[kwlug-announce] (Online) Meeting Monday! LaTeX at the Law Library, clusterssh (April 2020)

[Paul Nijjar]

Quick update: I forgot to mention the time the meeting starts. It will
start at 7pm, as usual. 

- Paul

On Fri, Apr 03, 2020 at 10:23:31PM -0400, Paul Nijjar via kwlug-announce wrote:
> 
> Well, here we are. 
> 
> Let's start by acknowledging the elephant in the room, and express
> hopes that you and your loved ones are keeping safe. 
> 
> Wouldn't it be nice to get out of the house and talk free software
> with others? Well, too bad. Many of us are stuck at home. But at least
> we can talk free software. This month we are going to try holding the
> meeting online. Here is the meeting information:
> 
> URL: https://meetings.theworkingcentre.org/room/kwlug
> Access code: 254896
> 
> The meeting platform is called BigBlueButton (BBB). At the end of this
> announcement I will discuss some tips for using it. 
> 
> In terms of topics: we will (finally!) have John Kerr telling us about
> his experiences using the typesetting language LaTeX at the law
> library (back when there were law libraries). LaTeX is often used to
> typeset mathematical and computer science publications, but John puts
> it to use at his workplace as well. He will show us some of the things
> he does, and tell us the similarities between LaTeX and Gaelic. This
> will be a beginner-friendly presentation.
> 
> Jeff Smith is a sysadmin who sometimes has to run tasks on many
> different servers. He uses clusterssh to manage these servers in
> parallel -- writing a command on one console and sending that command
> to his army of winged monkey servers. He will tell us more about how
> he uses the software, and (if the webconferencing goes well) give us
> some impressive demos. 
> 
> Okay. Here is what you need to know about using the BBB instance: 
> 
> - If you have a computer then BBB works pretty well on modern browsers
>   (Chrome, Firefox, Chromium, Opera, and maybe even Edge). It also
>   works pretty well on cellphones and tablets.
> 
> - When following the link, you will first be asked for the access code
>   above, and then for your name.  Please use your actual name or a
>   handle we will recognise. Our intention is to let everybody (even
>   hypothetical zoom-bombers) in, but only to unlock people who we
>   recognise and trust. 
> 
> - We will not be using webcams, but you will be able to use your
>   microphone. You can also choose to join the meeting in listen-only
>   mode, and you can switch between the two by clicking the button that
>   looks like a telephone receiver (for younger readers: a diagonal clown
>   smile) and reselecting the audio. Audio-only mode works pretty well
>   even on older hardware.
> 
> - BBB has the option of connecting in via a landline in audio-only
>   mode. We don't intend to enable this, but if you really want to join
>   by telephone then let us know. 
> 
> - BBB is a platform intended for e-learning, and so has some strong
>   moderator abilities. To cut down on Zoom-bombing, you will enter the
>   meeting in locked-down mode. If things get unruly then we will lock
>   down things more (cutting off microphone access and maybe even chat
>   access). Even trolls will be able to learn about LaTeX and
>   clusterssh, but our intention is to minimize disruption.
> 
> - You will start out muted. Please stay muted unless it is your time
>   to speak. If you have a question please use the "raise hand"
>   functionality (click your name, choose "set status" and then raise
>   your hand).
> 
> - If we are lucky moderators will pay attention to the chat, but it
>   probably will not be our primary form of communication.
> 
> We will see how the meeting goes. Hopefully the server will stand up
> under load and the experience will be smooth even if we get more
> attendees than usual. Please be patient with us if there are hiccups. 
> 
> If you are worried about being able to access the meeting contact me
> directly (paul_nijjar on the domain yahoo.ca) and we can experiment. 
> 
> There's no meeting map or location, other than the URL above, and no
> parking either. But I hope you come out anyways, even if you have not
> been able to make a physical meeting in a while. 
> 
> - Paul
> -- 
> Events: https://feeds.off-topic.kwlug.org 
> Blog: http://pnijjar.freeshell.org
> 
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> Can't make meetings? Listen to the podcast: https://kwlug.org/podcasts

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Blog: http://pnijjar.freeshell.org