Installfest - logistics questions / followup classes?

["Fred H. Olson" <fholson@cohousing.org>]

I got Linux installed at the Installfest last spring.  I have yet to use
it much (see below).  

There were kind of two kinds folks present (among others):

People getting Linux installed on their computer ("recipients") 
People actually doing installations ( "installers").  

At that installfest it seemed like the process of hooking up recipients
with installers pretty random and at the initiative of the recipients.  I
sort of walked around talking to folks, looking over shoulders etc and
after a while has Peter Lukas do the install.

Has any consideration been made to streamline this process of getting
recipients and installers started?  A first-come-first-serve system with 
a que ("take a number") system, probably divided by flavor of Linux (etc)
to be installed comes to mind.

With increasing visibility of Linux, publicity and a location at the UofM,
I can imagine a lot of folks dragging their computers in...  It's hard to
know but an oversupply of recipients could overwhelm installers..  A
streamlined process could help and help predict who wont be able to be
served.

SECOND...  (from personal experience...)

Getting Linux installed is just one step in the process of becoming a
reasonably competent Linux user.  Some kind of followup classes and/or 
forum for
questions and advice (by phone as well as email?) seem like they would get
a lot of folks beyond simply having an installed version of Linux.  Many
of
the folks on this list would be able to conduct a few sessions of
introductory classes.  After a few classes I suspect many people would
have enough background to get further assistance via email but initially 
email is too cumbersome for all the trivial stuff ("what key do I hit to
do...")  

BTW this list tends to discuss things that are over the heads of novices
and that makes it feel awkward to ask novice type questions which all the
experienced users can answer.  So it feels like wasting their time asking
such questions here.  BTW I think the list has treated the novice
questions that have been asked here quite adequately and respectfully (I
know it's hard to be patient with newbies sometimes...)  Maybe a separate
novice list (which of course would need a few experienced participants
(maybe on a designated respondent, rotating basis). 

Fred

--
Fred H. Olson  fholson@cohousing.org    Minneapolis,MN   55411  
(612)588-9532  Amateur radio: WB0YQM          List manager of:
Cohousing-L  See http://www.cohousing.org and Nbhd-tc --  Twin 
Cities Neighborhood issues list.  See http://freenet.msp.mn.us