ubuntu-us-nj North Jersey Contact? Weekly Meetings?

[David A. Harding]

On Thu, May 24, 2007 at 08:22:41PM -0400, Bryan Quigley wrote:
> What can we do in a weekly meeting that we can't do by email?  

I've never seen a mailing list handle voting and opinion polling well.
For an example, look at this thread: Joe asked, ``Who thinks it's a good
idea, and who [will] come?''  Joe wanted opinions, but for almost a day,
all he got was silence.

The problem with mailing lists is how to interpret a lack of response.
If there are twenty people subscribed to a mailing list, three of them
respond affirmatively to some issue, and the other 17 abstain, what does
that mean? It could mean it's a good idea, a bad idea, or an idea so
obvious or so dumb that responding is a waste of time.  Or it could mean
most people are on vacation.

In meetings, whether personal or electronic, response rates are much
higher (often 100%), and therefore imporant decisions can be made.

No GNU+Linux related group in New Jersey surived for long as an email-
only group. SJLinux, when they discontinued meetings but continued
emailing, died in three months; the NJULUGs died in six months; and I
believe JSLUG is now dead too.

-Dave
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