Ubuntu User Day Team Announces Event for New Penguinistas

If any community within the open source realm lives and breathes outreach, it's Ubuntu. There are days that teams devote solely to bug triage (today, incidentally, is gnome-power-manager hug day), along with the obligatory launch parties, a community-building Open Week and the more technical Ubuntu Developer Week.

The Ubuntu User Day Team is holding its first User Day January 23rd over IRC. Since User Day is geared toward beginner and intermediate users, and IRC clients are sometimes less than user-friendly, participants can join in the discussions with a browser.

Discussions cover migrating to and installing Ubuntu, basic command line skills, and the finer details of Launchpad, choosing new software, Linux-compatible hardware and restricted drivers.

It'll be interesting to see how this event plays out. I'd be willing to bet the largest attendee demographic will be new users who are technically inclined, and have played with liveCDs enough to be impressed by what they see, but need extra guidance in taking that next step. It's by no means a sure indicator, but a little poking online hints that the number is large enough to make additional User Days per release cycle worthwhile.

There's the added draw for users without easy access to help from a LoCo Team or LUG. They now have people they know -- people they've taken classes from and attended classes with -- who are only a few clicks away.

The key to success will be getting the word out, especially the first time around. The upcoming User Day schedule is available for download in iCalendar format. Classes are held in English and Spanish, and those interested in teaching an introductory course in any language are encouraged to contact Chris Johnston.