Remember that whole crazy “Hey, lets start a LOPSA chapter” thing from last week? Guess what!

There are TWO new LOPSA chapters in the process of starting up. Well, sort of. Probably (Obviously, the LOPSA Board has to vote on the creation of chapters and things like that).

See, LOPSA-LA has been an affiliate for a while, but until now, they’ve met under the banner of the UNIX Users Association of Southern California, or UUASC. After discussing things with their organizer (and my good buddy) Aleksey Tsalolikhin, I learned that he had been wanting to turn LOPSA-LA into a full LOPSA chapter, and when we combined our contacts, he learned that he had the resources to do it. Synergy, baby!

In a completely separate discussion, someone came to me and said, “Hey, the UUASC meetings are really far from me. Do you think an Orange County LOPSA chapter would work?” — of course it will! Despite the fact that they look really close on the map, it’s an hour or two drive from most of the OC to most of LA. That’s crazy, and way too far to go for a LOPSA meeting every month (also, that’s the same reason I started the NYC Chapter).

So now I’m working with Jonathan Turner to make OC LOPSA a reality. We’ve received a lot of interest, and have several people pledged to get to the meetings, but of course we’d like more before the chapter starts.

Here’s how you can help. If you’re in the area of Irvine, CA, and you’re interested in being a charter member of the new LOPSA chapter there, fill out this form to let Jonathan know that you want to help.

The same goes for the Los Angeles chapter. If you want to take part, let Aleksey know by filling out this form.

Two new potential chapters in a little over a week is amazing! You’re doing your part to help make the world better for system administrators everywhere. If you’re not a LOPSA member and want to learn more, check it out here.