Hi,

Over the last couple of years, the momentum for building a network of Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) across India seems to have slackened. Correct me if I'm wrong...

When we in Goa were planning to set up a G/LUG, we got a whole lot of support from friends in Mumbai. They offered to send us CDs, gave us tips on how to go about things, and lent moral support in many ways.

Can we think of some initiative to continue with such a trend, maybe on a more organised basis?

For a country of one thousand million, we have an estimated 40-60 known LUGs/GLUGs/FSUGs. Some of these are very active, some barely so. Anyway, this means that there exists a group for a population of nearly 20 million! This is clearly insufficient to spread awareness about FLOSS.

LinuxForYou's listing of Indian Linux User Groups puts down contacts for some 54 groups. But this needs updating and corrections (for instance, under 'Goa' you find the Margao group, while the Panjim group gets listed under a separate head and the third free software group, at the Farmaguddi engineering college, doesn't seem to get mentioned).

Anyway, this is one starting point...

Linux-magazine.com lists some 21 FLOSS groups across India (Bangalore, 2 groups; Calcutta, Chennai, Cochin, Coimbatore, Delhi, Goa, Jabalpur, Kanpur, Madurai, Mangalore, Meerut, Mysore, Nasik, North India, Pandalam, Patna, Pune, Trivandrum and Visakhapatnam).

Maybe what we should aim for is:

o Build a LUG/FSUG/GLUG in every district o Encourage smaller LUGs to be built up in different parts of larger cities, provided there is no overlap in activities or unhealthy rivalry o Scout around for those willing to launch GLUGs/LUGs/FSUGs in places where none exist.

Perhaps the most useful help one could offer to a new group would be

o Moral support o Sharing CDs to build up a local 'CD repository' o Tips on how to sustain activities o Posting to their lists to help build up critical mass o Volunteering speakers who are willing to travel and talk in their region (Trevor Warren and team from Mumbai have done a good job in helping Belgaum and Hubli recently). o Build a network to keep monitoring where the building up of such groups would be possible.

After meeting in Bangalore last December (LB2002), Sukrit of Pondicherry and a few others set up a small network called the Little League. See little_league@yahoogroups.com

It's goal is to encourage new LUGs to grow and share resources. Maybe some of the new groups could join that network.

Please send in your suggestions, brickbats and criticism to the suggestions above. Whichever way we do it, it would be important to take on this task at some stage. FN