🚀 go-pugleaf

Hello All,
I've been letting the idea fester around for some time now and have
decided that the time is right to act on establishing a national
organisation representing Linux in Australia.

We have a number of excellent user groups already established, and
these are doing a great job in assisting existing users, attracting
new users and generally advocating pizza, but we lack any national
identity.

I've bounced the idea around the #linux channel on the OzNet IRC
network a bit and enough of us have expressed interest to think it
worth putting to the Australian Linux community.

What I have in mind is not an organisation to replace user groups,
on the contrary I imagine the Linux Organisation of Australia being
a group designed to assist and foster the development of user groups
by providing a range of umbrella facilities to them.

There are a range of things that a national organisation could
achieve that regionally focussed groups might not.

Examples might include:

- working as a central coordinating group arranging Linux
  conventions in Australia

- arranging visits and guest speakers for the regional User Groups

- Providing managed web and domain name services for Small user groups who
  might not otherwise be able to offer them.

- providing some sort of focussed identity for Linux users in Australia

We should be doing what we can to overcome the fears and concerns that
commercial organisations have about embracing Linux. We could do this
by publishing lists of organisations and individuals in Australia who
offer Linux support, making representations to the Media about Linux,
and ensuring that Linux is represented at mainstream computing conventions
and shows.

I'm interested in what you think.

We currently have a web site available at:

http://www.linux.org.au/

It is a work in progress and really probably isn't ready for publicity
yet, but it's there and it almost says what it needs to. You can help
by contributing.

The Linux Organisation of Australia (as it stands) can be reached by
mail at:

loa@linux.org.au

Discussion here of course is a perfectly reasonable thing too.

regards
Terry

-- 
Linux: standard and fully integrated support for Amateur Radio protocols
"Beware the Penguin".   http://sunsite.unc.edu/LDP/HOWTO/AX25-HOWTO.html