BerkeleyLUG Google Groups (list)-possibly migrate to... And now some great news!!

[goossbears]

On Saturday, April 3, 2021 at 1:29:29 PM UTC-7 michae...@cal.berkeley.edu wrote:

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...if we wanted to, e.g. change that instead to a mailman managed
list (already have other mailman hosted lists on the same host that hosts
http[s]://[www.][pi.]berkeleylug.com/), could, e.g. migrate that to
mailman. That would put it more in "our" control (and more out of Google's
control / out from under Google's thumb), and make it easier to, e.g.
backup. In any case, the list postings are public, so at least that part
of it probably doesn't make a huge difference (at least if it also gets
backed up at least once in a while) ... but other considerations might
be more significant.

Anyway, so ... what say y'all?

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Quoting goossbears <acoh...@gmail.com>:
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...
Minuses/--
- As the renown adage goes; "If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It!"
Besides The Google Factor issue as mentioned above, What other specific problems/"brokenness" are there with Google Groups that a mailman-managed list can definitely fix -- but without the latter introducing its _own_ unique problems??

- Timing
Having live BerkeleyLUG meetups, IMNSHO, is so much better than the virtual meetups via Jit.si Meet for a number of reasons which won't go into further detail here and now.
It's entirely possible that more local people will want to participate in live BerkeleyLUG meetups when it's entirely permissible to do -- even including those on the current Google Groups mailing-list -- rather than virtually participate via Jit.si meet.  Therefore ISTM that as far as keeping and attracting more active BerkeleyLUG participation given current predictions of live meetup venue reopenings, there is no impending urgency at all to initiate a potential switch from a Google Groups mailing-list to one managed by mailman.

---
Of course, the big Million Dollar Question then is When will the COVID-19 Pandemic subside enough to finally hold live meetups??
As we can all see from the California's COVID-19 Pandemic-related covid19.ca.gov 'Blueprint for a Safer Economy' links https://covid19.ca.gov/safer-economy/#county-status , https://covid19.ca.gov/safer-economy/ and https://covid19.ca.gov/industry-guidance/#restaurants,  Alameda County remains in the Orange/Moderate Tier.
Even when the county reaches the Yellow/Minimal Tier, possible in-person BerkeleyLUG venues will only be limited to ...
*  Indoor with modifications
*  Capacity must be limited to 50%
Green Tier restriction-loosenings better allowing live meetups by Summertime??
In any case and while all of us may expect and hope that we'll be able to "mark our independence from this virus" on July 4th of this Summer -- as President Joe Biden specifically stated in his 'Speech On Coronavirus, 1 Year Into Pandemic' https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/03/11/975420676/biden-to-address-the-nation-marking-1-year-of-coronavirus-pandemic -- it's also entirely conceivable that lingering effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic could extend all the way up to or beyond Labor Day Weekend of this year, and thus directly affect the timeline of full business reopenings including venues for live BerkeleyLUG meetups :-\
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Well, some very optimistic news that came out yesterday is that in-person BerkeleyLUG meetups could really happen again this very Summer (at least in theory) :-D
Please see yesterday's news stories about California eliminating the color-coded Tier System and reopening all businesses and activities by June 15, e.g.,
+ SF Examiner's 'State to reopen all businesses and activities by June 15'
https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/state-to-reopen-all-businesses-and-activities-by-june-15/
+ SF Chronicle's 'Calif. to lift most COVID restrictions; economy to reopen June 15'
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/calif-to-lift-most-covid-restrictions-economy-to-reopen-june-15/ar-BB1fmgv9
+ CBS SF Bay Area's 'California Could Lift All COVID-19 Restrictions Statewide, Eliminate Tier System By June 15th'
https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2021/04/06/covid-california-reopening-june-15th/
+ The California Dept of Public Health's memo 'Beyond the Blueprint for a Safer Economy'
https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/beyond_memo.aspx

Of course much could happen between now and June 15th to push that timeline further into the future, especially from new surge(s) in COVID-19 cases from the proliferation of more infectious/deadly variants :-(
And who really knows whether possible BerkeleyLUG meetup venues such as local cafes and restaurants will be able to newly open or fully re-open by that time?
And even if/when viable in-person BerkeleyLUG meetup venues at local establishments open up by then, in all likelihood such Berkeley businesses are liable to be mobbed by what could essentially be the Fullblown Cabin Fever Release of individuals and groups of Cal students, prospective Cal students, Cal faculty, visitors, non-student locals (such as BerkeleyLUG ;-} ), ...etc from whatever social-distancing and space-restrictions/"pods" they've/we've been in under the last year or so -- at least for the Summertime short-term :-/

Hopefully, we'll be able to fully continue our Pandemic-postponed conversations about where to have in-person BerkeleyLUG meetups right around that time at the end of Spring :-D

-Aaron