Re: [SAGE] Starting a local sage group

[Jessica Fine <jess@usenix.org>]

Jon, Phillip, der.hans and Rob have given great advice here.  I just 
want to add that the USENIX/SAGE office staff can provide some 
additional resources as well. For example, we can provide a list of 
SAGE members in your area, so you can send them email notifications 
regarding your group.  Also, we can provide materials (fliers, 
stickers, pins, even $$) for your meetings.

More information on this can be found at:

http://www.usenix.org/sage/locals/locals-support.html

And, please feel free to email me with specific questions.

-Jess



>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
>Disclaimer: http://www.spotch.com/~robjen/disclaimer.shtml

-- 
Jess Fine
Member Services Manager
USENIX ASSOCIATION
2560 Ninth St. Suite 215
Berkeley, CA. 94710
(510)528-8649 - phone
(510)548-5738 - fax
jess@usenix.org
http://www.usenix.org