[Blackpool] more on moving on

[Elizabeth C]

Even though I am long in the tooth & at the lower skills end (& too long in the tooth to improve very much!) I'll add my 2 pennerth if that's ok?

I obviously cannot contribute skills to the group. Maintaining my use of Linux was my 1st aim in attending and then, of course, bringing Kieran as a budding computer youngster in the making.  I had hoped that Susan could get a glimpse of "stuff that happens" at the meets & get the same pleasure (& learn a bit) as I do.

I am very aware, however, that the lower end of the skills range could drag down the upper range who may not want to be constantly teaching/explaining/repeating etc for the sakes of the lesser knowledgeable.

My knowledge re robots is zilch as is my desire to build one.  The chance to watch one being created though is an entirely different matter & I would be enthralled by it. (As, I suspect, would Kieran & Susan).  But all 3 of us would be dead weights in terms of production......

I don't use Twitter or Facebook or G+ or any other social media site.... I just don't have the time for it.

Does the success of the community have to be measured in what it literally visibly achieves in terms of innovation?  (Who are the judges?)

I feel that if I could please have my current OS's updated to keep me going using Linux I shall be very grateful..... & I will continue to spread the Linux word whenever & wherever I can ~ but I don't want to feel like a dead weight.

Having said that, I would have loved to strip a scanner (or any other bit of kit) for spare part usage/cannibalisation...... lol!  That would have been right up my street!

If the Group steers a fully innovative course with social networking then it isn't for me..... but please can I have the Linux support when needed?

Elizabeth 



> 
> I still can't shake the feeling that we are going 'downhill' as a group
> 
> 
> *"Many communities don't take a particularly organised approach to
> projects, which can kill motivation. 
If there's one thing that can cause a
> community to struggle, it's a sense that nothing happens or gets done."*
> 
> 
> The above quote struck a cord first time around, and still does.
> 
> 
> We have already discussed a robot project, but did not get as far as how we
> would organise/collaborate on it.
> 
> We still have the wiki, with just the MythTV project on it from the last
> formal attempt at collaboration. It only 'sort of' worked.
> 
> 
> In my last post I noted that some of the past events we put on had been
> quite popular, but they have been few and far between. *Should we do more
> of these?*
> 
> 
> We all have different interests and skill sets, and I started to wonder if
> there might be a better way to bring it all together somehow. Some of us
> use Twitter or Facebook or G+ or ...........
> 
> 
> Instead of making more work for ourselves by forcing ourselves into a
> collaborative project, perhaps we should try to utilise what what we
> already do, and showcase it somewhere.
> 
> 
> For example, last week, Les posted pictures of his robot on Twitter, I
> posted schematics of a logic probe, Ollie posted on G+ and Tony has a blog.
> Les also described taking a scanner apart for robot parts.
> 
> Perhaps we should  'curate' the appropriate  posts/tweets onto an open wiki
> or similar, where people could participate if they wanted to.
> 
> A project could evolve organically if it was popular enough for people to
> want to join in. Even if joining in meant asking questions, rather than
> actual input.
> 
> 
> 
> I realise that we are all busy, but if we make it really easy (or better
> still, automatic) for these tweets/G+'s...etc to end up on some platform of
> our choice it is more likely to happen.
> 
> It would also be a better showcase for the activities that we do than the
> rather bland and generalised blog posts I have been doing lately.
> 
> 
> *What do we think?*
> 
> 
> Mike
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