Greetings!

My name is Dennis E. Powell, and I'm editor of a web site, 
LinuxandMain.com, that is focused on the desktop, small business, and 
hobbyist use of Linux, counter to the trend toward relegating Linux 
to the back office. We went online Sunday night and in our first two 
days have achieved considerable notice, having been linked on 
Slashdot, Newsforge, LinuxToday, and elsewhere.

Of the several front-page sections of the site, one is "Community," 
and its purpose is to provide a way for Linux User Groups to tell 
others what they're up to -- things they have planned, when and where 
they meet, and reports of speakers they've had and the like. (It is 
my hope that these reports deal at least to some extent with the 
substance of what was said rather than merely note that the speech 
was made.) Plans for install fests and reports of their outcome are 
welcome. News of User Group members making presentations to other 
organizations, too. I think you get a sense of it.

And of course the success of this attempt to pool ideas and learn of 
User Group accomplishments will work if and only if User Groups 
participate. Thus this note.

I wonder if there is someone in your group who would be willing to act 
as correspondent for the "Community" page, undertaking the job of 
letting us know of your group's activities. This is a job that does 
not offer pay, but it does offer a contributor byline when the 
information is published. And it offers what I hope will be a degree 
of satisfaction in making sure that the rest of the community will 
have ready access, in a place they're probably visiting anyway, to 
learn about your and other LUGs.

Feel free to stop by the site, http://www.linuxandmain.com , and to 
ask any questions you may have about the site and/or the LUG section. 
Submissions to the LUG section should be addressed to 
community@linuxandmain.com while other correspondence may be 
addressed to me at the above address. If someone in your group 
volunteers to act as correspondent for your group's activities, I do 
ask that you drop me a confirming, introductory note, just to prevent 
unauthorized and possibly malicious submissions.

I believe that the "Community" section can become a valuable resource 
for User Groups and for users who would like to join a nearby user 
group. With your help, it will be.

Again, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Best,
-- 
dep
--
Everyone is entitled to his own opinion but not his own facts.
                                    -- Daniel Patrick Moynahan