re-thinking LUGs and early planning for the first Canadian LUG summit

[David J Patrick]

I think if we linux enthusiasts asked each other, we'd find a consensus that
potential synergies between LUGs in Canada, Ontario and Toronto have
not been realized to any appreciable degree. 
We could do so much more, and some of us actively want to.
The mailing list the wiki, and the meetings+beer are probably GTAlugs strongest 
assets, but as much as I personally enjoy them, they're hit-and-miss. 

Our interLUG connections are fledgling and still too ripe with personal
politics, with few clear goals.

There are no recognizable channels for professional knowledge exchange.

There's no easy way for an "outsider", looking to the local Linux User
Groups for help with linux, to find the right freelance consultant, or for
an overbooked consultant to pass on work to another linux pro, and. 

We have a very unclear picture of how to advocate, or to whom.

We have no promotional strategies in play.

We have amassed very little high quality document assets, artwork,
promotional materials, position papers etc. 

I would like to see;
A two-stage inter-LUG summit;

Stage 1) very early in the new year, calling a Greater Toronto Area
Inter-LUG meeting, where we invite representatives the cities LUGs to
gather, meet, compare some notes and set the agenda for 

Stage 2) a couple of months later, the first Canadian InterLUG Summit. If
we put some effort into reaching out to other Canadian LUGs, and make the
meeting comfortable, fun, more-or-less central and EFFECTIVE, maybe with
some of the more "cash rich" lugs pooling resources for travel expenses,
then perhaps we could address (among other things) some of the deficiencies
listed above, not just for ourselves, but for ALL the Canadian LUGs
simultaneously ! Whoo !!  Can't you just hear that ol' maple leaf snapping
in a stiff arctic breeze ? Can you imagine cross-Canada interLUG synergies
and clout ? is linux.ca the national website ? is there a #canlugs IRC
channel ? what other IT landscape features and issues do we share coast to
coast to border to coast ? 

c'mon, let's go for it ! won't be easy, true, but it's doable, overdue,
with tangible rewards and could be a heck of a party!  Let's see if we can
book a Toronto wide-interlug meeting as the first GTAlug meeting in
January, and discuss the logistics of the first national gathering.

djp
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