[Clev-jug] State of the JUG

[Maciej Zawadzki]

Hello Everyone,

One of the topics that I wanted to talk about last night (had we had  
a meeting) was the fact that I think that it's time for someone else  
to run the JUG.  I feel this way primarily because I don't think that  
I've been doing a very good job lately; and worse, I don't think that  
this would change in the foreseeable future.

So, I just got off the phone with Scott Seighman and he is going to  
take over scheduling speakers and generally running the JUG.  I think  
that it is a good idea to keep the JUG going since I do think that  
Java continues to be very relevant in the present technology  
landscape -- despite the fact that newer technologies like Ruby seem  
to be stealing the limelight a bit.  From what I've heard, many  
people find that RoR apps run faster on Java using JRuby than  
natively.  So, I think that Java will remain relevant for a very long  
time.

Perhaps the focus of the JUG can change a bit.  I would say that we  
could start looking at related technologies such as JRuby and Groovy  
and such, but we've been doing that already to some extent.   
Continuing that trend would be a good thing in my eyes.  I think that  
it's also important for all of us to look towards the JUG more as a  
resource.  I know that this is a bit of a shift for me.  For example,  
I used to schedule talks that I thought other people would like.   
It's only recently that I started looking for speakers on topics that  
I would like -- such as the OSGi talks.  I still want to hear the two  
OSGi related talks that we were supposed to have.  I would also like  
to hear about real world experiences with technologies.  For example,  
despite all the info out there about JSF, I have not done much with  
it myself.  There are several questions/fears that I have about it.   
Getting someone that is not necessarily an "authority" on JSF but has  
used JSF on a real and sizable project would be great since it would  
allow me the opportunity to ask my questions in hope of getting an  
untainted response.

Anyhow, that's some of my parting thoughts.  I will continue to  
remain involved in the JUG as a regular member attending as many of  
the sessions as I can (travel is the main obstacle).

Regards,

--Maciej


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