installfest

Installfest hosted by the Rutgers University Student Linux Users' Group

An InstallFest is an event, generally sponsored by a local Linux User Group or university, at which people get together to do mass installations of computer operating systems or software, most often the GNU/Linux operating system and other open-source software.

It is generally an advocacy and community-building event, where novices bring their computers along with their preferred operating system installation disks to the location of the installfest, and experienced users help them in getting started and troubleshooting problems. Sometimes a Linux distribution and informative flyers are given for free to the attendants. Some events ask for participants to bring power strips and network switches if available.

InstallFests welcome all skill levels from complete novice to expert. An Installfest will range from an informal get together to festivals involving food, drink, alcohol, and music. The tone and scope of a specific event will depend on the organization sponsoring it.

The word InstallFest is a portmanteau of installation and festival. This term has slowly overtaken competing terms such as Installathon and the variant Install Fest. The capitalization, installfest versus InstallFest, is still variable. InstallFest captures the festive atmosphere of people helping each other through a sometimes difficult installation.

External links

• Zamalek, Egypt InstallFest - An example of a Linux installfest
• FILSOL 2006 InstallFest -- Latin American Free Software Installfest List
• The Linux Documentation Project Install Fest HOWTO - Resource for organizing an Install Fest

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