[Sussex] Good meet

[Steve Dobson]

Morning Geoff, and all who came last night.

On Fri, Apr 01, 2005 at 12:09:35AM +0100, Geoffrey J Teale wrote:
> Just wanted to say, excellent meet.  We haven't had so many people
> there since the earliest days of the LUG. It's really fun to have so
> many people there and to meet some new users so keen to learn.

I couldn't agree more.  So nice to see old "friends" (like Geoff here)
returning and even better so see those turning up for the first time.
I reminds me of that old (American Indian I think) saying:
    A stranger is just a friend you haven't meet yet.
 
<snip>
> I think it pays testament to the great work the guys have been doing
> at the British Computer Fairs.  It's really come a long way since we
> first met up in early 2002.

The next fair is THIS SUNDAY.  If your in the Worthing area then come
along, you'll be made welcome.  Check out 

   http://www.britishcomputerfairs.com/calendar.htm

for details.  If you're new to Linux and are thinking "I don't know
enough to help" then please drop that thought now!  Most of the people
that turn up at the stand only heard about Linux.  The fact that you are
running it makes you a power user to them.  Hard core, long-term geeks
like me (or so I'm told) can be off putting to a complete newbie.

> Well done to tonight's presenters as well.  The subjects seemed
> to stimulate thought and debate (without dissolving into too much
> Gentoo/Debian bashing) which is probably as much as anyone can expect
> to achieve in the time available to us.

I'm glad you enjoyed it.  I hope everyone learnt something.  For me the
best was the Gentoo flag system and the way the build system works.  If
I ever need a system with lots of latest, cutting edge versions of
software packages then Gentoo is the way to go.

We also need more volunteers (victims) to give presentations.  I'll be
putting a call out for more speakers shortly, but everyone can talk
about something.  Gavin gave a very good talk on his switch form Windows
to Linux based on his essay.

    http://www.sussex.lug.org.uk/windows2debian.php

Talks can be about anything (so long as they have a vague connection to
Linux).
 
> A quick message to the new faces - please do continue to come.

Here, here!

>                                                                 If
> you've got a problem with your box that you're having trouble
> describing on the list why not bring it along.

If you are going to bring a system, and you are more than welcome to,
please give a little advanced notices.  I don't bring that much kit to
every meeting - that is just too much hassle.  But if you say you're
having a problem upgrading Debian I would make the effort if you give
me a little advanced notice.  I'm sure the other Steve would too for
a Gentoo user.

In any case, a little advanced notice gives us geeks time to get ready
and keep looking like geeks we are - it's all smoke and mirrors really.
If I am an expert at Linux it is only because I've already made those
mistakes.

>                                                Also, don't be afraid
> to speak up and talk about the things you've achieved the LUG isn't
> about the guru's driving everything.  

Very !false.  This is a club run by its members for it members.  THAT 
MEANS YOU!  I promise you that the more you put in the more you will
get out.  I'm sure the other that have maned the BCF stand would agree
that seeing the meeting membership grow is pay back for all the hard work.
 
> One last thing for the new faces.  All the discussion about distros
> sometimes doesn't make it clear that the vast bulk of the OS we call
> Linux is common to all distros.  Please take the time to look at the
> following web sites and try to understand their relationship to the
> software you are using:

And if you're still unclear then ask.  In a conversion there it is not
just a contract on the listener to understand but also on the talker
to be understandable.  All industries use jargon (at least in English),
but the IT industry is worst than most.  Jargon is just used to speed
up the conversation, a short hand.

A sandwich is just a jargon word to mean "two peaces of bread, buttered,
with some kind of filling in the middle".  Just think how long it would
take to say anything if you had to describe everything in full detail;
the transcript of last night's talks would be longer than the source
code to the Linux Kernel itself.  So if you don't understand something
it is mostly likely that you don't know the jargon shortcuts - so ask.

Well that's enough from me for now.

Thanks once again to all the came to the meeting, whether a talker or
a listener, your presence was the most important thing.
 
Steve