RE: Greetings list!

[mikeputnam]

Sorry about the mix-up folks. "What we have here is... a failure... to communicate."

I only happened to catch the meeting date/time because it was mentioned on the IRC channel. (#ubuntu-wisconsin on freenode.net) The meeting was held on the IRC channel @ 8:00pm on Wednesday. You can see the meeting log here ---> http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=526545&page=2

It appears that there are many people interested in the group and many resources at the groups disposal. So far I have encountered: Forums, Wiki, a Launchpad site, an IRC channel, and this mailing list.

I believe it would be wise to choose a primary mode of communication for the participants in the group. From there, information could be disseminated to the other resources where appropriate. For example, Linux User Groups (LUG's) often use the mailing list(s) as the core communication tool and then members update the web site, wiki, etc. IRC channels are sometimes used for chatter, meetings, and general socializing as well.

I propose we consider following this same model for our group.

Mailing list for initial, "official", group-wide info/discussions. (everyone has email and most can and do check it regularly)
IRC for informal use / remote meetings. (not always practical/possible for everyone)
Wiki/Forums/Website for the public facing (everyone can get to the web, but have to consciously check these sites)

The irony is that not all interested are on this mailing list. I'll have to spread this topic manually to all the resources until we reach a consensus.

What do you think?

Mike Putnam


P.S. Regarding actually getting on the list, here are the steps I took to be able to post.

Browsed to: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-us-wi
Entered my email address
Entered my password
Entered my password again
Clicked <Subscribe>
Checked my email
Clicked link in the email I recieved
Clicked <Subscribe to list Ubuntu-us-wi>
Done!

[Ayuthia]

I think that one of the problems is that not all of us are able to get the mailing list working for us. For me, I received a message saying that my message is awaiting for moderator approval because I am not a member of the list. However when I go to the mailing list site, I am able to log in and update my preferences.

I don't mind using the forum or the mailing lists for discussions. However, the forum is nice because other people outside of the mailing list are able to read and provide their thoughts.

[uberushaximus]

The way /I/ understand it, the forum is our main method of communication, since everyone uses it. The list is for community announcements, and the channel is for live meetings.

[mikeputnam]

The way /I/ understand it, the forum is our main method of communication, since everyone uses it. The list is for community announcements, and the channel is for live meetings.

There were at least 3 people who had subscribed to the mailing list that were not aware of the meeting. So I suppose that NOT everyone uses these forums.

[Ek0nomik]

There were at least 3 people who had subscribed to the mailing list that were not aware of the meeting. So I suppose that NOT everyone uses these forums.

You raised the key issue. You can say people didn't know about the meeting that were only aware of the mailing list. But, if we had only posted the meeting information in the mailing list, even more (a vast majority) wouldn't have known because they are only on the forum.

Also, for what it's worth, the mailing list has only recently started working. I tried to subscribe about a week ago and it wasn't functional.

I guess I am torn between which "official" method of communication we should use. I personally have always been a forum guy. I've been on mailing lists, but never active on them. Although I do see the benefits of a mailing list (some people check their e-mail more frequently than a web forum - I personally check both very often).

What I do know is this: If we choose the mailing list to be the official place channel for communication, I am still going to post information of future meetings and past, on the web forum and Wiki.

What does everyone think?

[mikeputnam]

You raised the key issue. You can say people didn't know about the meeting that were only aware of the mailing list. But, if we had only posted the meeting information in the mailing list, even more (a vast majority) wouldn't have known because they are only on the forum.

This is true.

I guess I am torn between which "official" method of communication we should use. I personally have always been a forum guy. I've been on mailing lists, but never active on them. Although I do see the benefits of a mailing list (some people check their e-mail more frequently than a web forum - I personally check both very often).

Aside from what I believe to be the practical convenience of email(push) instead of email+web(push&pull) or just web(pull), I think there is also an opportunity to leverage existing LUG "ways of doing things." To me, this LoCo is simply a LUG with a preference for Ubuntu. Why not conduct ourselves as such? This can only help bridge-building with the LUG groups that are already in place.

What I do know is this: If we choose the mailing list to be the official place channel for communication, I am still going to post information of future meetings and past, on the web forum and Wiki.

This is how most LUGs do it.

What does everyone think?

I appreciate your open consideration of my suggestion.

Mike