact info and talk to them after the show.
> Doing so gives you the benefit of the contact, while giving the
> questioner some confidence that the TLUG booth wasn't overrun by people
> looking to use it to sell their own wares.

If William uses the booth to promote his USB key-based distributions,
that would probably contribute to the "overrun" property.  But there's
probably a way to handle it that would be not inappropriate...

Thanks for your comments, Evan; they are even (particularly?) useful
when they disagree with some of my notions.
--
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