Hi I'd like to start a LUG's in Smyth county Virginia! But here's the question; I really don't know where to begin on this, so can anybody give me some pointers or email me on it? Thanks in advance!

Google search brought this up.

http://linuxmafia.com/faq/Linux_PR/newlug.html

Edit: Linux Mafia is a select group that does not let just anyone join their group.

Check your local library to see if they have free meeting rooms available. If so, reserve a room a couple of months away and post some notices on bulletin boards in various businesses, like restaurants, and especially in computer stores or other places where geeks may hang out. Maybe contact local university computer science department to help spread the word. Have some snacks and beverages if the library allows it. Libraries often have a projector system that you can use (also for free) so you could also prepare with them in advance to bring in a laptop and give a detailed "presentation" (introduction to Linux) for those that show up. If it goes well, meeting #2 might be an "install fest" (have USB's and DVD's prepared for both 32-bit and 64-bit systems, and some light distros for low-RAM systems folks might bring). You may want several helpers for an install fest.

If you help installing for many varied systems, you should probably make it very clear that it is possible that there could be problems and that there is a chance that their computers might be temporarily unbootable if you have very tight time constraints. They could return to the next meeting for more help, or you might offer to meet privately to get them going outside of the meeting. You should encourage people to bring older, unused computers that they have stuffed in a closet... not their main workstation. Remind them to backup anything important before proceeding!

Due to all the variations of UEFI firmware (the BIOS replacement)... I would NOT try to help anyone to dual-boot with Windows. I would recommend that they make a System Recovery set for their Windows, and then only offer to install Linux as a single OS. You will probably also want to avoid Atom processors and Chromebooks if anyone brings those. They can be done, but need more attention.

Future meetings: whatever you can think of! Learn new apps, teach BASH commands, compile a custom kernel, learn to backup with rsync, and so on. You'll have to be creative to keep it all going.

Be prepared... you may suddenly become a very popular person! At least I hope so, and I wish you all success!

Cheers!

Burn a few of DVDs and a couple of cheap USBs and Be Prepared.

Thanks everyone for the help so far!~~

Be prepared to pick the brains of any people more comfortable with Linux than you are, and perhaps suggest they demo at some future event.

The biggest advantage to derive from an LUG is the community, not the demo, installs, or learning. Those all follow if you can build a community. Get the people invested, and it tends to build with less effort. (Not that it ever gets EASY!)

There's a LUG in Roanoke and, reportedly, one at Virginia Tech, though I could not connect to their website. You might try networking with them.

http://www.roalug.net/

https://vtluug.org/

thanks again