This is a call for a Perl 6 Beginners Study Group in New York City.  I encourage people interested in this group to come to the ny.pm social meeting scheduled for Monday, January 18 at the Peculier Pub, 145 Bleecker St in Greenwich Village (http://www.meetup.com/The-New-York-Perl-Meetup-Group/events/228015601/) for the purpose of discussing how to get this group started.  (Although the meeting is scheduled for 7:00 pm, I'll actually be there at 6:00 pm.)

TIMTOWTDI

Note that I say "a" Perl 6 study group -- not "the" Perl 6 study group.  We will aim *this* Perl 6 study group to meet the needs of, and be convenient for, the people who are doing the work of organizing the group.  It won't meet everyone's needs; its scheduling and location won't be convenient for everyone.  There Is More Than One Way To Do It.  If this group doesn't meet your needs or is not convenient for you, feel free to organize *another* Perl 6 study group.

Who Is This Group For?

This group is for people who are eager to dip their toes into the water of a new stream.  Some programming experience is necessary -- but that experience does *not* have to be recent experience in Perl 5.  Nor is Perl 6 experience:  There are at most three people in New York City who have written Perl 6 programs -- and I'm not one of them.  Curiosity, a positive attitude and a willingness to work are more important than Perl expertise.

What Is the Likely Format of This Group?

The most successful ongoing study group we've ever had in New York City was the Phalanx project group back in 2004-05.  That group met once a month on a Saturday afternoon at d.b.a. for about six consecutive months.  Our focus was to improve the code, tests and documentation in important CPAN libraries -- similar to today's CPAN Pull Request Challenge, but before there was Git or pull requests.  People participating in Phalanx were asked to make an upfront commitment to participate, so this was not a group organized for the benefit of one-time drop-ins.  Phalanx project members worked on the CPAN libraries at home between monthly sessions and we're expected to report progress at monthly in-person gatherings.  The participants had widely different levels of programming skills -- this was where I first learned to use a version control system (Subversion) -- but we didn't have the "presenter/participant" distinction which is present in a typical technical user group meeting.  It was collective hacking and self-instruction.

I'd like this Perl 6 study group to replicate that experience.  I'd like it to meet once monthly between February and June on a weekend afternoon, probably Saturday.  Between monthly sessions I'd like each participant to work at home so that we progress from meeting to meeting.  We'll decide on a project to which each participant can make a contribution so that we have something to show for our efforts come the summer.

What Should I Expect as the Outcome of the Group?

As just suggested above, I hope that the group will have some collective work-product by the time it winds up.  But I hope that as individuals we will each achieve some or all of the following:

* Be able to install and update Perl 6, whether that be via blead, monthly compiler release or Rakudo Star.

* Be able to install and update Perl 6 libraries.

* Be able to write a simple Perl 6 program or library.

* Be confident enough to participate in Perl 6 discussions:  mailing lists, IRC freenode #perl6, lightning talk, blog post, etc.

* Be able to identify at least one reason why you should continue studying Perl 6 or why other people should take up that study.

What Will Happen After This Group Ends?

When this group ends, those of us who have participated should be in a position to lead other Perl 6 efforts.  We'll encourage people to embark on such efforts starting in the summer or fall.  For example, if we have a Third New York City Perl Hackathon in the fall, participants will be able to lead a Perl 6 track at that event.

It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.

Thank you very much.
Jim Keenan