Re: [SAGE] Starting a local sage group

[Rob Jenson <robjen@spotch.com>]

Hopefully, I'm not going to reiterate some of the fine points that
Jon, Phillip, and der.Hans have already made.  I've been asked the
question several times and hopefully I'll have the time to digest them
and put them up on the web RSN.

A couple of points to note:

(1) There was an attempt to start a local sysadmin group in Chicago,
    back in 1996.  They still have web pages on the USENIX server,
    although there doesn't seem to be any change or activity since
    1999.

        http://www.usenix.org/sage/locals/chigrp/index.html

    One of the keys to getting such a group up and running, and
    more importantly, keeping it alive, is to have more than one
    person who is actively energized about getting it going, getting
    the meetings to happen, keeping people interested, pulling in new
    members, etc.  Our lives are dynamic, even without being sysadmins
    ... doubly so with the non-linearity inherent to our profession.
    OBS went into stagnation because all of the people who were hyped
    about making it happen moved out of town over the course of a
    couple of months, and nobody (until Jon) stepped up to keep it
    going.

(2) One way of overcoming such obstacles as {Wide Metropolitan Area,
    Lousy Public Transportation, Heinous Traffic, Vicious Bands of
    Angry Farmers, etc.} is to get the group together first as a
    "virtual group" ... set up a mailing list and a web page and start
    finding people in Chicagoland who are interested in systems
    administration.  You're never going to hit 100% as far as the
    right day of the week, date, location, or the easiest time,
    to accomodate everyone ... shoot for something that accomodates
    the largest subset you can.  Also, shoot for something that works
    for the organizers and speakers.  It is really embarrassing when
    you are the organizer of the meeting and the main speaker and you
    show up 2 hours late because of traffic problems and getting lost.
    It probably wasn't much fun for everyone else at the meeting
    waiting for me to show up either. :-<

(3) Don't worry too much about convincing other sysadmins (directly)
    that it will be useful.  Word of mouth becomes very powerful in
    our community.  I'm willing to hazard a guess that there are at
    least a dozen people on this mailing list who are in your area and
    would like to see a Chicago group get going and/or be resurrected.
    Once you have a core of people (ideally from different employers),
    it's simply a matter of encouraging everyone who is there to talk
    about the group with their co-workers, past and present (even
    future), and friends. It's not instantaneous, and sometimes
    interest can fizzle away to nothing for a while.  Economic
    volatility tends to keep people interested in the local groups I
    participate in: When times are tough, and sysadmin jobs are
    scarce, people need to network more in order to find a job (see
    local sysadmin group). When times are good, and there are plenty
    of jobs, not enough qualified candidates, people need to network
    more in order to fill their positions or find clueful co-workers
    (see local sysadmin group).  In the in-between times, people who
    want to keep up with the field, other local employers, who's got
    the best DSL prices and will still give you static IP numbers,
    etc. still find the local sysadmin group useful.  I think the
    moral of the story is that people will figure it out once they
    know it exists.  

(4) Other local user groups are a good place to spread the word, and
    usually, the organizers of those groups will welcome a chance to
    collaborate and maybe even have some joint meetings.  Local Linux,
    *BSD, and commercial operating system user groups are a very good
    place to start. Perlmonger, Webmaster, I.T. Professional, local
    ACM or I.E.E.E. chapters are also potential meeting places for new
    members. Not everyone in those groups will have an interest in
    systems administration, but some will. In general, if the group
    already has a focus, such as a programming language, or an
    operating system, there won't be any sense that you're "stealing"
    their members or trying to dilute their focus.  On the contrary. 

(5) Spread the word. Once you have the mailing list and a web site,
    get people to find out about it.  Mention it in job interviews.
    If you have a local technical who deals with different Sysadmins
    often, such as a Sun F.E., if you invite him/her to your meetings
    and to join the group, word will spread very quickly to different
    shops.  Announce your meetings to the local Chicago newsgroup.  If
    your local newspaper has a "Tech. Professionals" column, you might
    want to write to the author of that column and ask if you could
    get a mention.  I did this last week and we got a short blurb in
    the Business section of the Washington Post. It's fairly safe to
    assume that you are not the only person who is passionate about
    getting a local group in Chicago going ... it's just a matter of
    getting a critical mass together.  Just don't SPAM people.

(6) Check your ego at the door, before you get started.  You are going
    to attract a lot of bright, highly-opinionated individuals into a
    small space. There can be many conflicting ideas and opinions in
    such an environment, and part of your role is going to be that of
    moderator / peace-maker.  If it turns into the "all about me"
    show, you're going to find that your group doesn't grow beyond a
    small number of people who already like your ideas.

(7) Try to balance professional interest, socialization, and fun.

That's it for now.  Again, hopefully, I'll get motivated to put this
up on the web, along with a link to the SAGE locals page that has
plenty of good info
( http://www.usenix.org/sage/locals/ ).


_rob_

P.S.: Posting signs on the bulletin boards at local technical
    colleges, university math, computer science, and engineering
    departments, cyber cafes, and other places where a potential
    sysadmin might be found "in the wild" are also a great way to get
    local people interested.

Craig Hancock writes:
 > I am in the process of starting a local sage group here and I am curious of how to proceed. I am from
 > chicago and if anyone has ever been to chicago they can agree with me it is a big place. The problem
 > that I am having is these factors
 > 
 > 1) Distance
 > 2) Convincing syustem admins that this would be beneficial
 > 3) Other User groups who deal with one aspect of system adminstration and only care
 > about that aspect.
 > 
 > If anyone has any stories or advice I would greatly appriciate it.
 > 
 > Craig Hancock

-- 
Rob Jenson - Sysadmin and "an eccentric who learned how to
    do a couple of cool things along the way" -- Penn & Teller
Web Site: http://www.spotch.com/~robjen
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