This is a continuation of the "Page Redirect" discussion that got off-topic. That discussion was getting into addressing the needs of the Ninjas and the Noobs.
Since I started attending in March, the presentations seem to be pretty advanced (which appeals to the Ninjas) while the Lightning Round tends to be more basic (which helps the Noobs, at least it helps THIS noob). So, it seems like a 50/50 split, which sounds fair to me.
But, the other Noobs who attend usually don't return. My husband, Greg, and I were conjecturing that they're put off by the advanced nature of the presentations. So, the "Page Redirect" discussion was starting to pose possible solutions. Then it was pointed out that the discussion had become WAAAY off topic so I moved it here.
So, just in case there is an interest in continuing the discussion...
I realized that there is another way to categorize the participants, which may be helpful.
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Drupal Professionals - these are the people who typically work on multiple sites. Drupal is their job and their passion. [Yes, Sage Tree, I'm thinking of you.] Not all of the SageTree employees are Ninjas (e.g., a graphic artist is a Professional but may not be a Drupal Ninja).
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Drupal End-Users - these are the people for whom Drupal is just the means to the end. They needed to pick a CMS and decided to pick Drupal. Members of this group can range from amateurs (e.g., me) to advanced (e.g., Mr. Balboa Park). The man who is managing the Drupal site for the Midway would also fall into this category.
The possible relevancy of this became apparent when we were looking at Drush today. Our understanding of Drush could be wrong, but it seemed that Drush would be useful to the Drupal Professionals but overkill for the Drupal End-Users (I'd be happy to explain my reasoning, if anyone cares). That's when I realized that topics can be categorized along two dimensions (Ninja vs Noob) and (Professional vs End-User).
The March meeting was about improving response time. That was clearly a Ninja Professional discussion.
The April presentation was about Symphony - That was also a Ninja Professional discussion (while Symphony was interesting, it's not really immediately relevant to us End-Users).
The May presentations were about Facebook connections and a video wall. I'd categorize those as Ninja along one axis but in the middle of the Professional-vs-End-User axis.
Where am I going with this, you ask? It may help to categorize the presentations. If we have a Ninja-Professional presentation, then it may make sense to also have a separate Noob End-User side-group because the Noob End-Users are on the opposite quadrant of this graph. On the other hand, when the presentations are near the center of the graph, then all parties are more likely to be interested.
I've been accused of over-thinking things. I don't know where they get that idea...
Comments
RE: Noobs v. Ninjas
I'll throw in some suggestions:
1) Sometimes I come in up to 30 minutes early to pick the brains of the brightest minds who happen to be there. Andrew, Bill, Christoph, etc. have "free office hours" before the meeting starts, and if I have very specific questions, I typically get pointed towards the right direction from the usual experts.
2) It might help if you have a live test server showing exactly what the problem is that you're trying to solve with the bare minimum modules installed to make this happen. Showing your problem on your laptop (or borrowing someone else's during the lightning talk) is better than describing it, especially if it's something specific like Views.
3) You can technically ask your husband to ask more questions and extend your five minutes into 10.
4) IMHO, there is no way in hell that a monthly Drupal meeting can help newbies become ninjas (Drupal is not WordPress). It needs to be weekly. I had always wished for a study group for newbies, and eventually joined and graduated from one. It gives you that "push" that you sometimes need, learning with others that are on a similar level. There could be an endless study group where newbies meet and just share what they learned from the past week. Each person should have just one thing to show and ask, and by the time everyone talks & asks questions, it's time to go home. Then by the time you feel you've learned enough to graduate, hopefully there will be newer people that have just joined to keep the group going forever.
Jay Lee
https://jay.lee.bio
Good suggestions!
Thanks, these are good suggestions.
1. I didn't know that people arrived 30 minutes early. I'll definitely take advantage of that.
2. I don't have a laptop. I've been trying to decide if it's better for me to lug my iMac to meetings or put the problem on my live site and just not link to it. I'm leaning toward the latter because I could then take advantage of Sagetree's "chocolate cake" offer. [For those of you who weren't at the May meeting, Sagetree facetiously offered free emergency after-hours help in exchange for chocolate cake. I'm holding them to it.]
3. Greg, my husband, is used to me taking advantage of him so he'll roll with it. And, I'm not above dragging people in from the streets for more of the same.
4. I'd LOVE to have a weekly meeting, as long as it isn't on Thursdays. It would be nice to have one Ninja so that we don't all shake our heads and say in unison "Sorry, I don't know". This may be a potential client pool for Sagetree so maybe they'd offer their support. I'd even bring chocolate cake.
I love what's articulated here - now let's do something!
I have followed these threads with interest, but waited to respond.
Drupal is a do-ocracy, i.e. it grows with contributions from its users and people gain recognition because of the value of what they have done. Likewise, this Drupal User Group is your group, and it will be exactly as valuable to you as you make it. I am really glad that these discussions are taking place, and I hope some people will step up and make things happen.
We are generally a little short on topics for presentations and even shorter on people willing to present. We welcome any and all offers to present, so here's your chance to shape what the group addresses. We also welcome people willing to put together programs and hunt down possible presenters.
In open source everyone generally scratches their own itch. Hence when left to our own devices we tend to schedule items in our corner of Debbie's Noob / Ninja / Drupal End User / Drupal Pro quadrant. What we really need are organizers and presenters from corners which the usual suspects don't inhabit. See points 1 and 2.
I had to chuckle about Jay's characterization of "office hours" before the meeting, but it's not too far off the mark. All Drupal people are generally very approachable, and if we're here and have time we are by definition available and happy talk about Drupal stuff. So grab the person you noticed at the last meeting and pick their brain as Jay suggested. The casual mixing is just as much part of the meeting as the scheduled program.
Weekly meetings: Personally I'm just coming off a weekly program, and I am not sure I can and will commit to another one soon. But I would attend occasionally because I care enough about this stuff.
While I can't promise on behalf of Sage Tree, I am quite certain that a weekly meeting of mostly noobs / Drupal end users with one or two pros mixed in at the Sage Tree office is feasible. I think if a core group of people keep the thing running it will succeed.
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Christoph Weber
Drupal Newbie Group
So from what I understand, there is now a Drupal newbie group meeting going on weekly at Sage Tree Solutions. Debbie can provide more details. Good luck guys!
Jay Lee
https://jay.lee.bio