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I'd like to dd my support to Karl's, as I felt similarly<br><br>When I first started trying linux I felt like an Alien, and the sort of reaction here reminds me of the many RTFM replies I got<br><br>Is there something about helping people don't get....?<br><br>Or is it just a geek thing?<br><br>Jake, I'll be happy to bring along some puppy linux stuff, though not sure if I can make all the meetings<br><br>Aitch :)<br>-----------------------------<br><br>> Date: Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:36:12 +0000<br>> From: karl@digital-end.com<br>> To: kent@mailman.lug.org.uk<br>> Subject: Re: [Klug-general] Faversham Linux Users Group - workshops<br>> <br>> I was halfway through writing a similar email to Dan when his message<br>> popped into my inbox. I'm surprised that people who support Linux are<br>> so upset about someone planning to introduce people to it, cover the<br>> basics in a structured manner and simply cover their own costs. If<br>> someone wants to pay (very little!) for that, then what is the<br>> problem?<br>> <br>> This would have been extremely useful to me when I was starting out<br>> with Linux, because frankly having to learn things, even if Google is<br>> your friend, is a difficult and time consuming process. Anything to<br>> condense that process is good in my opinion. It also probably means<br>> that these beginners are more likely to stick with Linux than get<br>> stuck and not know how to proceed.<br>> <br>> Frankly, even if the charge was higher and some profit was being made,<br>> I still fail to see the problem. People have to make a living and open<br>> source should still support that; You can get it for free if you want<br>> to invest the time, or you can pay a premium and get some help.<br>> <br>> In my opinion, the attitude Jake has received with regards to this<br>> topic actually supports the need for these kinds of workshops. A lot<br>> of experienced Linux users are particularly unfriendly when it comes<br>> to doing things in a simple, beginner-friendly way.<br>> <br>> Jake, I may be able to come along to one of the sessions and lend a<br>> hand. It'll be interesting to see how you do things and if I can give<br>> anyone some guidance when they're starting out then that would be<br>> great. Obviously if you can keep us updated with how many people you<br>> have attending (beginners, that is) that would be great.<br>> <br>> Karl<br>> <br>> On 17 February 2010 15:21, Dan Attwood <danattwood@googlemail.com> wrote:<br>> >><br>> >> By charging them for support? Why not just organise a car pool to the<br>> >> usual meets?<br>> >><br>> > You're missing the point<br>> > What Jake is working on is a short introduction course to linux. Regular<br>> > sessions to cover the basic needs of a user either switch from windows to<br>> > linux or with very little computer experience to begin with. These are not<br>> > aimed at uber geeks or power users of either linux or windows. Think ECDL<br>> > but with a Linux slant.<br>> > The usual klug meets probably aren't the right place for this. Talks on xen,<br>> > hackable laptops and ebook formats are way over the head of users who just<br>> > what to check their email and play a movie. IMHO mailing lists and IRC are<br>> > also pretty useless for this kind of user (I think their are several lurkers<br>> > on this list who will agree with me). It's a different target audience and<br>> > one that is growing thanks to the exposure of distros like ubuntu and mint,<br>> > and due to the popularity of netbooks.<br>> > If further down the line klug gets some more members as a result of this<br>> > then even better and certainly klug will try to support and help out were<br>> > possible.<br>> > Jake is charging to cover the room hire as finding suitable free places to<br>> > meet is incredibly hard. Anyone who has actually tried to find a room for<br>> > klug will agree with this.<br>> > _______________________________________________<br>> > Kent mailing list<br>> > Kent@mailman.lug.org.uk<br>> > https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/kent<br>> ><br>> <br>> _______________________________________________<br>> Kent mailing list<br>> Kent@mailman.lug.org.uk<br>> https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/kent<br> <br /><hr />Do you have a story that started on Hotmail? <a href='http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/195013117/direct/01/' target='_new'>Tell us now</a></body>
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