[TriLUG] Trilug -- Current Status

[Steve Litt via TriLUG]

William Sutton via TriLUG said on Thu, 9 May 2024 12:09:28 -0400 (EDT)

>There's been a bit of discusion about this on libera IRC #trilug.  The 
>general consensus, unfortunately, appears to be that TriLUG is dying. 

I have a suggestion at the end, but first let me explain the basis for
my suggestion...

As far as I know, every single LUG has experienced considerable
shrinkage. This isn't surprising given that in 1999 Linux was the new
kid on the block, the only ethical character in the show, and the best
weapon against Microsoft Monopolism. LUGs were also by far the
most effective route to Linux knowledge and skill. Linux was a
revolutionary political movement and a religion, even using
"evangelizing" as the verb for bringing more people into the fold. LUGs
were this religion's churches, and the political movements' local
headquarters. Those were the days when LUG members competed for the
right to volunteer or be officers.

Anyone remember the Spring 1999 Linux Expo in Raleigh, North Carolina?
It was a massive celebration. Almost as good was the last ALS (Atlanta
Linux Showcase) held in Atlanta. The next one was in fabulously
expensive San Francisco, if I remember correctly, and after that it
withered on the vine. Remember the IPOs of Redhat and VA Linux, from
back in the days when Redhat was an ethical player and the Debian
constitution actually worked? Remember back in those days Linux was so
talked about in the news that our parents asked us about it? Big,
healthy LUGs formed in most major cities. These LUGs paid rent, had
budgets and bank accounts, had governing bodies, and many were actually
incorporated.

Over the next 2 decades, Linux became a victim of its own success on
the server. It's just another part of our infrastructure now.

And it lost on the desktop, and didn't lose gracefully. To this day,
most distros still bend over backwards to accommodate mythical
converted Windows users, adding on levels and levels of training wheels
that decrease DIYability desired by those who brought Linux to the
party in the first place. And breathtaking levels of needless
overcomplexification.

So here's the bottom line: Today is just an OS, a piece of
infrastructure, and for a few of us, mostly those in their 30's to 50's
at Y2K, our desktop of choice. Those few *seriously* desire a LUG, but
there aren't enough to support the volunteerism needed for running a
1999 style LUG organization, and certainly not enough to be responsible
for an incorporated LUG. Not enough to pay for a physical venue, and
no-cost venues for LUGs are getting harder to find.


========================== SUGGESTION ==========================

So some LUGs vanish and some become online-only with no official
organization. These online, no organization LUGs are easy to maintain:
You need one volunteer to keep the mailing list (and please make a
gofundme to pay that person for the cost of his or her web provider),
one person to act as the Publicity Coordinator (that's me for GoLUG),
and one very reliable person to assume ownership of the LUG domain name
(and once again, Gofundme for the $20/year or whatever).

Unwinding an organized LUG, especially an incorporated one, is tricky
because what do you do with the bank account? If corporate, just do
what the bylaws say: Typically give it to charity. If not corporate,
I'd still give it to a charity. Or perhaps charity plus giving a couple
hundred to the person willing to do the mailing list and maybe sixty to
the person assuming ownership of the domain name. Or you can do what one
corporate LUG I know of did, just let the bank fee it out of existence
because the LUG couldn't locate enough board members to withdraw money
from the bank. Or maybe pay a lawyer to minimize legal risk to current
and former officers.

Unwinding the organized LUG might or might not call for a new name and
domain name.

Once again, don't feel badly that attendance at your new, not
organized, online only LUG is minimal. This is happening to all LUGs.
Even the gigantic Atlanta LUG, ALE, is a shadow of their former selves,
although they still have in-person meetings.

By the way, as long as there's a vestige of Trilug, I'll be there!

HTH,

SteveT

Steve Litt 

Autumn 2023 featured book: Rapid Learning for the 21st Century
http://www.troubleshooters.com/rl21