Re: DFEY SE (was: 2morro festival - free tickets)

[Robert Leverington]

Hi,

2009/6/24 Tim Dobson <[hidden email]>:
> Isabell Long wrote:
>>
>> Yep I hope so.  I might not be able to come to the NW but at least I can
>> maybe do stuff in London.
>
> Sure. But it's only a matter of time before something starts up in the SE. I
> was kinda hoping you and roberthl could have a chat about doing something
> like that but that obviously thats not possible

We have actually had a chat about this, the generally feel was that as
an organisation we would need a set of defined aims/objectives before
doing anything much. Obviously it will essentially be almost identical
to DFEY NW, but for the south east - however it is still important to
completely understand why we're starting such a venture (and something
completely identical to DFEY NW is going to make less sense than
something that both brings existing DFEY initiatives to the south, as
well as pioneering its own ideas); any suggestions would be good.

I tried to start putting down ideas, etc., but that quickly failed due
to lack of interest - maybe when we all have a bit more time.

> I think a DFEY-SE would get going fairly quickly - it just needs a few
> people to drive it. :)

Is/does anyone know anyone else who will be interested in this?
Currently I know of about three DFEY NW regulars who are/will be
located in the south east (me, Isabell, and Connor), but it would be
good to have more especially since we will be all located quite far
away from one another making meetings more challenging.

Robert

[Isabell Long]

2009/6/25 Robert Leverington <[hidden email]>:

> Hi,
>
> 2009/6/24 Tim Dobson <[hidden email]>:
>> Isabell Long wrote:
>>>
>>> Yep I hope so.  I might not be able to come to the NW but at least I can
>>> maybe do stuff in London.
>>
>> Sure. But it's only a matter of time before something starts up in the SE. I
>> was kinda hoping you and roberthl could have a chat about doing something
>> like that but that obviously thats not possible
>
> We have actually had a chat about this, the generally feel was that as
> an organisation we would need a set of defined aims/objectives before
> doing anything much. Obviously it will essentially be almost identical
> to DFEY NW, but for the south east - however it is still important to
> completely understand why we're starting such a venture (and something
> completely identical to DFEY NW is going to make less sense than
> something that both brings existing DFEY initiatives to the south, as
> well as pioneering its own ideas); any suggestions would be good.

Yes, I do think that we need to think of ideas and DFEY-SE would need
ideas for itself, not just be completely identical to DFEY-NW
otherwise, as you rightly said, that is not going to make much sense
as it is in the SE.
>
> I tried to start putting down ideas, etc., but that quickly failed due
> to lack of interest - maybe when we all have a bit more time.

Yes, sorry, I don't think I was particularly quick in replying to that email.
>
>> I think a DFEY-SE would get going fairly quickly - it just needs a few
>> people to drive it. :)
>
> Is/does anyone know anyone else who will be interested in this?
> Currently I know of about three DFEY NW regulars who are/will be
> located in the south east (me, Isabell, and Connor), but it would be
> good to have more especially since we will be all located quite far
> away from one another making meetings more challenging.

I could come to London quite easily I think once I find my feet in
Surrey and get out a bit and know where I am, it's only about an hour
away by train or even by car I think.  Where abouts is Connor in the
SE (maybe off list?)?  I'm looking forward to having regular IRL
meetings if this all works out!

Isabell.
--
Regards,
Isabell Long.  <[hidden email]>
[[User:Isabell121]] on all public Wikimedia projects.
OpenPGP Key ID: C395CE07

[Connor Smith]

On Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:52:20 +0200
Isabell Long <[hidden email]> wrote:

> I could come to London quite easily I think once I find my feet in
> Surrey and get out a bit and know where I am, it's only about an hour
> away by train or even by car I think.  Where abouts is Connor in the
> SE (maybe off list?)?  I'm looking forward to having regular IRL
> meetings if this all works out!

I'll be in Canterbury from mid September, and so should be able to turn
up to London meetings from October onwards.

cls

[x_rob]

I'm in the midlands so I could come to a couple of meetings at least (so long as they're at the weekend), finances depending of course! I seem to be situated as well to go to DFEY-NW meetings in Manc as i would be to go to DFEY-SE meeting in London, just a bit more expensive to go to the latter ;)

I think it'd be a great opportunity to get some fresh faces into the group, i don't think it can really sustain itself if it's just four of us meeting up every once in a while :P Some fresh blood is needed me thinks!

2009/6/25 Connor Smith <[hidden email]>

On Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:52:20 +0200
Isabell Long <[hidden email]> wrote:

> I could come to London quite easily I think once I find my feet in
> Surrey and get out a bit and know where I am, it's only about an hour
> away by train or even by car I think.  Where abouts is Connor in the
> SE (maybe off list?)?  I'm looking forward to having regular IRL
> meetings if this all works out!

I'll be in Canterbury from mid September, and so should be able to turn
up to London meetings from October onwards.

cls

[Robert Leverington]

Hi,

2009/6/25 Rob Barry <[hidden email]>:
> I'm in the midlands so I could come to a couple of meetings at least
> (so long as they're at the weekend), finances depending of course! I seem to be situated as well to go to DFEY-NW meetings in Manc as i would be to go to DFEY-SE meeting in London, just a bit more expensive to go to the latter ;)

I think we'd have no choice but to schedule them at the weekends given
that everyone will have some other commitment during the week, so this
won't be an issue at all.

> I think it'd be a great opportunity to get some fresh faces into the group,
> i don't think it can really sustain itself if it's just four of us meeting
> up every once in a while :P Some fresh blood is needed me thinks!

Yeah, of course. But even just the four of us it will be a good start
and something fairly easy to expand on.

Robert

[Tim Dobson-2]

Robert Leverington wrote:
> Hi,
>
> 2009/6/25 Rob Barry <[hidden email]>:
>> I'm in the midlands so I could come to a couple of meetings at least
>> (so long as they're at the weekend), finances depending of course! I seem to be situated as well to go to DFEY-NW meetings in Manc as i would be to go to DFEY-SE meeting in London, just a bit more expensive to go to the latter ;)
>
> I think we'd have no choice but to schedule them at the weekends given
> that everyone will have some other commitment during the week, so this
> won't be an issue at all.

All DFEY-NW meetings have been at the weekend so far so I would totally
expect stuff to take place at the weekend.
Getting good, free weekend venues can be a little bit of a chore but
we've managed it in Manchester so I'm sure it won't be too much of a
problem in London.. I'll ping a few people who might be able to offer
advice.

>> I think it'd be a great opportunity to get some fresh faces into the group,
>> i don't think it can really sustain itself if it's just four of us meeting
>> up every once in a while :P Some fresh blood is needed me thinks!
>
> Yeah, of course. But even just the four of us it will be a good start
> and something fairly easy to expand on.

Well, to expand just takes a bit of sifting through SE tech
communities... It's fairly easy but takes a little bit of time.

I've generally discouraged non-NW people from getting involved in
DFEY-NW so far on the basis that up until now we've not had the
resources or energy to do anything else; I think there's a fair few
young people who'd be up for a DFEY-SE once they get to  know about it!

I don't think I can really commit the time to actively helping out a
DFEY-SE (or DFEY-$foo) but I'm happy to offer advice, point people in
the right direction, help provide infrastructure and direction and prod
any helpful contacts I might have. :)

Once you start talking to the right people there's usually a raft of
people happy to help. :)

Tim

[Tim Dobson-2]

Robert Leverington wrote:
> We have actually had a chat about this, the generally feel was that as
> an organisation we would need a set of defined aims/objectives before
> doing anything much.

Absolutely. I've been meaning to get this sort of thing out and defined
for quite a while now.

I think this ties in nicely with the next major project once the Logo is
sorted (remember to VOTE!) which is to sort the website out.

I know there is a lot of differing opinions on the technical solutions
to this and for the time being I'd prefer not to go into much detail
about this because I think clearly defining who we are and why we are is
much more important.

> Obviously it will essentially be almost identical
> to DFEY NW, but for the south east - however it is still important to
> completely understand why we're starting such a venture (and something
> completely identical to DFEY NW is going to make less sense than
> something that both brings existing DFEY initiatives to the south, as
> well as pioneering its own ideas); any suggestions would be good.

Absolutely. We essentially need a clear mission statement.

> I tried to start putting down ideas, etc., but that quickly failed due
> to lack of interest - maybe when we all have a bit more time.

Well, now is a fairly good time.


>> I think a DFEY-SE would get going fairly quickly - it just needs a few
>> people to drive it. :)
>
> Is/does anyone know anyone else who will be interested in this?

Well, that's probably not a question to ask this list.

DFEY-NW pulled people from:
* local technical mailing lists
* linux related teen communites (teensonlinux and ##teenlinux)
* word of mouth
* friends of existing people
* twitter/identi.ca
* local tech related events

I've been talking to the IT teachers & Careers people at my (ex-)Sixth
form college and it looks like we'll start to get fed directly by at
least one educational establishment.

> Currently I know of about three DFEY NW regulars who are/will be
> located in the south east (me, Isabell, and Connor), but it would be
> good to have more especially since we will be all located quite far
> away from one another making meetings more challenging.

Absolutely.

I suggest that once we can grab you guys some infrastructure, you mail
greater london LUG, and a few other places like that... We can also put
the word out via microblogging & IRC...

Ideally what you guys want to be aiming for is publicity from as many
places as possible.

I think the next steps forward are as follows:

1) vote on a logo
2) agree on a mission statement
3) start work on a dfey.org website
4) set up DFEY-SE infrastructure
5) organise a first DFEY-SE meeting
6) ping the link about DFEY-SE to every organisation, mailing list &
blog on face of planet
7) cross your fingers and turn up.

Please, if you think there's something that could be done better or
differently, say so - if you think you have a better idea, you probably
do! :)

Cheers,

Tim

[Isabell Long]

2009/6/26 Tim Dobson <[hidden email]>:

> Robert Leverington wrote:
>>
>> We have actually had a chat about this, the generally feel was that as
>> an organisation we would need a set of defined aims/objectives before
>> doing anything much.
>
> Absolutely. I've been meaning to get this sort of thing out and defined for
> quite a while now.
>
> I think this ties in nicely with the next major project once the Logo is
> sorted (remember to VOTE!) which is to sort the website out.
>
> I know there is a lot of differing opinions on the technical solutions to
> this and for the time being I'd prefer not to go into much detail about this
> because I think clearly defining who we are and why we are is much more
> important.
>
>> Obviously it will essentially be almost identical
>> to DFEY NW, but for the south east - however it is still important to
>> completely understand why we're starting such a venture (and something
>> completely identical to DFEY NW is going to make less sense than
>> something that both brings existing DFEY initiatives to the south, as
>> well as pioneering its own ideas); any suggestions would be good.
>
> Absolutely. We essentially need a clear mission statement.
>
>> I tried to start putting down ideas, etc., but that quickly failed due
>> to lack of interest - maybe when we all have a bit more time.
>
> Well, now is a fairly good time.
>
>
>>> I think a DFEY-SE would get going fairly quickly - it just needs a few
>>> people to drive it. :)
>>
>> Is/does anyone know anyone else who will be interested in this?
>
> Well, that's probably not a question to ask this list.
>
> DFEY-NW pulled people from:
> * local technical mailing lists
> * linux related teen communites (teensonlinux and ##teenlinux)
> * word of mouth
> * friends of existing people
> * twitter/identi.ca
> * local tech related events
>
> I've been talking to the IT teachers & Careers people at my (ex-)Sixth form
> college and it looks like we'll start to get fed directly by at least one
> educational establishment.

Oh wow, that's good for you!

>
>> Currently I know of about three DFEY NW regulars who are/will be
>> located in the south east (me, Isabell, and Connor), but it would be
>> good to have more especially since we will be all located quite far
>> away from one another making meetings more challenging.
>
> Absolutely.
>
> I suggest that once we can grab you guys some infrastructure, you mail
> greater london LUG, and a few other places like that... We can also put the
> word out via microblogging & IRC...

I was thinking of joining Greater London LUG anyway at some point, it
could be interesting.  http://www.gllug.org.uk/  But they do all seem
to be grown *men* though, which kinda puts me off a bit, but I'm sure
it's fine.  I'll look into it more anyway and once we're established
if anyone fancies sending them an email, as Tim suggested, that would
be good.

>
> Ideally what you guys want to be aiming for is publicity from as many places
> as possible.
>
> I think the next steps forward are as follows:
>
> 1) vote on a logo
> 2) agree on a mission statement
> 3) start work on a dfey.org website
> 4) set up DFEY-SE infrastructure
> 5) organise a first DFEY-SE meeting
> 6) ping the link about DFEY-SE to every organisation, mailing list & blog on
> face of planet
> 7) cross your fingers and turn up.

Hmm.  Logo, that's a thought.  We need a website too, not that I'll be
making it!  Well, apart from content, I'm hopeless at design.
>
> Please, if you think there's something that could be done better or
> differently, say so - if you think you have a better idea, you probably do!
> :)

I don't, I think that is fine.  We should use twitter/identi.ca more.
I will get talking, once I get established, to people at my school
about it - there must be some people who use Linux who would be
interested!

Also one final thing, off topic, I will be leaving Bordeaux on Monday
morning and will only have internet until Sunday night and not have it
until mid to late August.  It's always the way, I go away when
something interesting requires my input!  But I'm sure you can work it
out yourselves and I'll chip in every so often when I go to places
with free WiFi to check and read emails (like McDonalds).

Isabell

--
Regards,
Isabell Long.  <[hidden email]>
[[User:Isabell121]] on all public Wikimedia projects.
OpenPGP Key ID: C395CE07

[Stephen Mount-2]

I'll be moving south, but I'll be in Manchester quite the majority of  
the summer for on-site work (which is going to cost a fortune in  
hotels and train fares!)

London will be more accessible to me possibly than Manchester, but  
I'll be hopping between Manchester/Wolverhampton/London quite a lot in  
the next few months, so all sorts of places I'll be able to attend.

Steve.

On 26 Jun 2009, at 06:53, Isabell Long wrote:

> 2009/6/26 Tim Dobson <[hidden email]>:
>> Robert Leverington wrote:
>>>
>>> We have actually had a chat about this, the generally feel was  
>>> that as
>>> an organisation we would need a set of defined aims/objectives  
>>> before
>>> doing anything much.
>>
>> Absolutely. I've been meaning to get this sort of thing out and  
>> defined for
>> quite a while now.
>>
>> I think this ties in nicely with the next major project once the  
>> Logo is
>> sorted (remember to VOTE!) which is to sort the website out.
>>
>> I know there is a lot of differing opinions on the technical  
>> solutions to
>> this and for the time being I'd prefer not to go into much detail  
>> about this
>> because I think clearly defining who we are and why we are is much  
>> more
>> important.
>>
>>> Obviously it will essentially be almost identical
>>> to DFEY NW, but for the south east - however it is still important  
>>> to
>>> completely understand why we're starting such a venture (and  
>>> something
>>> completely identical to DFEY NW is going to make less sense than
>>> something that both brings existing DFEY initiatives to the south,  
>>> as
>>> well as pioneering its own ideas); any suggestions would be good.
>>
>> Absolutely. We essentially need a clear mission statement.
>>
>>> I tried to start putting down ideas, etc., but that quickly failed  
>>> due
>>> to lack of interest - maybe when we all have a bit more time.
>>
>> Well, now is a fairly good time.
>>
>>
>>>> I think a DFEY-SE would get going fairly quickly - it just needs  
>>>> a few
>>>> people to drive it. :)
>>>
>>> Is/does anyone know anyone else who will be interested in this?
>>
>> Well, that's probably not a question to ask this list.
>>
>> DFEY-NW pulled people from:
>> * local technical mailing lists
>> * linux related teen communites (teensonlinux and ##teenlinux)
>> * word of mouth
>> * friends of existing people
>> * twitter/identi.ca
>> * local tech related events
>>
>> I've been talking to the IT teachers & Careers people at my  
>> (ex-)Sixth form
>> college and it looks like we'll start to get fed directly by at  
>> least one
>> educational establishment.
>
> Oh wow, that's good for you!
>>
>>> Currently I know of about three DFEY NW regulars who are/will be
>>> located in the south east (me, Isabell, and Connor), but it would be
>>> good to have more especially since we will be all located quite far
>>> away from one another making meetings more challenging.
>>
>> Absolutely.
>>
>> I suggest that once we can grab you guys some infrastructure, you  
>> mail
>> greater london LUG, and a few other places like that... We can also  
>> put the
>> word out via microblogging & IRC...
>
> I was thinking of joining Greater London LUG anyway at some point, it
> could be interesting.  http://www.gllug.org.uk/  But they do all seem
> to be grown *men* though, which kinda puts me off a bit, but I'm sure
> it's fine.  I'll look into it more anyway and once we're established
> if anyone fancies sending them an email, as Tim suggested, that would
> be good.
>>
>> Ideally what you guys want to be aiming for is publicity from as  
>> many places
>> as possible.
>>
>> I think the next steps forward are as follows:
>>
>> 1) vote on a logo
>> 2) agree on a mission statement
>> 3) start work on a dfey.org website
>> 4) set up DFEY-SE infrastructure
>> 5) organise a first DFEY-SE meeting
>> 6) ping the link about DFEY-SE to every organisation, mailing list  
>> & blog on
>> face of planet
>> 7) cross your fingers and turn up.
>
> Hmm.  Logo, that's a thought.  We need a website too, not that I'll be
> making it!  Well, apart from content, I'm hopeless at design.
>>
>> Please, if you think there's something that could be done better or
>> differently, say so - if you think you have a better idea, you  
>> probably do!
>> :)
>
> I don't, I think that is fine.  We should use twitter/identi.ca more.
> I will get talking, once I get established, to people at my school
> about it - there must be some people who use Linux who would be
> interested!
>
> Also one final thing, off topic, I will be leaving Bordeaux on Monday
> morning and will only have internet until Sunday night and not have it
> until mid to late August.  It's always the way, I go away when
> something interesting requires my input!  But I'm sure you can work it
> out yourselves and I'll chip in every so often when I go to places
> with free WiFi to check and read emails (like McDonalds).
>
> Isabell
>
> --
> Regards,
> Isabell Long.  <[hidden email]>
> [[User:Isabell121]] on all public Wikimedia projects.
> OpenPGP Key ID: C395CE07
>
>

[Connor Smith]

On Fri, 26 Jun 2009 07:53:14 +0200
Isabell Long <[hidden email]> wrote:

> I was thinking of joining Greater London LUG anyway at some point, it
> could be interesting.  http://www.gllug.org.uk/  But they do all seem
> to be grown *men* though, which kinda puts me off a bit, but I'm sure
> it's fine.  I'll look into it more anyway and once we're established
> if anyone fancies sending them an email, as Tim suggested, that would
> be good.

Sadly this is fairly common in LUGs... Which is why youth groups like
DFEY are important! ;)

By the way, the Uni I will (or, hope to) go to has, as far as I know, a
Free Software Society. Obviously I don't know what it'll be like or
anything, yet, but there's a chance I could get people interested from
there.

cls

[Paul Sutton]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

Connor Smith wrote:

> On Fri, 26 Jun 2009 07:53:14 +0200
> Isabell Long <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
>> I was thinking of joining Greater London LUG anyway at some point, it
>> could be interesting.  http://www.gllug.org.uk/  But they do all seem
>> to be grown *men* though, which kinda puts me off a bit, but I'm sure
>> it's fine.  I'll look into it more anyway and once we're established
>> if anyone fancies sending them an email, as Tim suggested, that would
>> be good.
>
> Sadly this is fairly common in LUGs... Which is why youth groups like
> DFEY are important! ;)

I organise meets for the Devon and cornwall Lug,  in general we have
people at the meet of all ages,  some are at uni,  some are retired,
however we all get on really well,  and some members have very good
knowledge of subjects.

I know at the bar b que last year,  one of the members who is invovled
in debian development (embedded) was advising one of our younger members
on C,

I think its worth setting up a dfey group where you are though and I wil
l see if I can talk to the right people who are involved with young
people here in the south west to do something similar.

Paul



>
> By the way, the Uni I will (or, hope to) go to has, as far as I know, a
> Free Software Society. Obviously I don't know what it'll be like or
> anything, yet, but there's a chance I could get people interested from
> there.
>
> cls


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[Connor Smith]

On Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:59:50 +0100
Paul Sutton <[hidden email]> wrote:

> I organise meets for the Devon and cornwall Lug,  in general we have
> people at the meet of all ages,  some are at uni,  some are retired,
> however we all get on really well,  and some members have very good
> knowledge of subjects.
>
> I know at the bar b que last year,  one of the members who is invovled
> in debian development (embedded) was advising one of our younger
> members on C,

I'm sure a healthy mix of young and older people would be great.
Unfortunately, it seems to be common that there are only one or two
young people, so they feel somewhat isolated, or looked down upon...
That was one of the reasons why DFEY was originally founded, if I
remember correctly. I think teen groups have their place, too, even if
its members also attend a mixed-age group. I suspect the general vibe
of the meetings would be very different.

cls

[Stephen Mount-2]

I go to a lot of events where I'm the only person under 18. Doesn't  
affect me majorly, but the events I turn up to aren't the majority of  
older people, which I believe isn't a healthy mix of people.

On 26 Jun 2009, at 14:43, Connor Smith wrote:

> On Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:59:50 +0100
> Paul Sutton <[hidden email]> wrote:
>
>> I organise meets for the Devon and cornwall Lug,  in general we have
>> people at the meet of all ages,  some are at uni,  some are retired,
>> however we all get on really well,  and some members have very good
>> knowledge of subjects.
>>
>> I know at the bar b que last year,  one of the members who is  
>> invovled
>> in debian development (embedded) was advising one of our younger
>> members on C,
>
> I'm sure a healthy mix of young and older people would be great.
> Unfortunately, it seems to be common that there are only one or two
> young people, so they feel somewhat isolated, or looked down upon...
> That was one of the reasons why DFEY was originally founded, if I
> remember correctly. I think teen groups have their place, too, even if
> its members also attend a mixed-age group. I suspect the general vibe
> of the meetings would be very different.
>
> cls