Local Linux user groups meet (typically weekly to monthly) to provide support and/or arrange and host presentations for
Linux users, particularly for inexperienced users. Given that Linux is not dominated by any specific corporate or institutional entity, LUG meetings typically encompass a broader range of topics than do the meetings of other user groups. Linux is predominantly user-supported, and some support is vastly easier via telephone or in person than over e-mail or
USENET. LUGs are still primarily focused on hobbyist users and professionals who are engaged in self-directed study. SVLUG is among the oldest and largest LUGs. It was originally formed as a
Special Interest Group for the
Silicon Valley Computer Society, founded by Daniel Kionka to support
Xenix and "low-cost PC
UNIX systems" (and later became focused on Linux, as the dominant free implementation of
Unix). According to the Linux User Group HOWTO:
Typical activities LUGs typically meet once per month, in facilities freely provided by universities, colleges, community centers, private corporations, or banquet rooms in restaurants. For example, Silicon Valley's SVLUG met for about 10 years in the back of a Carl's Jr. restaurant, and has met for the last several years in meeting rooms at
Cisco Systems and, more recently,
Symantec. Similarly, BALUG (a San Francisco LUG) met for many years in the banquet room above the Four Seas Restaurant in
San Francisco's
Chinatown. Most LUGs are free, requiring no monthly or annual dues. In many cases, the participants are encouraged to patronize the host venues (esp. in restaurant meetings, by buying dinner). Some LUGs are informal conferences or round table discussions; members simply sit around and chat about Linux-related topics. Some provide formal presentations. For example,
Linus Torvalds has occasionally talked to SVLUG or BALUG (which both are close to his former home in Silicon Valley), and
Hans Reiser (creator of
ReiserFS) presented his early design plans at an SVLUG meeting. Presenters might be anyone in the community with something interesting to say. Occasionally, corporations will sponsor or encourage their employees to speak at user groups to promote their products. LUGs generally require that these presentations provide technically interesting content, rather than overt sales pitches. Often, LUG meetings provide an opportunity for members and guests to make announcements, especially for jobs offered and/or wanted, pleas for assistance (free or professional consulting), and hardware for sale or to be given away "to a good home". LUGs near each other geographically sometimes get together to hold conferences and share knowledge among peers. For example, in
Central America, in 2009, the first
Encuentro Centro Americano de Software Libre was held in
Nicaragua, where LUGs from the region, from
Belize to Panama, attended. Groups from other countries are also invited. In 2010, this conference was held in Punta Renas,
Nicaragua; where there were members from the region, including from
Germany and
Mexico. In 2011, it was held in
El Salvador. These events usually take place in summer, as most of the LUG members are students. As a second example, several
Los Angeles-area LUGs sponsor and staff the annual
Southern California Linux Expo (SCALE) conference. Many LUGs also organize installfests (
FreeBSD groups tend to refer to them as "installations"), which are opportunities for experienced Linux users to help others, especially novices with installation and configuration of Linux systems. Installfests may also have break-out sessions for teaching new tips and tricks—performance tuning, security hardening, etc. A few LUGs have developed projects of regional or even international stature. For example, the Uganda Linux User Group operates in 3 major cities and frequently coordinates national and international events that have featured guests as high-profile as
Tim Berners-Lee. Cyberstorm.mu, a Linux User Group from
Mauritius, trains high school students on Linux to compete in
Google Code-in and organises
Hackathons focused on Linux. The Bellingham Linux Users Group (BLUG), in
Bellingham, Washington, holds the annual
LinuxFest Northwest, which attracts large numbers of participants from throughout the region, including western Canada. Likewise, Bellevue Linux Users Group (BELUG), which meets in a bookstore in
Bellevue, Washington, has developed The Linux Information Project (LINFO). LUGs sometimes are gifted with surplus books, back issues of Linux magazines, copies of CDs/DVDs, and other promotional items to give away to their members. Other than these "official" LUG activities, the meetings provide opportunities for users to socialize. Members often exchange e-mail addresses, URLs, and phone numbers, and provide technical support or collaborate on study or development projects together. Some local LUGs share characteristics of online LUGs, meeting on
IRC or hosting support
mailing lists, in addition to the physical meetings. LUGs may also have an online blog presence; for example OCLUG, OSU LUG, and Nottingham LUG host "Planet" pages aggregating members' blogs. LUGs can also be a natural place for local organizations to find Linux expertise. Professors for
Unix classes at
San Jose State University came to SVLUG in the early days of Linux to find guest lecturers for their classes; some LUGs provide computer help to schools and non-profit organizations, and perform other community outreach services.
Installfests An
Installfest (a
portmanteau of
installation and
festival) is an event, generally sponsored by a local Linux User Group, university, or
LAN party, at which people get together to do mass installations of computer
operating systems or
software, most often
Linux and other
open source software. It is generally an advocacy and community-building event, where novices bring their computers along with their preferred operating system installation disks to the location of the installfest, and experienced users help them in getting started and troubleshooting problems. Sometimes, a
Linux distribution and informative flyers are given for free to the attendees. Some events ask for participants to bring
power strips and
network switches, if available. Installfests welcome all skill levels from complete novice to expert. An installfest will range from an informal get together to festivals involving music. The tone and scope of a specific event will depend on the organization sponsoring it. Writing in the
BBC's
Internet Blog in 2008, George Wright described a mini-installfest as being "as painless as [he]'d imagined" and "[with] a bit of luck, it can be straightforward". The
Ubuntu Global Jam includes installfests. Simultaneous installfests in many
Latin American cities are coordinated annually through
FLISOL.
Hackfests A
Hackfest (a
portmanteau of
hack and
festival) is an event, generally sponsored by a local Linux user group, university, or
LAN party, at which people get together to demonstrate security issues or
reverse engineer computer
operating systems or
software, most often
Linux and other
open source software.
SFD Local LUGs celebrate
Software Freedom Day by going out and promoting
Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). Free Ubuntu CDs are given out along with brochures and any information about FOSS. This event is commonly held on the third Saturday of September. ==Online LUGs==