Ubuntu Wiki

Ubuntu Open Week - Loco Teams - Thu, Nov 30, 2006

see also Thursday Session.

04:02   elkbuntu        Hello everyone! Welcome to the LoCo Teams introduction session.
04:03   elkbuntu        My name is Melissa Draper, and I am the LoCo Team Contact for the Ubuntu Australian LoCo Team. If you are wondering what that title involves, fear not, for we will be discussing it over the course of this session. I have a wiki page at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MelissaDraper that introduces me in more detail.
04:03   elkbuntu        Over the course of this session, we will be discussing a number of aspects of LoCo Teams. This includes, but is not limited to:
04:03   elkbuntu        * What are LoCo Teams?
04:03   elkbuntu        * Who leads the LoCo?
04:03   elkbuntu        * How I can find my LoCo Team?
04:03   elkbuntu        * But, I can't see a LoCo Team for me!
04:03   elkbuntu        * How do I start a LoCo?
04:03   elkbuntu        * Approved vs New
04:03   elkbuntu        * How can I get involved?
04:03   elkbuntu        Now, lets start at the beginning. What are LoCo Teams?
04:04   elkbuntu        A LoCo (short for Local Community) Team is a group of (in our case) Ubuntu 
users within a Localised Community.
04:04   elkbuntu        The teams are run by the people, for the people. They are *not* run by Canonical, however Canonical is highly supportive of them and will provide assistance. We will cover the assistance offered later.
04:04   elkbuntu        A LoCo can involve a lot of things such as local promotion, support in the local language, general support to local users and much more.
04:05   elkbuntu        LoCo Teams can be based around location, such as in my case, Australia.
04:05   elkbuntu        Because people in Australia speak English, there is not a strong need for language-based activities. Our primary focus is advocacy within Australia, but we do a small amount of support.
04:05   elkbuntu        Language based teams include for instance, the Spanish Team, which is based primarily around the Spanish language and hence includes most, if not all, the Spanish-speaking countries.
04:06   elkbuntu        Because Spanish is a very widely spoken language, the team's efforts would have a greater focus on providing support in Spanish and translating Ubuntu. There are still, of course, advocacy efforts within the team.
04:06   elkbuntu        One aspect of LoCo Teams that we find is also important, is that they enable and encourage people to interact with other Ubuntu users that are actually near them, as opposed to the other side of the world.
04:07   elkbuntu        A single person with ideas is nothing compared to a dozen equally imaginative people :)
04:07   elkbuntu        Ok, there are some questions in the chat, so i'll cover those now. The saturday session will be the same as todays.
04:08   elkbuntu        Popey, yes, we are aware of this. It is one area that we are hoping to change. it has improved in the past few months, and we hope to improve it further.
04:08   jrib    elkbuntu: it may help to state the question before answering so everyone benefits
04:09   elkbuntu        right.. sorry

<effie_jayx> QUESTION: My loCo team is not very active ( a web page, unaswered posts a week long and that's it) how can I help if there are no contacts in the wiki or the webpage and cana university have a loCo?

• effie_jayx, i'll discuss this a bit later in the session, and i'll answer questions regarding this after.

04:11   elkbuntu        Now, one question we get asked a lot by new teams is "Who leads the LoCo?".
04:11   elkbuntu        Generally, this is done by the LoCo Team Contact.
04:11   elkbuntu        The contact may be the founder, who has self-appointed his or herself, or, he or she may have been democratically elected.
04:11   elkbuntu        There's no 'right' way to do it, and some teams even have multiple contacts.
04:12   elkbuntu        What works for *your team* is best, and it may take a few tries to figure out what this is.
04:12   elkbuntu        The responsibilities of the Team Contact vary with the focus of the team, but a general guideline is https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LoCoTeamContact
04:12   elkbuntu        In my role as the LoCo Team Contact for Ubuntu-Au, my responsibilities generally include maintaining regular meetings, delegating tasks, channel upkeep and moderation and so forth.
04:13   elkbuntu        LoCo Contacts should be subscribed to the loco-contacts mailing list (https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/loco-contacts) and hang out in #ubuntu-locoteams. This is something that will help with Popey's question above.
04:13   elkbuntu        The team contact is also the public face of the LoCo. He/She acts as the main communication bridge between the team and the community at large. Given this, a grasp on the English language is almost necessary.
04:14   elkbuntu        It is possible that the contact may be approached by media, or get direct support requests, as their contact details are, or at least should be, easily obtainable.
04:15   elkbuntu        Some people in here have probably already located their LoCo Team. Some others may want to know "How I can find my LoCo Team?"
04:15   elkbuntu        A good way to find your LoCo Team, is to visit https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LoCoTeamList and see if there is a team in your area.
04:15   elkbuntu        If there are several teams that apply to you, the team at country or state level is probably the team you should join first, although there's nothing stopping you being in multiple LoCos.

<popey> QUESTION: Should *only* the team contact join loco-contacts list or can anyone?

• of course not. everyone is welcome We actually have alot of people on the list and in the channel who are not their team's contact.

Now, if any of you are in the situation where you are looking at the teams list and thinking "But, I can't see a LoCo team for me!", then there's a good chance one may not exist.
04:17   elkbuntu        There is a possibility that your team just has not added themselves to the list, so check the channels list here on freenode, and/or do a google for the team name.
04:18   elkbuntu        For example, the Australian team is "Ubuntu-au". "au" is the ISO code for Australia.
04:18   elkbuntu        If after searching, you cannot see a team then there probably is not one.
04:18   elkbuntu        If you are really interested in LoCo work, then it is time to find some other people and start one :)
04:21   elkbuntu        Anyhow, I know a few people are here wanting to know "How do I start a LoCo?". Well luckily, it's not rocket science.
04:21   elkbuntu        The main things you need are people and communication. It is recommended that you start by setting up a mailing list and an IRC channel.
04:21   elkbuntu        We can help with this in various ways. Well, we cannot help you gather the people, but the other things we can help with.
04:22   elkbuntu        For a mailing list, we prefer if the list is created through Ubuntu's mailman system. For this, email mailman AT lists DOT ubuntu DOT com
04:22   elkbuntu        To register your LoCo Channel, see '/msg chanserv help register' for instructions. The channel should be #ubuntu-cc where 'cc' is your country ISO code.
04:23   elkbuntu        IRC channels are best done here on Freenode. Almost all Ubuntu channels are here, and it's useful to have all the channels together.
04:23   elkbuntu        Not only that, Ubuntu has built up a very good relationship with the Freenode staff, so we're able to pull strings. It's quite convenient.
04:23   elkbuntu        Another important point about using the Ubuntu mailman and Freenode, is that if for some unfortunate reason, the team leader was to disappear into thin air (and yes, this happens), it is much easier to negotiate the reassigning of privileges.
04:23   elkbuntu        Once you have the basic structure set up, you're a LoCo team.
04:24   elkbuntu        Whilst it is not entirely mandatory, it's strongly suggested you sign the team up at Launchpad.net. This lets us know the team exists, for a start, but it also makes it easy to see who is in the team for purposes of verifing things if something goes wrong.
04:24   elkbuntu        Launchpad also incorporates the Rosetta translation tools, which is what Ubuntu uses for translations.
04:24   elkbuntu        With Launchpad, there are also other ways to contribute to Ubuntu as a whole (outside the realm of LoCo Teams), as has been pointed out over the past few days. Communication and contribution with the rest of the Ubuntu community is essential for a team's success.

<enoch2702> QUESTION: Is there any formal charter laid out by a LoCo?

• As such? no. Every team is welcome to do so if they wish to, however. For some teams, it might help. LoCos are pretty freeform in how they're organised and run. Different things work in different places around the world.

04:27   elkbuntu        Now, you may or may not have heard reference to 'approved' and 'new' LoCo Teams. This has caused confusion in the past, so I'll cover it now.
04:28   elkbuntu        An approved team is a team that is up and running, has each of the required resources in operation and the team is working well. The team has been acknowledged as haivng these traits
04:29   elkbuntu        When you become an approved team, it will make you eligible for certain benefits such as marketing materials, and other possibilities.
04:29   elkbuntu        An approved team is also considered officially by the Ubuntu project, and the process involves going before the Community Council.
04:29   elkbuntu        New teams are equally important to us, and we do support them by providing services such as hosting, a domain, mailing lists etc to help them become established.
04:30   elkbuntu        Once a new team has been set up with the basic mail/irc/launchpad structure, and have been around for a while, there should be no problem getting approved.
04:30   elkbuntu        If the team chooses to remain unapproved, we're ok with that too, but there are benefits, as mentioned above, for being approved.
04:31   elkbuntu        If you have questions about, or your team requires any of the LoCo services mentioned today, please join #ubuntu-locoteams and ask away, or sign up to the mailing list (https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/loco-contacts) if you prefer that way of asking.

<effie_jayx> QUESTION: How does one know if the team I join is approved?

• there is a list at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LoCoTeamsList and at the top is an 'approved' list.

04:33   elkbuntu        If you were not before, you may now (hopefully) be wondering "How can I get involved?".
04:33   elkbuntu        For most teams, just being on the mailing list, in the IRC channel or on the launchpad.net team is sufficient to join the team, and once you have done this, you can contribute in a variety of ways.
04:33   elkbuntu        As mentioned above, LoCo Teams involve a variety of project areas. These can include local support, translation, and local promotion, or even simply documenting the team and it's activites.
04:34   elkbuntu        If you unsure of how best to get involved with your LoCo, a good idea is to ask a prominent member within the team. They often know what areas need more man (or woman) power.
04:34   elkbuntu        Alternatively, if you are for instance, interested in seeing more promotional material that is relevant to your country, then you could simply create the material you feel is missing.
04:34   elkbuntu        When you've done whatever you felt necessary, tell people in the LoCo about it. Showing initiative is also a good way to get respect :)
04:35   elkbuntu        On a larger level, groups of LoCo members can get together to stage install-fests, or run booths at computer fairs.
04:35   elkbuntu        There are alot of great LoCos around, and we're fortunate to have had some of them collaborate to provide us with our (still fledgling) knowledgebase.
04:35   elkbuntu        If you want to find out more about joining, establishing or running LoCos, you can see the https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LoCoTeamKnowledgeBase wiki page.
04:35   elkbuntu        Or, as that was the end of my pre-written stuff. you can ask questions :)
04:36   elkbuntu        i'll work through the question backlog from -chat now

<effie_jayx> QUESTION: My loCo team is not very active ( a web page, unaswered posts a week long and that's it) how can I help if there are no contacts in the wiki or the webpage and cana university have a loCo?

• ok. im going to tie the answer to those two questiosn together. If your country loco is struggling for activity, a smaller part of the country is going to struggle more. You're best off pushing the team from your uni. Many country teams tend to have an activity hotspot. maybe your uni is that hotspot for your country does that make sense, effie_jayx?

  <effie_jayx> cool.. but I don't mean to disregard their work? after all they did put up a website and have gone through some stages in getting their stuff approved. They might get offended ... I just want to open the space in my university for them to come an talk. If they've come to a standstill, then chances are they'll appreciate the assistance.

  <effie_jayx> me just being a liason between them and my uni Have you talked to the contact about this?

  <effie_jayx but I cannot find a contact email. it's not on the wiki nor the website. Are you able to contact anyone in the team?

  <effie_jayx> the irc channel is not on freenode. I have made a post in their forum and I blog in their website. Is the irc channel active?

  <effie_jayx> yes.. but not the key people conect. Only people wanting to find out like me. then the key people are obstructing progress. we can talk more specifically on this later, i'll continue through the questions now.

  <effie_jayx> can we email ?

  join #ubuntu-locoteams

  <effie_jayx> great :)

<popey> QUESTION: It has been suggested in our [UK] loco team that when providing support (for example in the launchpad ticket system) that we might want to mention/brand/advertise ourselves as part of the loco team, rather than just as individuals. What do you think about that?

• I see no problem with doing this. I assume you're referring to in the signing of the response, ie "Popey, Ubuntu-cc Team" ?

  <popey> yeah, but suggesting everyone does it

  you cannot force everyone to do something

  <popey> true enough simply encourage it strongly

<atoponce> QUESTION: Our LoCo team (Utah) has a forum on Ubuntuforums. Is it possible to have our mailing list go to our forum, and our forum posts to the mailinglist?

• It is possible. talk to the forum mods about it. i'm assuming they would know the best way to do this.

<hubuntu> QUESTION: I heard about getting a hostname redirection for the respective pages for the LoCo. what about that? I mean www.ubuntu.no is cool, but what about oslo.no.ubuntulinux.org that is like more compelling, more logical in a worldwide perspective. Have you some final drafts/specs on that after Mountain View?

• he is gone now, but i'll answer for the sake of others. For information regarding domains and so forth, it's best to come into #ubuntu-locoteams and ask questions there. there's people there with a clue on that stuff. I dont believe we had any specific specs on the topic of domains, but we're hopefully going to streamline things alot

<fyrestrtr> QUESTION: Can you elaborate on what kind of translation support, or literature does Ubuntu provide for people (like myself) that are thinking of starting a LoCo?

• Hmm... I'm not all that knowledgable regarding languages. There's a translation team around, and there's rosetta. that's about all i know

<minimec> QUESTION: Does the language/translation support by the LOCO groups include translation of main/restricted packages and software, or only uni-/multiverse software?

• There was a rosetta session yesterday. i do not know what was coverd in it, but looking at the logs would be useful maybe?

<popey> QUESTION: Would it make sense for LoCo contacts to be invited to Canonical / Ubuntu meetings such as UDS or is that just logistically impractical? The reason I ask is that I feel the LoCos could get a tremendous amount of motivation from "rubbing shoulders" with devs.

• Probably wishful thinking. Your LoCo area probably has a developer or two in it, encouraging their participation in the LoCo would probably have a good effect. I'd personally love to be able to manage something like this, but im not sure if it's feasable.

<enoch2702> QUESTION: How closely do LoCos work with LUGs?

• this is a good question. There are some LUGs that are highly ubuntu-oriented, whereas there's others that are predominantly gentoo or fedora or suse oriented.

<mruiz> QUESTION: Hello elkbuntu, I'm Miguel Ruiz, Chilean Ubuntu LoCo Member. Can you explain how your LoCo works? How many sub-teams do you coordinate?

• The Australian team is one single team. However, i know there are LoCos with chapters, such as iirc, the Canadian Team. That's the geographical side of things. In terms of sub-teams for different functions, the australian team has had no need for this either. it's worth asking a language oriented team about this though. I think we're at the end of questions now. and it's nearly time for the next session

  <mruiz> elkbuntu, I asked you because we usually work in different ways: Forum, Wiki, Website, Translation into Spanish; then we can separate our work in sub-teams

04:59   Phoenix7477     yeah, thanks :)
04:59   elkbuntu        Thank you all for listening to me babble :)