Linux user group: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 05:22, 16 April 2023

Revision as of 01:07, 6 August 2023

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{{more citations needed|date=September 2017}}

[[Image:Installfest.jpg|thumb|300px|Installfest hosted by the [[Rutgers University]] Student Linux Users' Group.]]

A '''Linux User Group''' or '''Linux Users' Group''' ('''LUG''') or '''GNU/Linux User Group''' ('''GLUG''') is a private, generally non-profit or [[Nonprofit organization|not-for-profit organization]] that provides support and/or education for [[Linux]] users, particularly for inexperienced users. The term commonly refers to local groups that meet in person, but is also used to refer to online support groups that may have members spread over a very wide area and that do not organize, or are not dependent on, physical meetings. Many LUGs encompass [[FreeBSD]] and other [[Free software|free-software]] / [[open source]] Unix-based [[operating system]]s.

==Local LUGs==

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Given that Linux is not dominated by any specific corporate or institutional entity, LUG meetings typically encompass a broader range of topics than do the meetings of other user groups. Linux is predominantly user-supported, and some support is vastly easier via telephone or in person than over e-mail or [[USENET]]. LUGs are still primarily focused on hobbyist users and professionals who are engaged in self-directed study.

[[Silicon Valley Linux User Group|SVLUG]] is among the oldest and largest LUGs. It was originally formed as a [[Special Interest Group]] for the [[Silicon Valley]] Computer Society, founded by Daniel Kionka to support [[Xenix]] and "low-cost PC [[Unix|UNIX systems]]" (and later became focused on Linux, as the dominant free implementation of [[Unix]]).

According to the Linux User Group HOWTO:

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Most LUGs are free, requiring no monthly or annual dues. In many cases, the participants are encouraged to patronize the host venues (esp. in restaurant meetings, by buying dinner).

Some LUGs are informal conferences or round table discussions; members simply sit around and chat about Linux-related topics. Some provide formal presentations. For example, [[Linus Torvalds]] has occasionally talked to SVLUG or BALUG (which both are close to his former home in Silicon Valley), and [[Hans Reiser]] (creator of [[ReiserFS]]) presented his early design plans at an SVLUG meeting. Presenters might be anyone in the community with something interesting to say. Occasionally, corporations will sponsor or encourage their employees to speak at user groups to promote their products. LUGs generally require that these presentations provide technically interesting content, rather than overt sales pitches. Often, LUG meetings provide an opportunity for members and guests to make announcements, especially for jobs offered and/or wanted, pleas for assistance (free or professional consulting), and hardware for sale or to be given away "to a good home".

LUGs near each other geographically sometimes get together to hold conferences and share knowledge among peers. For example, in [[Central America]], in 2009, the first ''Encuentro Centro Americano de Software Libre'' was held in [[Nicaragua]], where LUGs from the region, from [[Belize]] to Panama, attended. Groups from other countries are also invited. In 2010, this conference was held in Punta Renas, [[Nicaragua]]; where there were members from the region, including from [[Germany]] and [[Mexico]]. In 2011, it was held in [[El Salvador]]. These events usually take place in summer, as most of the LUG members are students. As a second example, several [[Los Angeles]]-area LUGs sponsor and staff the annual [[Southern California Linux Expo]] (SCALE) conference.

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Many LUGs also organize installfests ([[FreeBSD]] groups tend to refer to them as "installations"), which are opportunities for experienced Linux users to help others, especially novices with installation and configuration of Linux systems. Installfests may also have break-out sessions for teaching new tips and tricks—performance tuning, security hardening, etc.

A few LUGs have developed projects of regional or even international stature. For example, the Uganda Linux User Group<ref>{{cite web|author=Uganda Linux User Group |url=http://linux.or.ug/ |title=linux.or.ug |publisher=linux.or.ug |access-date=2012-07-12}}</ref> operates in 3 major cities and frequently coordinates national and international events that have featured guests as high-profile as [[Tim Berners-Lee]]. [[Cyberstorm.mu]], a Linux User Group from [[Mauritius]], trains high school students on Linux to compete in [[Google Code-in]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hackers.mu/news/hackers-mu-leads-mauritians-for-the-google-code-in|title=Hackers.mu leads Mauritians for the Google code-in|website=hackers.mu|language=en-us|access-date=2017-03-02}}</ref> and organises [[Hackathon]]s focused on Linux.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Hackathon_Mauritius_-_Operation_SAD|title=Hackathon Mauritius - Operation SAD - FedoraProject|website=fedoraproject.org|language=en|access-date=2017-03-02}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en.opensuse.org/openSUSE_talk:HackathonMauritius|title=openSUSE talk:HackathonMauritius - openSUSE|website=en.opensuse.org|language=en|access-date=2017-03-02}}</ref> The Bellingham Linux Users Group<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.blug.org/ |title=blug.org |publisher=blug.org |access-date=2012-07-12}}</ref> (BLUG), in [[Bellingham, Washington]], holds the annual [[LinuxFest Northwest]], which attracts large numbers of participants from throughout the region, including western Canada. Likewise, Bellevue Linux Users Group<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bellevuelinux.org/ |title=bellevuelinux.org |publisher=bellevuelinux.org |access-date=2012-07-12}}</ref> (BELUG), which meets in a bookstore in [[Bellevue, Washington]], has developed The Linux Information Project<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.linfo.org/ |title=linfo.org |publisher=linfo.org |access-date=2012-07-12}}</ref> (LINFO), a comprehensive online resource that receives thousands of hits monthly from around the world.{{Citation needed|date=November 2007}}

LUGs sometimes are gifted with surplus books, back issues of Linux magazines, copies of CDs/DVDs, and other promotional items to give away to their members.

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An '''Installfest''' (a [[portmanteau]] of ''installation'' and ''festival'') is an event, generally sponsored by a local Linux User Group, university, or [[LAN party]], at which people get together to do mass installations of computer [[operating system]]s or [[Computer software|software]], most often [[Linux]] and other [[open source software]].

It is generally an advocacy and community-building event, where novices bring their computers along with their preferred operating system installation disks to the ___location of the installfest, and experienced users help them in getting started and troubleshooting problems. Sometimes, a [[Linux distribution]] and informative flyers are given for free to the attendees. Some events ask for participants to bring [[power strip]]s and [[network switch]]es, if available.

Installfests welcome all skill levels from complete novice to expert. An installfest will range from an informal get together to festivals involving music. The tone and scope of a specific event will depend on the organization sponsoring it. Writing in the [[BBC]]'s ''Internet Blog'' in 2008, George Wright described a mini-installfest as being "as painless as [he]'d imagined" and "[with] a bit of luck, it can be straightforward".<ref name="bbc wright 2008">{{cite web|last=Wright|first=George|title=Ubuntu Installfest|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcinternet/2008/02/ubuntu_installfest.html|work=BBC Internet Blog|publisher=BBC|date=19 February 2008|access-date=22 May 2012}}</ref>