[Cumbria] My Word!!!

[Schwuk]

Ken Hough said:
> Not at the moment. I understand we have just lost one.

Yes, a regretable loss which I tried to avoid.

> In the past, we have had (young) interested parties turn up at the
> meets, but obviously they've all been frightened off or at least not
> encouraged.

At the meetings I have been to, there has been one true 'newbie' (at the
meeting in september). He was not demonstrated a working desktop system, nor
it's capabilities. Only how to install one (which, these days isn't much
harder than installing Windows, only without the EULAs. Both are equally
boring. OT: Isn't there a distro somewhere that let's you play a game whilst
installing?). Maybe if we had helped him install his own system, and
demonstrated some things, he would have returned...

> I've tried hard to do that, but clearly to no avail.

No, you haven't. You have repeatedly asked for a *desktop* installation, yet
have not explained the benefit this will bring to the *current* group.

> It's not a encouraging to walk into a room where everybody is talking
> amoung themselves in a language that you don't understand.
> I've got to the stage (I believe) that I now understand some of the
> words, but it's not been easy.

This I do understand - it took me a while to reach the point where I could
understand the 'language' and longer to be able to join in. The conversation
did disrupt the last meeting at Gleaston, but was understandable as there
were five new, fairly savvy, members who all wanted to sound out the other
member (at once).

I have repeatedly suggested the idea of informal meetings to counteract
this, and also suggested a format for the Gleaston meetings which has had
two positive reactions, one *observation* and nothing else. No one else has
yet to a) agree, b) disagree or c) make their own suggestions.
-- 
Schwuk