[Baypiggies] BayPIGgies leadership

[Marilyn Davis]

Hello Python People,

Thanks so much for bringing this up, Wesley.  It's been on my mind.
And, congratulations on the new baby.  That's wonderful!

I would like to be active in a professional group that is centered
around Python.  But I am reticent to step forward here for two
reasons.  One is the name.  'Baypiggies' is cute but it doesn't say
what we are or suggest professionalism.  The other obstacle to my
whole-hearted participation is the expectation that private email
messages carry an obligation of secrecy for the recipient.  I wonder
if there is a mechanism for changing these things?

But, in spite of these reservations, here I go anyway.

Aahz, I'd like to reinforce what you say and add that I see this email
list as the critical glue that holds the group together.  Email is the
killer app.

And thank you JJ, Deirdre, and Dennis for your prodding words.  

Perhaps, if we think of the face-to-face meeting as an activity that
the email list sponsors, well, maybe that's a practical way to model
the organization?

As an email list, we exist as a group, whether or not there's a
face-to-face.  We have a point of contact with a community of pythonic
thinkers and maybe that's the most important thing.  The
icing-on-the-cake is that together we can organize any sort of
activity, if there's an idea and energy.

I attended two meetings lately and there was a hefty audience, even
when there was no real program planned.  I find it a bit perplexing.
Why do people come?

So, maybe, in addition to looking for new 'leadership', as Wesley
suggested, it might make sense to take a little time to ask people
what they want.  Do they come hoping to learn something?  Hoping to
rub elbows with other people who speak python?  Network?  Job-shop?
What sort of face-to-face activities might be interesting?  Do people
only want to be passively entertained by speakers or might they like
to participate in something?  Does the topic have to be about python
or might we be interested in JJ's talk on software development?  Or a
travelogue slide-show by a member?  Might we be happy to have a
dessert party where we just schmooze instead of having a speaker each
time?

Do we have a statement of purpose?

Back to sponsoring a talk.  I'm hearing that the list of tasks are:

1. Finding a place for the meetings.  That's done.

2. Figuring out the activity for the evening.  This seems to be the
hard part.

3. Finding someone to show up on time and start the meeting.  I can do
this -- especially if there is another volunteer to take over after
8:30 so I can leave and get to the end of my dance club.  I've been
dancing with that community for 17 years!

4. Find a web volunteer to fix up the web site each month.  I see that
the April 12 meeting is already posted!  Good work someone!  I guess
it would be good to add whether the meeting is at Google or Ironport.

5. Provide snacks?  Maybe this is optional?

As an email list, we might find other ideas for things we can organize
together.  The linux users group has an occasional "Installathon".  We
could hold a "Learnathon".  I could see myself volunteering to
facilitate an occasional session on a well-defined subject ("Sequence
Types", "Dictionaries", "Function Protocols", "Intro to Classes", ...)
where people brought their laptops and worked through some lab
exercises.

Maybe we could collectively figure a way to push Python into the
schools?

Thanks for listening.

Marilyn Davis