[Fife Linux Users Group] Recently posted my Fifelug website.

[David Tillotson]

> I think I owe Fifelug an apology. in the last four years have been
> running the group if never turned out the way as planned interest and
> membership coming and go from time to time. While the last couple of
> months of 2005 were not our most organised I do hope 2006 could show an
> improvement and be the start of a more popular and organised Linux users
> group based in Fife.

IMHO there is no apology necessary. While things may not have gone to
plan, I have yet to see anything where it all works as planned!

> Admittedly this will be at least the fifth reincarnation of the Fifelug
> website. We have gone from PHP nuke, BB forums, Wordpress, Geeklog and
> now back to Wordpress. Our previous sites, in my opinion (while I am
> open to people tell me I'm wrong) were too big in clumsy. Almost every
> version of Fifelug's web site has had posts Forum is topics polls and
> host of other methods free users to collect and send information to
> other members. the thing that makes all of them obsolete was that some
> of our most active members never checked the forums.

While the forum function was useful (and is still there as part of the
Geeklog if the correct URI is used!), it was a little use resource.
With regards to the Wordpress based site, what exactly should the
"subrcibe" page do? And how does one register as a contributor?

>  while some may see this as me punishing those who use the forums for
> the act of others I believe that alone proved they were not serving the
> function. I hope the new site and hopefully the site that will last the
> longest, this Wordpress site, will provide an easy method anyone regular
> member or not to find all the information they need to come along to any
> of our meetings by IRC chats at any other function or event we hold
> without any problems.

Once things get rolling, it may be worth adding the mailing list posts to
the site (I use the Postie plugin for my own site, and can assist on
configuring this if required.) This would also make it easier for memebers
to contribute, and find past postings to the list.

> you now all know what I hope this website will be able to achieve all I
> ask from our current user base is one last change, an attempt from me to
> make things right, and allow Fifelug to become the community I believed
> it was able to be.

If there are any ways I can assist, let me know.