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Message from discussion Linux Users Group of Bosnia and Herzegovina (LUG BiH)
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Dan Brickley  
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 More options Jan 8 2012, 2:45 pm
From: Dan Brickley <dan...@danbri.org>
Date: Sun, 8 Jan 2012 20:45:39 +0100
Local: Sun, Jan 8 2012 2:45 pm
Subject: Re: Linux Users Group of Bosnia and Herzegovina (LUG BiH)
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Hi Vedran, all,

On 4 January 2012 22:40, Vedran Ljubovic <vljubo...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Hello list,

> I'm writing on behalf of LUG BiH (locally abbreviated as ULK BiH). We
> would like to support this effort and offer our help! Here is a (not
> very) brief introduction to our group: [...] [...]

(thanks for the history, really interesting!)

> The fact is that our group is decreasing in active membership and
> weekly meetings are not so regular any more. Our projects mostly went
> out of use, we have shut down Pootle and mailing list server and are
> now shutting down the wiki due to security concerns because noone has
> used those facilities for years. The people that founded this LUG have
> moved on with their lives and other priorities, and noone stood up to
> replace them. Our website and forum stats show that there is an
> increasing number of Linux users, but decreasing number of active LUG
> members. We are open to honest and constructive criticism of our
> actions and suggestions for improvement of this situation.

That kind of rhythm isn't so unusual in projects and online communities...

> There is a growing sentiment among our members that localization is
> neither necessary nor useful. A number of people have publicly stated
> that they would gladly contribute in any way *except* localization
> (yes, this includes writing code) because they see localization as the
> lowest form of menial labor for which they expect to be payed. Our
> group is lobbying for government funding of FLOSS localization,
> unfortunately we've only once received a modest support for
> localization of Ubuntu and OpenOffice.org in 2009.

> Also, it must be said that philosophical and, should I say political
> aspects of FLOSS are not very welcomed by the average Bosnian. Bosnia
> is a country that has had too much of politics in the past years, and
> people have grown allergic to ideas that smell of politics (such as
> "free as freedom"). Thus, Stallmans visit last year met with very
> little public reaction. Most of forum goers appreciate Linux as a
> technically superb product, not because they believe that all software
> should be free (or "free"). In the past some of our members had plans
> for registering a FLOSS org (or a FSF chapter) but these ideas met
> with little support.

Yeah there is sometimes a kind of almost-religious enthusiasm for free
software sometimes, which can be a bit alienating for people who have
different enthusiasms.

I talked with Mdupont about this a bit a couple years ago -
https://groups.google.com/group/free-software-conference/msg/629b3961...
- and your comment suggests that a slightly different focus might be
useful here: if people ... "appreciate Linux as a technically superb
product, not because they believe that all software should be free (or
"free")", maybe other related topics could help make meetings / events
/ discussions more attractive? For example also adding a focus on
Web/Internet standards and technologies, ... and on learning new
stuff.

The freedom side of software is important too, ... but it might not be
the best motivation to get people to meet and collaborate. Are people
more likely to meet up because they want to move the world to adopt
free software, or because they think they'll learn something or enjoy
themselves or otherwise benefit?

Having a broader focus (e.g. talks on HTML5 or modern Javascript or
XML processing or open data...) could work well for those who care
about the 'free' message, as it gives a wider audience for their
message. But it also gives a place for technologists and hackers who
might care more about using technology to solve other problems, than
about solving the problems  of technology.

> ===
> All that said, we can provide modest support for this project in the
> form of experience and contacts. Our subgroup in Zenica organized a
> yearly Linux seminar which sadly didn't continue past 2005 (website is
> also down). The hardest part IMO will be finding volunteers for ground
> work.

> Sorry for this lenghty post, I hope that you find time to wrestle with
> my poor English and get the core message.

Your English is really fine! I wish I could be so clear in another language...

Thanks,

Dan

> Best regards and good luck with your efforts,

> Vedran Ljubović


 
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