Dresden OpenSource UserGroup
The Dresden OpenSource UserGroup is building a platform to bring Open Source enthusiasts together. The group is quite new, but already well organized and provides Meetups once a month about Open Source software and tools.
The Dresden OpenSource UserGroup is building a platform to bring Open Source enthusiasts, professionals and beginners together. The group is quite new, but already well organized and provides Meetups once a month about Open Source software and tools. In this article, the organizers of DDOSUG are talking about the inspiration and motivation to fund and organize a user group in their free time.
DDOSUG
DDOSUG (Dresden OpenSource UserGroup) is a free and community-driven group, that wants to connect people and inspire others to get in touch with Open Source projects. The user group is having some activities and is planning even more. You can find channels on LinkedIn, YouTube and Telegram. You can also attend to one of the monthly (online) Meetups.
The group is not focussing on experts or professional developers, but explicitly wants to see beginners, enthusiasts and professionals in one place. The organizers are also looking for ideas, feedback and speakers. You can read everything about the group on the dedicated DDOSUG page.
Ask the founders
Founding a new group is not an easy task and one need to spend time and money to get things going. I wanted to take the chance to ask and answer some questions.
What motivated you to start the group?
Daniel: I wanted to connect people, learn new things and provide this knowledge to others.
Martin: Open Source does not have much attention, or even a completely wrong attention. For many, Open Source also seems like a foreign word, which is only used by geeks and nerds. My motivation is, to bring Open Source to the mainstream users and enable more people to collaborate with Open Source projects.
Why are you using Open Source?
Daniel: I just like the idea of being transparent, free and allow everybody to use the same tools.
Martin: The first aspect is that Open Source can be used by anyone without paying for licenses. The second is that everyone has the opportunity to support an Open Source project or to check how it works.
How do you use Open Source?
Daniel: I am using Open Source for my professional work as an IT-Consultant since 2009 and privately even longer. It's my work tool and I love to work with Open Source software.
Martin: I try to use Open Source in my private and business life. Very often this works out.
What is your favorite Open Source project?
Daniel: Recently, I love to work with Ansible, Podman or Fedora. But I think my favorite Open Source project is Flatpak / Flathub. The idea of a Linux wide application marketplace is just awesome.
Martin: I do not have THE favorite project. Currently, I like to use and support products like Ansible, Arch Linux, FreeBSD, KDE, LibreOffice and MetaGer.
Are you having own Open Source projects?
Daniel: Yes, most of my work can be seen in various places on GitHub. But I am trying to bring everything to while-true-do.io. Contributing to other projects is also very fun for me.
Martin: Yes I do. I have developed a framework based on Ansible that helps automate IT infrastructures. I named it the SDM Framework, and it can be found here.
What are your plans for 2021?
Daniel: Developing the While True Do project is my #1 priority. Writing more blogs and also moving some old content over is also important. I am also writing my first book about DevSecOps, which is very important to me.
Martin: My plan for 2021 is to bring this group forward to make it well known in the community.
Anything else you want to tell the reader?
Daniel: Please don't hesitate to get in touch with us and provide talks, ideas and feedback.
Martin: Think out of the box, try out Open Source projects and support them.
Conclusion
The Dresden OpenSource UserGroup is a quite new projects with some ambitious ideas. The vision of "connecting people and Open Source projects" provides a lot of space for future projects and events. We will see how it works out and keep you updated.
In case you want to reach out to the founders, please have a look at the dedicated page.
