A new New Users Network

This is the idea I posted at the sounder mailist: An extension to the New Users Network

"Hello,

A while ago I joined the Ubuntu Youth team and asked what they were
doing. I was told
that the only purpose yet of the team was the #ubuntu-youth IRC
channel where young
Ubuntu users could gather and communicate. That didn't sound much to
me so I though of some ideas. Unfortunately I never got a real
response to them.

When I rethought and extended those ideas I realized that they were
also suitable for the whole community. It's meant to educate new
people to Ubuntu how to use it, but also learn people new to the
Ubuntu community how to participate. I mostly thought of complete
newbies to the kind of process, but I think we should (if it would be
implemented of course  ) make certain parts also usable for people
coming from other projects.

A thing I suggested was to provide the young people coming to the team
education. The team can help young Ubuntu users find their place in
the community(mentors? guides?) and learn them about their 'work'. The
current lessons are also a bit technical, which I personally like, but
it's probably not suitable for the a lot of people new to Ubuntu/Linux.
So I suggest to also provide lessons explaining how to use
OpenOffice.org, use educational software, import photos from the
digital camera and organize their music library(and other things
people want to do with their computer(suggestions needed)).
This requires an easier way to find the team and take part in the
lessons because not all people can or want to learn how to use IRC and
look up the #ubuntu-classroom channel(although I though people are
already working on this. Is that true?).
Maybe an entry at the Ubuntu start page, in the Ubuntu Help and at the
yet-to-be-written/accepted/designed Ubuntu start centre would really
help.

Another thing I would like for people new to the community, and which
is already done by the MOTU, is mentoring. Every person asks the team
for a mentor after (s)he has done a test/read a guide to determine
what part of Ubuntu (s)he wants to participate in and gets(if there's
place/need of help) a mentor specialized in that part of the
community. The mentor, who can have more than one pupil of course,
helps finding his/her pupil the right 'job' and learns him/her how to
do it properly. The mentor will guide the pupil in the community until
the pupil finds (s)he doesn't need the mentor anymore or, in the bad
case, when the mentor doesn't have time to do it anymore or doesn't
want to help the pupil anymore.

I thought of this resources: one 'council' team to manage the whole
'project', one mentor team, a pupil team, wiki pages, a mailist(one
for appliance, one for management) and an IRC channel.

OK, this was the suggestion. I've probably forgot a lot of things,
please correct me where I made mistakes and give your feedback. Maybe
I've sounded a bit rude because I don't speak native English or forgot
the implications certain things have. I'm sorry for that.

Sense Hofstede
<http://www.qense.nl/>
<https://launchpad.net/~qense>
<https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Qense>

PS: It's just an idea. I want to suggest something, I don't try to
enforce anything to anyone, although I may sound so somewhere. Please
tell me where/if I do so."

OK, I may have been a bit to careful with the anti-flame disclaimer, like I call it, but it is what I think and I’ve experienced once before an attack after a suggestion. After that I’ve been careful.

Of course the LoCo teams should also get involved, because English isn’t the only language in the world. Maybe #ubuntu-classroom-nl channels?

I’m really curious what people think of this idea. Please leave a comment or reply to the mailist. I do want to help with the project, but I have to warn that I don’t have much support experience, so I think other people are more suitable for leading the whole thing. I think the whole NUN team should be extended, rather than replaced by a new team. But I’m not familiar with that team and the only thing that I know that they’re currently doing is maintaining the main support channels. (Apologizes if I don’t fully recognize your hard work! )

So what do you think?