[SlugBug] Re: Suggestions

[Neil R Porter]

On Tue, 2003-07-15 at 19:47, Bruno Postle wrote:
> We've had some suggestions off-list about how we should be going
> about this - Personally I haven't given it much thought.
> 
> > I would like to help ensure that you're doing it 'right' to avoid
> > many of the mistakes of Sheflug.
> >
> > Firstly, I would change the name to avoid stepping on toes (well,
> > as far as is possible ;). Slugbug is kind of neat, but doesn't
> > expand very well, and I would name the area differently. London
> > have two (among many) major lugs, Gllug and Lonix. Please ensure
> > that you differentiate yourselves somehow, even if it's just
> > calling yourselves LovelyLUG or something. South Yorkshire isn't
> > taken, and would fit with the West Yorks and East Yorks scheme
> > already in place.

Sounds good to me, and as another Neil has pointed out, it could still
be pronounced Slug :)

> > I think it would also be useful for you guys - if you are the
> > people who are 'running' the show - to put in place some actual,
> > public information about what you are doing. That means:
> >
> >  i.   Explaining what you are doing
> >  ii.  Explaining why you are doing it
> >  iii. Being publically responsible for Slugbug
> >  iv.  Explaining why your way is better than the current way (extra
> >       marks for putting in place some kind of authority structure -
> >       benevolent dictatorship hasn't shown itself to work)

Wise words imo.  I run a large community based website.  It gets about
7000 uniques/day and rising (i.e. a fair amount of traffic and
visitors).  There's an IRC chatroom, phpBB forum and the rest on there
and I've found that points 1>4 are essential for the smooth operation of
it.  Point 4 is crucial, as I've also found that while I have the final
say, in the sense that it runs on one of my servers, I never actually
have to have one.  Moderation is shared, and therefore responsibility is
shared and this has brought a GREAT sense of community into play, and a
lot more gets done in the process.  Doesn't it make you feel all warm
and gooey inside too? :)

However, specifically:-
i - fairly straight forward, but here is my take.  I would like to be a
part of a friendly, no-l33t speaking (ahem, sorry Alex :p), non nit-wit
run, group of people who share a common interest, whether it be in an
IRC channel, forum, or over a pint or two.
ii - Why... hmmm, that's a good one.  Obviously the standard text about
why LUGs exist should suffice, but perhaps a little more would be
required for this, as it is definitely treading on the toes of an
already established LUG in our area.  Putting across why this one has
been started (I like Bruno's forked idea) in another's stead would have
to be handled diplomatically.
iii - Sure, this is important and could be a difficult one to sort out -
well, maybe.
iv - Have you seen the sheflug website lately?  nuff said ;)

Well, I suppose I'm still smarting after my phone conversation with
Richard just before he hoiked me off the list, so if some of this comes
across a little unprofessional then I apologise.  However, at least I
can apologise and see where I make my mistakes and accept others points
of view over mine; if only Richard had similar sensibilities perhaps we
wouldn't be in this mess.

Onwards and sideways eh, and I promise not to mention Richard's name
again. ;)

Neil
-- 
Neil R Porter <n.r.porter at btinternet.com>