SA Linux is an online Linux User Group. Resources are the non published mailing lists and now also a web based forum installed on WordPress. Registration is required for the web forum and posting(s) are not initially moderated. The forum policies are open, in English and simple. Membership is open to anyone from anywhere.
My name is Andre Coetzee and I started playing with and using Slack Linux around 1995 sometime…. It was not my first exposure to *nix and I stuck with it until SuSE split. I also currently use and operate Redhat, Ubuntu, Mint, CentOS and some others. The initial idea with SALinux.co.za was to have a commercial dmoz type site where Linux Pro’s could showcase their services. Then, I guess LinkedIn grew and Facebook exploded, Google happened and well, the concept became kinda redundant. Having grown up on BBS, then IRC and onto email lists, I never got stuck into web forums, but they can be useful if they are supported by top tech’s and grow to contain valuable content. With Microsoft now also becoming Linux, it is all becoming a *nix of some sort and a SA Linux Forum now makes sense.
Other South African Linux User Groups:
Cape Linux Users Group
Probably the oldest surviving LUG of all of the South African Linux users Groups. I found this user group to be a group of different cliques and not in a good way… Everything also seems very commercial and asking questions sometimes results in unsolicited spam and unsolicited offers. I lasted 5 odd years on their mailing lists (in the early 2000’s – and eventually self unsubscribed as the politics of the different cliques in the group would have driven me nuts. More so after a CLUG moderator dude basically called me a passive aggressive a-hole. Yeah, CLUG does not ROCK. 🙁
Website: https://www.clug.org.za/
Gauteng Linux Users Group
Used to be a great Linux User Group but has since died. Yes, GLUG is finally mostly DEAD. I predicted in late 2008 that it would not last another 10 years. Guess what? Hindsight is perfect and yes, of course, I was right…
Though, it does sometimes and some years have sporadic support and interest depending on the agenda of the agitator of that time.
The main reason why it died is probably because it was run like a fiefdom by an enlightened despot and members were banned for not agreeing with the owner/operator.
The other reason is probably that many of the members here are and were very similar to the anonymous animals and psycho’s on the biased and business forums called ‘mybroadband’ – Heck, probably many of the psycho’s on mybroadband are probably ex members of GLUG, the once huge Linux Users Group.
GLUG once had many many hundreds of active users, meetings that were attended by hundreds of members. Considering that since 1999 Linux has doubled in user size, many many times over. GLUG went in reverse. From hundreds and hundreds of active members it went to a handful of posts for an entire year. Well Done! (And Goodbye, please stay dead…)
Website: https://linux.org.za
East Rand Linux Users Group
I joined and expanded the ELUG (East Rand Linux Users Group) after being banned from GLUG, until I moved to the South Cape (Mossel Bay) Ever since I left the ELUG group also mostly died.
It seems that for Linux User Groups to even exist they need a group of weirdo’s or a single weirdo. How to make them thrive and be self sustaining is challenging. I am trying with SA Linux to create a South African resource and community which is not mailing list based and where anyone can feel at home 🙂