Texas LoCo Team discussion

[JJNova]

The benefits to a Texas Team are so minimal, that the reasoning behind 
actually forming an "official" team seems arbitrary at best. I'm right 
there with you Lee, as we were an official team until the Community 
board was formed, and we were told that all benefits, kits, and pressed 
discs would no longer be coming our direction. Dallas used to work 
closely with all of the teams in Texas, and created the Texas Team wiki 
page with the intent of ensuring smooth transitioning for new users.

Dallas Team, as well as Houston, have been Ubuntu fans before Ubuntu was 
popular. We were the groups that hosted Software Freedom Day events. We 
were the groups that were out there handing out discs and giving 
presentations. As our teams grew, and more popped up, we tried to make 
it a purpose to help these smaller teams, and that is what I see as the 
biggest benefit to being a "Texas Team", or more precisely, a joint 
effort of local teams to maintain a smooth sense of community for those 
in our areas.

It seems to me that the idea of community has changed from being a local 
area, to being part of the "Ubuntu Community". Whereas over the years we 
have seen community to be a friendly, local group of people working 
together to help the "village", or our immediate area. Now, it appears 
"community' has become a nicer way to say "part of the mob". The push 
appears, to me, to be for the sole purpose of appeasing or joining the 
bigger mob. The Ubuntu Community.

Keep in mind, that even though we have been pushing for an open source, 
free, and community driven experience for years, those paving the way to 
form an official Texas Team aren't a part of any established group as it 
is. Having nominated their own to be team contact, as well as push for a 
formation that bypassed our already established teams. From my laymen 
eye, it appears there is a big circle jerk that we weren't invited to. I 
suppose everyone has someone to appease. Whereas we have focused on our 
communities for years, other are focused on The Community.

I, personally, would love to see this energy spent on forming more local 
teams. There has been talk of forming a Central Texas team, and I plan 
to drive out that direction to sit in on their meetings, providing as 
much help as I can. Daniel Stone was talking last month about forming a 
team in the Burleson / Ft. Worth area, which I would really have loved 
see happen (DallasTeam is unable to appease to the entire metroplex). I 
was also hoping to drive out that way and help where possible. 
Unfortunately, he has shifted his focus on forming Texas Team.

I guess I would just like to see more local teams. Teams that can do 
more good, and shift their styles based on their locale and the 
personalities of people that live in their region. For instance, if you 
live in a College town, your technique and lifestyle would be different 
than if your community was strictly suburbia. I much prefer a central 
place for us to stay in touch (like this mailing) and a place to point 
people in the right direction (like the wiki) than a "team" that will 
have slight control over the direction of the state. However minimal 
that is. I really don't want to see local teams compete for kits, since 
only the official Texas Team would receive them and pass them out as 
they see fit. I would hate to willingly put a wedge between Texas 
communities.

-JJ

-JJ

Lee Sharp wrote:
> I have been quiet for the last few posts, but feel a need to respond. 
> Please keep in mind that I am responding to things as I understand them. 
>   I believe (and hope) that the message I received is not the one people 
> intended to send!
>
> Daniel Stone wrote:
>
>  > The idea of an umbrella team is what I thought we were attempting to
>  > achieve. Many areas have existing teams and they should not get
>  > discounted in any way.
>  >
>  > In my understanding the concept of a TexasTeam was more for guiding the
>  > end user to resources (hopefully nearby them) and building communication
>  >  between existing teams to help the state as a whole.
>
> This is what I thought as well.  I support this concept.  However, I 
> have reservations about what I am seeing in practice.
>
>  > The term hierarchy really should be left out of the equation because in
>  > concept a hierarchy gives the basic feel of one being greater or less
>  > than another.
>
> Not to mention some hard feelings from when long established LoCos were 
> "Told" we could not be official since we did not encompass the state. 
> This still genders some bad will from a few of us.
>
>  > To have to remember mail tags seems a little extreme. Setting even more
>  > rules for the new user. Not to discard that discussion but if someone
>  > wants to join the list we should be available and have answers if they
>  > indeed write the list. Having the tag system to start would have the new
>  > and unknowing confused why they could not get a reply.
>
> In Houston we have a list, a Wiki, a FaceBook, and a Myspace.  Frankly, 
> I keep up with the list, occasionally remember to update the Wiki, and 
> skip the rest.  Now you (not really you singular, but "you" plural in 
> the purely planning stages) want to funnel all of our stuff that we 
> already have in place, and that works, through yet another system?  I 
> think I will pass...
>
> (Note that this is my initial impression, not what the LoCo of Houston 
> has decided...  Just giving you a feeling for how some of these messages 
> have been received down here, by at least one of us.)
>
>  > Whatever you choose to call them TNT's, LoCo's, LUG's, or Regions they
>  > support members of a like area. The TexasTeam LoCo is just the same.
>  > TexasTeam is for the state and is here to help the end user find a
>  > resource.
>
> Ditto.  We call ourselves the Ubuntu Houston LoCo.  We will still call 
> ourselves that later.  Several years of habit kinda sticks...
>
>  > Meetings of the TexasTeam as a complete entity may be extremely hard to
>  > attain. Rather small events in separate locations that address the state
>  > as a whole.
>
>  > Even at UDS there were only select people that showed up for the
>  > meeting. This may have been due to one persons schedule being more open
>  > or one being closer than another but in any event it happened and good
>  > discussions existed.
>
> This brings up another problem I have noticed.  I consider myself fairly 
> clued in.  I was quite surprised to find out how much was "Decided" in 
> Dallas without so much as a peep on this list!  Now we are having a 
> second meeting, in a different place so more people can attend... Now 
> where is it again?  This is the primary problem with a Texas team.  It 
> has a center.  It is generally where the most active people are, and so 
> if you ain't there...  If you want input from more of Texas, have a 
> second meeting in Austin, or Houston, or San Antonio...  Or, have Team 
> Dallas II, and watch everyone else just do there own thing.
>
> (Again, I am sure this is coming across strong, and I do not mean to 
> offend people, but I am upset.  Hopefully I am helping all of you to 
> understand why.)
>
>  > I believe that the function of a state team offers many advantages over
>  > the city teams that are in place currently. One of them being larger
>  > projects can get assistance and as people have the time they can join
>  > and help different regions or different LoCo's using a common channel.
>
> This only works if the larger team is inclusive.  At the moment, I do 
> not feel included.
>
>  > I would like to cordially invite anyone to attend a meeting in Arlington
>  > this is going to be one of the topics discussed. I will also be
>  > discussing current projects that others and myself are involved in.
>  >
>  > http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1336262
>
> This could be part of the problem, and why I do not feel included.  Why 
> is the discussion so fragmented?  We have a list...  Updates are handy. 
>   Every time I get on Ubuntu forums I have to check all the threads I 
> follow, so I do not do it too often.  E-mail, however, I am on all day.
>
>  > You can register your attendance either in person or from remote here
>  > https://edge.launchpad.net/sprints/uta-1nuet/+attend
>  >
>  > Thank you for your time. I look forward to watching and helping this
>  > team grow.
>
> I am interested.  I wanted to go to UDS as well, but could not get the 
> time away, and will not be able to again.  So someone pleas take notes.
>
>              Lee
>
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