Say...why not just be a linux users group?
-jtiner
----- Original Message -----
From: "Paul M Foster" <paulf@quillandmouse.com>
To: <slug@nks.net>
Sent: Saturday, December 07, 2002 12:54 PM
Subject: Re: [SLUG] Linux Missionaries
> On Fri, Dec 06, 2002 at 09:24:57PM -0500, Russell Hires wrote:
>
> > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> > Hash: SHA1
> >
> > This is a good idea, but we need to be careful about sending Linux
people out
> > who aren't "qualified." I don't necessarily mean RHCE's, but some basic
> > modicum of knowledge/experience so that Linux doesn't become a bad word
> > because of a bad experience.
> >
> > It's also important that missionaries who do go out prevent people from
> > looking over their shoulder as installation/support takes place. This
can
> > make doing any troubleshooting or even basic installing difficult, and
can
> > lead to a bad experience....
> >
> > Maybe we could have a "Suncoast LUG Certification?" Nothing so thorough
as
> > RHCE, but basic minimum level of expertise? I would recommend this even
if
> > people were going out for free.
> >
>
> Actually, I shouldn't have been so dismissive about this. Let's look at
> the type of things this actually entails:
>
> 1. What will be the standards for "certification"?
> 2. Who will decide?
> 3. What if there's a dispute about those qualification standards?
> 4. What if we find there are "tiers" of certification requirements?
> 5. How will we determine if someone satisfies the reqirements?
> 6. Do we take someone's word for what they know?
> 7. Do we administer tests?
> 8. Who makes up the tests?
> 9. Who grades them?
> 10. What if there's a dispute about the test or the results?
> 11. When would testing occur?
> 12. How often would testing occur?
> 13. Who would administer tests?
> 14. What liabilities does SLUG have if someone passes the test, but
> can't perform on customer site?
> 15. What do we do about customer complaints?
> 16. What about customers who complain about the consultant, despite the
> fact that the consultant solved the customer's problem?
> 17. If the consultant can solve problems, can he also teach?
> 18. How do we measure his teaching ability?
>
> I've just scratched the surface here. In actual practice, I know there
> would be far more issues than this. And then the question arises as to
> who is willing to take the time to administer all of this, once it's
> rolling? You're talking, probably, at least five people who'd have to
> take time to do all the work of this. Meantime, all those little guys
> who'd like to go out and do this sit on the sidelines, capable, but not
> confident enough in their ability to pass the test. Or unwilling to go
> through all the rigamarole to get certified.
>
> Plus, I don't really want to turn SLUG into a business. Someone
> mentioned staying under the radar. I prefer that. That way, we don't
> have to deal with the government, bureaucracies, etc.
>
> I originally chose the word "missionaries" to distinguish these people
> from "consultants", which is a lot more formal. You typically don't have
> to have any certification to be a "missionary". You just have to have a
> desire to help.
>
> Now, if someone can simply resolve the issues above (and whatever else
> we can think of), I'm all for it. I'd love to see a cadre of
> SLUG-shirted Linux "commandos" in the community. But I just don't know
> if it's practical for a LUG like ours.
>
> (You know, I really like that word "commandos". Maybe we should have
> "commandos" instead of "missionaries".) ;-}
>
> Paul
>
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