[dundee] A call to action... Seeding Dundee!

[Rick Moynihan]

Okay as mentioned on the other thread [1] I like many others on this
list have dozens and dozens (possibly a hundred or so) Linux
Magazines...

Though they've all been read, their value to me is wasted as they sit
gathering dust, and unlike most technology magazines, the articles in
Linux magazines stay relevant for many, many years.  Despite Linux's
pace, an article on bash scripting written in 1995 is likely as
relevant and useful then as it is today.

Like it or not Linux Magazines, with their how-to guides on Linux,
Unix, BSD, Free and Open Source Software, Programming and Hardware
Hacking currently represent the ONLY mainstream form of the hobbyist
computer market.

 "In the 1980s, you could look up from your Commodore 64, hours after
purchasing it, with a glossy feeling of empowerment, achieved by the
pattern of notes spewing from the speaker grille in an endless loop.
You were part of the movement to help machines sing! You were a
programmer!"  _why the lucky stiff

Instead children today are introduced to a world of proprietary
systems, appliances which are not only locked down, but who's
development tools are commercial or proprietary...  The hobbyist
computing environment which led to the birth of Personal Computing and
much of the innovation we see on the Internet is under increasing
threat.

This *NEEDS* to be addressed, as it's an issue we all care about!!
It's not even a Linux or Free Software issue, it's a more fundamental
educational one!  For this reason, I'd happily hand out the odd M$ rag
if it had a high density of good hobbyist computing articles in it
(but in my experience they don't).

THE PROPOSAL
-----------------------

0) Gather a large supply of donated Linux Magazines.  (I alone have
got about 2 or 3 foot of them!)

1) Print off some fliers for the LUG/Linux-Society.

2) Promote this in advance on the web and try to get some press
publicity before hand.

3) Find and agree upon a suitable weekend....  I suggest one within
the next 2 months!

4) Show up in force in the town centre, and give the magazines to
anyone who wants them...  (Preferably kids).

5) Take lots of photos

6) Publish the photos on the blog, further promoting the cause.


THE BIG QUESTIONS
--------------------------------

0) Who's joining me?

1) Who else is joining me?

2) Who's got the penguin suit?

3) Who's willing to donate magazines?

4) When shall we do it?

[1] http://mailman.lug.org.uk/pipermail/dundee/2010-January/007126.html

-- 
Rick Moynihan
http://twitter.com/RickMoynihan
http://delicious.com/InkyHarmonics
http://sourcesmouth.co.uk/