[ale] ALS - A few thoughts

[Danny Cox]

All,

On Tue, 19 Sep 2000, michael d. ivey wrote:

> On Tue, Sep 19, 2000 at 04:42:41PM -0400, Vaidhyanathan Mayilrangam wrote:
> > Just read a few days ago from the list that ALS is now moving from city to 
> > city and will be in Oakland, CA next year. It saddens me to think that the
> > showcase which was a part of Atlanta Linux scene will no longer be Atlanta's.
> 
> I just heard on debian-devel.  I'm not surprised, but it is a shame.
> There are so many West Coast Linux shows.  And LW in New York.  And
> everywhere else...except the Southeast.  Isn't the Durham show gone,
> too?

	Yes, it is.
 
> > Maybe it is time we need to start a new convention for linux folks in
> > Southeast, every six months.. Sorta get-together for the local LUGs?
> > Where folks could demo their machines, ask questions, conduct forums etc..
> 
> I'm all in favor.  The best ALSes were the early ALSes.  Re-capturing
> some of that feel, plus replacing a show in the Southeast sounds like a
> great idea.  The problem is coordination.
> 
> How does ALS staff, especially from the years past, feel about the move?

	I am disappointed too.  The main problem was finding a venue.
Apparently the Galleria simply wanted more commitment than we were willing
to give, so we had to start looking elsewhere.

	We had bounced this idea around before, but it always degenerated
into suggestions like 'ALS Armenia' or 'ALS Aruba' or even 'ALS Antarctica'
(anyone see a theme here? ;-).

	For several reasons, USENIX must decide the venue.  First, they're
financially responsible; second, they have the staff and experience to
properly negotiate with venues; and third, they have 20+ years of clout
that ALS doesn't.  Venue management will talk to USENIX where they wouldn't
even consider speaking to 'a bunch of trade show volunteers', which is how
we're still perceived.

	We have also wanted to host a smaller event, like an install fest,
but no one has stepped forward to lead it.  The current board already has
plenty of work to do, in addition to our real jobs, and we could use some
help.  It's probably too late to bring anyone in for ALS 2000, but I know
the board will be smaller next year, and we need new blood.

	We need people who are willing to sacrifice a great deal of their
time, energy, creative juices, and a little blood, to bring off ALS 2001,
and also to "own" a local install fest.  By "own", I mean just that: this
is your baby, you coordinate everything: date, location, schedule, vendor
involvment, sponsors (ALS can help, but I'm not the money person),
advertisements, hardware, software, volunteers, power, internet....  You see 
the magnitude?  An install fest is a much smaller event, but it's still like
herding cats (hi Blake!)!

	We (I'm speaking for the Board here) are decidedly in favor of holding 
local events like an install fest.  However, none of us are willing to take
on that responsibility.  For those of us with a family, we'd be lynched for
sure!  If someone (or several someones) would like to take the ball and run
with this idea, I'll be happy to support them however I can.  The other 
Board members must speak for themselves (they've not had problems speaking 
before ;-).

	Okay, enough jabbering from me.  DISCLAIMER: I am a Board member,
and I *think* I'm spouting the Board's collective reasoning, but I may be
incorrect, of course.  In those cases, I speak only for myself.

	In the meantime, please spread the word about ALS 2000.  See
http://www.linuxshowcase.org for details and registration.  We have MANY 
vendors this year, the conference looks excellent, Linux In Action is back, 
as well as the XFree86 Hothouse and the Dave & Buster's party.  Ken Coar and 
Larry Wall are our keynotes (Larry is sure to be a scream!), along with a guy 
from Google (my apologies; I've never been good with names, and getting older 
isn't helping).  User Friendly is having a Quake III "Skins" contest.  Imagine 
meeting Stef in Quake (grin!).  See http://www.userfriendly.org for those 
details.

Danny

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