25 Mar
2010
25 Mar
'10
5:25 p.m.
Dear all,
This year, I would like to change _effectively_ the general direction of
LiLux, in order to make it respecting its goals, as written in the status.
The aim of this association is to _promote_ Linux and free-softwares,
not to organise a kind of closed private club for gurus or known "usual
suspects".
I recurrently suggested ways to *open* LiLux to newcomers, make it more
visible or accessible to the general population. I think Linux (and
free/opensource softwares) have been something quite restricted to a
given set of gurus, or I.T. specialists. It is definitely no more the case:
* Linux is more used than MacOS
* Some free/opensource softwares are widely used, as Firefox (the most
used web browser in the world), Apache (the most used web server in the
world since Internet epoch)
* Some states/countries have widely adopted free/opensource products
(E.U. recommends the OpenSource approach for the development of state
software, promotes OpenDocument format for document exchange within E.U.
administrations, ...)
* Linux is now widely used in embedded solutions (as set-top boxes,
Internet access boxes, ...)
* Modern distributions (as the Ubuntu family) are ready for massive
deployment in the general public
* Some vendors now deliver Linux pre-installed computers (Dell, MSI, ...)
...
So, aside of our "guru-only" meetings, we *_must_* make LiLux widely
opened, visible and accessible for the public. This is not only for
respecting our own values (the status), but also to protect our rights
to still use and develop free/opensource softwares.
In order to do that, I suggested several strategies, that do not
(usually) require effort, but just agreement from the club. Usually,
those suggestions were discarded _silently_, which does not means that
they were bad ideas but more that the goal of increasing the amount of
members and making the club open to the mass is not perceived by some as
a priority.
So, I would like to take the opportunity of this general assembly to
have your reactions and votes on some of the ideas I tried to bring to
the club.
1° _A working public phone number referred in major phone-books to reach
LiLux_.
(I offer the number and I agree on answering the calls)
2° _Ad campains_.
As soon as we have regularly recurring meetings, we should advice on
that. As example, a ~45.000 house ad (10x10 cm recto-verso) would cost
~500 EUR. We should try such a distribution on, as example,
Luxembourg-city, and measure the return. Maybe the new members might
even reimburse the advertisement costs.
I can do the visual and organise the distribution.
3° _Produce some stickers, leaflets, printed documents_, so that it
would be more and more visible that more and more people are adopting
Linux and free/opensource solutions. I also suggested posters demanding
the respect of concurrence rights in the OS market.
4° _Recurring committee meetings_.
To follow and boost the various projects. I suggested (and
configured) a virtual meeting-room available by both VoIP and plain
phone number, but it seems not acceptable to some. I now have a PABX
able to provide those services _for free_, available through both VoIP
_and_ genuine luxembourg phone numbers. I can offer this service for
free to LiLux. If it is still not acceptable, we should organise a
chat-based recurring committee meetings, on weekly basis, as some
committee members are not available for evening meetings during working
days.
5° _A faster-connected server._
I can offer* for free* a virtual computer connected to the
Luxembourg backbone at huge speeds if LiLux is interested. I think it
might be great for hosting, as example, videos around our activities. It
might also be useful also as our current web site is hosted a way that
might not be durable.
6° _Participations to public fairs_.
We shouldn't keep closed in usual events, dedicated to
free/opensource solutions, as this way we only meet always the same
people. We should participate to wider events, in order to touch "real
people", real victims of proprietary solutions. We could/should organise
those booths maybe in common with local Ubuntu user group, LiLux and my
company.
7° _Proposing Linux pre-installed computers_
Through my company, I can sell computers. I could organise
commercial agreements with major vendors (such as Dell, MSI, Lenovo, HP,
Terra, ...) to make available to LiLux members Linux-compatible
computers, servers and laptops (to be checked with vendors) if LiLux is
interested.
More generally, we should commit that the main goal of LiLux is not to
maintain a poorly visited server, small private meetings, short member
list or a bad mail service, but to touch as much as possible people and
propagate the Good News: free/opensource software is available,
valuable, respects user's rights, performing, portable, long-term
sustainable, economic, efficient, and most of the time the best solution.
If we agree on most of those values, I wish to keep participating in
LiLux committee. Otherwise, I have other more efficient ways to promote
Linux and free/opensource software.