What's in a name ?

This page gives a more detailed explanation of why the name EdLUG(Outreach) is appropriate.

What is EdLUG interested in?

When you browse through the EdLUG Archives you can get a good idea of what the whole group is interested in. The conversations are mainly centred about GNU/Linux distributions or applications that run within them. There are also discussions on news items, BSD, OS X, Microsoft Windows, and social events. The theme always comes back to the central interest of everyone which is GNU/Linux and Free Software.

The LUG

For historical reasons our group is named a Linux User Group. Strictly speaking, the name "Linux" refers only to the Kernel, but it has taken on the larger meaning of "Operating system distribution". The term "LUG" is now accepted througout  the world as the name of user groups  interested in Free Software. This means that although we have a local community here, we are already part of a larger one. In the UK there are nearly 100 LUGs

Outreach

Outreach is a subgroup of EdLUG that acts as a voice to the outside world. Writing a letter or e-mailing to others is a fairly easy process. The complex part is communicating and agreeing amongst ourselves, what we are going to say. We need  change ourselves temporarily  from a collection of individuals into a single group for the purpose of writing a letter. We will then have the voice of the LUG and the voice of EdLUG.

EdLUG is true to its ideals

EdLUG is special in its own way because it steadfastly sticks to the correct idea that it should never have a constitution. Many other LUGs have implemented constitutions because it was easier than accepting the fact that mailing lists and IRC channels have no limits in the number on people participating and that such groups can never be controlled. This problem  is still to be correctly addressed by LUGs in many places.

Whom do we want to reach

First we want to reach ourselves and our collective conscience. If we have away to do this then we also have a solution that can be used by other LUGs. Our voice can then be joined by the voices from other LUGs.

Explanation of the name EdLUG(Outreach)

We are a LUG, based in Edinburgh. EdLUG is part of the larger community of LUGs. Outreach is a small subgroup of EdLUG, there to communicate with the greater group EdLUG and then to the outside world. If we had any other name we would be distancing ourselves from the world community of LUGs and lose the support of their collective identity. By showing that Outreach is a subgroup we give a voice for EdLUG (and other LUGs) to use if they wish.