Ubuntu LoCo Teams: One Big Family
I have a quick trivia question for you all. What is this list below?
> ubuntu-ae ubuntu-af ubuntu-ar ubuntu-at ubuntu-au ubuntu-au-wa ubuntu-az ubuntu-ba ubuntu-bd ubuntu-be ubuntu-bg ubuntu-bo ubuntu-br ubuntu-ca ubuntu-ch ubuntu-cl ubuntu-cm ubuntu-co ubuntu-cr ubuntu-cu ubuntu-cy ubuntu-de ubuntu-dk ubuntu-do ubuntu-dz ubuntu-ec ubuntu-ee ubuntu-eg ubuntu-es ubuntu-es-es ubuntu-et ubuntu-fi ubuntu-fr ubuntu-ge ubuntu-gr ubuntu-gt ubuntu-hn ubuntu-hu ubuntu-id ubuntu-ie ubuntu-il ubuntu-in ubuntu-in-ap ubuntu-ir ubuntu-it ubuntu-jo ubuntu-jp ubuntu-ke ubuntu-kg ubuntu-kh ubuntu-ko ubuntu-kur ubuntu-kz ubuntu-lb ubuntu-lk ubuntu-lr ubuntu-lt ubuntu-lu ubuntu-lv ubuntu-ma ubuntu-md ubuntu-mk ubuntu-ml ubuntu-mt ubuntu-mx ubuntu-my ubuntu-ne ubuntu-ng ubuntu-ni ubuntu-nl ubuntu-no ubuntu-np ubuntu-nz ubuntu-pa ubuntu-pe ubuntu-pg ubuntu-ph ubuntu-pk ubuntu-pl ubuntu-pr ubuntu-pt ubuntu-quebec ubuntu-re ubuntu-ro ubuntu-rs ubuntu-ru ubuntu-sd ubuntu-se ubuntu-sg ubuntu-sn ubuntu-sv ubuntu-sy ubuntu-tam ubuntu-tn ubuntu-tr ubuntu-tz ubuntu-uk ubuntu-us ubuntu-us-ak ubuntu-us-al ubuntu-us-ar ubuntu-us-az ubuntu-us-ca ubuntu-us-chicago ubuntu-us-co ubuntu-us-ct ubuntu-us-dc ubuntu-us-eastcoast ubuntu-us-fl ubuntu-us-ga ubuntu-us-hi ubuntu-us-ia ubuntu-us-id ubuntu-us-il ubuntu-us-in ubuntu-us-ks ubuntu-us-ky ubuntu-us-la ubuntu-us-ma ubuntu-us-md ubuntu-us-me ubuntu-us-mi ubuntu-us-mn ubuntu-us-mo ubuntu-us-ms ubuntu-us-nc ubuntu-us-nd ubuntu-us-ne ubuntu-us-nh ubuntu-us-nj ubuntu-us-nm ubuntu-us-nv ubuntu-us-ny ubuntu-us-oh ubuntu-us-ok ubuntu-us-or ubuntu-us-pa ubuntu-us-pnw ubuntu-us-ri ubuntu-us-sc ubuntu-us-tn ubuntu-us-tx ubuntu-us-tx-dallas ubuntu-us-ut ubuntu-us-va ubuntu-us-vt ubuntu-us-wa ubuntu-us-wi ubuntu-us-wv ubuntu-uy ubuntu-ve ubuntu-vn ubuntu-za ubuntu-zh ubuntu-zm ubuntu-zw
This my friends is a mere snapshot of our [Ubuntu LoCo Team Community](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LoCoTeams). Each one of the above is a different local Ubuntu team. We have over 180 of these teams, and these incredible vessels of local community get out there and spread the word of Ubuntu, [its ethos](https://archivedblog.jonobacon.com/2008/12/19/the-ubuntu-ethos/) and work to grow our worldwide community in those areas.
These teams span many borders, languages and races. Together thousands of different people from around the world are united by the same sense of opportunity and excitement that Ubuntu gives us all. In short, we are one big family.
But all families need to talk. All families need to communicate and share ideas. And all families need to have their sense of family regularly re-enforced. I am really keen to help bring our worldwide family of LoCo Teams closer together, and some of my work in the coming weeks will be focused on this.
Many of our LoCo family are unaware of how to share conversation and experiences with the rest of the community. I just wanted to remind everyone of how to get involved:
* **IRC** – #ubuntu-locoteams on Freenode – this IRC channel is an excellent way to chat to other teams from around the world right now. You can share stories, ask questions, learn great new ideas and just hang out with a rather cool bunch of people. To get involved, first download an IRC program. In Ubuntu, you can do this by clicking Applications->Add/Remove and installing XChat-GNOME. I am sure Kubuntu and Xubuntu people will share instructions of how to connect in those desktops in the comments to this blog entry. Next use the IRC program to connect to the Freenode network and then type in `/join #ubuntu-locoteams`. One quick tip: many IRC programs have an AutoJoin feature which will automatically join certain channels whenever you connect to IRC. Why not add #ubuntu-locoteams to the list of autojoin channels? 🙂
* **Mailing List** – [loco-contacts](https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/loco-contacts) – the loco-contacts list is an excellent place to share ideas, best practice and news of what your team has done or is doing. This is a particularly useful resource for those of you who are setting up new teams are unsure of where to start. If you want to be a LoCo Legend, this is another great place to be.
I would like to encourage everyone in our LoCo Community to join one of these two resources. When we bring our world-wide family together and share information and experiences, it helps our family to not only grow, but be smarter and more adept at spread the Ubuntu ethos. Many of you have emailed me with your wonderful stories from your teams, and these two places are excellent places to also share those stories. It is these stories that inspire many new contributors and teams to join us. Lets really get this train rolling. 🙂
Back In The Saddle
Hi everyone. Just a quick note to let you all know that after my week on holiday writing I am now back at work, business as usual. Obviously today will be spent largely catching up with some of the email that I didn’t get chance to reply to while on holiday.
Oh, and before I finish, Christophe Sauthier is our current [Hall Of Fame Featured Contributor](https://hall-of-fame.ubuntu.com/?feature=christophe-sauthier): go and thank him folks! 🙂
Aqy Birthday
^ that kind of comedy is a rare treat.
I just want to say happy birthday to my best pal, [Aq](https://kryogenix.org/days/), who turns 33 today.
If my memory serves me right, I first met Aq when he was 24. We became good friends right away: I really enjoyed his cantankerous, opinionated and shouty personality. Many an evening we spend discussing every Open Source and wider social topic under the sun. Since then, he has become a brother to me. He has always been there as a friend, as a fierce debating companion (that many of you will have experienced on [LugRadio](https://www.lugradio.org/), but he has also become someone who has always inspired me with his enthusiasm and his happy-go-lucky approach to life. I do miss you, my friend.
Unfortunately, I can’t be there to take you to the vodka bar and buy you a cheese and onion pasty, so you will have to settle with an evening with your daughter. Do send on my apologies to her.
Joining The Identi.ca Revolution
Just to let you folks know, I have signed up for [identi.ca](https://identi.ca/jonobacon) with the username `jonobacon`. I am posting to both identi.ca and Twitter using the glorious [Gwibber](https://www.launchpad.net/gwibber), originally from my friend and yours, Ryan Paul.
Writing a Book With Free Software
Some of you have emailed to ask what I am using to write the [Art Of Community](https://www.artofcommunityonline.org/), and some of my Free Software friends out there have been asking if Free Software tools were used when writing the content. Oh yes. 🙂
I am writing the book on an Ubuntu laptop and using [OpenOffice.org](https://www.openoffice.org/) version 3.0. Inside OpenOffice.org I am using a special O’Reilly toolbar in a template which helps me format the content in a way that will make typesetting easier later in the process. When I have completed writing content it gets saved to my disk and I then commit my revisions to a Subversion repository at O’Reilly. This allows my editors and I to all have access to the same content.
In terms of editing, it is also performed in OpenOffice.org, making use of its change tracking and notes features. This functionality is more than suitable for working on a book. I am also pleased to see this is being further refined in OpenOffice.org 3.1 with the ability to reply to notes. Interestingly, one of my editors uses Microsoft Word to edit. This means that my original .odt file is converted to a .doc file, edits are made in Word (using change tracking and notes) and then saved back in .odt format. It all works flawlessly, with the exception of having to re-import the O’Reilly toolbar. Pretty nifty, eh?
I am also making extensive use of [Tomboy](https://projects.gnome.org/tomboy/) to store notes throughout the book development. I use it to have my book outline (which I regularly add new ideas to as I write), as well as other general notes, TODO items and more. Finally, I use the [GIMP](https://www.gimp.org/) for imagery, diagrams and screenshots.
Week Off
Just a quick message to everyone that I have taken this week as vacation to spend it working on the [Art Of Community](https://www.artofcommunityonline.org/).
Its been a busy few days so far and I am making some good progress. Details, as usual, are on the [blog](https://www.artofcommunityonline.org/). I am also pretty excited that Ryan Paul (Ars Technica) is helping to proof it, and content is coming in from Jeremy Allison (Samba), Paul Hudson (Linux Format), Mike Linksvayer (Creative Commons) with many more to announce soon. Rock and roll. 🙂
Attending SCALE
Where are you going to be at 1.30pm on Sat 21st Feb 2009?
I know where I will be. I will be speaking at the *always excellent* [SoCal Linux Expo](https://scale7x.socallinuxexpo.org/) in Los Angeles. There I will be delivering my talk *Building Belonging*, exploring the underlying recipe behind behind what makes great community and babbling on about many of the concepts that my team have used as part of the Ubuntu community. The presentation takes a fun and anecdote laden tour-de-force of community in a way that any community can implement. Be there or be square!
SCALE is a fantastic conference and well worth the trip to the city of angels. I am looking forward to seeing everyone there again!
Chill Pill
Many of you will know my general policy for not getting involved in flame-wars and I was not going to comment on [this story](https://www.wkowtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=9682258), but I just wanted to share a few words.
Of course, the story is saddening: a woman bought a computer to do her classwork, it contained Ubuntu, and her expectations were not matched. Thus developed frustration and annoyance with the things that she wanted to do that she couldn’t do. That is both frustrating for her and for us. Fortunately, as we continue to work hard to improve Ubuntu, these problems will be resolved in time, but you know what…life happens…and Ubuntu doesn’t always work for everyone. We just need to learn, move on and improve in that area in the future. Problems are merely opportunities to do better next time: our OS is young, and there is plenty of time for us to rub off the rough edges. These may not be rough technical edges: in this story the problem seems to have been in the hands of setting expectations around the technology, be it in Ubuntu or with the hardware provider.
What saddens me more is the attitude of some members of our community. Some were rude, derogatory and in some cases offensive to the woman in question. Unfortunately, in some cases vitriol replaced reason in some commentators.
Our community is one built on communication. It is how we share ideas and problems and their respective implementations and solution. Communication is the river that flows inside our own community and out to our users. When we compromise our communication, we compromise our community.
There is simply no excuse to be rude and offensive, and when someone paints Ubuntu in a bad light, it doesn’t justify it This is not about “unbelievers” or “freedom haters”, it is about basic respect. Sure, it is annoying when people rag on Ubuntu, and in some cases even inaccurate. What is worse is to insult our users: irrespective of their actions. Not everyone is well versed in Ubuntu, its capabilities and what it can provide. Not everyone knows how to navigate our desktop, and people are going to make mistakes that many of us would be embarrassed to make. Irrespective of the criticism or carping, we are made of strong stuff. Lets take the criticism and instead use our efforts to fix problems and make Ubuntu better for everyone.
I am so proud of everything we are doing in our community, but these kinds of situations let the side down. We all get frustrated, but lets keep the positive energy flowing, and continue to kick arse and take names at every possible opportunity. 🙂
A Good Day
Strange, everywhere I look today, everyone is smiling. Something going on? 🙂
Art Of Community Update
I just wanted to throw a quick update your way regarding the [Art Of Community](https://www.artofcommunityonline.org/) book that I am feverishly working on.
On Tuesday last week I threw out a deliberately [cryptic announcement](https://archivedblog.jonobacon.com/2009/01/13/announcement/) about a new project. In the announcement I displayed a motion blurred screenshot of what we now know as the [Art Of Community](https://www.artofcommunityonline.org/) site. Amusingly, the announcement turned into a bit of a technical challenge for some, who tried to unblur it. Most failed, but one clever bugger in the form of Kyran [managed to sharpen it](https://archivedblog.jonobacon.com/2009/01/13/announcement/#comment-129054), revealing the name of the site which he then Googled and added the URL. Great work, Kyran! This happened about 30mins before I was due to announce while I was writing up the main announcement text.
Anyway, [up went the main announcement](https://archivedblog.jonobacon.com/2009/01/14/the-art-of-community/) and the response has been fantastic. It also picked up rather nice press over at [Ars Technica](https://arstechnica.com/journals/linux.ars/2009/01/15/jono-bacon-announces-cc-licensed-book-project) and [OSTATIC](https://ostatic.com/blog/building-an-open-source-community-help-is-on-the-way) and across a bunch of blogs. There was also a great [write up at the Creative Commons](https://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/12199) who are obviously rather happy with the fact that the book is under a [CC-NC-SA license](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/). Thanks to everyone for your kind words. Oh, and Facebook fans, go and be a fan of the [Art Of Community Page](https://www.facebook.com/pages/Art-of-Community/58251029357). 93 fans at the moment. Rock and Roll.
I am also really pleased to see that the [Art Of Community](https://www.artofcommunityonline.org/) website has been building a community. Each post has been getting a nice amount of discussion kicking off, and I am looking forward to the community continuing to prosper. Thanks to this first generation of community members in *Florian, JoshPanter, amaneiro, Marco* and *Blaise Alleyne*!
Work on the book has been progressing well. Today I finished up Chapter 5 and sent it off for editing. I have been interview content from [Ton Roosendaal](https://www.artofcommunityonline.org/2009/01/17/ton-roosendaal-contributing-content/) of Blender and [Cristina Verduzco](https://www.artofcommunityonline.org/2009/01/18/cristina-verduzco-spca-interview-content/) of the East Bay SPCA with more on the way. Now it is onto Chapter 6.
Stay tuned, folks!