[Wolves] LUG State of the Nation Address

[Adam Sweet]

On 17/06/2019 16:46, Andy Chamberlain via Wolves wrote:
> Hi Adam,
> 
> I agree with everything in your email.
> 
> I am not much use technically regarding Linux but as a user I do at
> least have practical experience of the operating system.

Think you're being hard on yourself there but either way your
participation is appreciated :)

> As regards events, I think ten pin bowling is an ever popular activity
> with most people.

Good suggestion.

> I did say I would get info on boat trips but I have been so involved
> with the Museums on the Air radio event at Northycote Farm it went out
> of my mind. I will find out info by the next meeting. Talking of
> Northycote Farm, I wonder if a LUG/LInux event might be possible there.
> They do have wifi, we were using it at the weekend. I have a good
> relationship with the farm manager and he is interested in computing and
> radio. The Farm comes under Wolverhampton Council and to get the radio
> event on involved 14 pages of documentation!!  It was not as bad as it
> sounds but there may be some rules and regs I don't know about relating
> to putting something on. I am more than happy to ask the question if you
> think the idea has any mileage!!

Don't go to any effort just yet. At first I'd like to pull together a
list so we can pick them off one at a time and worry about the detail as
and when. Boat trip sounds good to me (and probably best done over the
summer). Northycote sounds useful for hosting events when we get around
to it.

> I am also heavily involved with the Cruse 2019 Gala so very busy all
> round but it keeps my aging brain cell active!!

Get two! They keep each other warm :)

Ad


> On 17/06/2019 16:33, Adam Sweet via Wolves wrote:
>> Hi all
>>
>> TL;DR - LUGs are dying, need your help.
>>
>> Until the last few years our mailing list was very active and the LUG
>> spawned numerous projects. I imagine some of you found the LUG as a
>> result of at least one of those :) Our meetings were boisterous and
>> routinely had 10-15 people. I remember 26 people at one Christmas get
>> together.
>>
>> Over the last 5-10 years, many of our members have moved on in their
>> lives, careers and geographically. I think we've all noticed the tail
>> off in mailing list activity and meeting numbers, though for what it's
>> worth, those that do attend are a good bunch whom I consider to be
>> important friends that I look forward to seeing every fortnight.
>> Nevertheless it's become apparent that as people have moved on, not many
>> new members are coming in.
>>
>> I've taken a look at some other LUG mailing lists, there's a clear
>> pattern across the board and many have gone dormant. In that respect,
>> we're not doing too badly.
>>
>> Some LUGs have seen a resurgence. Locally, Birmingham LUG is still
>> very active and Shrops have a new lease of life thanks to John Alexander.
>>
>> To ensure we don't slowly fade out, we need to encourage new members and
>> keep hold of those we already have. To do that, we need to promote
>> ourselves and organise stuff people want to come to. There are some
>> posts coming on these, but to summarise I'd like us to:
>>
>> 1) Tour the LUG meetings around different venues every other month or
>> so, while keeping our regular base at the Royal Tiger in between.
>>
>> 2) Do a fun activity every couple of meetings
>>
>> 3) Hold talks
>>
>> Also I'd like us to encourage an atmosphere of participation on the
>> mailing list. If you have a thought about something, see a news article
>> or have a question that might be of interest to people here then I want
>> you to post it here. I found Mark Ellse's two posts interesting recently.
>>
>> I know a few people have felt put off from posting here in
>> the past and some have left the LUG as a result so I'd like to
>> ask you all to consider your tone and respond in the positive rather
>> than the negative.
>>
>> Finally, I'd like to ask you to have a think about the kind of LUG you
>> want, what is needed to create it and how we can promote ourselves. I
>> don't have the time or brain space to be a sole driving force but
>> whatever we do has to come from within the group, so can you help with
>> the above?
>>
>> Adam
>>
>