[LUGSB] Can we vote on this?

[Mark]

Why would a Windows user ever come to a Linux
> group unless they are interested in learning about Linux? We need a way
> to show them that the Free Software movement is much larger than Linux,
> and that there is Free Software available for Windows.

It is important to realize that the user's group is more than just
meetings.  I see those who are attending meetings as already being
atleast mildly interested in Linux and/or free software already.  The
attraction of new users isn't something that can happen at meetings, but
at outreach events.  If we were to set up a table in the union for an
afternoon, that is where we would garner more members, and that is where
we would explain our broader goals, like helping the free software
community as a whole, and explaining what free software is in general. 
For example, although I have never used bsd on one of my own machines, I
wouldn't hesitate to walk up to a bsd user's group table and perhaps
attend some of their meetings if they expressed some interest in linux
and the FS community in general.  That is how I see us attracting bsd
users to the linux users group.

It is also important to understand the work that would be involved in
changing our name.  It seems like a small change, but since we are
registered with the school and they provide us things like a physical
mailbox, webspace, an email address, etc.  It is more complicated than
merely printing up new fliers.

The suggestion of 'Stony Brook GNU/Linux Users Group' is really only
adding GNU and jumbling the words a little bit.  I don't see the
addition of GNU getting us any more members.  And, the reason that I
originally chose LUGSB as opposed to SBLUG is that SBLUG was already in
use.  Not to mention that SBLUG.com and SBLUG.org were already taken.

I like the idea of featuring the term 'free software' in our fliers and
handouts more prominently than we already do, but changing the name of
the club is still, in my eyes, a little drastic.

--Mark.

On Mon, 2003-04-07 at 02:03, Michael Graffam wrote:
> On 7 Apr 2003, Mark wrote:
> 
> > I don't think that calling the club a 'Linux Users' Group' is going to
> > deter people interested in *BSD and other free software to attend.
> 
> > It is important to welcome and encourage users of BSD to come to the
> > meetings.  Spreading the use of Windows based free-software is an
> > important step, and is something that the club should strive to do.
> 
> I don't know about this. Why would a Windows user ever come to a Linux
> group unless they are interested in learning about Linux? We need a way
> to show them that the Free Software movement is much larger than Linux,
> and that there is Free Software available for Windows.
> 
> How many Windows users know about OpenOffice? Why would they associate
> their Windows application needs with Linux?
> 
> As for BSD, it is true that novice FreeBSD users might come to a Linux
> group meeting to learn about GNOME, KDE or Emacs -- but what about the
> more advanced users? Why would a FreeBSD wizard come to a Linux group?
> 
> 
> > Also, putting 'Free Software'
> > on fliers is a good thing, but I don't think it should be seen as a way
> > of tricking people to attend our meetings.
> 
> Well, I don't think it would be tricking them. "Come and get copies of
> Free Software" is a precise statement of what we mean and what we do.
> We're not lying, we are giving them a piece of software for no cost. If
> they also learn what we mean by "Free as in Freedom" along the way, I
> don't think that is a bad thing.
> 
> Also, I wouldn't want to be giving out loads of CD's every meeting
> either, because nothing productive would get done, we'd spend all our time
> copying CDs. But we could devote special days to it, for instance.
> 
> >  I am all for attracting
> > and welcoming bsd users and windows users alike.  However, considering
> > the buzz-word that linux is, I see a name change hindering that goal
> > more than helping it.
> 
> Well, I have made no name suggestions, but here is one that preserves
> the buzz-word effect, while being more open:
> 
> Stony Brook GNU/Linux Users Group
> 
> Distinquishing between Linux, the kernel, and the distributions of
> GNU/Linux software is important, I think, for educational reasons if
> nothing else.
> 
> I still see a lot of people saying stuff like "I run Linux 9.0" ..  which
> is just absurd and confusing to everyone. They confuse the distro version
> with the kernel version. When a user tries to report a problem, and is
> asked what version of Linux they are using, they should be able to respond
> to those sorts of basic questions intelligently, and not by resorting to
> confusing buzz-words.
> 
> The name of the _User's_Groups_ is important for this reason, I think,
> because it establishes the software that we *use* .. we use GNU/Linux.
> 
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