[techieMoe]

One thing I really enjoyed in my college days was the Computer Science club (technically we called it a "fraternity", but not that kind). We'd meet once a week and at least once a semester we'd rent out a church for LAN parties. It was nice to kick back amongst a group of geeks and just... be geeky.

I've missed that kind of geek camaraderie since graduating, so I had an idea that I might try and start up a local Linux Users Group. Something that could meet once or twice a month and let me socialize (yes... believe it or not I said socialize) with folks who share common interests.

I've looked around and there is one relatively large LUG in my metro area, however it has several things going against it in my mind:

1. It charges membership fees
2. It's overly formal, with a laundry list of bylaws
3. It holds meetings only in one section of the city, which is quite far from me.

I'd like to set up an informal, all-ages club that has only one rule for admission: interest in the Linux operating system. I had some ideas for gauging interest such as posting flyers in various strategic spots (college campuses, high schools, etc) as well as perhaps setting up a Gmail account for inquiries. I've also considered making a subdomain of my website dedicated to it. These are all up in the air right now.

I thought perhaps for the first meeting I'd see if I could arrange with Canonical to send me about 50 discs of the X86 version of Ubuntu 8.04 LTS that I could pass out to anyone who attended. What other ideas do you all have for promotion, activities, or anything related?

[jayd512]

Hi, Moe!

Sounds like a great idea. Off the top of my head, I really don't know about anything extra that you could add. I'm assuming that you're already planning on trying to invite even those who know nothing about Linux? I'll ponder this through the course of the day and let you know if anything comes to mind.

Makes me wish I lived somewhere near you... No real LUG's around me that seem really all that welcoming.

[fingal]

Sounds good Moe, but I don't have any practical suggestions other than... just do it!

[techieMoe]

Originally Posted by jayd512

I'm assuming that you're already planning on trying to invite even those who know nothing about Linux?

Absolutely, and you see my point. The only LUG I could find that already existed in my area wasn't very welcoming at all, and even if it had been it was not in a convenient location.

As soon as Shipit starts allowing orders for 8.04, I'll start hammering out the details for this.

[Vergil83]

Assuming you in a very large metro area you might also post at other forums. Don't forget https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LoCoTeamList and meetup.com.

[ozar]

Once you get some helpers in place, you could try setting up a booth with Linux on laptops at various high traffic locations (such as shopping malls) to demo linux and give out linux CDs.

Good luck with it, hope it all works out well for you.

[Redman]

Let me start by saying: go for it, f#ck the others and do it
The existing LUG won't be happy with you so expect "noise" (ignore it).

Go and advertise on local websites (news sites, free advertisement sites, etc.). Setup a (simple) website and mention the URL everywhere. The site helps people to find you and allows you to tell them when/where/etc.

Excuse the expression, but try to get into bed with big players such as Canonical, Linspire, etc. (the ones who have an ear for these kind of things). The very big ones (Novell, Red Hat, etc. won't be interested). The "smaller" ones are

Organise several meetings (several different days in a month) to allow people to come and visit (not everyone has the same days off).

Good luck!

[questio verum]

Hey Moe!
There's always the tried & true 'Installfest' Here's a page from an Atlanta area LUG. You probably should get one or two other members first though.


qv

[techieMoe]

I've enlisted the help of the dean of the local community college's IT department. Perhaps if nothing else she can direct me to a professor or two that might be able to announce the LUG to their classes.

I'm going to start working on fliers next. I've created an email account for the LUG and I might do some research into getting a subdomain set up on my site for it too.

[danbuter]

Sounds cool. Also let the members of the other LUG know. I bet at least a few of them will "defect" to a more laid-back LUG. The one in my area is great. We just had a meeting last night. One guy did a presentation on GIT, and another did one on sudo vs su. And there was pizza. We use a room at the local ITT. There are no fees associated with our LUG. We also have a mailing list that is heavily used.