meeting ideas

[Benjamin Minshall]

You wrote:

> From: Mark Szidik - MLC <szidikm@mlc.lib.mi.us>
> To: linux-user@egr.msu.edu
> Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2000 11:03:37 -0400 (EDT)
> Subject: meeting ideas
> 
> 
> 
> I have been thinking about some things for a while.  I finally decided
> to post it to the group to get some feedback.
> 
> My goal in all of the discussion below is to get more people excited
> about Linux and coming to the meetings.
> 
> 
> I have noticed that a lot of our meeting topics lean towards the more
> tech savvy people.  Although I think they are great and provide a
> lot of insight, many newbies to GNU/Linux probably have a hard
> time with the presentations. 
> 
> I have noticed that new faces will show-up for a meeting or two and then
> disappear.  There are probably many factors contributing to this, but I
> suspect that part of it is that the meeting format and topics are not
> newbie friendly.
> 
> What do you think of a "newbie series" of presentations for those people
> that are just getting started out with Linux and GNU software?  Think of
> it as a follow-on to the install-fest.  
> 
> Here are some topics:  
>  (they will all be short - under 1 hour, and intended to get a new
> person heading in the right direction)
>  
> The GNU &amp; Open Source philosophy and licensing issues
> 
>  Intro to Linux basics  - the shell, basic commands and tools, file
>  locations, the *nix model (the everything is a file idea)
> 
>  Editors - vi and pico   (<duck>I dont do Emacs)
> 
>  The X window system
>  
>  File systems and partitions
>  
>  Networking basics - intro to Ethernet, IP and the ISO model, wire
>  (I did this presentation a while ago, so I am ready to give it)
> 
> 
> I am willing to do all of these presentations.  I just need to figure
> out a way to incorporate it into our meeting format.  I think we dont
> want these to be our main meeting topics because our techies will get
> bored.  I am thinking that we could hold our normal meeting with a
> normal topic, and I (or other volunteers) will go off for 45 minutes to
> teach the newbie course and then we will all join-up at the end for
> general discussion and Q &amp; A like we do now.
> 
> Comments?
> 
> 

I like the idea of splitting into newbie section and a don't-try-this-at-home
section.  However, I think we could do it all in one meeting, just at
different times.  Like have a half-hour every meeting for newbie stuff then
have the regular presentation.  That would give newbies a chance to meet people
during the meeting and not be sent off to the "newbie room".  

-Ben
> 
> ______________________________________________________________________
> Mark Szidik
> System Administrator           Ph: 517.694.4242 x17  Fax: 517.694.9303 
> Michigan Library Consortium    http://www.mlc.lib.mi.us
> 
> 
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