Forum OpenACS Q&A: Are there any OpenACS User Goups? How about the Bay Area?

1: Are there any OpenACS User Goups? How about the Bay Area?

Posted by Hawke R on 11/06/01 01:07 AM

Since user and group give so many hits on the search, I just thought
I'd ask.
Are there any organized User Groups? If so, any in the SF Bay Area?
If so, where can I get monthly meeting information etc?
If not, why not? :)
Thanks,

2: Response to Are there any OpenACS User Goups? How about the Bay Area? (response to 1)

Posted by Talli Somekh on 11/06/01 01:11 AM

Hawke,

There was an OpenACS social in early September, with a pretty good showing. I bet if someone organized or offered to host another one, a good showing of OACS people would all of a sudden materialize...

talli

3: Response to Are there any OpenACS User Goups? How about the Bay Area? (response to 1)

Posted by Hawke R on 11/06/01 01:24 AM

Well, if there's no organized OACSUG (say that fast 5 times, or more specifically East Bay - EBOACSUG - currently, someone should do something about it.

I'd offer, but I'm a newbie. But I'm tempted to anyway.
Great way to meet everyone.
Would anyone care if it was something informal like a Park or some such?

Thanks,

4: Response to Are there any OpenACS User Goups? How about the Bay Area? (response to 1)

Posted by Jerry Asher on 11/06/01 01:33 AM

A park would be fine, don't get me wrong, but at the last one held at a park, I felt it was difficult to locate the group (I never did), and other folks got eaten by mosquitos.

5: Response to Are there any OpenACS User Goups? How about the Bay Area? (response to 1)

Posted by Jerry Asher on 11/06/01 01:35 AM

I know what you're thinking, "eaten by mosquitos surely that's an exaggeration", but it's not, we lost some good developers that evening....

6: Response to Are there any OpenACS User Goups? How about the Bay Area? (response to 1)

Posted by Roberto Mello on 11/06/01 01:37 AM

We're planning to have a meeting of the Utah OpenACS UG at our 2nd Annual Free Software & Linux Forum (http//fslc.usu.edu/forum2001/), happenning on Nov 15th. Bruce Perens will be our keynote speaker and we are very excited abouth this event.

Hopefully we'll get OACS'ers from other states to show up. That'll be fun.

7: Response to Are there any OpenACS User Goups? How about the Bay Area? (response to 1)

Posted by Hawke R on 11/06/01 01:43 AM

To bad (not) :) I moved out of Utah a year ago.

Ok, makes sense that the park might not be ideal, especially with it getting dark early now.

My first thought was meet at a Denny's or some other inexpensive high capacity restaurant, and then some other place more appropriate (sort of like PMI does).

I haven't been to the libraries here (or anywhere in years really (thank you Internet)), but it used to be possible to "rent" "quiet rooms" for free, it was just a matter of scheduling.

Does anyone know if that's allowed here in CA?

Or any other gathering places like that?

Thanks,

8: Response to Are there any OpenACS User Goups? How about the Bay Area? (response to 1)

Posted by Jonathan Ellis on 11/06/01 03:45 AM

I wonder if you might have better attendance in SLC than in Logan... Sigh. I couldn't make it up to Logan in the middle of the week last year, and I can't this year either. You still might want to announce it at the aD fans SLC bboard in case people still have their notifications set. :)

9: Response to Are there any OpenACS User Goups? How about the Bay Area? (response to 1)

Posted by John Lowry on 11/06/01 04:13 AM

I can offer my home in Potrero Hill, San Francisco as a possible meeting space. I've hosted user group type meetings in the past and it works quite well. Access by car is very good, public transit is a bit trickier. If anyone wants to organize this meeting and thinks that Potrero Hill is a suitable location, please email me.

10: Response to Are there any OpenACS User Goups? How about the Bay Area? (response to 1)

Posted by Don Baccus on 11/06/01 05:33 AM

First of all, things like this Logan meeting ought to get out with advance notice. *ahem* - in my raptor field biologist disguise I have reason to go to SLC at times. And I'm more-or-less intimate with Logan.

So, who knows, announce this and I *may* show up (of course, you don't have to let me in if you don't want to!)

Bay Area ... I wish I could've made the last one but IIRC I was on the road...

11: Response to Are there any OpenACS User Goups? How about the Bay Area? (response to 1)

Posted by Talli Somekh on 11/06/01 05:51 AM

Don Baccus writes: "*ahem* - in my raptor field biologist disguise I have reason to go to SLC at times."

Whoa. There are still dinasours in Utah?? Don, are they really as intelligent, cunning and dangerous as Jurassic Park said they were?

As far as east coast OACS socials, I hope to be able to set something up later this month or early next in NYC. Depends on if "Dr." Kurup can get away from his "patients" to reaffirm his official position of Primary Numero Uno OACS Hula Girlie Supremo.

That's always a big if, of course.

Stay tuned.

talli

12: Response to Are there any OpenACS User Goups? How about the Bay Area? (response to 1)

Posted by Roberto Mello on 11/06/01 06:57 AM

Jonathan,

Somebody e-mailed me with the same suggestion (why not Salt Lake City?). Here's my response to him ("the U" == "University of Utah", BTW):


> On Fri, Nov 02, 2001 at 01:51:36PM -0700, xxxxxxxxx wrote:                                                                                                    
> > I'd love to come, but I probably won't do to the travel time. Perhaps                                                                                       
> > the U would be a more central location to host "the largest free/open                                                                                       
> > source software/Linux event in Utah" ?                                                                                                                      
>                                                                                                                                                               
> Probably, but our LUG/Free Software Club is at USU and that's where we                                                                                     
> get all the privileges of an official USU club: almost-free venues, money                                                                                     
> from the department, etc.                                                                                                                                     
>                                                                                                                                                               
> Most importantly, we took the effort. Nothing's stopping anyone from                                                                                          
> doing it at the U or BYU, but we are here and we were willing to make the                                                                                     
> effort to make it happen for 2 consecutive years.                                                                                                             
>                                                                                                                                                               
> If other events like this happenned at the U, BYU, Weber, SLCC, etc.                                                                                          
> excellent! We'd have more people looking at free software/Linux, more                                                                                         
> students finding out the possibilities, and more correct information being                                                                                    
> spread.
>                                                                                                                                                               
> Regarding travel time, it's only 1:30 h from SLC. Not bad at all. I think                                                                                     
> it's more than worth it. I drove 18 hours to get to Linux World for                                                                                           
> example.

So there it is why.

Don, I invited you (and Ben, and everyone else) to come to this forum about 2 months ago. I guess I should post a news item 😊

We'd love to have you (Don) and anyone else in the OpenACS wagon hop along in this event. Jon Griffin just e-mailed me and is thinking of coming and perhaps setting up an OpenACS presentation (which I'd be glad to join in).

In fact, we are looking to have a "Open Source in Education" 'track' and OpenACS would serve as an excellent example, especially if someone involved with ACES/.LRN would show up (*huge hint*)!

13: Response to Are there any OpenACS User Goups? How about the Bay Area? (response to 1)

Posted by Roberto Mello on 11/06/01 07:09 AM

Jonathan,

Forgot to address the middle-of-the-week issue.

The date picked both last year and this year was up to the keynote speaker. Neither Stallman or Perens are receiving a dime (from us) to come speak here, so we can't really say "we want you to come on this day". All we can say is "we have this big (for us) free software/Linux event that we'd love to have you speak at. Would you like to come, and if so, when would it be best for you?"

It'd be great if we could have it in a saturday, but unless you have someone coughing up money, it is entirely up to the speaker, so we take whatever we can get, because one forum is better than none.

Regardless, Bruce Perens' keynote speech is at 7 PM, so if you leave SLC at 5:00 PM after your work, you'll get here in time for the speech.

14: Response to Are there any OpenACS User Goups? How about the Bay Area? (response to 1)

Posted by Michael A. Cleverly on 11/06/01 07:10 AM

I'm planning on attending together with Louis Zirkel & Andrew Spencer. Anyone else needing a ride to Logan from Salt Lake (or Provo if you can get a ride, bus, or catch Trax to SLC), just drop me an email.

15: Response to Are there any OpenACS User Goups? How about the Bay Area? (response to 1)

Posted by Vinod Kurup on 11/06/01 04:34 PM

> Depends on if "Dr." Kurup can get away from his "patients" to
> reaffirm his official position of Primary Numero Uno OACS Hula
> Girlie Supremo.

hmmm... the visual hallucinations continue. while talli has made great strides in recent weeks, i fear that his grip on reality is fading. We'll either need to increase his medication again or I'll have to refer him to Dr. Farkas for placement in an internet VC firm.

16: Response to Are there any OpenACS User Goups? How about the Bay Area? (response to 1)

Posted by Talli Somekh on 11/06/01 04:49 PM

"Dr." Kurup,

While I appreciate the recommendation you gave to the nice men in white uniforms who carry the butterfly nets to come and play with me, I am somewhat perturbed that it was not you who chose to personally visit. Dr. Lecter and I enjoyed the meal these two fellows provided, but we did so wish that you could have joined us as well.

Please be forewarned, sir, next time there is an OACS social and the lampshade is once again is atop your head and your Superman Underoos are again around your ankles, I will be ready with my Canon e9600wx with 75 mm Nikon lens, dual TTL Kodak 320 Lightning flashes and Fuji 400 film. And believe you me, "Dr." Kurup, that picture will be posted on the InterWeb before you can say, "Nurse, I need another spong bath!"

Sincerely,

talli

17: Response to Are there any OpenACS User Goups? How about the Bay Area? (response to 1)

Posted by Jerry Asher on 11/06/01 09:26 PM

Hmm. Maybe it wasn't the mosquitos.

18: Response to Are there any OpenACS User Goups? How about the Bay Area? (response to 1)

Posted by Stan Kaufman on 11/07/01 01:51 AM

Regarding the SF Bay Area, I personally would be happy to help create and run such a group if there is adequate interest. Since this discussion has mostly local/regional interest, I've set up a group on my site where this thread can be moved.

Go here and you'll get to the main group page once you've bounced through registration. Then click the request to join link (I've set this group on with a 'wait' policy.) I've created some group-scoped forums and polls to facilitate discussion of this.

If there is enough interest, I also am happy to offer Epimetrics World Headquarters (ok, our house) as a meeting place. We're very close to Muni in SF and also have abundant street parking on our block.

(For those who don't live here, having a parking strategy is a crucial survival skill in SF. There a story told of a woman who the cops found lying in the street along the curb, and when they asked her why she was there, she said, "This parking space just opened up, so my husband has gone to buy a car.")

Anyway, if we end up meeting here, I'm also happy to provide beer&munchies. Even if there isn't adequate interest for in-person meetings, I'd like to foster better connections among local developers. It would be useful to know who is interested and available to collaborate on gigs. I have some things potentially in the works on which I may need some help.

Stan

19: Response to Are there any OpenACS User Goups? How about the Bay Area? (response to 1)

Posted by David Geilhufe on 11/07/01 08:18 PM

I think there is enough interest in the Bay area expecially if someone else (Stan) is willing to organize and manage it. Maybe it can alternate between John & Stan's homes ;)

If we get to the actual organizing step, drop me an email and I'll get you the list of participants from the last Bay Area social.

20: Response to Are there any OpenACS User Goups? How about the Bay Area? (response to 1)

Posted by Stan Kaufman on 11/07/01 08:57 PM

David, I've got the list that Todd sent out. Thanks. Once enough of them have indicated an interest, I'll propose a meeting time. Probably early December.

21: Response to Are there any OpenACS User Goups? How about the Bay Area? (response to 1)

Posted by Hawke R on 11/08/01 01:15 AM

Umm, you might want to fix an editorial glitch on that join sentence.
it says
"The administrator approves users who wish to end this group. Submit your name for approval."
You wish to END this group. gasp! :)
Just FYI.
Thanks,
-Hawke

22: Response to Are there any OpenACS User Goups? How about the Bay Area? (response to 1)

Posted by Stan Kaufman on 11/08/01 01:23 AM

Nice pickup; thanks! I see that that typo is part of the out-of-the-box 3.2.5 code. If anyone is still downloading 3.2.5, it would probably be worth fixing in the repository.