Colin, thanks for speaking up and persisting - I think the debate is very valuable.
Not necessarily. If the group reading this is satisfied with the direction ALUG is going in then I'm 'odd out' and will have to seek other solutions. The group may consist largely of trained computer professionals for whom this idea is irrelevant, and other users may be happy to potter along in their own time. I could be the only one using this list who wants this.
The people who post most often may give that impression but I think there are probably a large number of people on the list who are not computer professionals or linux experts and who would be very interested in some sort of more formalised support at meetings.
There are I believe over 200 list members. Maybe a few more people could join in here, if only to say 'yes me too' if you don't want to have a long discussion?
Referring to your list of questions and topics - some will have different answers depending on the distribution being used and some of them are things that no-one can agree on anyway (e.g. the 'best' distro to use)!
That doesn't mean that the questions are not worth asking or trying to answer though, far from it. All I'm saying is that sometimes the answers are not simple - part of the richness but also the frustration of the linux world.
Pity you're working this evening - I'd really have liked to have met up again asap!
Regards Syd