Introduction

Scheduled Time: 7:00 PM EST Thursday, April 30^th, 2009
Scheduled Location: SETC
Join On Freenode IRC Channel #ubuntu-us-ma

Meeting Chair: Martin Owens (doctormo)
Meeting Minutes by: Michael Terry (mterry)

Agenda Items

The following agenda items were proposed for this meeting:

• Introductions (everyone)

• Review of last month's Action Items

• Ubuntu Learning group, update (doctormo)
• Technical Plan for Community Centers (leftyfb)
• Website, problems with it (leftyfb)
• Reporting about the Anime convention (mterry)
• Star Trek Event (felicia)
• Open Floor (everyone)

Present

The following team members were present during this meeting:

Physically Present:

• Michael Terry (mterry), A Canonical OEM Developer
• Martin Owens (doctormo), Group Leader
• Felicia, User from Cape Cod
• Mike Rushton, leftyfb, system admin, gadget geek
• Sara Abbot, makes cake, is leftyfb's bf
• Doc Kinne (kinnerc), works with astronomical databases, has big plans to take over the world
• Randy Cole, Programming and Systems Administration

Virtually Present:

• Aaron (guinea-pig)
• Lizzie (|izzie)
• Bill (BillN1VUX)

Action Items

See progress for Action Items here

• Martin to confirm location of Meeting Location for next month.
• MTerry to investigate the Wainwright Bank's community rooms.
• MTerry to email mailing list about anime convention.
• Martin to order pizza for next meeting.
• Mike to investigate "Boston Linuxfest"

  • To contact StrataCenter at MIT as a location

  • To get together a team of people to see if the event is possible.

  • To contact potential sponsors -> Items handed of to team.

Proceedings

• we're looking for new meeting location
• this place (tech center) is ok, but a little busy
• doc dislikes varied venues (different places to meet)
• we're looking for a solid long term place
• mterry will look into wainwright room
• they let out community rooms
• 'wainwright bank' that is
• other locations? no...
• party review?
• release party was midling awesome
• would have been nice to have more, we needed more organization time
• try to organize 2 months in advance
• need more advertising
• looking into press releases
• how to get to press? we suck at that
• cake: was awesome
• as were strawberry jackalopes
• We got jaunty cds, yay
• thanks to sean for schwag
• thanks to mterry for sending out notices to lists
• topic: ubuntu learning group
• what is it?
• mike notes we should order pizza for these thigs
• ulg: create learning tools/plans to technical teachers
• ulg: conglomeration of people from community, like forums, user help
• ulg: egalitarian
• ulg: lets anyone in world organize classrooms, virtual or no
• ulg: may conflict with canonical paid-for training
• ulg: cautious of annoying canonical?
• ulg: canonical's stuff is non-commercial (NC)
• ulg: so we can't use it
• ulg: we need to charge small nominal fee
• ulg: why charge?
• ulg: experience is that charging small fee means people are committed
• ulg: makes people think there is value in class
• ulg: can we work around it? (order pizza, charge for that plus)
• ulg: martin says no, cc is pretty clear
• ulg: maybe canonical did it to prevent competition
• ulg: point is, we need a better license or a new thing
• ulg: 'thing' being training materials
• ulg: teaching right now is seat-of-pants, would help to have formal advice
• ulg: questions?
• felicia: martin doing curriculum?
• martin: yar
• martin: more people should be involved
• doc: can download material, but can't use it for us?
• martin; can't use it in schools, colleges, community center where we charge
• martin: can't give back in launchpad, it doesn't accept NC
• doc: sys admin curriculum: are we looking to redo their work?
• martin: sys admin stuff is new, not related. it's safe for commercial
• martin: is showing the wiki page for ulg
• wiki.ubuntu.com/Learning
• martin: we just need to recreate their stuff from scratch
• martin: licensing discussion on may 9th (it's on the wiki page above)
• doc lives and breathes UTC
• OK, topic change
• technical plans for technical center
• mike: I'm talking about what?
• mike: evergrowing technical plans
• martin: some student wiped his comp with ubuntu accidentally
• center was not happy
• martin: being able to roll out images good
• mike: not getting into imaging, something about installers instead
• martin: can we install dual boot?
• mike: we're not doing windows
• mike: can't do network install of windows
• mike: not doing imaging of windows either
• mike: b/c that means licensing
• mike: not here to help windows
• mike: can install ubuntu over network, which lets us dual boot
• mike: can fix student thing if here
• martin: can we do in-place update of ubuntu?
• mike: we should fresh installs, not updates
• mike: just backup files to server
• martin: we need to be advanced about how we delete these machines
• mike: config is up to center
• mike: they've already got a fab thing
• One minute break
• do dum do
• hmmm hmm
• la la la
• 'fab thing' is some user call fab
• mike: we're not touching windows unless we break it
• randy came in a while ago, btw
• Hi liz, this is mterry being secretary
• lizzie: hiya, yes, i scrolled back.
• martin back, we're back on the clock
• now we're backseat secretary-ing
• martin: too much info better than less
• mike: we could set up ldap
• (back on tech center)
• mike: to get a pixie(?) server, custom packages, ldap, possibly nfs home dir.
• mike: hmm, but we want each login to have own login
• mike: is thinking about these hard problems so we don't have to, mterry is glad
• mike: has backup script
• martin: topic: web site
• mike: great idea, w00t, but don't remove info at all
• mike: martin removed mailing list archives
• martin is surprised we had one
• mike: how does a user get to mailing list?
• mike: no way to sign up from web site
• mike: been removed from wiki too
• martin and doc think he's on crack, it's right there
• mike: too hard for me to find, too hard for users
• martin: meh
• martin: stuff is on wiki, that's good
• martin: mailing list isn't quite for public
• mike: i thought we wanted mailing list to be for everyone
• martin: no, it's internal chatter
• mike: is in the disagreement box
• martin: mailing list is too crappy for users

• mike & doc: eh, all mailing lists are like that, it's the expectation of users

• martin: has issues with interface to mailing list
• martin: mailman sucks
• mike: everyone knows it
• martin: techies do, not normals
• mike: list lets people lurk
• martin: that's cool, but prefers 2 mailing lists
• martin: one for chatter, one for announcements
• doc: likes announcements
• mike: also ok with announcements
• mike: wants prominent links to lists
• mike: likes how it was on wiki, is resistant to change
• martin: wiki has links that weren't good for website, so moved this to web site
• mike: liked flow of wiki
• mike: like contact us
• PLAN: put mailing list link on 'contact us'
• mike: if info not on web site, don't remove from wiki
• martin agrees
• mike: likes all info on the 'team contact' page
• martin and mike hug and make up
• mike: this page looks like a list of 'important people' in loco (in scare quotes)
• martin: these people are barely involved
• mike: like put me there
• martin: you are there
• mike: wants a more user friendly list of contacts for loco
• mike: my contact info looks businessy, wants a page for people to see where they can get all contact info for loco
• doc: "small weasels"
• I'm not sure what that meant
• mike: community updates page is cryptic
• mike: who made this page? for the love of god
• mike: this page should have like, when was last meeting, last release
• martin: no problems with changes to page
• martin: i'm weird and british
• martin: accepts help for wording
• mike: i know what normals want
• mike: refuses to touch bzr to change page
• martin: that's how you do it!
• mike: i just want to tell you to do it
• martin: volunteers to push his suggestions? anyone? beuler?
• mike: use a CMS, not bzr

• martin: meh

• mike: web site is inadequate, illogical
• martin: then modify it, but you're not willing to do work, or write suggestions down
• martin: it's hard to take your position and do someting with it
• martin suggests lizzie
• |izzie: are you asking me to redesign?
• martin: she already found lots of stuff
• martin is redirecting mike's energy to lizze
• lizzie, yeah, expect a communique from mike
• new topic: anime convention
• so anime is good kind of geek, we have manga
• its' on teh 22nd of may to 24th
• we have manga to distrbiute
• they have flyer table to drop them on
• anyone want to go?
• martin is willing to go with partner
• no takers...
• mterry: out of town
• mike is washing hair
• PLAN: let's put it in calander for next year
• PLAN: let's throw it on mailing list too for this year
• |izzie: what is manga?
• if we can get other people
• manga is a japanese-style comic book
• new topic: star treck
• felicia: natick, 7PM, 7 nights a week
• felicia: date to go: send to mailing list, see if we get complaints
• |izzie: are you scratching 3D?
• felicia: jordon's imax
• |izzie: yes
• martin: proposes monday
• mike says no monday or tuesday
• mike: sylar for the win
• martin makes some reference that only doc gets
• martin: talking about hot fuzz now
• martin: and shaun of the dead
• doc: waiting for sylar to kill someone with finger
• martin: is talking about startrek sg1? what a reference
• martin: new topic: open board
• sara bought stuff from staples
• sara got such a good deal
• sara bought generic raffle tickets
• sara can give out at install fests
• sara: we've wanted to do something with these
• martin: anyone want to do install fest?
• mike: i think we need them
• mike: for ourselves
• mike: has long been on installfest wagon
• mike: good for people off the streets
• mike: not amazing, but pretty good events
• mike: fun for us
• martin: we're not doing them b/c we don't have someone to run them
• mike: who has run in past?
• martin: me, steve and mike
• martin: we're all too busy now
• mike: would love to see a big thing
• mike: bought bostonlinuxfest.org
• martin: would cost a large amount
• mike: hmm, doubt it, we could get sponsors
• martin: takes so long, too much organnization
• martin: loves work of art gallery in brookline, two girls there are awesome at organizing
• martin: they are too busy to help us
• sara: what about gnu peeps?
• martin: talking about the fsf
• mike: scratch that, not blu
• martin: blu like helping themselves, we're about advocacy
• mike: they aren't welcoming
• blu means boston linux user group
• BillN1VUX: BLU is accepting of BSD , BLU means Boston Linux Unix
• randy suggess blue is like a lecture series, followed by social hour

• BillN1VUX: so yeah it's not UbuAdvocacy and not FSF pure either

• BillN1VUX: the meeting are, yes
• mike: ohio linux fest is great
• BillN1VUX: with Q*A before too
• martin: fsf can help us organize stuff
• martin: does canonical have help for this?
• mterry doesn't know
• BillN1VUX: BLU installfests are clinical, no demo, no music, no games, no cake
• BillN1VUX: and i am youngest not oldest ... not quite but ...

• Deviousdragen> that works for them however

• install fest should be like mardi gras

• guinea-pig> whoa, what's all the talk about?

• BillN1VUX> Yes, diversity is good

• beads for installing computer
• we're in a meeting, i'm taking notes
• can we get expo center, we want that size for an install fest
• martin: this requires way too much organization
• randy: do it in university gym?
• mike: bigger than that
• mike: like ohio linux fest
• mike: wants to be like them

• BillN1VUX> we tried linux world in New expo ctr, it was last in boston

• martin: need like a year to plan
• mike: i've got domain name!
• doc: tell me about ohio
• mike: sponsors, like all the major foss companies
• doc: demonstrations, classes
• mike: if annual, people might hold announcements til expo
• martin: wants it to be 'boston foss fest'

• Deviousdragen> if anyone has dos 6 he would love it for next week...if anyone had it culd bring it to him. but if not sorry for the interruption

• mike: likes boston linux fest
• Deviousdragen: ok

• Deviousdragen> i like boston linux fest

• Deviousdragen> i know and have heard of a linux, i don

mike: linux isn't limiting, we can have other things

• Deviousdragen> i dont heard of a foss

• guinea-pig> i don't like the word fest. i thought we were moving away from that?

• martin: you're misusing linux word
• mike: i'm ok with that
• doc: foss is more accurate, bad marketing
• mike: don't listen to guinea-pig

• Deviousdragen> no intallfest we moved away from because it made it sound like you HAVE TO INSTALL, but it was meerly a suggestion

• mike: mocks 'exploration ubuntu'
• felicia: normal people even know what install fest is
• felicia: i didn't know foss, but knew linux

• guinea-pig> i don't believe people think there's anything festive about installing

• mike: wants Sugar people there

• Deviousdragen> no i am friends with a lot of normal peiople and it was a long explanation and them cringing at the thought

• guinea-pig: we're doing it wrong then

• guinea-pig:

• guinea-pig> actually, i agree, there isn't anything festive about installing

• guinea-pig> it's using that's festive

• |izzie> there is about installing ubuntu

• |izzie> compare to other os's

• guinea-pig> compare to other os's ... it's pretty much the same

mike: linux and install fest are known, good marketing terms

• guinea-pig> anyway, i'm jumping in the middle of the discussion here

• guinea-pig> what are we actually talking about?

• guinea-pig: about running a fest
• guinea-pig just arrived home from work
• guinea-pig: and what's involved

• Deviousdragen> we were hoping to draw people in with a new name was the problem...which didnt happpen...

• guinea-pig> doctormo: we've done them before... have we forgotten?

• doc: i don't know much, but... let's not shove whole watermellon down throats, let's cut it into smaller pieces

• |izzie> ubuntu fest ?

• guinea-pig> freedom fest

• doc: BarCamp Boston 4 was nice, 300 people,

• BillN1VUX mocks 'exploration ubuntu' too

• Deviousdragen> free festival

• doc: The scheduling fell apart after dinner on saturday, think the good weather had something to do with it.
• randy was there too
• doc: was at mit

• guinea-pig> also, are we talking about whether or not we are doing one, or have we moved on to more specific details?

• doc: expo center too big, we could do mit though
• guinea-pig: just what's involved, can we even do it with our time/resources
• mike: we don't have resources, but let's get sponsors
• martin: we need organization skills

• guinea-pig> we need resources?

• doc: to deal with bay side, we need to show legitimacy with running events
• guinea-pig: need to organize and get space
• doc: could get stata center at mit that though
• doc: start small

• Deviousdragen> we cant even get a place to hold meetings or installfests

• guinea-pig> we've done small. expo center seems like too big a jump in size

• doc: stop injecting reality sara
• doc: it's not fair

• guinea-pig> who is doc?

• guinea-pig> oh, i thought it was a thing

• BillN1VUX> my lappie is in a dock

• BillN1VUX> i work on a pier, however.

• now we're back on meeting space
• because sara made us sad

• |izzie> tsk tsk tsk

• guinea-pig> err, was there an outcome of the fest discussion?

• mike: we need a space where we can just say, 'we need last thursday, indefinitely'
• guinea-pig: nope!

• guinea-pig> doctormo: why not?!

• guinea-pig: We're not a focused group

• guinea-pig> argh

• martin: agrees with doc that we should start small like mit for fest
• mike: should i try to get sponsors first?

• Deviousdragen> perhaps we could span to a differnt college because mit already knows linux.....

• guinea-pig> Deviousdragen: seconded

• martin: it's not for the college, jsut a meeting place
• mike: everyone uses term 'linux fest', works so well, people know it

• Deviousdragen> i don't spend much time outside at these events but most of the people i talked to out there said they already run it...

• guinea-pig> i thought she was referring to fests?

• Deviousdragen> i mean to fest at

• yeah, that's what martin meant, bad notes

• Deviousdragen> but check out the place mike terry suggested, a bank...with free rooms

• guinea-pig> i admit, when 'exploration ubuntu' was first proposed, i thought it was not the best...

• martin tries to stick mike with organizing job

• guinea-pig> but it leaves it open to much more than just installing

• mike: what should event be?
• mike: install fest, or a big linux fest like event with shops and sponsors
• Deviousdragen wishes the ibprofine will kick in and the fresh air will make my stumic from making me feel ill
• mike: will look at stata center
• martin: can we book room, cost, etc?
• mike: ok, is interested in spearheading
• mike is impressed with look of stata center
• mike like shiny things

• Deviousdragen> mike likes to spend too much money also...

• mike: is it big?
• doc: small expo size
• doc: conference size, convention size
• doc: large common area, 5/6 smaller classrooms

• Deviousdragen> parking?

• mike: will contact ohio peeps
• mike: parking sucks

• guinea-pig> in ohio?

• doc: "are you insane? also, there is a parking garage"

• guinea-pig> i don't care about parking in ohio :P

• guinea-pig: ohio peeps run big linux fest

• guinea-pig> ah

• martin: need space, media organization
• martin: what is our loco goign to bring to table? cds, table we're manning?
• mike isn't listening
• mike: we'll be there as a vendor and a spearheader
• martin: that's what i'm saying
• martin: might want to have mike focus on spear, others do vending
• doc: this is more than mike job
• doc; this is whole loco
• doc: meetings are just this from now on, if we do this
• mike: no...
• doc: yes!
• doc: need committee, need to assign tasks

• martin:

• doc: has been through this before
• mike: again, will ask ohio peeps about what is involved
• doc: could contact my old friends that did this before too

• guinea-pig> whatever you're planning sounds like it's much bigger than an installfest

• guinea-pig> it sounds like a con

• guinea-pig: sort of

• guinea-pig> at least on that scale and style, even if not subject matter

• mterry: why are we doing this?
• mike: cause i want to
• mike: install fests not good b/c of marketing
• mike: this could be as big as other linux fests

• guinea-pig> because *you* want to, or because the loco wants to?

• mterry: if this takes over loco, we need loco buy in
• mterry: this is bigger than mike pet project

• guinea-pig> definitely

• mike: let's investigate, but not commit anything then come back
• mike: this helps loco because we can be a big part of a thing, good recognition
• mike: these things are announced in papers

• doc: boston won't have papers in a year

• guinea-pig> as for a timeline... i'd wager something of this scale should be at least 6 months out if not a year

• mike: install fests too small
• guinea-pig: yeah, at least a year
• mike: wants loco to be part of something big

• guinea-pig> perhaps contact some people who run cons in the area, for advice, and see if they want to help?

• guinea-pig: yeah, ohio and doc's peeps
• mike: wants to do this, if loco isn't helping, would try to get others, represent loco alone
• martin: organization is biggests challenge

• guinea-pig> but also local con organisers, as they might have contacts... and if interested can help in person, too

• felicia: must master small first
• mike: this would bring us stuff we don't have right now, adverts, recognition, partnerships

• guinea-pig> what do our previous events count as?

• guinea-pig: small?

• guinea-pig: but have we mastered them?

• guinea-pig> i wouldn't say we've mastered them, but we could've done a lot worse.

• martin: we need to do more digging

• guinea-pig> i think we did well enough to try a little bigger. but not full-sized con

• mike: is real excited
• mike: will look into it, but doesn't have time
• martin: would only have time if he dropped rest of life
• mike: "no one wants to go to wilmington"

• guinea-pig> just a thought

• sara; is there shriner's in boston, good size building?
• mike: how's stata compared to shriner's?
• mike: shriner's is good

• guinea-pig> is this a loco meeting, or a event-specific meeting? i think they need to be seperated, once we've determined we're going to do an event

• sara: we can sell ubuntu cookies
• mike: no matt demonstrating ubuntu gaming
• martin: not a problem
• doc: you're both saying you don't have time

• guinea-pig> nobody has time

• guinea-pig> but nobody has to do everything

• guinea-pig> unless everyone else does nothing

• doc: but you're thinking you're going to do everything
• doc: but that's now how this works
• doc: we need a buy-in committee, and split load

• guinea-pig> divide and conqour

• mike: yar, i have time to contact other people and talk about it
• doc: you have to delegate
• martin: we don't have enough people in group
• mike: we'd get help outside of group
• mike: it's a linux fest
• mike: might even draw interest in oru group

• guinea-pig> organise, people, please.

• mike: the event would be related to our core focus: advocacy, etc
• mike: surprised a boston linux fest hasn't been organized yet
• martin: again, you investigate, send a message to list, other boston lists that are relevant, invite people to a crack committee
• mike: spark interest first
• martin: yar
• martin: special non-loco meetings
• martin: see if we have enough peeps
• mike: our loco, fsf, blu
• mike: enough people to do it
• martin: is that all?
• martin: i call the meeting

• anthrocite_> barcamp from last weekend venue info was: http://wiki.barcampboston.org/index.php?title=2009_Venue

Open Floor (All)

Conclusion

• There is lots to do.