[aclug-L] Re: ACLUG

[Bruce Alderman <baa@xxxxxxxxxx>]

On Tue, 5 Feb 2002, Dale W Hodge wrote:
>That could be... :-) More likely it's because they were very familiar with the
>topic. It's unfortunate, but as often as not we have presentations on subjects
>that the speaker is only a little more versed than the audience. But if we only
>go with what we know well, we're going to tire of the same three
>presentations... :-)

I submit that most people who attend the meetings don't expect to learn
from the presentation.  If you want expert knowledge on a topic, there
are always books, web sites, mailing lists, or Usenet groups where you
can find it.  What those sources can't provide, though, is face-to-face
interaction.  That's the one thing a local LUG can give its members that
they can't get anywhere else.

If you think of an ACLUG meeting as a forum to bring like-minded people
together for the exchange of information, maybe presentations aren't so
important.  It might be good to have a short presentation at each
meeting, even if it's a topic only a few people are interested in. But
the meeting shouldn't be centered around the presentation -- allow for
plenty of open forum time where the group could split into smaller
groups to talk about the things that really interest them -- people
setting up networks could gather in one corner, people interested in
hardware could meet in another, people trying to learn C programming
could get together and compare notes, etc.

These are just some thoughts from someone who has been to only two
meetings but still wants to see ACLUG be a success.

-- 
Bruce Alderman                                baa@xxxxxxxxxx
                 http://www.intcon.net/~baa
"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle."
                                       - Philo of Alexandria

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