tlug: TLUG Members Guide Available

[Craig Oda <craig@example.com>]

Hi,
with the influx of members, I thought it might be appropriate
to try to create a guide book that helps new TLUG members
use the resources available and get involved with the
group faster.  Toward this end, I've created a draft of
a users guide for review or distribution.  I'm kind of
modelling it after a software project where there are
users and developers.  The new users of TLUG may need directions
on how to access the resources and participate.  The
people that want to develop the group, might need some
type of indication of where the volunteer efforts are
needed, especially if they are new.  

I've archived this at 
http://www.twics.com/~tlug/guide/tlug_user-guide.html

Since it is written with linuxdoc, I also have the PostScript
and PDF versions if someone wants it to print and pass out
at some other meeting or function.

I'm including the text here for everyone's reference.  Feel
free to e-mail it to someone if you think the person
wants to join us.


Regards,
Craig

  Tokyo Linux Users Group (TLUG) Members Guide
  C. Oda
  January 18, 1998
  ____________________________________________________________

  Table of Contents:

  1.	Overview

  2.	History

  3.	Features and Benefits

  3.1.	Mailing List

  3.2.	Archive Access

  3.3.	Web Site

  3.4.	Meetings

  3.5.	Parties

  3.6.	Discounts

  3.7.	Prizes

  3.8.	Software and Book Library

  4.	Size of Group

  5.	Structure of Group

  6.	Joining TLUG

  7.	Helping Out

  8.	Using TLUG Resources

  8.1.	Appropriate Material for Mailing List

  8.2.	Inappropriate Material for Mailing List

  8.3.	Strategies for Dealing of the Mailing List Volume

  8.3.1.  Sort by subject line

  8.3.2.  Sort by To:

  8.3.3.  Subscribe to the TLUG Digest

  8.3.4.  Thread the subject line

  9.	Organization Information
  ______________________________________________________________________

  1.  Overview

  The Tokyo Linux Users Group is a non-profit non-political volunteer
  organization that seeks to 1) spread the use of Linux in Japan, 2)
  provide quality information on Linux related technology to its
  membership, and 3) serve as a gateway between the Japanese Linux
  community and the rest of the Linux world.

  2.  History

  o  June 16, 1994: establishment of a Linux conference on a local ISP
     by Jim Tittsler.  The beginning of TLUG.

  o  September 1994: first physical meeting at Ed Harter's house.  Over
     large quantities of Mexican food and a couple of beers, the name
     Tokyo Linux Users Group (TLUG) is decided upon through voting.

  o  September 1994: Craig Oda begins TLUG web site

  o  1994: Nori Nishigaya sets up the first mailing list on his Linux
     box called Metanoia.

  o  July 9, 1995: Craig moves mailing list to his ISP after Metanoia
     crashes.  Digest is created and both the list and digest are
     archived for public access.  All data is backed up on tape.  :-)

  o  1996: Jim Schweizer becomes first official TLUG Webmaster

  o  October 1997: first election of club officers.

  3.  Features and Benefits

  3.1.	Mailing List

  The TLUG mailing list is the main forum for discussion.  Everyone is
  welcome to join and post questions in either Japanese or English.  To
  join the mailing list send e-mail to majordomo@example.com and
  include

      subscribe tlug
      end

  In the body of the message.  A digest version of the list is avail-
  able.	The digest is sent out once a day or when 40,000 characters
  have been spooled.  The digest can be subscribed to in place of the
  mailing list.	It is useful for people that receive large volumes of
  mail.

  To subscribe to the TLUG digest, send mail to
  majordomo@example.com and include

      subscribe tlug-digest
      end

  in the body of the message.

  To unsubscribe to the list or digest, replace the word subscribe with
  unsubscribe.	Help on additional commands for the mailing list are
  available by sending e-mail to majordomo@example.com and placing
  the command

     help
     end

  in the body of the message.

  Currently, Majordomo 1.94.4 is used as the TLUG mailing list software.

  3.2.	Archive Access

  All e-mail messages sent to the mailing list are archived and
  available to TLUG members.   To see a listing of the archive, send e-
  mail to majordomo@example.com and give the command

     index tlug	(or tlug-digest)
     end

  in the body of the message.

  The get command will have majordomo send you the file by e-mail.

     get tlug tlug.9508

  3.3.	Web Site

  The TLUG web site is accessible at

     http://www.twics.com/~tlug

  Features of the TLUG Web Site are:

  o  meeting information

  o  archive of meeting minutes and pictures

  o  listing of member home pages

  o  web guest book

  o  Linux links

  o  web BBS

  o  Linux in Japan information

  o  information on the mailing list

  o  message board

  Comments or offers to help should be sent to the TLUG Webmaster, Jim
  Schweizer, at schweiz@example.com

  3.4.	Meetings

  TLUG meetings are held on the second Saturday of every even month.
  Demonstrations, talks, and equipment are made available for the
  membership.

  contact Joe Marchak joem@example.com or John Little
  gaijin@example.com for meeting information

  3.5.	Parties

  Parties are held on a week night of every odd month.	The social
  interaction, beer, and food is an excellent way to create a stronger
  Linux community spirit.

  3.6.	Discounts

  TLUG is a member of GLUE and qualifies for discounts on SCC
  publications, including Linux Journal.  WGS also offers TLUG members a
  discount.

  3.7.	Prizes

  TLUG negotiates donations from corporations and individuals and
  distributes software and hardware to the membership.	The prizes are
  usually given out at the meetings as part of a game.	TLUG has given
  out stickers, Linux distributions, Linux Journals, Sparc hardware,
  PCs, keyboards, T-Shirts, monitors, books, and a lot more.

  3.8.	Software and Book Library

  TLUG is creating a library of books and software that can be loaned
  out to members.

  4.  Size of Group

  The size of TLUG is calculated as the combined number of people on the
  TLUG mailing list and TLUG digest.  There are over 100 people actively
  using the mailing list.  The last meeting and party had about 25
  people at each event.

  5.  Structure of Group

  TLUG is loosely structured.  Craig Oda was elected group president in
  October 1997 for a one year term (and remembers that Joe Marchak was
  the one that volunteered him).  John Little and Joe Marchak run the
  meetings.  Jim Schweizer is the webmaster.  Ken Harada handles
  interactions with the Japanese community.

  6.  Joining TLUG

  If you join the mailing list, you're considered a member.  There are
  no membership dues or fees.  Anyone is free to show up for the
  meetings or parties and to leave at any time.	We try to get a listing
  of attendees prior to the meeting date so we can make reservations,
  but if someone has free time at the last minute, feel free to drop by.
  Since the group tries to promote Linux use, it encourages everyone in
  Tokyo to drop by.

  Language hasn't been a problem.  Japanese and English have been mixing
  smoothly.  There are pockets of Spanish, Portuguese and Russian.
  Pictures of the members are available on the TLUG web page, so you can
  look at the crowd before you venture to a meeting.

  If you can't make it to Tokyo, you can still join and participate
  through electronic mail.

  7.  Helping Out

  TLUG is always looking for volunteers for both club administration and
  for various projects.
  Volunteers needed to

  o  organize the parties  (contact craig@example.com)

  o  organize TLUG T-Shirt creation  (contact craig@example.com)

  o  work with Ken Harada to get more involvement from Japanese people
     (contact kenhrd@example.com)

  o  work with Jim Schweizer to get more Japanese support on the web
     site (contact schweiz@example.com)

  o  work with John Little and Joe Marchak to organize meetings and get
     speakers (contact	Joe joem@example.com or John
     gaijin@example.com)

  o  expand membership, solicit corporate donations

  o  establish better balance between number of male and number of
     female membership by increasing benefits of TLUG membership for
     females

  Remember, helping out others on the mailing list with technical
  questions is helping the Linux community in general.

  If nothing interests you at the moment, join the mailing list and say
  something like, "I want to volunteer for something."

  8.  Using TLUG Resources

  8.1.	Appropriate Material for Mailing List

  o  Linux specific technical questions and answers in any language,
     though English and Japanese are the two major languages.

  o  TLUG administration topics

  o  really easy Linux questions that you feel embarrassed to ask.

  o  really techie programming or hardware questions that makes make you
     feel like a geek when you ask it.

  o  Linux announcements, information, anything Linux-centric you want
     to share

  o  Job postings appropriate for Linux users or Job search (we can vote
     on this if it becomes an issue.  Right now, it appears to be okay)

  o  looking to sell, buy, or give away Linux hardware or software

  o  general Internet, network, TCP/IP, UNIX questions.

  o  general questions about where to buy software, hardware, books, and
     other techie things in Tokyo or Akihabara.

  o  anything that you feel is appropriate after you've read the TLUG
     list for a while.	However, please try to keep the majority of
     posts Linux-centric.

  8.2.	Inappropriate Material for Mailing List

  o  random emotional complaints about Linux used to vent a person's
     frustration.

  o  Repeated and frequent questions on non-Linux operating systems such
     as Windows, Mac, Novell, NT that have no connection to Linux.  The
     occasional question appears to be okay.

  o  overly large postings or messages will automatically be bounced.
     If you want to share a large file, place it on the Internet and
     announce the location of the file.

  o  any topic that members vote on and don't feel is appropriate.

  8.3.	Strategies for Dealing of the Mailing List Volume

  TLUG generates between 5 and 20 postings per day.  There are several
  strategies to deal with the volume of notes.

  8.3.1.  Sort by subject line

  TLUG mail is automatically prepended with tlug: on the subject line.
  You can sort your mail by subject line either manually or
  automatically with a script.	Alternately, you can file the mail into
  a seperate folder.

  8.3.2.  Sort by To:

  The list mail is sent to tlug@example.com   You can filter the
  mail procmail or a similar filter as it comes in.

  Here is my .procmailrc

  beehive:~$ cat .procmailrc
  ## Environment Variables
  ##

  PATH=$HOME/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/local/bin:/opt/procmail/bin:.
  MAILDIR=$HOME/mail	# You'd better make sure it exists
  LOGFILE=$MAILDIR/from
  LOCKFILE=$HOME/.lockmail
  SHELL=/usr/bin/sh

  ##
  ## TLUG Mailing List
  ##
  :0
  * ^TO.*tlug@example.com
  tlug.incoming

  In the example above, I'm filtering all my TLUG e-mail to a seperate
  inbox.  I then get my tlug.incoming box with IMAP4.  Pine and fetch-
  mail can get only the tlug.incoming box for you.

  8.3.3.  Subscribe to the TLUG Digest

  The digest automatically collects TLUG mailing list messages and puts
  them into a digest with a table of contents.	The digest is sent out
  once a day or when a maximum size has been reached.  The digest and
  mailing list contain the same information, so a TLUG member may
  unsubscribe from the mailing list and still participate using the
  digest.

  8.3.4.  Thread the subject line

  Certain mailers such as mutt and I think mew can thread the subject
  line.	A thread is the topic of discussion generated by use of the
  reply function.  If the thread is not interesting, the TLUG member can
  skip over the thread.

  9.  Organization Information

  Although TLUG is non-profit, it is not officially registered as an
  organization.	If anyone wants to register TLUG, feel free to
  volunteer to lead the effort.

  TLUG has a bank account at

      Dai Ichi Kangyou Bank
      Yotsuya Branch  065
      Nice Account
      Account Number 1841283
      Tokyo Linux Users Group

  At the current time, we don't have any expenses, so we're not actively
  seeking donations.  We do collect some money for refreshments at
  meetings and other minor expenses.  The bank account book is usually
  brought to every meeting and any member can ask to look at it.

  We are always looking for T-Shirts, software, books, magazines,
  stickers, stuffed penguins, and hardware to distribute to the
  membership.  If you have something you want to donate, contact Geordon
  (Joe) Marchak at joem@example.com, confirm that it is okay to send him
  something and mail it to

  Geordon (Joe) Marchak
  Kyobashi Bldg, Kyobashi 1-chome
  13-1 Chuo-ku Tokyo 104 Japan
  ph  03-5203-3925
  fx  03-5203-3699
  joem@example.com


---------------------------------------------------------------
Next Saturday Meeting: 14 February 1998 12:30 Tokyo Station
Yaesu Chuo ticket gate.
---------------------------------------------------------------
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