We're still alive

[roguescholar2]

I was just crawling the links from the various points of presence for the LoCo and when I saw the last post date here, my heart sank. If anyone else stumbles past this message, don't draw any conclusions from the lack of activity here about the state of the California LoCo. Stop by #ubuntu-us-ca on Freenode IRC and say "Hi." We may idle sometimes, but we never bite.

[TheFu]

I was just crawling the links from the various points of presence for the LoCo and when I saw the last post date here, my heart sank. If anyone else stumbles past this message, don't draw any conclusions from the lack of activity here about the state of the California LoCo. Stop by #ubuntu-us-ca on Freenode IRC and say "Hi." We may idle sometimes, but we never bite.

Many LUGs are quite active, but don't have active people in these forums. My LUG has meetings 2x a week, a monthly meeting and numerous other events around the metro area. People should use their google-fu to find a local LUG.

Tips to find a LUG - Search on terms like:
* Linux {Metro Area}
* Linux {City}
* Linux {County/Parish}
* Linux {Local Universities}
* Linux {Local Colleges}
* Linux {Employer in Tech}
* Linux {local community college}
* Linux {Province/State}
* Linux {Country}

There usually isn't enough interest outside tech-centric cities for a LUG specific to any distro, though a few vendors might have local groups.

Don't get trapped only looking on meetup.com or only in google groups, but look there too. LUGs are often run by graybeards who would not let some cloudy provider host their LUG data/meetings/calendars. Almost all LUGs will have a website, email list, IRC channel.

Don't expect a smartphone "app", though a few LUGs might have apps if their organizers are AppDevs.

Every LUG is a little different. Jump in, come hang out 1 time, get on the list, and lurk for a month. LUGs are fantastic when you need help and forums aren't working. That 1-on-1 problem solving is why LUGs exist. You never know who will be at a LUG meeting. Famous Linux types show up in the oddest places.