Why Are EU Ubuntu Communities Like Ghost Towns ?

[tamjk]

I'm a newbie Ubuntu user since late last year 2020.
I've got the hang of Ubuntu and Linux in general - but naturally I am still just at a stage on a journey.
After deciding to switch from Windows to Linux I chose Ubuntu as it was one of the bigger distros, it enjoys the support of some wealthy people and reputedly has a big community.

But when I tried drilling down into the Ubuntu Ireland community I got a shock - they had just 3 named members and no event since 2018. Looking at Ubuntu Nederland, Ubuntu Finland and several others there is a similar long period since their last meetings.

What has happened over the last few years to cause the breakdown of Ubuntu communities ? I have read that some leading activists were unhappy with Shuttleworth's decisions and his high-handed approach to community feedback. But surely there is more to this than just dissatisfaction with Shuttleworth - if he's as bad for Ubuntu as that, why not fork the project and have a community based distro with a more user-friendly look than Debian.

A lot of people in the Ubuntu community must have put consistent hours weekly into the improvement of this op system. It would be a shame if they just walked away from it - and worse if they felt that they had to.

[jeremy31]

Moved to Ubuntu/OS chat

[Bashing-om]

tamjk; Hello

Yes there are acknowledged lacks within the Loco communities that the Community Council is presently addressing by the formation of a research team to formulate a plan of action(s).

Furthermore, to address the general malaise with in the ubuntu community madhens - Canonical liaison - is at that helm.

For current updates and active discussions please see the relevant threads as posted :
https://discourse.ubuntu.com/

ubuntu is alive and well

getting better all the time

[mikewhatever]

People have real lives, jobs, obligations. An Ubuntu community is a hobby at best, and most people's free time is limited.
For better or worse, this forum is not what it used to be 10 years ago, because of the rise of social networks and other support outlets.
Some may have left Ubuntu because of Mark Shuttleworth, his style or decisions, and that's alright. Ultimately though, he's been paying for the project since 2004, so he does deserve a lot of credit, regardless of what people may think.
Xubuntu, Lubuntu, Ubuntu-Mate, Kubuntu, etc are community distros.
In my experience, Ubuntu is user friendly.
Forking a distro is a lot of work. Good luck with that.

[QIII]

Over the last several years, a plethora of alternative sources of support/information have grown to be more popular than online forums or IRC. The unfortunate fact is that resources like ubuntuforums.org have lost their luster and have become less desirable. I say unfortunate because UF is especially capable of providing one-on-one peer support for specific issues and can offer very detailed diagnoses of failures.

Oh, well. Things change.

[guiverc]

I can only mostly repeat details provided by @QIII

I'm on the other end of the world (Melbourne AU), and I know Melbourne PC Users Group have said many times that as everyone has the internet, people go online for their answers rather than to the old user-groups. In the IRC channel (#ubuntu-au) I see only 3 people [plus 2 bots] for the whole of my country, but I know there are more than that as I interact with more (aussies) in other rooms much of the time.

Yes some LoCo groups still do well; but they're the exception more than the rule (a few recent Community Office Hours have mentioned some (I think I'm thinking mostly of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1YbGX4liww&pp=sAQA).

[tamjk]

So what happened to this big reboot of the Ubuntu Communities ?

https://www.zdnet.com/article/canoni...nux-community/

BTW I don't see any listing of my Ubuntu version on my profile parameters . . . Is this like an avatar where you have to have so many posts before you can add this to your profile ?

[QIII]

That has already taken place. But they are not rounding people up at gunpoint and forcing them to take part in the community.

You won't be able to modify your profile until you have 10 posts in the support areas of the Forums. But don't post just to post. We deal harshly with that.

[GhX6GZMB]

forum.ubuntuusers.de is actually quite active. But it's in German, of course.

[mikewhatever]

So what happened to this big reboot of the Ubuntu Communities ?

https://www.zdnet.com/article/canoni...nux-community/

BTW I don't see any listing of my Ubuntu version on my profile parameters . . . Is this like an avatar where you have to have so many posts before you can add this to your profile ?

The article tells you what happened.
I'd also point out, that particular blogger has been an Ubuntu hater for some years. Hungry for clicks, he's been all too happy to trash talk Ubuntu time and again. It is garbage to me, but for whatever reason, people like such stuff.
Long live free speech.