[Linux-aus] Representation

[Leon Brooks]

On Tuesday 04 February 2003 01:15 pm, Anthony Towns wrote:
> Letting students get a chance to meet prospective employers informally,
> and giving people out of the techy-loop a chance to at least keep in
> touch with it seems like a very useful service for LUGs to be providing.

So have a job-fair.

>> The professional organisations also need Australia-wide representation,
>> to deal with Australia-wide corporations (as do the LUGs for dealing with
>> Feds as well as State gummints)

> I've seen a number of claims that LA's not about "regional interests"
> or "Queensland interests" -- surely state government policies would thus
> be out of its purview?

Generally - except as influence by Federal politics. It looks like you didn't 
grok that. In a dozen words: LUGs are generally not for Oz-wide stuff, LA is. 
And vice-versa.

>> SLPWA could in theory operate as a professional SIG of PLUG, but that
>> would then involve business-disinterested people in the parent
>> organisation making decisions for them, and PLUG being asked to endorse
>> or work on stuff that 80% of their members don't care about.
>> Business-oriented concerns from SLPWA would then be muted in their
>> passage through PLUG to LA, as well.

> If you don't already have a significant overlap in membership (do you?),
> have you tried having events co-hosted with SLPWA and PLUG? A mixer,
> essentially?

All SLPWA members (I think) are drawn from PLUG. Can't speak to the 
PLUG-paid-upness of them all, 'coz I ain't PLUG Committee (although that may 
be fixed next week, which may in turn open other cans of worms).

That's mainly because SLPWA has been around for less than a year and somewhat 
starved for labour by LCA2003 and other interests (e.g. Brian is flat-strap 
busy, 16 hour days, has been for months and will be for more months).

>> Another risk is that if we *don't* form an effective professional
>> network, someone else will, and then the network will likely be driven
>> primarily by government or large-corporate interests, rather than by the
>> OSS-style horde of individuals who are actually on the ground and at the
>> front lines dealing with the issues that need addressing.

> Which is one of the reasons to ensure that "we" remain the LUGs, who
> are the OSS-style of individuals, on the ground and at the front lines...

Is LA any different? If you want an ivory tower, you'll have to bring the 
ivory.

> I assume someone'll call me delusional if cross-over between Linux hackers
> and Linux suits is really a no-no, but it seems like a good idea to me.

If both sides are prepared for an event like that, fine. Day-to-day, it will 
work for a minority of each, but not for a mjority of each community.

Cheers; Leon

-- 
http://cyberknights.com.au/     Modern tools; traditional dedication
http://plug.linux.org.au/       Member, Perth Linux User Group
http://slpwa.asn.au/            Committee Member, Linux Professionals WA
http://linux.org.au/            Committee Member, Linux Australia
http://linux.org.au/~leonb/lca2003/  THE Oz Linux Technical Conf:
                                excellent event, photos here!