[kwlug-disc] Other KWLUG logistics

[Bob Jonkman]

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On 03/11/15 03:34 PM, Paul Nijjar wrote:
> 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?

Yes! I was going to suggest that when we were contemplating new
presentations, but suggesting a social event when asked for a
presentation topic seemed cheesy.

In the past we've had potlucks (or a kindly sponsor sprung for pizza),
but what would people think of having a social night at The
Firkin-Tannery, and forgoing attendance at the regular meeting
altogether? I realize that some people are philosophically or fiscally
opposed to eating & drinking for money, so perhaps this is not a
sufficiently inclusive idea.  We can indicate approval or disapproval
with a +1 or -1 (or indifference with 0), no reasons required:

Firkin-only: +1
Potluck: 0


> 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?

I like the free-form idea, which can take discussion in directions
where organized events fear to tread. That's good for a half-session.

I'd also like to try a "Lightning Talks" night, where people have 10
minutes to present an idea (with or without slides), followed by 10
minutes of Q&A. Like round table discussions, this is also based on a
 format I learned at GTALUG. We can probably squeeze five lightning
talks into one evening, or three into a half-session. If you've got a
Lighting Topic then add your name to the queue, once we have five (or
three) people we add Lightning Talks to the schedule (hopefully not
too far in the future). What is this "queue" of which I speak? Perhaps
updating a page on the kwlug.org site, or posting a message on the
mailing list, or filing it in Paul's prodigious memory...


> 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.

These people who want to see more new/non-tech presentations, are they
the people who are actually new or feel overwhelmed technically? If
so, what do they want to see?  Nothing is impossible, we can schedule
an installfest night, or a "How Do I" clinic night (like roundtable
discussions, but people with problems bring their devices and we break
out into small groups to diagnose/fix those problems).

Also, we haven't had a swap night in a while. Most of my junk isn't
worth the silicon it's forged from, but others may have usable stuff
to give away...

This give me an excuse to insert one of my favorite aphorisms:

Stuff: Junk we keep.
Junk: Stuff we throw away.


> 3. Last night somebody ran into trouble because of our tattered
> door sign. [...]

Sorry, I'm of no help here.


> 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.

The people who are attending KWLUG meetings find them plenty
worthwhile; it's the people who are no longer attending KWLUG meetings
who didn't. Of course, those people are not going to be providing
their input on how to improve things.

KWLUG is the only user group I attend which has 2-hour, formal,
lecture-style presentations every time (yes, we have half-sessions,
but they're rare and unusual snowflakes). Perhaps 2-hour presentations
are too much, both for presenters and the audience. With a 2-hour
presentation you're going to get into the underbelly of whatever topic
you're presenting, whether or not it's a useful daily skill.

Contrasting that with most other user groups I've been to, the formal
presentations are never more than a half hour, maybe three of them in
one two-hour night.  Is this a format we could adopt?

The Waterloo Web Makers Meetups were like that, and always held in
restaurants or hotels with food and drink available during the
presentation. It was pointed out to me  at WWMM that humans are social
creatures who express their sociability by sharing food and drink, or
at least eating and drinking together.

I know we've tried this before, but the venue we used was unfriendly
to those who didn't consume mass quantities (and pay for it).  Perhaps
we can try this again? Suggestions for venues are welcome; I suggest
the atrium at Duke of Wellington (who aren't very good at keeping
reservations), or maybe one of the new eating establishments that's
looking to boost their clientele. I'd check @NewEatsKW for new places:
 https://twitter.com/NewEatsKW

Perhaps we could have a pre-social event. We meet for dinner at 5:30pm
at a local burger bar or pizza joint, then go to the KWLUG meeting at
6:30pm. If this is successful, perhaps we can move the start time of
the meeting to 7:30pm, and have two shorter, less formal sessions.

I think it would help if we announced the pre- and post-social events
more prominently in the meeting announcements and web site. I think
we've been giving the impression that we're just a bunch of
propeller-beanied bit twiddlers, and who wants to hang out with them?
Instead, if the truth came out that we're an approachable bunch who
know how to have a good time we might attract more people who are
otherwise intimidated.

There are other UGs that are entirely social events held at
restaurants, with no formal presentations at all. I'm not suggesting
KWLUG adopts that format, but it seems to work well for those LUGs
doing it that way.

And there are UGs that provide sponsored food and drink at their
presentations. Is anyone willing to abandon KWLUG's absolute
independence of corporate influence and embrace corporate sponsorship?

I've been told that people don't value things that are
Free-As-In-Gratis. Perhaps it's time to have an attendance fee or
annual membership, which could be put towards snacks and beverages at
meetings...


> One more:
> 
> 5. Should I put laptop repair day events on the KWLUG website as a 
> potentially newbie-friendly activity? I have been refraining from 
> doing so because I do not want to abuse my administrator powers
> with work-related stuff, but if we think it would be a good shared
> activity that is less intimidating for new users then I can put it
> up.

Yes, absolutely put it on the KWLUG site. I've been including Laptop
Repair Clinic announcements on the KWLUG Twitter feed
https://twitter.com/kwlug/status/661778394607030272 and adding it to
the Watcamp calendar.

- --Bob.

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