The goals of local LUGs are as varied as the locales in which they
operate. There is no master plan for LUGs, nor is this document meant
to supply one. Remember: Linux is free from bureaucracy and
centralized control and so are local LUGs.
It is possible, however, to identify a core set of goals for a local
LUG:
advocacy
education
support
socializing
Each local LUG will combine these and other goals in a unique way in
order to satisfy the unique needs of its membership.
The urge to advocate the use of Linux is as natural to computer users
as is eating or sleeping. When you find something that works and works
well, the natural urge is to tell as many people about it as you
can. The role of LUGs in Linux advocacy cannot be overestimated,
especially since the wide-scale commercial acceptance of Linux which
it so richly deserves has not yet been achieved. While it is certainly
beneficial to the Linux Movement each and every time a computer
journalist writes a positive review of Linux, it is also beneficial
every time satisfied Linux users tell their friends, colleagues,
employees or employers about Linux.
There is effective advocacy and there is ineffective carping: as Linux
users, we must be constantly vigilant to advocate Linux in such a way
as to reflect positively on both the product, its creators and
developers, and our fellow users. The Linux Advocacy mini-HOWTO,
available at the Linux Documentation Project, gives some helpful
suggestions in this regard. Suffice it to say that advocacy is an
important aspect of the mission of a local LUG.
There may come a time when Linux advocacy is pretty much beside the
point because Linux has more or less won the day, when the phrase ``No
one ever got fired for using Linux'' becomes a reality. Until that
time, however, the local LUG plays an indispensable role in promoting
the use of Linux. It does so because its advocacy is free,
well-intentioned, and backed up by organizational commitment. If a
person comes to know about Linux through the efforts of a local LUG,
then that person, as a new Linux user, is already ahead of the game:
she is already aware of the existence of an organization that will
help her install, configure, and even maintain Linux on whatever
computers she is willing to dedicate to it.
New Linux users who are already in contact with a local LUG are ahead
of those whose interest in Linux has been piqued by a computer
journalist, but who have no one to whom to turn to aid them in their
quest to install, run, and learn Linux.
It is, therefore, important for local LUGs to advocate Linux because
their advocacy is effective, well-supported, and free.
Not only is it the business of a local LUG to advocate the use of
Linux, it may also turn its efforts to training its members, as well as
the computing public in its area, to use Linux and associated
components. In my own estimation, the goal of user education is the
single most important goal a LUG may undertake. Of course, as I have
already pointed out, LUGs are perfectly free to organize themselves
and their activities around any of these, or other, goals. I believe,
however, that LUGs can have the greatest impact on the Linux Movement
by educating and training Linux users.
Local LUGs may choose to undertake the goal of education simply
because there is no other local entity from which a Linux user may
receive technically-oriented education. While it is certainly the case
that universities, colleges, and junior colleges are increassingly
turning to Linux as a way to educate their students, both efficiently
and cheaply, about Unix-like operating systems, some Linux users are
either unable or unwilling to register for courses in order to learn
Linux. For these users the local LUG is a valuable resource for
enhancement or creation of advanced computer skills: Unix-like system
administration, system programming, support and creation of Internet
and Intranet technologies, etc.
In an ironic twist, many local LUGs are even sharing the burden of
worker training with large corporations. Every worker at Acme Corp
that expands her computer skills by participating in a local LUG is
one less worker Acme Corp has to train or pay to train. Even though
using and administering a Linux PC at home isn't the same as
administering a corporate data warehouse, call center, or similar
high-availability facility, it is light years more complex, more
rewarding, and more educational than using and administering a Windows
95 PC at home. As Linux itself advances toward things like journalling
filesystems, high-availability, real-time capacity, and other high-end
Unix features, the already blurry line between Linux and the ``real''
Unixes will get even more indistinct.
Not only is such education a form of worker training, but it will also
serve, as information technology becomes an increasingly vital part of
the global economy, as a kind of community service. In most
metropolitan areas in the United States, for example, it is possible
for a local LUG to take Linux into local schools, small businesses,
community and social organizations, and other non-corporate
environments. This accomplishes the task of Linux advocacy and also
helps train the general public about Linux as a Unix-like operating
system. As more and more of these kinds of organizations seek to
establish an Internet presence or provide dial-in access to their
workers, students, and constituents, the opportunities arise for local
LUGs to participate in the life of their community by educating it
about a free and freely-available operating system. This kind of
community service allows the average Linux user to emulate the kind of
generosity that has characterized Linux, and the free software
community, from the very beginning. Most Linux users can't program
like Linus Torvalds, but we can all all give our time and abilities to
other Linux users, the Linux community, and the broader community in
which work and live.
Linux is a natural fit for these kinds of organization because
deploying it doesn't commit them to expensive license, upgrade, or
maintenance fees. Because Linux is also technically elegant and
economical, it runs very well on the the kinds of disposable hardware
that corporations typically cast off and that non-profit organizations
are only too happy to use. As more and more people discover every day,
that old 486 collecting dust in the closet can do real work
if someone will install Linux on it.
In addition, Linux education has a cumulative effect on the other
goals of a local LUG, in particular the goal of Linux support
discussed below. Better Linux education means better Linux
support. The more people that a LUG can count on to reach its support
goals, the easier support becomes and, therefore, the more of it can
be done. The more new and inexperienced users a local LUG can support
and eventually educate about Linux, the larger and more effective the
LUG can become. In other words, if a LUG focuses solely on Linux
support to the neglect of Linux education, the natural barriers to
organizational growth will be more restrictive. If only two or three
percent of the members of a LUG take upon themselves the task of
supporting the others, the growth of the LUG will be stifled. One
thing you can count on: if new and inexperienced users don't
get the help with Linux they need from a local LUG, they won't
participate in that LUG for very long. If a larger
percentage of members support the others, the LUG will be able to grow
much larger. Linux education is the key to this dynamic: education
turns new Linux users into experienced ones.
Free education about free Linux also highlights the degree to
which Linux is part and parcel of the free software Community. So it
seems appropriate that local LUGs focus not solely on Linux education
but also education about all of the various software systems and
technologies that run under Linux. These include, for instance, the
GNU suite of programs and utilities, the Apache Web server, the
XFree86 implementation of X Windows, TeX, LaTeX, etc. Fortunately the
list of free software that runs under Linux is a long and diverse one.
Finally, Linux is a self-documenting operating environment; in other words,
if we don't write the documentation, nobody is going to do it for us. Toward
that end, make sure that LUG members are well aware of the
Linux Documentation Project, which can be
found at mirrors worldwide. Consider providing an LDP mirror for the local
Linux community and for LUG members. Also make sure to publicize---through
comp.os.linux.announce, the LDP, and other pertinent sources of
Linux information---any relevant documentation that is developed by the LUG:
technical presentations, tutorials, local FAQs, etc. There is a lot of Linux
documentation produced in LUGs that doesn't benefit the worldwide Linux
community because no one outside the LUG knows about it. Don't let the LUGs
efforts in this regard go to waste: it is highly probable that if someone at
one LUG had a question or problem with something, then people at other LUGs
around the world will have the same questions and problems.
Of course for the desperate newbie the primary role of a
local LUG is Linux support. But it is a mistake to suppose that Linux
support only means technical support for new Linux users. It
can and should mean much more.
Local LUGs have the opportunity to support:
users
consultants
businesses, non-profit organizations, and schools
the Linux Movement
Users
The most frequent complaint from new Linux users, once they have
gotten Linux installed, is the steep learning curve which is not at
all unique to Linux but is, rather, a characteristic of all modern
Unixes. With the steepness of the learning curve, however, comes the
power and flexibility of a complex operating system. A local LUG is
often the only resource that a new Linux user has available to help
flatten out the learning curve.
But even if a new Linux user doesn't know it yet, she needs more than
just technical support: Linux and the free software worlds are both
rapidly moving targets. The local LUGs form an invaluable conduit of
information about Linux and other free software products. Not only
does Linux lack a central bureaucracy, but it also for the most part
lacks the kind of journalistic infrastructure from which users of
other computer systems benefit. The Linux Movement does have resources
like
Linux Journal and
Linux Gazette, but many new Linux
users are unaware of these resources. In addition, as monthly
publications they are often already out of date about bugfixes,
security problems, patches, new kernels, etc. This is where the local
LUG as a source and conduit of timely information is so vital to new
and experienced Linux users alike.
For example, until a new Linux user knows that the newest kernels are
available from
ftp.kernel.org
or that the Linux Documentation Project usually has newer
versions of Linux HOWTOs than a CD-based Linux distribution, it is up
to the local LUG, as the primary support entity, to be a conduit of
timely and useful information.
In fact it may be just a bit misleading to focus on the support role
that local LUGs provide to new users: intermediate and advanced users
also benefit from the proliferation of timely and useful tips, facts,
and secrets about Linux. Because of the complexity of Linux, even
advanced users often learn new tricks or techniques simply by becoming
involved in a local LUG. Sometimes they learn about software packages
they didn't know existed, sometimes they just remember that arcane
vi command sequence they've not used since college.
Consultants
It is, I think, rather obvious to claim that local LUGs ought to be in
the business of supporting new Linux users. After all, if they're not
supposed to be doing that, what are they to do? It may not be as
obvious that local LUGs can play an important role in supporting local
Linux consultants. Whether they do Linux consulting full-time or only
part-time, consultants can be an important part of a local LUG. How
can the LUG support them?
The answer to that question is just the answer to another question:
what is it that Linux consultants want and need? They need
someone for whom to consult. A local LUG provides the best
way for those who offer Linux consulting to find those who
need Linux consulting. The local LUG can informally broker
connections between consulting suppliers and consulting consumers
simply by getting all, or as many as possible, of the people
interested in Linux in a local area together and talking with one
another. How LUGs do that will occupy us below. What is important here
is to point out that LUGs can and should play this role as well. The
Linux Consultants HOWTO is an important document in this regard, but
it is surely the case that only a fraction of the full-time and
part-time Linux consultants worldwide are registered in the
Consultants HOWTO.
The relationship is mutually beneficial. Consultants aid LUGs by
providing experienced leadership, both technically and
organizationally, while LUGs aid consultants by putting them in
contact with the kinds of people who need their services. New and
inexperienced users gain benefit from both LUGs and consultants since
their routine or simple requests for support are handled by LUGs
gratis, and their complex needs and problems---the kind that
obviously require the services of a paid consultant---can be handled
by the consultants whom the local LUG helps them contact.
The line between support requests that need a consultant and those
that do not is sometimes indistinct; but in most cases the difference
is clear. While a local LUG doesn't want to gain the reputation for
pawning new users off unnecessarily on consultants--as this is simply
rude and very anti-Linux behavior--there is no reason for LUGs not to
help broker contacts between the users who need consulting services
and the professionals who offer them.
Please see Martin Michlmayr's
Linux Consultants HOWTO for an
international list of Linux consultants.
Businesses, non-profit organizations, and schools
LUGs also have the opportunity to support local businesses and
organizations. This support has two aspects. First, LUGs can support
businesses and organizations that want to use Linux as a part of their
computing and IT efforts. Second, LUGs can support local businesses
and organizations that develop for Linux, cater to Linux users,
support or install Linux, etc.
The kinds of support that LUGs can provide to local businesses that
want to use Linux as a part of their computing operations isn't really
all that different from the kinds of support LUGs give to individuals
who want to run Linux at home. For example, compiling the Linux kernel
doesn't really vary from home to business. Supporting businesses using
Linux, however, may mean that a LUG needs to concentrate on commercial
software that runs on Linux, rather than concentrating solely on free
software. If Linux is going to continue to maintain its momentum as a
viable computing alternative, then it's going to take software vendors
who are willing to write for and port to Linux as a
commercially-viable platform. If local LUGs can play a role in helping
business users evaluate commercial Linux solutions, then more software
vendors will be encouraged to consider Linux in their development and
planning.
This leads us directly to the second kind of support that a local LUG
can give to local businesses. Local LUGs can serve as a clearing house
for the kind of information that is available in very few other
places. For example:
Which local ISP is Linux-friendly?
Are there any local hardware vendors that build Linux PCs?
Does anyone sell Linux CDs locally?
Maintaining and making this kind of information public not only helps
the members of a local LUG, but it also helps Linux-friendly local
businesses as well, and it encourages them to continue to be
Linux-friendly. It may even, in some cases, help contribute to a
competitive atmosphere in which other businesses are encouraged to
become Linux-friendly too.
Free software development
Finally, LUGs may also support the Linux Movement by soliciting and
organizing charitable giving.
Chris Browne has thought about this issue as much as
anyone I know, and he contributes the following.
Chris Browne on free software philanthropy
A further involvement can be to encourage sponsorship of various
Linux-related organizations in a financial way. With the
multiple millions of Linux users,
it would be entirely plausible for grateful users to individually
contribute a little. Given millions of users, and the not unreasonable
sum of a hundred dollars of ``gratefulness'' per Linux user ($100 being
roughly the sum not spent this year upgrading a Microsoft OS),
that could add up to hundreds of millions of dollars towards
development of improved tools and applications for Linux.
A users group can encourage members to contribute to various
``development projects.'' If it has some form of ``charitable tax
exemption'' status, that can encourage members to contribute directly
to the group, getting tax deductions as appropriate, with
contributions flowing on to other organizations.
It is appropriate, in any case, to encourage LUG members to direct
contributions to organizations with projects and goals that they
individually wish to support.
This section lists possible candidates. None are explicitly being
recommended here, but the list can represent useful ``food for
thought.'' Many are registered as charities in the United States, thus
making U.S. contributions tax deductible.
Here are organizations with activities particularly directed towards
development of software that works with Linux:
Contributions to these organizations has the direct effect of
supporting the creation of freely redistributable software usable with
Linux. Dollar for dollar, such contributions almost certainly have
greater effect on the Linux community as a whole than any other
specific kind of spending.
There are also organizations that are less directly associated
with Linux that may nonetheless be worthy of assistance, such as:
This is not a Linux-specific organization; they are involved in
general advocacy activities that touch on people involved with
software development. Involvement in this organization represents
something closer to involvement in a ``political lobby'' group.
There is somewhat of a ``USA bias;'' there are nonetheless
international implications, and the international community as often
follows the American lead in computing-related matters as vice-versa.
The LaTeX3 Project Fund
The
TeX Users Group (TUG) is
working on the ``next generation'' version of the LaTeX publishing
system, known as LaTeX3. Linux is one of the platforms on which TeX
and LaTeX are best supported.
Donations for the project can be sent to:
TeX Users Group
P.O. Box 1239
Three Rivers, CA 93271-1239
USA
or, for those in Europe,
UK TUG
1 Eymore Close
Selly Oaks
Burmingham B29 4LB
UK
Their purpose is to make freely available in electronic form the
texts of out-of-copyright books. This isn't directly a ``Linux thing,''
but it seems fairly worthy, and they actively encourage platform
independence, which means that their ``products'' are quite usable with Linux.
Linux Movement
I have referred throughout this HOWTO to something I call the
Linux Movement. There really is no better way to describe the
international Linux phenomenon than to call it a movement: it isn't a
bureaucracy, but it is organized; it isn't a corporation, but it is
important to businesses all over the world. The best way for a local
LUG to support the international Linux movement is to work to insure
that the local Linux community is robust, vibrant, and growing. Linux
is developed internationally, which is easy enough to see by
reading /usr/src/linux/MAINTAINERS. But Linux is also
used internationally. And this ever-expanding user base is
the key to Linux's continued success. And that is where the local LUG
plays an incalculably important role.
The strength of the Linux Movement internationally is the simple fact
that Linux offers unprecedented computing power and sophistication for
its cost and for its freedom. The keys are value and independence from
proprietary control. Every time a new person, group, business, or
organization has the opportunity to be exposed to Linux's inherent
value the Linux Movement grows in strength and numbers. Local LUGs can
make that happen.
The last goal of a local LUG that I will mention here is
socializing. In some ways this is the most difficult goal to discuss
because it is not clear how many or to what degree LUGs engage in
it. While it would be strange to have a local LUG that didn't engage
in the other goals, there very well may be local LUGs somewhere in the
world for which socialization isn't an important consideration.
It seems, however, that whenever two or three Linux users get together
fun, highjinks, and, often, beer are sure to follow. Linus Tovalds has
always had one enduring goal for Linux: to have more fun. For hackers,
kernel developers, and Linux users, there's nothing quite like
downloading a new kernel, recompiling an old one, twittering with a
window manager, or hacking some code. It is the sheer fun of Linux
that keeps many LUGs together, and it is this kind of fun that leads
many LUGs naturally to socializing.
By ``socializing'' here I mean primarily sharing experiences, forming
friendships, and mutually-shared admiration and respect. There is
another meaning, however, one that social scientists call
socialization. In any movement, institution, or human
community, there is the need for some process or pattern of events in
and by which, to put it in Linux terms, newbies are turned into
hackers. In other words, socialization turns you from ``one of them''
to ``one of us''.
For armed forces in the U.S. and in most countries, this process is
called boot camp or basic training. This is the process whereby
civilians are transformed into soldiers. The Linux movement has
analogous requirements. It is important that new Linux users come to
learn what it means to be a Linux user, what is expected of them as a
member of an international community, the special vocabulary of the
Linux movement, its unique requirements and opportunities. This may be
as simple as how Linux users in a partcicular locale pronounce
``Linux''. It may be as profound as the ways in which Linux users
should advocate, and the ways in which they should, more importantly,
refrain from advocating Linux.
Linux socialization, unlike `real world' socialization, can occur on
mailing lists and Usenet, although the efficacy of the latter is
constantly challenged precisely by poorly socialized users. In my
view, socialization and socializing are both done best in the company
of real, flesh-and-blood fellow human beings, and not by incorporeal
voices on a mailing list or Usenet group.
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