[clug] June 2019 CLUG Meeting

[Bryan Kilgallin]

Thanks, Conrad:

> I have been a lurker here for some 23-ish years.

Attend, and present!

> CLUG is, and always has 
> been, a technical users group.

An OS user--doesn't have to work as a sysadmin!

> Sometimes people will run talks that 
> assume no knowledge, but more often, talks will assume at least some 
> knowledge.

We've had presenters announce prior-reading lists beforehand.

> The presenters aim their talks at the people they think will 
> benefit the most.

A presenter doesn't necessarily talk, to help people learn!

> It that means the audience need some relevant 
> expertise to benefit, this is a technical group and that is exactly as 
> it should be.

I welcome prior-reading, or prior-publication of notes.

> I stopped attending talks a very long time ago because the 
> vast majority of them were above my head and I had no interest in 
> putting in the effort beforehand to get benefit from them.

{The problem is that geeks are not the majority. We don't drive the 
market, the Average Joes of the world do, and Linux geeks in particular 
don't seem to be receptive to that. In an already unfamiliar and more 
difficult environment, when people using Linux for the first time 
encounter a problem and turn to the community for help, too often 
they're met with ridicule.}

https://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10-things/10-reasons-why-linux-isnt-triumphing-over-windows/

> Despite that, 
> I have not, and will not ever, complain that CLUG or individual 
> presenters are not doing what they should.

I completed a Grad Dip in Tertiary Education. Learning to facilitate 
learning!

> Stop whining, educate 
> yourself, and start presenting talks aimed at people who would benefit 
> from your expertise.

I presented our March talk this year! The subject was computer-mediated art.
https://lists.samba.org/archive/linux/2019-March/037159.html

> Maybe PCUG would welcome more Linux content aimed 
> at less technical users?

I believe they do. But I'm a night-owl, while their Linux meetings are 
in mornings.

> You haven't paid any membership fees (at least, I assume this is still 
> true?), so you have essentially no right to complain about what is given 
> to you for free.

There are always opportunities for improvement!

> In any case, whatever you think about the service CLUG 
> is providing you, you have absolutely no right to lampoon presenters 
> who, as Bob reminded you, provide their time and skills free of charge 
> to benefit the greater (technical) community.

I've been told that my portraits were unflattering.

> You personally didn't 
> benefit?

I understood that this was about abstraction.

> Fine - live with it, move on.

I'm still adding touches to a drawing begun last Tuesday. Using MyPaint, 
as I had explained in March.
-- 
members.iinet.net.au/~kilgallin/