Re: Those IT guys are loony

Arthur Corliss wrote:
> On Sat, 17 Mar 2007, Greg Madden wrote:
>
>
>> I guess all I'am saying is that the user side of Aklug seems to be doing
>> okay. Aklug has a successful program in place to help new users. If an
>> Aklug member wants more , they should provide for it. No disrespect meant
>> for anyone, I know and respect everyone on the list.
>>
>> The 'user' program seems succsessful, I can not address the concerns of
>> the 'hackers'.
>>
>
> Greg, I've gone to a few of those Friday nights, and the majority of it was
> spent just shooting the crap. I went with the intention of helping someone
> with whatever they've been working on, but with nothing happening, there was
> no reason for me to appear. Granted, it's been a long time since I've given
> it a shot again, but based on spot checking, that's hardly what I would call
> successful.
>
> What is happening under the auspices of AKLUG to further users' skill
> levels? What is AKLUG doing to encourage people to consider make Linux a
> part of a career? I have a hard time believing that everyone here that is a
> hobbyist isn't open to getting into IT. Lord knows I've had a devil of a
> time trying to find decently qualified applicants.
>
> Let me be clear, Greg, I know you've put a *lot* of time into the group, and
> I commend you for it. But I don't think it's enough anymore. A few years
> back I could challenge you for time invested in the group, but I stopped,
> and that's because I felt that there was no space in the group for people
> like me.
>
> I'm back now because I'd like to see the group the way it was, back in the
> day when we could pack a conference room at a hotel *by ourselves* for an
> installfest. I'm back because I know the actions of a few here are going to
> hurt the group far more than help (not you, Greg, you've always been an
> asset).
>
> I've got some ideas, and I've got some time I'm willing to invest. You can
> either take advantage of that, or try to run me out on rails. Your call,
> Greg. We've been friends through the group for a long time, I would like
> to think you know where I'm coming from.
>
> --Arthur Corliss
> Live Free or Die
> ---------
> To unsubscribe, send email to <aklug-request@aklug.org>
> with 'unsubscribe' in the message body.
>
>
I agree with some of what you are saying here. Things need to change.
What do we want AKLUG to become? I hope it's not super hacker geek only
club.

I do things with the PC user group. I'm also helping out a group of high
school students at Highland Tech learn Linux. That's the high school we
have our meetings at. In both cases there are different kinds of users.
There are advanced users, intermediate users and those that juts want
there computer to work so they can check their email. How do you create
a group/organization that includes them all and at the same time bring
in new users? The PC user group has been working on this very problem
for a few years. They haven't figured it out.

I'm an advanced user that wants to learn more about Linux and technology
in general. I'm also one that enjoys helping others and watching new
users get into Linux. I'm hoping that some of these users become super
hacker programmer geeks. We need new developers to keep our open source
software running. I also enjoy watching those that only use a computer
for email, pictures web surfing etc... Every now and then I learn
something form them. They might be running an application I've never
herd of or they filter their email in a different way. I benefit in both
cases.

One thing we should take into consideration here is the next gen user.
The high school kids I work with are doing things we couldn't do 10
years ago. If we don't find new and interesting things for them they may
not show up. It may be to boring. One student has Fedora Core 6 running
on his Play Station 3. He also has a web server running Suse and Apache.
He had to put it on a different port because Clear Wire blocks port 80.
I would say this kid is well on his way to becoming an advanced Linux user.

I enjoy the open source community. I've learned more from open source
users on the net, this mailing list and the AKLUG meetings then I ever
could in a classroom. I hope we can keep things moving forward. I also
hope AKLUG will continue to be a place where I and others can learn a
few things.

---------
To unsubscribe, send email to <aklug-request@aklug.org>
with 'unsubscribe' in the message body.
Received on Sat Mar 17 15:24:15 2007