[ilugd] [PLUG] [x-post] foss events list in india 2008?

[Linux Lingam]

>
> http://www.linuxjournal.com/xstatic/community/events is one road to
> take,

nah! too generic. would be great to have an india or india-centric
list to which ilnuxjournal could link.

>upcoming and/or facebook is another.

facebook? i think they got bought over by microsoft. also wonder how
easy is it for people to view, add, edit, or comment *without*
registering to their service. nah! personally, i would not recommend
facebook to anyone serious about foss, but you can tar me for that
later. so far my opinion on this, for myself, still stands. sorry. so
no flames or whatever on this, let's stick to the topic at hand.


> Point of course is that most
> of the "FOSS" events in India don't have the time or energy to chalk out
> a media/public face plan that would ensure greater and organised
> participation from delegates and speakers

well let's try to actively solve this problem. here's what we could do:

a) figure out one central place where anyone anywhere can log in and
list an event. should this be a wiki/twiki site? please respond, and
let's try to finalize this within 2 or 3 days. this way, we don't have
to go through this awkward x-posted mailing thread.

b) every fortnight or month, we could send out an email reminder on
mailing lists to register events at this public repository. i
volunteer to do this to the few mailing lists am subscribed to, but
others interested could help and spread the word.

c) similarly, those who list out events, such as openitis or nrcfoss
or others, could be requested, nudged, prodded, or as a last resort
pushed :-) to list or link to this list, so everyone knows what's
happening where and when.

d) events that i attend, have decided to photo-document using a cc-by
or liberal license. this am doing at flickr. am doing this in the hope
of giving faces to names to so many many people quietly working and
doing valuable little things in the foss community of india. this
according to me, is the one solid way of correcting the
'reality-distortion' of having a handful of demonic-gods and
ego-maniacs tending to usurp the indian foss community. let the
community lead. let the community be known. let everyone in the
community be given their recognition.
of course, everyone else is also encouraged to give as many pixelled
faces to the indian foss community as possible.
i'd like to call this the 'fossbook' :-) and we could use flickr,
picasa, or whatever else you've got.


> LFY had its moments to emerge as the consolidated calendar site, but I'd
> daresay that they have lost it

LFY has lost *to some extent* on their initial credibility, goodwill,
and momentum, but so far, hope springs eternal. :-)
currently, they're great for spiking up responses on mailing lists ;-)
they also need a new direction beyond the 'linux' pond into the bigger
ocean of foss and beyond. rahul is trying that with LFY's new avatar.
unfortunately, it is still a long, slow, work-in-progress, which it
shouldn't be.

they seemed to have honed in on their positioning for their event,
but i wish they'd sharpen and focus more on the core essence of all
things foss and linux, the valuesystem. if they get that part right,
they'll rock in all dimensions, and also figure out how to squarely
and responsibly handle microsoft and other proprietary players without
allowing them to ride on LFY's shoulders to damage the foss community.
(drink-and-drive policy). okay enough said! back to the list.

if we decide where to host this list, we could get off this
mail-thread immediately.
the list must encourage and allow tentative schedules and 'to be
decided' entries, just so we have an early heads up. some suggested
fields:

event name.
dates/schedules
venue
contact people
website
mailing list/forum/wiki
past events links
target audience
expected numbers
objective
event-type: sponsored, or community-driven
entry: registration, paid, mixed, rent-a-crowd... :-)


:-)
niyam