openinfra/groups-static-pages
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Update Organiser Tips, new user-group faq page

Browse Source 
The Organiser Tips page on the groups portal was sadly
almost blank. This patch brings all the content from the wiki
(https://wiki.openstack.org/wiki/OpenStackUserGroups/HowTo )
and modernises it.

Also a new section started aimed at people who aren't group
organisers but want to know what a user group is.

Change-Id: I526f29c0e89158298b90cc875864a819b00e6ba6
This commit is contained in:
Tom Fifield 2015-10-06 18:23:54 +08:00
parent 39163864ce
commit 914ecae449
2 changed files with 198 additions and 15 deletions
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organizer-tips.md
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Contents Contents
======== ========
The OpenStack User Group HOWTO is intended to serve as a guide to founding,
maintaining, and growing an OpenStack user group.
- 1.1 Purpose Starting a new OpenStack User Group
- 1.2 What is an OpenStack User Group -----------------------------------
- 1.3 What OSUG exist?
- 1.4 Starting a new OpenStack User Group
- 1.5 Operating a user group
- 1.6 Running a Hackathon
Purpose Based on the experiences gathered by other OpenStack user groups, like the
------- San Francisco User Group, the questions and answers below will help guide
you to creating a sustainable user group. We have an
[Ambassador Program](https://groups.openstack.org/ambassador-program),
which you can ask for help for mentoring through the process.
The OpenStack User Group HOWTO is intended to serve as a guide to founding, maintaining, and growing a GNU/Linux user group. OpenStack is Open source software for building private and public clouds. If you want to know more about OpenStack go to http://openstack.org Here are the steps to create a new OpenStack User Group:
What is an OpenStack User Group 1. Contact your local [Ambassador](https://groups.openstack.org/ambassador-program),
------------------------------- they're here to help you through the process!
2. Add yourself to the mailing list for
[community organisers](http://lists.openstack.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/community).
3. Check the [User Group List](https://groups.openstack.org/) to double-check
there is no existing group nearby. If there is a group in your city,
contact their organisers and offer to help. Note that some countries have
an umbrella group that covers the entire country.
4. It takes a lot of work to start and operate a user group, so make sure that
you get at least one additional person to help you and act as a backup.
5. Find your audience. Who do you want to attract to your user group meetings?
Where do they live and work? What will their skill level be? What content
do they want?
6. Ask for more volunteers - many people are willing to assist with tasks like
registration, contacting lecturers, hosting meetings, sending reminders,
taking photos.
7. [Register a new group](https://groups.openstack.org/node/add/group) in the
Groups Portal. Ensure you fill in the description and add all the details
to allow your audience to find you. Once your Ambassador approves the
request, add your co-organisers as administrators.
8. Announce the new group on the openstack mailing lists and any social media
that is popular in your location.
The OpenStack User Groups are informal associations of people around the world that meet to discuss about OpenStack, share knowledge and experiences. These are important entities for the OpenStack project as they help by spreading awareness, recruit developers and users and more. The user groups don't have a direct relation with the OpenStack Foundation even though the members of the user groups can be members of the OpenStack Foundation and/or be a member of the OpenStack User Committee. It is important to note that these user groups include developers, operators, end-users, ecosystem partners, and distribution providers. So we are defining a user more broadly than usual. Working with different skill levels
-----------------------------------
Even though you may be an OpenStack expert, not everyone who comes to your
group will be. Here are some tips for the various skill levels we've observed:
What OSUG exist? - Beginner: If you want to attract new users to OpenStack then you will want
---------------- to discuss the architecture and the basics of how to use OpenStack.
There are many suitable presentations available online.
- Intermediate: Developers and operators that want to understand how to make
OpenStack production ready for their organization need a place to discuss
setups, review and share topics like details on APIs, package installation,
and configuration. You might teach new attendees how to use devstack, or
hold bug squash hackathons for developers.
- Advanced: Some groups tend to call this a ''devOps meeting''. The topics
are generally about blueprints, advanced operations, or specific deep dive
into part of OpenStack like Neutron. You may ask OpenStack developers for
assistance with the advanced meetings, even if they can only present
remotely.
The full list of OpenStack User Groups is maintained on OpenStackUserGroups. Before starting a new OSUG consult that list and find one in your area. The point is that starting a user group is a significant undertaking, which should be commenced with all relevant facts and some appreciation of the effect on other groups. If you don't find one on the list, ask on the mailing list community@lists.openstack.org of the User Group team. Planning your meetings
----------------------
A surprising amount of effort goes into making an informal gathering
successful. Here are some quick tips.
- Attendance: For free events, it's not uncommon that 30% of people who
register don't show up, so plan accordingly. Track the no-show rate for
improved planning.
- Sponsorship: There are many vendors in the OpenStack community who are
happy to provide space, food and drink, or money in exchange for placing
their logo on your group page, putting up banners or giving a 5-minute pitch.
Go through the [list of companies](http://openstack.org/community/companies/)
and contact who you can in your area. If the company is serious about being
involved they will help you out! Ask them if they can do a short talk on
their company's involvement with OpenStack.
- Food and drink: If you can afford it or have a sponsor, it makes the
meetings much more sociable.
- Promotion: Look for local sysops/sysadmin/network ops email lists or online
forums and promote your events there to get folks along. Also write to the
Heads of Schools of the University IT faculties in the area and
invite them and their school along.
- Content: Your topics will your different types of users who attend. Have a
look at other user groups on the groups portal to see what they have done
recently, or ask your ambassador for help. An interesting user story is
always a good bet. Once you have an idea of content, you can contact
potential speakers.
- Location: This is critical part of your user group. It makes your life much
easier if you can find a location that will be there long term. There may
be a local function room that is under-utilized early in the week, or
cloud computing companies in your area may have a conference room. Local
universities, technical colleges or co-working spaces may also be interested.
Check other non-OpenStack user groups in your city. And ask your friends,
relatives and colleagues about other meetings they have gone to. Free spaces
can be found basically everywhere in the world.
- Materials: there are some basic meeting materials you will want to go ensure
are present. White boards, projectors, tables and chairs are the basics.
The location you secured may have a few of these things, but don't assume
they do.
- Other Venue Preparation: Consider after-hours heating or cooling, lighting,
and security. A small room can get hot or cold, very quickly with the air
conditioning turned off. Sometimes our security forgets the event and locks
our doors.
- Reminder Announcements: A lot of OpenStack User Group use [Meetup](http://meetup.com)
to announce their meeting, since it automatically sends reminders. You can
pick the tool you prefer to organize your events.
- Afterward: keep the conversations going online after a meeting. In order to
support those who couldn't make it this time, collect materials such as
speech scripts, photos, video, and reports and make them accessible online
as much as possible, Collecting the material immediately at the event works
better than chasing speakers afterward. Write a blog post and share the
materials.
Example Planning Schedule
-------------------------
This is an example planning schedule from the SFBay OpenStack User Group.
1. Establish dates and times at least 6 months in advance
2. Schedule speakers, assistants at least a month in advance
3. Schedule tweets and emails to go out 7, 2, 1, and 0 days before the meetup reminding possible attendees of the meetup. Examples below
* T-7 day 11:30: @[[OpenStack]] #OSSFO hackathon meetup happening next Thursday at #Yahoo Sunnyvale, RSVP via ow.ly/g2V3u, webex avail
* T-2 day 11:30: @[[OpenStack]] #OSSFO hackathon meetup happening next Thursday at #Yahoo Sunnyvale, RSVP via ow.ly/g2V3u, webex avail
* T-1 day 11:30: @[[OpenStack]] #OSSFO hackathon meetup happening tomorrow at #Yahoo Sunnyvale, RSVP via ow.ly/g2V3u, webex avail
* T-0 day 11:30: @[[OpenStack]] #OSSFO hackathon meetup happening today at #Yahoo Sunnyvale, RSVP via ow.ly/g2V3u, webex avail
- Schedule an email to go out to the community mailing list with the same content
* To: community@lists.openstack.org
* Subject: [[OpenStack]] SFBay hackathon next Thursday
* Body: @[[OpenStack]] #OSSFO hackathon meetup happening next Thursday at
* #Yahoo Sunnyvale, RSVP via http://meetup.com/openstack, webex avail. More updates via @sarob
4. Book your meeting space at least 1 month in advance
5. Notify security about the meetup and so they can provide directions so
visitors do not get lost
6. Order the food at least 3 days in advance. A good gauge is about 70% of the
RSVPs actually show up. Better topics get a higher percentage turnout.
7. Prep the room about an hour before the meetup. Check the AV equipment,
power strips, seats, food, drink, and white boards are ready to go. Setup
the video camera, so you know where the static viewing area is. Line up
the projector screen to be in the picture. Lay down a tape box where the
speaker should stand. Dial into the audio conference line. If you are using
webex or youtube, check for connection to the remote server.
8. Post Meetup: After the meeting, you can prepare a summary blog post with
images, links to video, marketing updates for the OpenStack blog.

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---
title: What are User Groups?
path: what-are-user-groups
menu: What are User Groups?
---
What are User Groups?
=============================================
What are user groups?
---------------------
In many places, people running clouds or building apps on them get together in
person to discuss OpenStack, share knowledge and experiences (sometimes with
the developers who build OpenStack too!). User Groups are little pockets of
our global community, where you can go to learn and meet people in an informal
setting.
What happens at a user group meeting?
-------------------------------------
Every user group is different. Many have a strong social element, so there
might be food and drink. Someone might give a presentation. It's best to
carefully check the agenda so you can make the most of your time.
How are user groups organised?
------------------------------
Normally a passionate person finds a couple of friends and decides they
would like to make a group, who will be the first organisers. They try to
find other people nearby to join and help schedule the meetings and content.
Over time, more volunteers should emerge to help share the burden. The
organisers are donating their time to the cause, so support them if you can!
You can read more on organising a meetup
[here](https://groups.openstack.org/content/organizer-tips).
Why are groups important?
-------------------------
Aside from the reasons mentioned above, user groups are essential for the
OpenStack project as they spread awareness and knowledge, recruit developers,
encourage and users to provide feedback and more.
Will vendors try to sell me things at a user group?
----------------------------------------------------
User groups must be non-commercial, though they may accept sponsorship to
cover costs. For example, in order to justify providing money to book a venue,
a sponsor may be given an opportunity to do a short pitch by the organiser,
but it should not be the main focus of the meeting. You may also see sponsor
logos on the meeting website or on signage, however no-one should be
pressuring you to buy anything at a user group. The OpenStack Foundation
also mandates other restrictions such as not allowing the use of your
registration details for marketing - more can be found at the
[Event Policy](https://www.openstack.org/brand/event-policy/) .
What is the OpenStack Foundation?
---------------------------------
The OpenStack Foundation is the non-profit, neutral organisation that exists
to protect, empower and promote OpenStack and its community. User groups don't
have a direct relation with the OpenStack Foundation, but since they use the
OpenStack name and logo, the Foundation works to ensure they meet certain
requirements.
What happens if something goes wrong at a user group?
-----------------------------------------------------
Activities at OpenStack user groups must comply with the [OpenStack Community
Code of Conduct](https://groups.openstack.org/content/openstack-community-code-conduct)
and other policies. If you feel uncomfortable or unsafe, do take action.
There are contact details for Foundation staff in the policy if needed.