Rebuilding Cleveland Perl Mongers
When I transitioned from using Perl as a systems engineer, systems administrator ... etc. etc. to working as a full-time developer I was upset to discover the local Perl mongers group fizzled out a long time ago. The last post on the mailing list was about free training from Erols.com (remember that company??? WOW!?) Needless to say that's some old stuff ...
I was psyched to get things going again so I set out to figure out how to do things the proper way and assume the role as the group organizer. For those of you in a similar position I hope this post helps you!
The first thing I did was post to the mailing list and through the other communications channels to determine if anyone was still lurking.
After confirming there weren't any lurkers or other people with an interest in resurrecting the group that could help me, I looked at the Perl Mongers FAQ which pointed me to the #mongers IRC channel on irc.perl.org.
I then proceeded to ask the OP for help on repointing the domain to a new location that I setup specifically for Cleveland Perl Mongers.
Since that time, I've setup a Meetup group for Cleveland Perl Mongers which has attracted a steady group of Mongers. We now hold a meeting everything month on topics we are interested in learning more about. To give back to the community we share those talks on our site.
The transition process was seamless and the folks on #mongers are great!
Although Cleveland still has some work to do attracting new people before we can organize a workshop we're on the proper path!
If you have questions about resurrecting your local Perl Mongers I suggest asking in #mongers or feel free to reach out to me on the Cleveland Perl Mongers mailing list.
There are lots of possible guest speakers a medium train ride away, and I'm sure many of them would come out for just travel expenses. :)