[Lincoln LUG] [Lincs] Lincoln LUG: launch of new LUG

[Chris Marr]

On Thu, 2011-08-25 at 23:18 +0100, Rebecca Newborough wrote: 
> On Thu, Aug 25, 2011 at 6:45 PM, Carl Inglis <carl.inglis at gmail.com> wrote:
> > I'm confused that we have two LUGs, two mailing lists, and at least
> > one set of forums - where are we supposed to discuss things again?
> >
> > Some of us prefer mailing lists, some prefer forums; personally I
> > prefer usenet, but I'm a dinosaur in that respect. :) Unfortunately
> > with a proliferation of media one has to get in the habit of reading
> > them all (which is rather time consuming).
> >
> > I've kept quiet through all this because I was never an active
> > participant in the Lincs LUG. Having said that, I think part of the
> > problem with the Lincs LUG was the difficulty of organising something
> > that more than one or two people could attend. (Please note, I don't
> > have any evidence for this; this is based on my recollection of the
> > mailing list - I haven't gone trawling the archives looking for
> > anything to support my point :) ).
> >
> > I understand what Becky's been trying to do; I can also understand her
> > frustration; however I do feel that this has all moved rather fast;
> > certainly faster than I've been able to keep track of at some points.
> > Which is part of why I've kept out of the discussion until now.
> >
> > I'm taking the view of seeing how things come out in the wash - I'm
> > based in Lincoln so (work, wife, cats, etc. willing) I'll do my best
> > to come along to the first meeting.
> >
> > TTFN
> >
> > Carl
> 
> Hi Carl
> 
> I never meant to cause any confusion; I'm a simple girl at heart, who
> likes simple things in life! :D
> 
> There is a County wide Lincolnshire LUG, being run virtually by Iain
> Baker and Dave Rice via their mailing list, a website and a forum
> (currently there are 2 websites and forums running - I think they are
> moving things over to their new website at
> http://www.lincslug.org.uk/wp/).
> 
> Then there is a Lincoln LUG, established by me, with the plan for it
> to provide real-life, regular meets in Lincoln.  It is very much in
> its infancy ATM and communication will be via the mailing list mostly,
> with a holding webpage directing potential new members to join the
> mailing list and possibly listing the date, time & venue for our
> meeting.  The Lincoln LUG is open to any members to join, as is any
> other LUG around the country!
> 
> I agree that there has been some frustration on my part, especially
> when I am being criticised for doing something proactive that I see as
> a positive for our community as a whole.
> 
> Wife, work and cats willing, I hope to see you at our first meeting.
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Becky
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Lincoln mailing list
> Lincoln at mailman.lug.org.uk
> https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/lincoln
> 

Becky - I hope you don't take what's said here as a personal attack. The
mailing list is being used for discussion, and the points I felt I
needed to raise, were purely regarding the speed at which things were
moving.

Sadly I've lived most of my formative life in a small community village
(not too far from horncastle), where unfortunately a new couple took
over the running of the focal point of the community - the pub. They
prompty ruined a good pub, practically shut things down while they
redecorated, and then reopened with a place that looked like it was
trying to be a trendy wine bar, and about as warm and welcoming as a
hospital ward. This is one of many personal experiences with small
communities (car clubs, sailing clubs, demo groups, circles of friends)
that I don't want to see happen again. So if you'll pardon me a little
cynicism - in my own efforts I tried to gear towards moving the
community smoothly rather than grabbing it by the scruff of the neck and
frogmarching it to the firing line.

I praise your motivation and inspirational speech at the start that I
hope has shown that, while for all intents and purposes it appears dead,
in actual fact, there is some life in the old dog yet! But rather than
trying to work within the framework of the LUG, get it moving, prove
that 1) you're here to stay, 2) you mean well, 3) you're not going to
just shake it up and move on. Instead you took another route that has
now left things in a position where once there was one, now there are
two groups that are trying to become active communities.

So, maybe you can't please all the people all the time. Maybe I'm the
most outspoken person here, but I don't think I'm alone. At the end of
the day, if I think someone's doing something wrong, I'll speak up about
it, and now you know one of many motivations for why I've said the
things I have.

Now I have to go and rescue a(nother) mouse from the claws of the cat...

Chris