<div dir="ltr">Thanks a lot everyone for your comments, this feedback is really helpful!<div> </div><div> </div><div>I agree with Jan that we should focus on 'type of location' instead of 'geographical location'. Even if we find an ideal location; one that is in the middle of this country and is accessible by both car and public transport, there will still be people who won't be able to make it. I myself live in Ghent, so I'll focus my efforts around Ghent. If other people want to organize meetups closer to them, feel free to do so. In fact, I'd encourage you to do so. Edmund, start a community in the rupelstreek. It will make the ubuntu-be community grow, and maybe in a few years, we'll all meet in Brussels for a big ubuntu-be party.</div><div> </div><div>It seems to be a common concern that the association with the hacker culture creates barriers. Ubuntu = Linux for human beings, so we should try to avoid those barriers at all cost. So I propose we try to find a better location that has less of a barrier and has more connected to non-techy people. I myself am a Computer Science PhD student, so I'll need a lot of help getting in touch with non-techy organizations. Frank, do you have personal connections to such organizations in Ghent? Is anyone else able to help establish a relationship with other organizations?</div><div> </div><div>Now that I think of it, English is another big barrier. The main reason why I using English is that it allows the french and dutch speaking parts of ubuntu-be to communicate better. However, I'm not sure if there are that many non-dutch people around here. Trying to include everyone might just have an adverse effect. Aside from that, I'm going to focus my efforts on the area around Ghent, so I don't see the benefit of talking English anymore, especially since it creates another barrier. I think it's best if everyone just speaks the language they're most comfortable with. Anyone has any thoughts on the language issue?</div><div> </div><div> </div><div> </div><div>Kind regards</div><div>Merlijn Sebrechts</div><div> </div><div> </div></div><div class="gmail_extra"> <div class="gmail_quote">2016-04-12 7:16 GMT+02:00 Jan Bongaerts <<a href="mailto:jbongaerts@gmail.com" target="_blank">jbongaerts@gmail.com</a>>: <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">My 2¢ Focus on the type of location, not the geographical location. It's always going to be easy for some and difficult for others. So I advice the organiser to stick to a location that is really accessible for him/her. Hackerspace might indeed not be the best idea. Rather take it to your target audience, like a youth club, a student fraternity, or some adult education centre. Regards, Jan. <div class="gmail_quote"><div><div class="h5">On 9 Apr 2016 10:19, "Edmund BlackAdder" <<a href="mailto:wh1tesp4ce@gmail.com" target="_blank">wh1tesp4ce@gmail.com</a>> wrote: </div></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div><div class="h5"> <div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000"> Hello Merijn, all, i live in the Rupelstreek, that's below Antwerp, and I'm not all that happy driving to Ghent. (what with it's accessibility (or lack of)). Also, the terms "hacker" and "hackerspace" still carry a negative connotation with most of the non-tech savvy people i meet. That might slow down things also, imho. If i'm allowed to think out loud for a minute, i'd say there's potential for Linux in the Rupelstreek. As far as i know, there's not too many of us linux users around here. Maybe in the future, a launch party in these parts of the country would help things forward a bit. That would need a suitable location of course, but I've got a few venues in my mind. On the other hand i realize that if everybody sticks to his/her geographical location, the team will have a hard time getting together. And that's not a suitable option either. Kind regards, Tom. <div>Op 09-04-16 om 09:29 schreef linux service: </div> <blockquote type="cite"> Maybe a better location that is better accessible with car? You have to have a plan currently to enter Ghent. I like "De Leest" in Izegem. Maybe together with the linux groups in Kortrijk and Linuxbabbel? gd Op Friday 08 April 2016 20:59:53 schreef Frank Neirynck: > Hi Merlijn, all, > > I filled in the doodle, and I think a release party in Ghent is a good > idea, but if Hackerspace is the best location to attract other then > already convinced Linux-users, I am willing to doubt. > Maybe a release party could or should be held in a more publicly known > location to "normal people" in Ghent or elsewhere, where it could > attract a more diverse audience. Maybe at Vormingplus, an organisation > of whom I suspect they would embrace the idea? > > Kind regards, > > Frank Neirynck > > -----Oorspronkelijke bericht----- > Van: Merlijn Sebrechts <a href="mailto:merlijn.sebrechts@gmail.com" target="_blank"><merlijn.sebrechts@gmail.com></a> > Reply-to: Ubuntu Belgium <a href="mailto:ubuntu-be@lists.ubuntu.com" target="_blank"><ubuntu-be@lists.ubuntu.com></a> > Aan: Ubuntu Belgium <a href="mailto:ubuntu-be@lists.ubuntu.com" target="_blank"><ubuntu-be@lists.ubuntu.com></a> > Onderwerp: Re: [Ubuntu-be] Ubuntu-be 16.04 release party date > Datum: Fri, 8 Apr 2016 10:50:16 -0700 > > Hi all > > > > > Only three people have filled in the doodle although there are a lot > more people active on this list. It seems a release party in Ghent isn't > that wanted. Can those who didn't answer help me understand what the > cause of the lack of interest is? I'm thinking of a few possible > reasons: > * No interest in a release party? > * Ghent is a bad location? > * None of the dates work? > Any of these reasons apply to you? Do you have other reasons? Please > help me understand! > > > > > > > Kind regards > Merlijn Sebrechts > > 2016-04-04 12:54 GMT-07:00 Merlijn Sebrechts > <a href="mailto:merlijn.sebrechts@gmail.com" target="_blank"><merlijn.sebrechts@gmail.com></a>: > Hi all > > > > > As Jan suggested, let's organize a release party for the 16.04 > release. I created a doodle to get a rough idea of when people > have time. It would take place in Hackerspace Ghent, > Blekerijstraat 75. What would we do there? > > > - I can talk about my Ubuntu phone, and about Juju 2.0. If > anyone has any ideas or suggestions for other talks, please let > me know. > - Help each other install and upgrade to 16.04 > - Help each other with general Ubuntu problems > - Get to know the ubuntu-be community > > > Can you please fill in the following doodle? Thanks! > > > <a href="http://doodle.com/poll/hr88xszfmq6krivt" target="_blank">http://doodle.com/poll/hr88xszfmq6krivt</a> > > > > > > > > Kind regards > Merlijn Sebrechts > > > > > > > <fieldset></fieldset> </blockquote> </div> </div></div>-- ubuntu-be mailing list / mailto:<a href="mailto:ubuntu-be@lists.ubuntu.com" target="_blank">ubuntu-be@lists.ubuntu.com</a> Modify settings or unsubscribe at: <a href="https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-be" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-be</a> </blockquote></div> -- ubuntu-be mailing list / mailto:<a href="mailto:ubuntu-be@lists.ubuntu.com">ubuntu-be@lists.ubuntu.com</a> Modify settings or unsubscribe at: <a href="https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-be" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-be</a> </blockquote></div> </div>