[Ubuntu-ZW] Ubuntu Team in 2013

[O. Sinclair]

Hi Kalpesh and all,

I am one of those many(?) who have participated in various online/mail 
discussions but never attended meetings, release parties etc.

For a while I had a reasonably large FOSS project based on Kubuntu 
running in 4 countries but that fizzled mainly due to users being 
unhappy with the state of OpenOffice compared to MS Office.

So for a couple of years my Ubuntu/FOSS has more been me/myself/I and my 
family.

That is not an excuse but it has made me a lot less active on forums, 
discussions etc.

Having said that I have noted with some concern the absence of the 
Ubuntu Team/Crew at IT shows and gatherings.

I would love to see it "revived" and I think if we are not seen, then 
anyone outside the immediate "it pro" sphere will not find out about the 
excellent options that the different flavors of Ubuntu offer.

So I am more for "let us become visible" than bugjamming.

As for organisation, well as I have not been active before I am open to 
any idea...

Best,
Sinclair

On 26/02/2013 09:31, Kalpesh Thaker wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> Thanks to Garkai's recent article on techzim:
> http://www.techzim.co.zw/2013/02/why-translation-of-open-source-software-into-local-languages-has-failed/
> i'd like to bring up a discussion on plans for the team in 2013.
> firstly, i'd like to apologise for posting this email to the general
> list..as im not sure the "team" list is up to date.. but hopefully we
> can sort that out with this email... and then keep team communications
> seperate from the "general" list in future.
>
> As discussed last year, the team is still very much alive.. but not
> kicking as such. i can confidently say that through casual chats with
> people, there are a few people out there that are still passionate about
> ubuntu and FOSS in general. as im sure most of you know already.. the
> original ubuntu zimbabwe loco team was started and run for quite a while
> by 3 people. so it is possible to make this happen again if we have
> enough interest and commitment. while we've been quite dormant..
> canonical have developed ubuntu for use on smart phones and tablets.. so
> this is no longer about desktops and servers anymore. there should be
> more interest to a wider audience from now on... (at least it has the
> potential for a wider audience i should say)
>
> so.... i havent got that far with drawing up the team constitution
> yet...but i have been working on a new website for ubuntu.org.zw
> <http://ubuntu.org.zw>. i was planning on sorting it all out over the
> december holidays.. but i was working that whole time.. and didnt get
> much free time to do anything.
>
> for now.. i'd like to discuss the following.... i'll need as much
> feedback from everyone as possible..so that we can start plotting a way
> forward:
>
> 1 - should the LoCo team be revived? if yes, do we play the passive role
> (as we have been doing for the last few years), or do we go for an
> active role where we physically interact with the public (IT shows,
> public events etc)?
> 2 - what would the team's long and short terms goals be? (will play a
> huge role in questions on point #1)
> 3 - are there any special projects that we should consider taking
> preference with immediate effect? Garikai's translation project comes to
> mind.. but if anyone else can think of anything else.. please bring
> forward to the discussion.
> 4 - as the ubuntu LoCo team, what do we expect to get out of this team
> effort?
> 5 - as a team effort, which would you say is more important right now,
> promoting ubuntu in the local community.. or helping improve the quality
> of code in ubuntu (via bugjam sessions and other events)
> 6 - how do you think the team needs to be setup physically?
> (traditionally, there was a team leader and his minions.. but im
> thinking more along the lines of a committee..... please share your
> thoughts/concerns on this)
>
> there are alot of other points that may exist outside of these 6
> questions i've brought up, if you can think of any that you'd like to
> discuss.. please do share,
>
> i know it would be a good idea to organise a meeting one of these
> days.... so hopefully if we can gather up enough interest on a way
> forward, then that will be the next step.
>
> kalpesh
>
>
>
>