UBUNTU: ubuntu folks

[Linda Halligan]

Vince Mewhirter wrote:
> I'm lost. Who are you guys, 
I'm Linda Halligan. I'm a systems engineer with
http://www.bitpusher.com, and a long time open source software user and
newbie advocate.

I am also a lot of other things that bear no relevance to this
particular group, so I won't get into those things.


> and what have you done as far as linux 
> groups, ubuntu stuff. 
I've been on several of the area mailing lists for the past few years.
I've been to a few SASAG meetings, tje most recent GSLUG meeting, and am
involved in the newly restarted Seattle LinuxChix chapter.

I joined the Ubuntu-women project about a month ago or so ago, and am
participating in the restructuring and re-energizing of that project.

I joined the Wa LoCo mailing list several months ago even though there
has been zero activity in this group for months.

I am interested getting some coordinated Washington State Ubuntu
activities going, mainly in the Puget Sound region (because I am based
there) but in the rest of the state as well.
> I feel like some of you folks know each other and 
> have done stuff together, and some havent. 
I met William Hale (Salt on IRC), Andy K, and maybe Paul Bartell
(peanutb on IRC) at LFNW this past April at the GSLUG/Ubuntu table. I
met CJ (cj on IRC) and Paul at the GSLUG meeting this past Saturday.
William and Andy K were also there, and several people expressed
interest in joining the mailing list when I announced we were trying to
get the LoCo going again. Many of us visit, or are persistently
connected to the #gslug and #ubuntu-us-wa channels on freenode. I may
also know some other people on this list.
> I feel like some know what's 
> goin on and some dont, mainly me.
>   
That's what happens with a group that has no leadership or focus.

I'm interested in reviving this group so I have offered some suggestions
as to what we can do, etc. If I am stepping on anyone's toes here they
are more than welcome to direct me on how ideas should be brought up for
the group to consider.

I have also taken the initiative to setup an IRC meeting so whoever
wants to can discuss these things in a format that is a bit more
conducive to expressing opinions, getting feed back, and creating an
action plan.

Essentially, I am being vocal and coordinating because no one else is. I
would heartily welcome input from anyone else, and encourage other
people to take responsibility for things they would like to see happen.

Some recently update resources that may help you better understand what
is going on can be found here:

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/WashintonTeam
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/WashingtonTeam/Meetings/CurrentAgenda
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/WashingtonTeam/Projects
> Also, I am having trouble understanding these emails. why cant we blog 
> instead. It's hard to understand who said what in what order, and who's 
> responding to who, and everything else. Maybe it's me. maybe im looking 
> too much into it.
>
>
>   
The format of a mailing list in general is hard to follow. But there a
few reasons why I don't think we should create a random blog. First,
keeping these discussions on the "official" resources means other people
who are late to the conversation or just new to the group know where to
find the activity. Second, there will be problems with any format we
choose. Third, the more resources we are using for discussion of the
LoCo activities and coordination the harder it will be to ensure that
people using only one of those resources are kept up to date on the
discussions that are occurring and any resulting action plans.

If we can get Chuck to request the official Washington State subforum it
may be easier for some discussions to occur there.

While mailman's threading leaves a lot to be desired it may be simpler
for you to follow the conversation via the archive web interface instead
of individual emails.
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-us-wa/2009-December/thread.html

You may also want to consider switching to getting email digests instead
of individual emails if the recent activity on the list is flooding your
inbox. Digests can be a bit easier to follow and jump around to figure
out who is responding to whom, since activity for a day is contained in
a single email.

I think the most effective way to collaborate and bring everyone to the
same page is to meet in person, however location decentralization,
schedule coordination, and the general instability of the group at
present make it very difficult. And I personally cannot dedicate and
afternoon to meeting in person when I cannot even be sure that anyone
else who may be interested will even show up. Anyone else who is
interested in coordinating such an effort is, of course, more than
welcome to do so. And I will be there with an overwhelming amount of
enthusiasm if my schedule allows it. :-)

-Linda