Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1999 01:55:54 -0500 (EST) From: Kenneth Wayne Culver <culverk@wam.umd.edu> To: gummibear@we.mediaone.net Cc: questions@FreeBSD.ORG, chat@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: State of the union, 1999. - Concerning User Groups Message-ID: <Pine.GSO.3.95q.990111014902.26820A-100000@rac6.wam.umd.edu> In-Reply-To: <3.0.1.32.19990110223521.006a52bc@we.mediaone.net>
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> Okay, I'm sending this to Questions because I have a few questions for you > all. But, if you want the condensed version of all this, then here it is: > > Do you you want to see FreeBSD succeed? If you do, then you should really > get involved. > > Please read on. :) > > > At 10:47 PM 1/9/99 -0800, "Jordan K. Hubbard wrote: > >Looking forward: > > > >Our users also need to become more involved and I'm hoping that 1999 > >will be the year when a lot more local user groups and other self-help > >type of organizations are formed. The Handbook and FAQ are documents > >which are getting better, hopefully another trend we'll see continue > >into 1999 as Nik Clayton, our fearless new Documentation Project > >leader, continues at the helm. We still have to remember, however, > >that for many users the handbook and FAQ docs are just not enough. > > I totally agree here. Users really need to get involved. I have noticed > that there is a FreeBSD Webring. I think that is one of the greatest > things that has been thought of for FreeBSD Advocacy. If you're HTML savy > and have something to say about FreeBSD, then by all means put your HTML > skills to work and let people know what you think about FreeBSD. You > create an online FreeBSD diary dedicated on what you did when you > installed, what problems you had and how you fixed them, what software > packages you liked the best, how did you set up your kernel, etc. Use your > imagination and have some fun with it! :) > > > > >Linux has succeeded largely because of a large grass-roots support and > >evangelism network which allows it to reach such people and > >communicate the message to them. If FreeBSD's own users want to see > >FreeBSD doing better against whomever they most perceive as its > >competition, and 1998 was certainly a year where I heard a lot of > >complaining about this, then they're going to simply have to get off > >their collective duffs and put in more of this kind of work. When was > >the last time a bunch of FreeBSD users got together to hand out > >FreeBSD literature at a Microsoft product launch, for example, or held > >an install-a-thon at a local computer show? > > Yes!!! That is exactly how Linux got so popular. It was the Linux addicts > and the Linux obsessed that let the world know that Linux is a great > operating system. Let's learn from their success and try to do what they > did, but instead we'd be telling the world how great FreeBSD is and that > sort of stuff. But, let's not make it a Linux vs. FreeBSD thing. ;) I'm > am totally prepared to go to Computer Shows and pass out FreeBSD flyers, or > better yet, FreeBSD News letters straight from the source. Are you willing > to work for your OS? Think about all the fun you'll have going to computer > shows looking at the neat hardware and stuff while promoting your favorite > sofware (FreeBSD). > > >The Linux folks do things like that all the time, apparently, whereas > >only a very few die-hard FreeBSD users currently do it now, so why not > >help these people out? Join the advocacy@freebsd.org mailing list and > >discuss your plans there so that others with more enthusiasm than > >ideas can also learn from and perhaps help you with yours. Write > >short articles for the new advocacy sites like www.daemonnews.org or > >www.freebsdrocks.com and help promote the success of BSD evangelical > >publications. > > This is where the big question comes in. Are you willing to work for your > OS? If you are, then lets band together and let people know that FreeBSD > is a killer OS. Who should we let know of this information? I'm currently > planning a few things. Here they are: > > 1) Do research on FreeBSD vs. NT servers and FreeBSD vs. Linux servers. > Probably show which can handle more users, and what-not. > > 2) Try to push the FreeBSD Webring. > > 3) Try to push for more X support, and perhaps try to come up with a voting > scheme for a default windowmanager for FreeBSD or something like that. > > 4) Bombard every magazine that I know politely letting them know that I > found a great OS that is totally free and totally awesome (ack, I'm > starting to sound valley - like fer sure). Also, I have noticed some > letters to magazines by people pushing the free software thing, but only > mentioning Linux. Okay, I feel if you are going to be a "Free Sofware > Advocate" then don't be so one-sided and only mention Linux, try mentioning > the other free OS's and stuff. (FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, Hurd, Linux, > etc) Just to be fair. > > Hopefully, this project of mine will be done before Febuary. I may need > help with writing letters to magazines. I'm thinking of an easily > modifyable (that's probably not a word) form letter that can be changed for > different target audiences. > > Can anyone help? > I'd be glad to help. FreeBSD is the best OS I've ever used. I am running FreeBSD-current as of right now (cvsupped about 2 days ago, and make world done yesterday) and it is still one of the most stable OSs I've ever seen (I've used UniCOS (Cray), and Digital UNIX (OSF1), and IRIX, and SunOS, Solaris, Win 95, Win 98, and Win NT) and FreeBSD outdoes all the MS stuff, and as far as I can tell it outdoes even Digital Unix, IRIX, and the two sun UNIXs. Not to mention it is easier to install and upgrade than the commercial UNIXs (and for some even easier to install than the MS products). It is just amazing. But anyway, I'd be glad to go to local computer shows, and not just hand out flyers, but actually have a booth, (I may need some sort of financial support here.) where FreeBSD-stable, or -current is demonstrated, and the CD's (from Walnut Creek) are sold. I live in Maryland, and I was wondering if anyone could help. Kenneth Culver To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
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