[Preston] A LUG needs a purpose

markwalton1967 at aol.com markwalton1967 at aol.com
Wed Jul 13 19:28:12 UTC 2016 

Guy/Phil,

Really good to hear from you both (I'm sure we have exchanged emails 
some while ago).
I'm more than comfortable with organising the meet ups, but keen to get 
input from the wider group as to what they are looking for from the 
community.

I will pitch up at the Cafe Nero on Fishergate from 2pm onward on 
Saturday so people can drop in/out as per their availability and other 
commitments. I'll hang around until 5pm although people need not feel 
obliged to drink quite that much coffee if they have other things to 
squeeze into their day.

If we could start to attract some members of the education community to 
come along and get acquainted with Linux, then it may make sense to try 
and secure the use of the UCLAN facilities, as Alan O'D does for the 
Raspberry Pi sessions each month.

I've just seen Mike Hewitt's note from the Blackpool LUG regarding the 
annual Linux Presentation Day, planned for October. Not sure how much 
interest we could stir up in a couple of months, but it may make a good 
focal point to try and do something for that; I'll drop a note back to 
Mike and have a chat with them before I get too ambitious!

Mark

On Wed, 13 Jul, 2016 at 4:34 PM, Billie Cowie via Preston 
<preston at mailman.lug.org.uk> wrote:
> I would be interested in meeting up in Cafe Nero on a Saturday though 
> I will be on Holiday till end of July.
> I am free to meet up most days as I work at night.
> I would add though that while I have been using Linux for a few years 
> now , my technical knowledge is limited to the command-line.
> If that's not a problem though I would be like to help out where I 
> could.
> I also like the idea of promoting linux via the education option .
> Anyway , let me know how things develop.
> Good Luck with relaunching PLUG.
> 
> On 13 July 2016 at 08:40, Phil Robinson via Preston 
> <preston at mailman.lug.org.uk> wrote:
>> Ahhhh my eyes, my eyes! I've been under that rock for a long time 
>> now. Hope you are well Guy and others.
>> 
>> The domain was indeed as dormant as the group, consider it 
>> reactivated. We did have a very good turn out in the glory days, the 
>> envy of many other LUGs. Didn't we used to meet on Wednesdays 
>> though? I never could do Tuesdays.
>> 
>> Anyway, I'm glad to see some potential activity again and maybe a 
>> new lease of life for PLUG.
>> 
>> Phil Robinson.
>> 
>> On 13 Jul 2016 1:50 am, "Guy via Preston" 
>> <preston at mailman.lug.org.uk> wrote:
>>> Hi Mark (and others),
>>> https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TlsZq2qUQ8M/UKY8iLgsSmI/AAAAAAAAAxA/2CwSmy5HtHQ/s1600/plug.gif
>>> https://lug.org.uk/node/91
>>> https://prestonlinuxusergroup.blogspot.ch/
>>> 
>>> PLUG was originally founded in 2001 by Phil Robinson. (He had the
>>> prestonlinux.com domain registered, but it seems to have lapsed 
>>> now.)
>>> 
>>> I used to organize the meetings in the mid noughties as I worked in 
>>> IT
>>> at UCLan (and still do) and could get a room booked at Uni (and 
>>> still
>>> could).
>>> 
>>> I stopped organizing meetings in 2008 as my wife gave birth to 
>>> twins and
>>> I didn't have the time. I seem to have a lot less free time nowadays
>>> than I used to.
>>> 
>>> The group has been dormant since then, pretty much.
>>> 
>>> I think to run a PLUG as anything other than a drinking society (not
>>> that there is anything wrong with that!) takes effort and 
>>> organization.
>>> 
>>> I was occasionally disheartened when someone had freely volunteered 
>>> to
>>> present on a topic, donating their time and expertise, and the 
>>> audience
>>> could be counted on one hand. The effort and organization 
>>> requirements
>>> are the same if 5 people or 50 people show up.
>>> 
>>> But ... as Richard Stallman says - he fights the fight expecting to
>>> lose, so any win is glorious. :-)
>>> 
>>> We used to meet on the 1st Tuesday of the month, starting a 19:30 
>>> at the
>>> Uni, then at 21:00 go to the Greyfriar pub.
>>> 
>>> I would be prepared to attend / contribute to meetings etc, if they 
>>> were
>>> to occur, but I would say I have served my time as a primary PLUG 
>>> organizer.
>>> 
>>> I also know there are a few of the old guard still reading this 
>>> list.
>>> Maybe some of them can be prised from under their rocks, blinking, 
>>> into
>>> the light of day.
>>> :-)
>>> 
>>> Regards,
>>> 
>>> Guy Heatley
>>> 
>>> Ken Walker via Preston:
>>> > Sorry mate Saturdays not good for me as I'll be at grasshoppers 
>>> at the beer
>>> > festival followed by my mates wedding.
>>> > On 12 Jul 2016 20:46, "Daryl Knight via Preston" 
>>> <preston at mailman.lug.org.uk>
>>> > wrote:
>>> >
>>> >> Hi Ken,
>>> >>
>>> >> The date and venue are fine for me... but a 3 hour window is a 
>>> bit vague
>>> >> (guess I like precision a tad too much).
>>> >> If someone could let me know what time they'd be arriving then 
>>> I'll pop
>>> >> along at the same time, to avoid sitting for up to 2-3 hours 
>>> waiting for
>>> >> people.
>>> >>
>>> >> - Daryl
>>> >>
>>> >>
>>> >>
>>> >> ------------------------------
>>> >> Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2016 19:19:15 +0100
>>> >> To: bob.mclellan at gmail.com; preston at mailman.lug.org.uk;
>>> >> keneawalker at gmail.com
>>> >> Subject: Re: [Preston] A LUG needs a purpose
>>> >> From: preston at mailman.lug.org.uk
>>> >>
>>> >> Bob, Ken, Daryl, Nick and Olly,
>>> >> Thanks for the responses, its good to see that there is life out 
>>> there on
>>> >> the old mailing list.
>>> >> All your points are valid and very topical. Im especially 
>>> interested in
>>> >> Nicks views from inside the edtech sector and the opportunity 
>>> this
>>> >> presents. There could be a very beneficial relationship to be 
>>> forged by the
>>> >> LUGs with the schools now having more direct control over their 
>>> IT, but
>>> >> having limited insight into alternatives beyond MS, Apple and 
>>> Google; or
>>> >> the downsides to these options that the marketing materials 
>>> tactfully avoid.
>>> >> I also had a thought about coding, but using Sonic-pi, Scratch 
>>> and
>>> >> possibly Squeek or Turtle.
>>> >>
>>> >> It feels like there may be some interest in a meet up.
>>> >>
>>> >> If I suggested somewhere like Cafe Nero opposite the train 
>>> station in
>>> >> Preston on Saturday afternoon, dropping in/out say 2pm to 5pm 
>>> would that be
>>> >> possible for anyone, or would an alternate date/venue be easier 
>>> for the
>>> >> majority?
>>> >>
>>> >> Mark
>>> >>
>>> >> Sent from my ASUS
>>> >> _______________________________________________ Preston mailing 
>>> list
>>> >> Preston at mailman.lug.org.uk
>>> >> https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/preston
>>> >>
>>> >> _______________________________________________
>>> >> Preston mailing list
>>> >> Preston at mailman.lug.org.uk
>>> >> https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/preston
>>> >>
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > _______________________________________________
>>> > Preston mailing list
>>> > Preston at mailman.lug.org.uk
>>> > https://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/preston
>>> >
>>> 
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>> 
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> 
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