Ubuntu Wiki

Whether you are new to Ubuntu, or just new to the Chicago Loco, this page is for you. Here you will find information on the team's various methods of communication, how you can use them, and where you can find answers to your questions.

What is a LoCo Team?

A LoCo Team is a Local Community of (in our case) Ubuntu users. A LoCo can involve a lot of things such as local promoting, support in the local language, general support to local users and much more. Most importantly however, it lets people find other Ubuntu users near them!

Why should I join a LoCo team?

There are lots of benefits and fun to be had getting involved with a LoCo team, not only in terms of spreading awareness about Ubuntu, but also helping to develop free software in your community, improve Ubuntu and more.

See the LoCoFAQ page for even more information.

Finding Support

The Ubuntu Chicago Loco team is committed in helping you find answers! There are plenty of places you can find help, from adding your printer, to installing new applications, to just about any other issue you may have.

System Documentation

The first place you can look is the system documentation that comes with your copy of Ubuntu.

• From the menu at the top of the screen, click on System > Help and Support

• In the search field, type in a word in reference what you are looking for, such as printing, email, or installing programs
• Click on a topic in the window with information that you need

Looking For Help Online

• The best way to reach members of the Ubuntu-Chicago team is through our mailing list. Please subscribe to our (low-email volume) list, and then send your question or problem details to the mailing address: ubuntu-us-chicago@lists.ubuntu.com. Someone will usually be able to respond to your inquiry within a few hours.

• There is an Ubuntu manual available online at https://help.ubuntu.com/

• You can also visit the Ubuntu Forums, and post your questions for anyone in the Ubuntu community to answer

• If you have a question that is local in nature, there is also the Illinois forum on UbuntuForums.org

Immediate Community Support

The Chicago Loco uses IRC (Internet Relay Chat) for instant chatting and communication. If you are unfamiliar with IRC, but would like to setup a client so that you can join us online, please see this excellent page on how to get an IRC client setup on your computer: XChat How-to

After you go through this guide, you will be connected to the Ubuntu chat servers, from which you can have two options:

• You can join the generic Ubuntu channel, where hundreds of people are available willing to help you

  • To do this, type /join #ubuntu once you are connected

  • The #ubuntu channel is frequently very busy, so please be patient and give other users time to respond to your questions
• You may also join the Chicago Team channel if you want more local support

  • For the Chicago chat channel, type /join #ubuntu-chicago once connected

  • The #ubuntu-chicago channel usually has people in the channel, but we may be at work, eating a sandwich, or otherwise occupied with hacking tasks. Please do stop in and say hello, though!

Loco Contact Methods

There are many ways the Chicago Loco uses to communicate. You can find all of these methods on our 'Contact Us' page. They are explained here in a bit more detail for clarification.

Wiki page: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ChicagoTeam

The wiki is where the ChicagoTeam keeps most of it's dynamic content: development ideas, current projects, logs, and other things. Here you will find subpages for each team as well as information about the team in general and our many activities.

Website: www.ubuntu-chicago.org ( http://chi.ubuntu-us.org )

The website is currently undergoing some changes, but this is the place where we will be keeping some of the more generic content intended to be "publicized", like team news (in blog form!) and event information.

Mailing list: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-us-chicago

The mailing list is used much like the forums, for quicker discussion and dissemination of team news, although it is more support-oriented than the forums.

LaunchPad: https://launchpad.net/people/ubuntu-chicago

Our LaunchPad site is used by some members for keeping track of projects in the development stage. As a new member though, don't worry about it too much, right now LP is mostly used for keeping track of how many members we have.