How Important is PLUG?

[BusterE]

Simply put - very!

Many of us ancient ones remember when many towns and cities had a Linux group. If you do a search now, you will find not very many. Sure, Ottawa, Toronto, and Waterloo are represented, and there are a few others. But there was a feeling years ago that if a town had a school and a general store, it would have some computer guys trying to establish this new, wondrous Linux group as a LUG. (Maybe I exaggerate a bit?  )

We have managed to survive, though not always prosper. And if we don't grow to a hundred members, at least we've keep the dream alive. And somewhere down the road this may be important for someone who likes the idea of a free unfettered OS supported in a co-operative venture.

In my opinion, for such a small group, we're really important, and I don't think we really think about it much. But in a tiny way, we make Peterborough a richer community.

Sounds grandiose doesn't it. But our next big anniversary will be a quarter century. That's pretty impressive. And quite a few of the people who drifted through our club over the years probably still use Linux in some way or other, and tell friends about it.  Our numbers don't reflect our influence over the years.

Check out how sparse LUGs have become in Ontario over the years: http://lugslist.com/ctry/canada.php?lg=en

[cod3poet]

Buster,

Thank you so much for posting this it's been touched on many times but never so eloquently put.

I know I am a drop in the pond vs the years of this LUG but this is a worthy dream and something that I very much wish to keep alive.

[Jason]

Thanks, Buster. That is a lovely way of putting it. I think we've definitely created some friendships over the years as well as percolating Linux into the community. My time at the helm has been fun and started just because I enjoyed Linux and wanted to let other people know about it but also find other people who used it. They say if you can't find a group of like-minded people, make one. And though I've often felt inadequate to the task, I've been appreciative of the many people who have responded over the years.

And I hope you come tonight, not just because we enjoy your company, Buster, but because I want you to sign my nomination papers (for City Councillor) among others. :-)