Levi Bard wrote:
> If I may ask, what's the point of forming a new LUG in this area? Doesn't it make more sense to consolidate all of ourselves into a single monolithic group, rather than having multiple splinter factions? If the membership gets spread too thin, both LUGs may end up failing.
Hear! Hear!
And I say this even though I believe SLUG's email list policies are far
too restricitive; the ban on *Linux related* job and "flea market type"
hardware offering that are likely to be of interest to fellow SLUG
members has always bothered me. Indeed, this is one of *very few* LUGs
that doesn't use its email list partially as a networking tool for
members who are looking for jobs or employees.
This is not the same as headhunter spam or eBay-type ads. A little
common sense about both can keep that from happening.
One very strong, well-organized LUG whose meetings I've attended a few
times, NoVALUG in N. Virginia, allows/encourages members to speak up at
meetings (during a set time) if they are looking for a job or know of
one that might interest other members, and has a casual car-trunk
"hardware swap" in the parking lot after every meeting.
Neither the job nor the equipment exchange are new ideas. Ham radio
groups have been doing this for years. I remember my father dragging me
to Orange County (CA) Amateur Radio Club meeting when I was a kid in the
late 50s/early 60s, and they did both of these back then. They were
especially big on the job thing. Tech employment has *always* been
cyclical...
BTW, please note that I have personally hired at least 10 people through
LUGs in the last 5 years. Although, sadly, only about 5 of them are
still with us after layoffs and cutbacks, we seem to have bottomed out
and expect to be back in hiring mode soon. So you know, I go to LUG
members as my FIRST recruiting stop because that's where you find people
who are Linux activists and community participants, and these are both
activities I feel should be rewarded as much as possible.
(Side note: Some have speculated that VA's biggest financial problem was
that Larry Augustin tried to hire the entire Silicon Valley LUG at top
salaries, even though there was no way most of them could perform work
that would help the company actually generate income. Indeed, at one
point it seemed like half of that LUG *did* work for VA. And when VA
started laying off, that LUG helped a lot of those people find new jobs.
I can think of at least a dozen who moved to Google - alone - because of
SVLUG contacts.)
But a too-tight email list policy is a minor problem. A schism would be
far worse. Stick with the existing LUG. Work within the system. :)
- Robin
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