[Linux-aus] Re: [LACTTE] Vision for LA

[James Purser]

On Mon, 2005-10-31 at 17:36 +1100, Stewart Smith wrote:

> How much advocacy should we be doing? it's a tricky one. My thoughts are
> full of contradictions - but I do encourage discussion and debate. I am
> certainly not going to hinder or discourage enthusiasms though.
> Facilitating enthusiasms is the name of the game!
> 

Personally I think we can split the advocacy effort into two separate
areas:

- On the street
- The halls of power

On the street the LUGS are paramount when it comes to spreading the
word. They are often the first point of contact for people who want to
find out more about this "li-nux" thing. As part of LA's mission we
should be providing as much support as is possible. I agree that in your
face "Convert Convert Convert" type evangelising is not going to win any
friends, but fun events such as SFD can let people know about F/OSS
without "over geeking" them.

The halls of power is another question. People like Rusty and Pia and
others have been working this area for a while now, and I'm sure they've
discovered that it's a whole other ball game when you're dealing with
politicians and executives. 

The other thing we want to consider is the message we are putting out
there. Are we just about getting people to use linux or are we trying to
promote the social aspects of F/OSS such as enabling disadvantaged
communities to lift themselves or enabling more openness in government
through the use of Open Source and Open Standards.

-- 
James Purser
Chief Talking Guy - Linux Australia Update
http://k-sit.com - My Blog
http://la-pod.k-sit.com - Linux Australia Update Blog and Forums
Skype: purserj1977