[KLUG Members] Regarding Users Groups and Making Things Happen (first of a series)

[Robert G. Brown]

There are numerous points of view regarding the role of user groups 
in the scheme of things, and these times call for some conversation
on this topic. This message is the first of a series, I write these
not only to stimulate thought and discussion (both good and necessary), 
but also to see what kinds of effective action we can take, for the 
communities we belong to, and for ourselves. Sorry for the length of
this article; I may go over ideas that are already familiar to some
readers. For some others (people newer to Linux, or those who come to
Linux from new directions) this text may have value as background and
context for more to come.

KLUG was founded on principles and values that were very much the same 
as those on which Linux itself is based. First, if everything is out 
in the "open", for anyone to examine, challenge, and learn from, people 
will climb "learning curves" more quickly, and defects in the products 
will be revealed and fixed more quickly. The result is more educated 
Linux system owners and users, as well as better products for everyone 
to use.

To a great degree, this is the opposite of another model, widely used in 
business and industry. It is based on keeping products proprietary, making 
the knowledge barrier for entry so high that it intimidates most people, 
so that all owners of products become perforce users, but users who in 
essence cannot know more about the products than the vendors wishes them 
to know. Often the users are referred to as "consumers", since all they 
can do with the product is consume, or use it.

This may be OK for many products, especially as the economics of manufac-
turing and repair often indicate that it is less costly to the consumer
to replace a product rather than fix it. For some products, a degree of 
openness is permitted and even encouraged, since the cost of repair is 
often a lot lower than the replacement cost. In short, consider the last 
time you had work done to fix your toaster, as opposed to the last time 
you fixed (rather than replaced) your car.

Linux, it is often said, is "anti-consumer"; what we mean by this is that 
it is not a closed consumer product, intended only for your use (or "con-
sumption"), but that it is open -- readily available and accessible. You 
can learn from this system, customize it to a huge degree (remaking it if 
necessary), and utilize the resources available to support all kinds of 
effort, perhaps beyond the original vision and scope of the people who wrote 
the code originally. Indeed, there is some indication that the most effective
use of software possible is when it is used by communities that are not
only solving problems and getting work done, but are taking an active role
in molding the software itself -- into new directions, new applications,
and new development.

Yes, there are companies that offer Linux distributions, and these are 
products (in the broadest sense). No commercial Linux distributor will 
make the claim that their product is universally the best, not is their 
current version by any means the last word in this technology. Claims 
such as these, often made by commercial software vendors, do not stand 
up under close examination, nor do they ring true for long where change 
is as rapid and pervasive as it is in the computer industry. Linux dis-
tributors don't need to make such claims; they know and respect the in-
telligence of their customers, who are, in many cases, the very people 
who have created part of the product they are conveying to the market-
place.

Now, where does a Linux User Group (or LUG) fit into the ecology? As a 
group we are closer to the "user end" of things than just about anyone, 
and we are in a great position to provide a variety of services to people 
interested in Linux. Tomorrow (July 3rd, 2007), and every month, we hold 
a meeting to which people are encouraged to bring their own computers -- 
either for the installation of Linux, or for some problem-solving. 
Those of us who have some additional knowledge and experience are there to 
help out, by looking at your problems and solving them (in many cases), or 
showing you how to go about the tasks of researching the solution and 
getting it onto your system on your own. There are several Linux community 
values inherent in such a meeting; a demonstration of how applicable Linux 
can be, a guide to how self-sufficient YOU can be, and the value of good 
research and examination of the problem at hand. This is a learning ex-
perience, and it results in a kind of discipline that is useful in solving
other problems, whether it is with Linux or some other technologies.

There are other ways we contribute to the cause of Open Software (whether 
you want to call it "Free Software" or "Open Source Software", the distinc-
tions are too fine for us to go into here). We run a website, which is a 
guide to those of you who seek guidance and information, both about our 
shared interest in Linux and the group itself (when and where we meet, 
what we will be meeting about in the near future, and so on). We have 
WEEKLY meetings (one of only 2 in Michigan, and only 3 in the Midwest), 
covering various activities and topics of interest to many levels of 
Linux users and system owners, and we operate several mailing lists, so 
that people can pose questions and get responses on a wide variety of 
issues any time at all. We are considering other activities as well 
(such as an on-line forum, outreach to the local business community), 
but these will be brought up in more detail in future articles.

Who does all this work? The answer is much the same as it is with Linux 
itself -- YOU do all this work! Yes, there is a small group of people 
who volunteer for specific roles, and a few others who stand for election. 
These people serve the group over the course of the year, and you get to 
choose them.  How do you make your choices clear? We hold elections every 
year, and you elect some people to lead and facilitate things at KLUG. 
The rest of the positions are filled by volunteers, people stepping 
forward to take these positions for the opportunities they provide, 
whether it is spontaneously or by request from others already active 
in running the group. Without these people, some things clearly do 
not happen, or they do not take place as smoothly as they could.

This brings me to my last point... to help make things happen, KLUG 
needs YOU!  KLUG is NOT a "consumer organization", where a few do all
the work and every one else consumes the product. KLUG is primarily a 
collaborative organization where ALL of our members can use the group
for opportunities to learn from others, and all of us can make a con-
tribution to the success and prosperity of the organization, and to 
Open Software. In doing so, we help ourselves and each other.

You may be asking "How can I help? I can't program, or design graphics,
nor do I have a lot of time to write things!" No, you might not, but 
there are many ways to contribute. Please take a look our website 
(http://www.kalamazoolinux.org), and see the vacancies on the 
"Officers/Volunteers" page. Then, look at this page: 
	http://www.kalamazoolinux.org/organize . 

There you will see descriptions of each position, really a list of
things each position entails. Perhaps these positions are too much
for you, and you don't have time to do it all... volunteer for PART
of the work. These positions are intended to "scale up" as the group
returns to growth in any case, so several people on one job has real
advantages. Remember, this is not a commercial organization, where
several people compete for the same job.. there is enough for every-
one to do.. to contribute, and to learn.

Finally, our chairman gave us something last week, something ANYONE
can do.. put up a poster in a local store or two! No one might expect
that you will whip up a new web page overnight, or decide to help
rebuild one of the KLUG servers (It's nice if you do!), but each of
us can print out a copy of a sign and ask a local merchant if they
can put it in their store window. As I said, there are many ways to
contribute, and it can start with something that easy. 

I've attached the poster for your convenience, and I'll be looking for
them around town. I'm posting a couple, too!

Our publicity Director would like to know where you've placed these, so 
please drop him an email message when you do so, to:

      publicitydirector at kalamazoolinux.org

My next article will go into this in a bit more detail, and I will respond 
to questions sent to me then.

						Thanks and Regards,
						---> RGB <---




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