[kwlug-disc] Other KWLUG logistics

[Paul Nijjar]

While I am busy spamming your inboxes, a few other things have come up
that I would like to throw out to the list: 

0. A while ago we scheduled KWLUG social meetings. Were they
worthwhile? Should we schedule another one?

1. Bob Jonkman proposed round table discussion meetings, and we held a
few. Were they worthwhile? Should we schedule another one? If so,
should the discussion have a theme or should it be free flowing?

2. Once again I received feedback that KWLUG is not very friendly to
new/nontechnical users. I agree with this criticism, and we have been
facing it for years. How should we address this and (maybe more
importantly) who has the energy to do so? In my dream world we would
organize "beginner-friendly" activities, but I do not know what those
activities would look like, and I do not know who would do them. 

3. Last night somebody ran into trouble because of our tattered door
sign. For security reasons I am supposed to lock the door once the
meeting has started (which I usually do around 7:30pm) and after that
people are supposed to call a phone number to get in. However, not
everybody has a cellphone (including me!) The tattered door sign says
"ring the doorbell" but there is no longer a doorbell at St John's
Kitchen. There used to be doorbells, but yahoos kept damaging/stealing
them. 

One way to address this is to redo the tattered old sign. Another way
might be for us to get our own KWLUG doorbell (which might be usable
for other related events, like CR repair nights). However, I have
looked into the cost of new doorbells and they are more than I am
willing to pay out of pocket (there are cheap ones for $20, but they
seem pretty bad. For something decent we might be looking at $50 or
so). Is there any interest in us taking up a collection to get a
doorbell? I will investigate whether St John's is ever planning to
have doorbells again, and if not whether the old ringers are still
around. If so then maybe we would just need to get the doorbell
button, which might be cheaper. 

4. Turnout has been dropping at meetings. The last few meetings have
averaged 12 people or so. There are three related issues here: (a) how do we
increase turnout, (b) how do we make KWLUG more worthwhile for
attendees, and (c) who has the energy to put into KWLUG to make it
more worthwhile? (This point will open all kinds of wormy cans, so I
am hesitant to mention it. But I feel it is important to say out
loud.) Note that solutions that boil down to "Paul should stop being
lazy and put a lot more effort into promoting/organizing the LUG" will
probably not be implemented.

- Paul 

--
http://pnijjar.freeshell.org