[H-GEN] Brisbane LUGs

Thu Aug 29 12:37:55 EDT 2002

[ Humbug *General* list - semi-serious discussions about Humbug and     ]
[ Unix-related topics. Posts from non-subscribed addresses will vanish. ]

On Thu Aug 29 2002 at 19:04, Robert Stanford wrote:

> GCLUG Gold Coast Linux/Unix Users Group Gold Coast Jason Kirchner,
> Antonio Dupont, http://www.glug.org.au/??

A lug here on the Gold Coast???  Wow!  Great!  Tell me more!

Unfortunately glug.org.au does not appear to have any presence in
the DNS, neither has gclug.org.au (in case it was a typo).

Is there any other way to get in touch with someone invoved with
this group?  Please, call me.

  [Later... a whois glug.org.au at aunic.net gave me a regisration
  record and a contact, great!  I'll talk to this Warwick guy and
  try to get the domain back into the dns and working again...]

> USQLUG Linux Users Group, University of Southern Queensland Toowoomba
> http://www.sci.usq.edu.au/lug/

I am not confident that this is a real entity any longer.  Nor is
there mention of another one that I am aware of.

Herein lies a story...

  For a time I was heavily involved with USQlug, as I was employed
  at usq as a (linux) support officer (my first IT-related position)
  and defacto involvement with usqlug came with the job.  Lack of
  interest was its main problem (both students and staff), it
  definitely had had its hay-day well before I came along.  In my
  time, it had only a few meetings (some of which were _excellent_),
  but they were generally very poorly attended.

  The idea (at USQ) was for the group to be a resource for the sci
  IT students, to do things, gain skills and meet likewise-
  interested people outside "normal academia" (an oxymoron? :)

  But it never really happened like that.  The "old crew" had became
  post-grads (and in some cases, staff), new blood (and new
  "talent") was just not happening, and others were coming along to
  meetings (and welcomed!) who were not directly involved with the
  uni itself.

  It was decided (around mid'99) to try to broaden the group's
  appeal (and to allow it to survive)... so a new group was formed -
  THUUG (Toowoomba Home Unix Users Group).  It started off with a
  quiet bang (pop?), and in the end some of the more active people
  in the usqlug/thuug group (including myself) ended up working for
  GrowZone when it was first being set up and deployed as an
  all-linux ISP over southern inland Qld (funded by an NTN grant).
  (Heh, growzone is another story, perhaps over a quiet beer someday :)

  But once again, it was always very difficult getting people
  motivated to actually organise things and to be there at the
  meetings (always left to the few unthanked regulars who sometimes
  filled both roles).  Meetings continued to be poorly attended and
  interest in organising them wained as a result.  So, so sad... it
  had such great potential.

  Since I left Twmba early last year, the situation has not
  improved... the main legacy is a mailing list (that I set up for
  it at growzone) -- the occasional message comes through, so it
  still has an audience and perhaps a germ of life for the future.
  Someone else did a nice web page, but I haven't checked it lately,
  http://www.thuug.org.au (oh my, I see that am still listed as the
  admin/tech contact for the domain:)   So far I have seen no
  evidence that anyone at USQ is doing anything with usqlug (or has
  been since well before mid'99), and unfortunately thuug is
  currently little more than that mailing list.

This experience with LUGs is quite sobering... I don't think many
people here really appreciate how wonderful it is to see all the
busy bustling that goes on at a humbug meeting!  It is quite unique
and special, it is so good to see it florish like it is doing.

Without people committed to being involved (if only to come along to
meetings as much as they can), such interest groups can fade so
easily into insignificance.  The idea is to pass on the skills,
learn from each other, to promote the benefits of this off-beat (as
in, "non-mainstream") but wonderfully powerful unix/linux operating
system, to spread the good word about open-source software, to
satisfy the passion to see and do some really cool new things with
computers.

And above all, the idea is to have fun and rejoyce in meeting lots
of other not-so-normal people who are like-minded geeks like me :-)
(My guess is that a great many people here can say that their lives
have changed after meeting people through LUGs).

  Which is why I try to get up from the GC to meetings as much as I
  can... with the new motorway, it's amazing how close Bris-vagas is
  nowdays, but it is still a drive (not so bad on a Saturday arvo).
  Sometimes I get a bit lost at the meetings in a sea of people I
  don't really know, but my time there has always turned out to be
  well worth the trip (especially the talks and the people I have
  met, always very friendly).  If I lived closer to brisvagas, I'd
  be able to get to know more people (and know them better), and
  probably be more inclined to volunteer to give talks, help to
  organise things, and so on...

> and of course
> 
> HUMBUG Home Unix Machine, Brisbane User
> GroupBrisbanehttp://www.humbug.org.au/

oh, of course! :)  [likely the only one in the list worth a real
mention:]

> Seems to be no shortage of LUG's around, maybe we could establish
> contact and have a annual gathering of the clans.

That is an excellent idea, getting people to talk to each other is
the first move towards making other bigger things happen... but do
these groups still exist, and are they active?

Until this more recent discussion, I was under the distinct
impression that there was no linux/unix interest group here on the
GC, but now I learn that there is! (or, was)  Please, someone give
me some contacts!  :-)   Thanx.

> Robert Stanford

Robert, you are close to the GC and probably know some people, give
me a call mate...  :)

Cheers
Tony
 -=*#*=-=*#*=-=*#*=-=*#*=-=*#*=-=*#*=-=*#*=-=*#*=-=*#*=-=*#*=-=*#*=-
  Tony Nugent <Tony at linuxworks.com.au>  Systems Administrator, RHCE
  LinuxWorks - PO Box 5747 Gold Coast MC Queensland Australia  9726
  Ph: (07) 5526 8020                           Mobile: 0408 066 336
 -=*#*=-=*#*=-=*#*=-=*#*=-=*#*=-=*#*=-=*#*=-=*#*=-=*#*=-=*#*=-=*#*=-

--
* This is list (humbug) general handled by majordomo at lists.humbug.org.au .
* Postings to this list are only accepted from subscribed addresses of
* lists 'general' or 'general-post'.  See http://www.humbug.org.au/