New GNHLUG SIG

[Bill McGonigle]

On Aug 1, 2008, at 14:18, Arc Riley wrote:

> As I've said before, what you're looking for is very different from  
> what
> we're building, and I really dislike you're repeated attempts at  
> trying to
> co-opt this.

I guess I'll catch up on the beginning of the conversation from the  
Board meeting minutes?  It wasn't readily apparent from VirginSnow's  
mail that he was fighting anything, so perhaps some clarification is  
in order.  As has already been mentioned, the Venn diagram of what  
VirginSnow is talking about and the UbuntuLolo (I assume) are talking  
about shows a small intersection.

> You obviously have a lot of interest and have a clear idea of what  
> you want
> to do, so find people interested in doing it with you and do it.


This isn't what he's doing?  :confused:  If there's more to the story  
and it's to be discussed on-list, it's only fair to relate it.  Or  
take it off-list until it's ready to come back to the list, but I get  
the feeling I'm listening to half of a phone conversation.

> What we're talking about building is a SIG that's specific to "regular
> users", where most GNHLUG events are geared toward power users.

Most GNHLUG events are geared towards whomever the coordinator can  
wrangle into doing a presentation (mostly), or whoever steps out of  
the darkness to volunteer (rarely).  I've personally tried to get a  
few folks who were on the path to learning Linux to do a presentation  
and they had no interest.  We have had 'user-level' talks several  
times, but they tend to be the minority for the above reason.  By all  
means, send me speakers and they'll be scheduled!

> In Ithaca, one of the most active members (Eric Skalwold) is such a  
> regular
> user.  He has no idea how to edit config files, or compile a  
> kernel, and
> barely squeeks through installs.  He hosts weekly potlucks at his  
> home and
> fosters discussion about issues that regular users face.

Wow, that's fantastic.  Does that mean Eric's potlucks are divorced  
from a regular LUG or does he also present there too?

>  It's not
> about activism or outreach.... Outreach isn't the point.  ...  
> Promotion isn't
> the point either.

So it's confirmed that you and VirginSnow want to do different  
things, no?

> Let's face it, we're a bunch of geeks.  We talk
> to each other about things completely over the head of regular  
> users, and it
> alienates them.

Boy, that would be a terrible thing to have to face, because then it  
would be true.  At DLSLUG, anyway, we regularly have new users show  
up, they ask for advice (we have time set aside for that at every  
meeting), and there's lots of willing folk who do that.  Our local  
discussion list and library are next stops.  If we're ever alienating  
users that needs to get fixed ASAP.  I hope it's just a rhetorical  
canard you're using.

> As a side note, please stop using the word "gay" to refer to  
> something you
> don't like, it's offensive.

I don't know VirginSnow at all, but if he's older and from certain  
areas, he may be using dated vernacular, from when the word meant,  
'inane' (an ironic usage, from when 'gay' meant 'delightful', as  
'bad' has come to mean 'good' in certain contexts).  Depending on  
one's upbringing, one may have been 'donning gay apparel' when that  
didn't involve rainbows [preemptive-cite: http:// 
www.ourgayapparel.com/oga.cgi?i=2145803445/gayapparel/803404],  
experienced the transition of the word, or have been born directly  
into the use of the term to mean 'homosexual'.  Yeah, words change,  
he was obviously offensive to some in modern context, and everybody  
should strive to use more precise vocabulary, but given Hanlon's  
razor we should err on the side of educating about [perhaps  
unintentional] offensiveness rather than censorship.

-Bill

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