One of the things that became apparent in our recent survey is that there are a significant number of people who aren't really sure what "Ubuntu Minnesota" or a "LoCo" actually are, so this week I will attempt to clarify those points and a few others. Since this also involves our relationships with the greater Linux community locally, I'm copying the Minnesota LUGs I'm aware of on this mailing as well. First, what is Ubuntu Minnesota? In short, it is the LoCo for the state of Minnesota, which leads to: What the heck is a LoCo? LoCo is short for Local Community, a geographically-based team of Ubuntu users, developers, and enthusiasts for mutual support, collaboration, socializing, and advocacy. Worldwide these groups work together for things like throwing events (whether they be social meet-and-greets, installfests, bug jams, conferences, talks, or whatever), working on localization of Ubuntu for their area (language translation, theming, topical wallpaper, etc.), coordinating local advocacy and awareness and providing a point of contact for new users in the area looking for people who share their interest, providing support when the purely online global channels aren't as effective, and whatever other cool projects they come up with. How is a LoCo different from a LUG? First, I must stress that they are not mutually exclusive - it is highly encouraged to be a member of both and for the two groups to work together where appropriate. That said, there are two main differences. First, an Ubuntu LoCo is focused on a particular Linux distribution, Ubuntu, while a LUG is usually much broader in scope. This means that our members can also act as "representatives" of sorts for the distribution when working with a LUG - perhaps there's an Ubuntu expert at the LUG meeting to help with support, or someone with an understanding of the community who can help someone get involved. We're not here to "convert" anyone whose already using Linux just because they use a different distro, but we are here to answer questions and help them try Ubuntu if they're interested, and in turn the LUG can provide broader exposure to other things for our members, etc. Second, a LUG is normally organized on a city-wide basis, or perhaps a metropolitan area, while LoCos are broader in geographical scope. In most of the world LoCos are organized at the national level, while in the US they're on the state level. While we of course will be doing some things on smaller scales (in-person events for instance), communication and collaboration happens all-together for the state. Thus one LoCo will find itself working with multiple LUGs (I know of four, with varying activity levels). Ideally, each LUG would also be working with multiple things like a LoCo, for different distributions, but I'm not yet aware of such a thing for other distros within Minnesota - please let me know if you are. What does it mean to be a "member" of Ubuntu Minnesota? Essentially, just that you are a person who uses or is interested in Ubuntu residing in (or near) Minnesota. There is no formal requirements or approval process (not to be confused with Ubuntu "Membership", which is a recognition of contributions). All that is needed to be part of our team is to say you want to. That said, in order to do so effectively you will want to be "in the loop" with what we're doing, and the two steps for that are to a) add yourself to the Launchpad group, found at https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-minnesota (remember to set your location so you can show up on the map and assist local planning!), and subscribe to the mailing list (which is where this is going - for LUG people, the info is at https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-us-mn). From there, just start participating in whatever way you find interesting! I hope in future e-mails to make more clear what channels and opportunities are available for those who don't know, but if there's something specific you want to know about, just ask! Another thing to keep in mind is that everyone is an equal part of this team. My title is "Team Contact", and on Launchpad and such, "administrator", but that is explicitly not "dictator" or anything like that. My role is to serve as a central contact point and to provide direction and such for the team, but YOU are the team. If you think there should be a social event in Northfield, organize and announce it! If you want an installfest in Bemidji, make it happen! If you want to distribute Ubuntu CDs at a local school, go ahead! You don't need to "ask permission" or anything to do something in this team - the only rules are to abide by the Ubuntu Code of Conduct (http://www.ubuntu.com/community/conduct/), which basically means things should be appropriate, legal, and respectful. On the other hand, by all means do communicate with others on the team about what you want to do, get others involved in your project, and ask for advice if you need it, etc. Hopefully that answers a few questions about what this group is all about, but I'm sure there are more, so bring 'em on! - Tony Yarusso