I discovered that there was a local Linux User Group which was meeting once a month at a college not far from my house and I decided to stop by at their last meeting so that I could meet fellow GNU/Linux enthusiasts.
I guess I had my expectations set too high because I figured that since it was at a college I would be able to meet people around my own age group and there would be some some real interest in the operating system with possible distribution, configuration, and general discussion.
I brought my laptop along since I anticipated that was what the members would be doing.
Unfortunately, it turned out that 99.9% of the people attending the LUG appeared to be in their fifties and they thought it was funny that I actually brought my Slackware powered laptop to their LUG since the classroom they were in was outfitted with Windows XP machines (which they figured was just perfect).
It kind of irked me when they made a few comments about me bringing my laptop when they saw it as I walked into the room. I was basically told to not bother bringing it next time.
The only other GNU/Linux powered machine in the room was that of the person who was doing the "presenting". I have to say that the way they run the LUG bores the hell out of me and it made me feel as if I was in school again.
I spent the entire two hour meeting watching him explain the basics of The Gimp and Open Office over an overhead projector and after a few minutes of them trying to decide what to talk about next month they all immediately filed out of the room and straight went home.. no one bothering to stick around and chat.
Perhaps I am being a bit too inconsiderate or judgmental, but it didn't leave a good impression with me and as such it is possibly the first and last time I plan on visiting my local LUG.
Comments
It's not all bad. My
It's not all bad. My universities ACM group is more or less the unofficial campus LUG. We meet in the school computer labs, which are more or less all Windows XP, but within moments of entering the room, half the members have either opened web apps to access data stored online or SSHed back to the boxes in their dorms.
We *do* have long, school-like presentations, but it's usually over somewhat more exciting fare, like how screen or vim scripting works. The last session I went to, everyone SSHed into a single server and learned basic PHP + mySQL by programming the same app. It was somewhat chaotic, and people quickly figured out the joys of exploiting obvious flaws and impersonating others in our horribly simplistic database application.
I do agree that the particular group of people you encountered should probably be avoided. Try to find a similar group run by students at the college; it'll almost certainly be more interesting, though the maturity of the attendees may vary from campus to campus.
LUG
The people seemed like they were nice people overall, but I would have liked to have seen the LUG acting more like yours and having a little fun as well.
It seems this is the only LUG in my immediate area because the only other one I found is almost 80 miles out of my way.
I don't know.. maybe I'll go to the next meeting and see if my impression of them changes in anyway.
I agree!
I realize that I am just an old fart, but that doesn't sound like what I would expect a LUG to be. True, it has been 20+ years since I was ever a member of a "Users Group" but I recall more social interaction going on, as opposed to just a free "lesson a month" setup. I find it telling that there were no young people in attendance.
*nod*
*nod*
I didn't expect it to be set up that way myself. It was a real shame.
To be honest, if I knew a bunch of local (& younger) GNU/Linux users I would be tempted to start a new LUG for the area. Alas, I know of no other user aside from the members of my family.
Re: *nod*
I tried to start a LUG in my area, but there just didn't seem to be the interest. After a lot of asking around, I had no interest from users or sponsors.
Re: *nod*
I am presently trying to start a LUG. I find that the people that come are either very old-school tech heads (one gave a presentation on DNSServers for the home and BSD). Then there are the new guys that just want to talk about apps and desktops. I'm trying to balance the two groups for some kind of synergy. Any suggestions?