On Sat, August 24, 2013 11:58 pm, Russell Coker wrote:
If LUV is one of the greatest LUGs in the world then I don't think that LUGs are going so well.
They're not and haven't been for several years. e.g., http://archive09.linux.com/feature/118046 Most of the "it's new (or GNU), it's exciting, it's Linux" fever-pitch has died away as Linux is the norm in a lot of areas. LUGs may be trundling along with significantly lower numbers, but conferences keep on getting bigger.
Does anyone keep stats on how LUV attendance has changed over the years?
As with almost every meeting I attend I do a quick scan. Our numbers this year have improved slightly, both at LUV-main and LUV-beginners, around 40 for the former and 20 for the latter. I understand this is around double what our friends in Sydney get.
I get the impression that we aren't doing nearly as well as we used to.
That impression wouldn't be quite right, although "used to" is an ambiguous period in history. Are you talking two, five, or ten years in the past?
Some people claim that it's the availability of support on the Internet that has decreased the attendance, but the number of people using Linux has significantly increased too.
Also, installing Linux doesn't require a dedicated geek to help you out if you're a newbie. :) -- Lev Lafayette, BA (Hons), GCertPM, MBA mobile: 0432 255 208 RFC 1855 Netiquette Guidelines http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1855.txt