[volunteers] (forw) Guide and Support

[mark wissler]

Hello Albert,
I am glad Rick sent you these references...
http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/User-Group-HOWTO.html 
http://linuxmafia.com/lug/User-Group-HOWTO.html
... as they are very good.


I will offer my own perspective on user groups in case it can help you.
It seems to me that user group activities fit into about three groups, at least around here in California.
1. Talks or presentations. Given by someone with some knowledge and enthusiasm for some subject, like wireless networking with Linux. This is our typical monthly meeting.
2. Installfests. These are gatherings to help people install Linux on a computer and get it working. These events are typically planned to allow up to four or five hours of work just in case difficulties are encountered.
3. Workshops. These are like installfests but are to accomplish some goal such as getting a library management application installed and working complete with an interface to the book information on Amazon. Like maybe installing the Tellico collection manager.

In any case, the meetings and their content should be useful to your local community.
A reminder that Rick sometimes gives is that scheduled meetings should be held even if only one or two people show up. That way, your community can depend upon meetings or events really taking place no matter what.

Best of luck.
Mark Weisler




On Apr 16, 2013, at 5:55 PM, Rick Moen wrote:

> Quoting Albert A. Ninyeh (linuxusersgroupgh at gmail.com):
> 
>> Date: Sat, 13 Apr 2013 12:22:15 -0700
>> From: Linux Users Group Ghana <linuxusersgroupgh at gmail.com>
>> To: officers at lists.svlug.org
>> Subject: Guide and Support
>> 
>> Hello SVLUG,
>> 
>> My name is Albert Ninyeh, an Open Source advocate who is passionate about
>> FOSS, Open Source Hardware's, DIY, Embedded system etc. I am from Ghana,
>> West Africa. I have managed to set up a LUG Group in my country and we
>> currently in a group on whatsApp, for the past weeks i have been searching
>> online for similar communities until i hit your website which i found it
>> very educating on what you guys are doing. I will really appreciate it, if
>> i could be guided on ways to manege and make this little group i have
>> organized to be something grater. Learning resources, link and personal
>> coughing will be very much appreciated.
> 
> Greetings, Albert.
> 
> As you may have noticed on the main SVLUG mailing list, SVLUG has in the
> last few years had a critical staff shortage.  You sent your query to
> the 'Officers' mailing list, which technically still exists but is
> vestigial because one of our past presidents made changes that rendered
> it useless and almost completely devoid of membership.  As you will see
> on http://www.svlug.org/officers.php, SVLUG has also not had elected
> officers since 2009, when an election was held and nobody was interested
> in running.
> 
> Since then, several interested volunteers with no particular title or
> mandate have attempted to hold the group together.  I am one of them,
> and the Volunteers mailing list (Cc'd) exists for their discussion of
> administrative matters.
> 
> All of us are a little time-strapped, and I don't know what specifically
> you are asking.  Speaking for myself, any wisdom I have to offer to LUG
> leaders elsewhere has gone into the Linux User Group HOWTO[1], which I
> maintain for the Linux Documentation Project.
> http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/User-Group-HOWTO.html 
> http://linuxmafia.com/lug/User-Group-HOWTO.html
> 
> And also this opinionated personal essay, FWIW:
> 'New LUG' on http://linuxmafia.com/kb/Essays
> 
> [1] I notice Michael Paoli opined that it's a little dated, but also
> that he couldn't bother to send any update suggestions whatsoever.  I do
> update it, but only on occasion when time permits.
> 
> 
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