[sf-lug] [new-sfwow] (tech) learning Python and Ruby

[Rick Moen]

Quoting jim stockford (jim at well.com):

> python.org and baypiggies.net for python,
> rubyonrails.org and http://ruby.meetup.com/6/ for ruby
> 
> http://www.sf-lug.org for general, if a little out of control
> info and discussion.
> 
> other bay area-ish active groups with busy and
> informative email discussions:
> svlug.org silicon valley linux user group
> lugod.org davis linux user group
> penlug.org sfbay peninsula linux user group

Some guy I shave tracks the comings and goings (and calendar events) of
most of those at http://linuxmafia.com/bale/ ("BALE").

I'm considering adding the SF PHP Meetup Group, SF Ruby Meetup Group,
San Jose PHP Meetup Group, and Bay Area Squackers (San Jose -- group for
fans of Squeak, an update of Smalltalk).  Those are referenced on Rich
Morin's extremely useful "SF Bay Area Scripting Groups" page:
http://www.cfcl.com/rdm/bass/groups.php

Bay Area Squackers has no Web presence other than this static entry on
http://minnow.cc.gatech.edu/squeak/1288:

   Squackers - first-wednesdays Bay Area Squeak meeting, email Craig
               [mailto link] for directions.

The problem with my adding an ongoing entry for a group like that is: 
How do I know the group hasn't folded (unless I happen to attend
regularly)?  As a general rule, BALE lists as recurring events only
groups whose continued existence can be confirmed via the Web, for that
reason.

As to the others, I'm pretty down on Meetup Groups, based on my
less-than-thrilling experience with that Web 2.0 company concerning
Linux Journal Meetups:  To participate (including finding out where the
events physically meet), you need to sign up for the Meetup "service",
which means they then spam you a _lot_ with various e-mail nags and
upsell efforts.  To _fully_ participate, you have to pay their annual
"membership" fee.  I get tired of being hustled, marketed, and spammed
to death by people whose business model involves selling _me_ (my
eyeball time) to their real customers and trying to cajole me into
buying "premium services" that I have no interest in.

Therefore, I am presently inclined to ignore (on BALE) all groups for
which participation requires "membership" in Meetup or similar
hassle-filled commercial Web 2.0 services.[1]  However, I am definitely
considering a cross-link to Rich Morin's page.

[1] See also:  http://linuxmafia.com/faq/Essays/winolj.html
By way of comparison, some Bay Area groups like SJSU Linux User Group
(http://sjsulug.engr.sjsu.edu/) rely on Google Groups or Yahoo Groups
in lieu of running their own mailing lists -- but you can at least find
out where/when they _meet_ without having to sign up with those
commercial services.