Date: Mon, 24 Dec 2007 14:04:17 +1100 From: jonathan michaels <jon@caamora.com.au> To: =?iso-8859-1?Q?Sd=E4vtaker?= <sdavtaker@gmail.com> Cc: freebsd user groups <freebsd-user-groups@freebsd.org> Subject: Re: How to start a BUG? Message-ID: <20071224140417.28977@caamora.com.au> In-Reply-To: =?iso-8859-1?Q?=3C476EDEF0=2E70005=40gmail=2Ecom=3E=3B_from_Sd=E4vtaker_?= =?iso-8859-1?Q?on_Sun=2C_Dec_23=2C_2007_at_07=3A19=3A28PM_-0300?= References: <476EDEF0.70005@gmail.com>
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greetings from australia best wishes for teh coming new year, and i hope you your friends family have a happpy peaceful and holy christmas. On Sun, Dec 23, 2007 at 07:19:28PM -0300, Sdävtaker wrote: > Hello. > I am looking for some advice about starting a BUG. > I didnt find a BUG here in Argentina in long time, only a pretty dead > forum, so I gather with a couple of friends and we up to set it up. > We're probably getting support from our university since they already > got a LUG, so our path is pretty clear for the BUG setup burocracy > (someone already fight half our battles setting up the LUG). > Our plan is to influence the researchers and students to look a little > more to *BSD and not just M$/Linux stuff like they do right now. > Hope we could do that. > I will appreciate any advice and help you can give me. > Thanks in advance > Sdav well there is not much to say, looks like you have got all that you need right there .. just a few things i would suggest from my few decades (grin), i set up a usergroup for tandy colour computers and os9 user in my local area sydney australia back in the 80's it lasted some 10 more years and then about 5 or 6 years ago i organised a few people and we started teh bugs (berekley unix user group, sydney) our main users come from freebsd and we have a few netbsd and one or two openbsd. we also have a mailing list and a website, details can be found on teh main freebsd.org site, in teh usergroup section. sorry fro teh bragging, oh and for teh poor spelling, i am disabled man, i have broken brain and wonky neurology that helps me make my spelling and typing unique <big grin> a few things i learned along the way was to work with people not against people once you build a reputation for cohesive support people will come to you and you will build a good strong support network, i think the linux groups are starting to find this out. i have noticed this change over teh years that i have been watch. also do not make your organisational overhead too "bureaucratic" too top heavy, too legalistic. people don't like being "told" what to do, they will offer to help if there is a (well) defined structure that encourages this basic kind of behaviour. because linux is teh big brother it would be a good idea to hook up with a local linux group and see how they do things and for a while work with them, untill you have strong legs/shoulders and you can walk/work on your own as a group. but, after that still have close ties as people who have interests in both worlds will find it easy to work in a cohesive envoronment .. being combattive serves only to isolate people and keep people/groups territorial and very adverserial thus doomed to very slow growth . if any at all. the other side, that is having no structure, no defined bureaucracy and leaving the users do thier own "thing", well the bugs here in sydney is a good example of that .. it hasent progressed much beyond its starting structure some 6 years ago, in a lot of ways it has gone backwards even theough it has some 100-150 members on th mailing list, we are lucky to get 10 bodies at a group meeting, usually its more like 5 sometimes less. while it is a resource it is not a good "advertisement" for freebsd .. please note this is all my opinion, my own thoughts based on watching several usergroups, os9, ibmpc, ibm os/2, as well as a couple of not hardware mainly rather software related usergroups over my 30 some years of computer related activity. things could be better, for us in sydney, they will be when enough of teh userlist git organised abnd start to want something different, note that different is not better, it is just different .. it will offer different services, differnt resources differnt aspects of teh computing environment .. the computer world is so diverse it is not always possible to make a single usergroup offer 'everything', pick the things you want to do, it helps if you have people who are good in those choosen skills and want to 'serve' as tehy say. once you have a core just advertise, just advertise, and, they will come <GRIN>. people look for resources when they want/need them, it helps if tehy can find them easily .. if they feel comfortable welcome and have enough of there needs met they will beome teh best advertisment off all, nothing beats an enthusiastic, happy member of a club, usergroup. i am still enthusiastic about "my baby" even though it has yet to learn to walk to talk and get its socialisation skills .. but it is growning, oops growing i meant to say, er, write. as with all things it takes time and patience .. again best wishes for christmass and teh coming new year, hope you have much success with the bsd usergroup .. much success. hope, my ramblings help a bit .. most kind regards jonathan note, please excuse my poor typing .. it is mostly all caused by what is wrong with my brain and damaged neurological circuits, frontal cortx damage. take care. -- ================================================================ powered by .. 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