[Linux-aus] Goodbye AUUG, hello phoenix

[Silvia Pfeiffer]

On 9/15/06, Christopher Yeoh <cyeoh at samba.org> wrote:
> At 2006/9/14 18:53+1000  Jeff Waugh writes:
> >  * Phoenix -- I only realised after posting that there was a hidden gem in
> >    the title. There's not a lot behind this suggestion, but it's cool.
> >
> >  * Glasnost -- I think this says a lot about what is really going on in the
> >    community and industry, and reflects on the 'freedom' element that is so
> >    important at linux.conf.au.
> >
> > My main reason for posting this is that neither of these suggestions include
> > '.conf.au' or some horrid combination of 'open', 'freedom' or 'f(l)oss'. We
> > *can* work with something very different here, as long as it reflects what
> > we have come to love about linux.conf.au: "the magic of technology, freedom
> > and community". linux.conf.au was pretty out there at the time, being based
> > on a domain name that most people wouldn't even recognise as such... We have
> > lots of room to move if we choose to rebrand. :-)
>
> I'd actually prefer that rather than diluting linux from linux.conf.au
> and renaming it, that instead additional conferences get added which
> specialise in other areas - eg a free culture conference, one that
> concentrates more on general open source software, one on business
> related issues etc.
>
> I've been to conferences like Software Livre that try to do everything
> at once, and I think the specialised conferences work better. They can
> afford to be smaller and have more in depth talks and tutorials. In my
> experience, the larger conferences feel rather impersonal.
>
> I do think its still a good idea to have talks which aren't directly
> related to Linux in the conference to give exposure to related
> communities, but these should be of a quality which would normally be
> considered the "best of" talks of the other specialised conferences.
>
> Chris


I couldn't agree more.

I think the spirit of Linux is what matters and stands behind LCA.
Sure, there are people that go beyond Linux and may be interesting to
attract as speakers, but if they are not attracted by LCA as it is but
are relevant, it may just be a matter of inviting them personally. A
more generic theme will dillute the focus. I think the Linux focus has
worked well in the past and I'm against changing winning strategies.
Now, if it didn't work any more or there was even the slightest
indication that it may not work any more (as seems to be the case for
AUUG), that would be a different thing altogether.

As for turning LA into a larger organisation that has more of an open
source focus, I actually feel the same. It would change a lot of the
spirit that makes up the current organisation. For example: AUUG has a
different feel and tradition to it than LA and it therefore speaks to
a different crowd. Making the goal of LA larger and turning it into a
more encompassing organisation will not necessarily make the audience
larger - it may indeed estrange some of the current members.

I'm not against a more general organisation though - if there is
enough of a following for it (and that would include people who are
currently not attracted by LA), why not just create an additional one?
AUUG is teaching us that the birth and death of organisations is
natural. :-)

Cheers,
Silvia.