[dundee] Next Meeting

[Andrew Clayton]

On Wed, 2003-06-25 at 22:42, Mark Harrigan wrote:
> On Wed, Jun 25, 2003 at 10:15:58PM +0100, Andrew Clayton wrote:
> > On Wed, 2003-06-25 at 20:08, Mark Harrigan wrote:
> > > On Wed, Jun 25, 2003 at 07:29:16PM +0100, Keir Lawson wrote:
> > > > 
> > > > > I wouldn't worry about that... the kernel part alone could easily fill
> > > > > that time ;)
> > > > but do we want it to fill that time?  could get repedidtive/boring plua
> > > > all weve had so far is talk after talk. why not try something different
> > > > 
> > > > keir
> > > 
> > > To be fair Q&A doesn't work that well in a situation like that unless
> > > we've got a specific area to ask about that's why the talks are set
> > > out to set the tone and then the speaker can answer any
> > > questions. Generalised Q&A sounds like what the mailing list is for.
> > > 
> > 
> > Yeah.. the mailing list is a good place for this... but nothing can
> > really beat face to face communications.
> > 
> > See for example what happens when you get a bunch of the GNOME or KDE
> > folks together....
> My point exactly it's a debate, you come in with a question like "I
> have compile error such and such" or "How would I do this" and the
> point of face to face discussion is lost because 1) you'd probably
> need to see debug messages for anything more that trivial (and if it's

Well, theres  no harm in asking a question and if it can be answered
simply, then cool.. if not, it take to a more suitable place/medium.


> that trivial rtfm) and 2) will you remember that obscure syntax

RTFM is all very well... but theres no rule that says we can't also be a
bit more helpful.


> by the time you get home, 3) some people may get bored out of their trees.
> 
> That sort of general Q&A session might be
> better suited to a meeting where we brought our own machines and setup
> a LAN that way the experienced person gets to have a poke and the
> newbie catches onto things they may have missed/experienced user

I think the word your looking for is BOF.


> forgets to mention (don't even mention internet access in connection
> with a LAN meeting, I don't want to think about the legal crap the uni
> would throw up at that one, though I would look into it if there was a
> wish for this sort of meeting, though I'd need plenty of confirms). 
> >  
> > > I realise you're trying to cultivate a more social air to the meetings
> > > but that does exist atm... it's just it tends to happen at the pub
> > > afterwards (ok it only happened once but we've only really had one
> > 
> > Trouble with the pub is, not everyone can attend.
> Yeah I realise, the problem is that it's extremely hard to cater for
> everyones disparate set of circumstances.  
> 
> > 
> > 
> > > proper meeting). There's no way to force people into being social as you
> > > should have seen from the start of the previous meetings which
> > > consisted of uneasy silence followed by uneasy silence...
> > > 
> > > Mark
> > > 
> > 
> > Personally I've no problem with trying a Q&A session at the meeting.
> > Maybe it can be done kind of informally between talks/presentations or
> > after the main meeting has finished.
> > 
> I don't like this as it would put pressure on Uni representatives to
> stay on after the allotted time. I frankly feel that would be selfish
> of us. 

Whatever... allot time for it then during the meeting. Though I thought
we had agreed that 1.5 hours for "official" but could go on "an extra
half hour" with whatever and if people were willing.

I'm not envisioning (not sure exactly what Keir had in mind) huge
sweeping technical questions. Nor it being a formal thing, just if
someone has some simple questions they'd like answering. 10-15 minutes
tops....


> 
> > Probably best though to keep the questions relatively simple and which
> > only require brief answers, otherwise a written medium is probably
> > better.
> As above regarding RTFM. Possibly harsh but it's a lesson that does
> need learnt by every newbie. 
> 

Yeah.. RTFM is an easy cop out to answering the question. At the very
least you can give a brief answer and then point to the FM/D for more
details.
  
Each to his/her own I guess...


> Mark 



--
Andrew