[Wylug-discuss] Future meetings.........

[James Holden]

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Dave Fisher wrote:
[snip]

Sorry for my absence on Monday. Still busy with the new house, along
with massive problems getting a phone line in. I'll be there next month
though, that's a promise.

>   1. I'd like to generate a significant surplus of talk ideas and offers
>      ... so that we don't have to just plump for something to fill a gap
>      in the schedule.

This strikes me as a very good idea.

>      So please, please, please start contributing as many topic and
>      speaker ideas as you can think of.  

This works from both ends.

Talk offers, regardless of expected interest are still valuable.
Sometimes the seemingly 'esoteric' talks have sparked an unexpected
amount of interest and discussion.

Also, the people who'd be more inclined to give talks can sometimes miss
obviously needed subjects.

Talks don't have to be about your speciality, there's many wylug members
who would be able to competently talk about pretty much any requested
subject.

>      For the time being, don't worry about whether your idea might be
>      popular or not, too simple or difficult, or even whether you know
>      someone who can deliver it.
>      
>      Just put the idea forward.

Agreed.

>   2. I'd like most most meetings to have at least 2 talks: one
>      basic/generic talk and one more advanced/esoteric.  
>  
>      Along the line of previous comments in this thread.

That sounds like a reasonable idea, and ties in with why I see a need
for a pool of offered talks and a wish list of talk subjects.

>   3. I'd like try out 'micro-sessions' e.g. 5-10 minute slots where
>      individuals can speak informally on small stuff they've heard
>      about, tried out, found out, or want to find out about.
> 
>      The idea being that no special preparation, presentation skills or
>      detailed subject knowledge should be required, i.e. no one should
>      feel nervous, or embarrassed about contributing.
>      
>      Indeed, these needn't even be talks at all.  Just one good question
>      along the lines of: "how could I do X" might be sufficient to
>      stimulate discussion and useful contributions.

Quite so. I think some of the best discussions often arise from this
kind of thing.

>   4. I'd like to to improve the integration between meetings, the
>      mailing lists and the website.  
>      
>      In particular, I'd like to see if we can collate and summarise the
>      really useful information that people contribute to mailing list
>      discussions, so that the benefits are less dissipated.
> 
>      Ideally, I'd like to trawl back through recent discussions on
>      popular topics and summarise there findings on a wiki, i.e. so that
>      members can update and improve them as time goes by.

Seems reasonable. How about a 'blog' format where we can collate
interesting things we come across between meetings, possibly for a bit
of discussion or maybe a talk if it sparks enough interest.

>    5. I'd like us to experiment with non-talk formats, e.g. practical
>       workshops and demos, etc.  Some might well fit into 5-10 minute
>       micro-sessions, whereas others might replace one or both talks.
>       
>       Obviously, the main problem with such practical stuff is that it
>       may require more preparation and depend on specific kit or
>       facilities.

Other LUGs seem to do this a lot, particularly ShefLUG. It might be
worth asking Richard Ibbetson what's involved.

>    6. Lastly, I'd like to repeat (in an improved and updated form), the
>       very successful series of newbie tutorials that we ran a few years
>       ago. The plan would be to run them from Jan 2006, filling some
>       (though not all) of the basic talk slots.

Indeed. Often though, newbies themselves are the best people to do these
talks. I wouldn't have a clue how to configure a network interface in
Fedora or Mandrake using the GIU tools.

> All constructive comments welcome ... especially talk suggestions.

OK... I'm happy to contribute some code effort.

How about a simple system for collecting talk requests and offers, and
allowing people to express an interest in some way? Voting on offered
talks could be done, and people could offer availability for giving
talks on requested subjects.

Shouldn't be more than an evenings work.

James

> 
> Dave
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>      
> 
>   
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Wylug-discuss mailing list
> Wylug-discuss at wylug.org.uk
> http://mailman.lug.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/wylug-discuss

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