WNY Ruby User Group

For the past few months I have been attending meetings of the WNY Ruby User Group. My reason for attending was both job related and of a personal interest as part of that cliche 'lifelong pursuit of knowledge'.

I had been a member of only two 'programmers' groups prior to attending the WNY-RUG; I was a member the Buffalo State College Information Processors Association and an ancillary reader and commenter of evolt.org. Having only minor involvement in these organizations, I wasn't sure what to expect at the meet-ups for WNY-RUG.

I think many people, as I did, are picturing a group of high-level Ruby folks hanging out and speaking about things only high-level Ruby folks understand. And this was my first impression as well. As people presented, I thought I would have no point of reference at all.

However, as I persevered through the first meeting and went back to my notes, I realized there was benefit there for even people like myself (read: total ruby n00b). I found that there were three main things I gained from these meeting, and likely anyone with even the slightest interest or knowledge can glean from attending.

One of the biggest benefits I've had from attending is the people there. Each person there is interested in the language and spreading the knowledge of Ruby and Rails. Egos are tossed out and people can converse on a level that is stimulating and educational. After watching presentations I was able to interpolate what was being said about Ruby into what I was working on in my day-to-day work.

While going to group meet-ups I have been learning Ruby (on Rails). In comparison to other frameworks or languages, Ruby seems much more straightforward, but with the 'smarts' of other languages. While listening to other people present their information, I realized there were little pieces I was picking up as I was learning Ruby. The little bits I have been taking away from presentations have allowed me to better understand, if not on the level of other group members than on my own precursory level, the way things function in Ruby. This has been a nice in-road to the learning process.

Not surprisingly, people who program in Ruby have the same problems any other people have. At the end of each meeting, when everyone who planned to present is finished, it seems the entire group engages in discussions that effect everyone who programs. It is a good feeling to be able to find common ground and understanding among peers regardless of platform or language.

At this point in time, I am not programming in Ruby day-to-day. As several members of the group have pointed out, all this will become easier once I do. In the meantime, I plan to continue learning and continue going to the meet-ups in order to benefit as much as possible from the group.