[ale] membership drive

[Jason van Gumster]

Jim Kinney <jim.kinney at gmail.com> wrote:

> How can we leverage the talent we have for extending the community use of
> Linux while broadening the ALE user base? Bake sale? Door-to-door "Can I
> talk to you about using Linux?" campaigns? Throw an annual "We use Linux!"
> party and invite every comp-sci major for 100 miles? Adopt a school and
> maintain their computers for students and teachers using nothing but Linux?
> Offer free classes in how to use different application in most distros as
> replacements for welded-hood applications? Outreach to women specifically
> how?

While kiosk-setup (for the "only web+email" crowd) and deluging CS/SA folks are
pretty obvious and worthwhile targets, there's quite a few segments of
[potential] Linux enthusiasts outside these groups. There's been quite a bit of
overlap with the tinkerer/maker crowd, for instance. You also have DIY HTPC
folks. And I'm sure that there's at least one or two jerks like me who use
Linux and other FOSS tools for creative pursuits (e.g. animation, graphics,
writing). Perhaps it would be worth having even just meeting presentations on
these things?