Hello @loco-council folks, following up with the Loco rebranding and rescoping discussion. (which was done one matrix and also discourse some publicly, some privately) Let’s now proceed with some resolution on 2 generic ideas.
Context
The @Community-Team at Canonical reached out us several month ago to formally request us to consider following items.
- Rescoping: Allow LoCos to be also established with smaller scope such as City level, University level and more - not just Country level (or state level for LoCo teams in the United States)
- Rebranding: Ubuntu Local Communities (Ubuntu LoCos) → Ubuntu Circles - Aligns perfectly with our great “circle of friends” logo, doesn’t carry any negative connotations in Spanish and fits a bit nicer on a business card. We could grandfather in any existing teams and simply encourage future ones to adopt that naming scheme. It would be a bold change, but one that could really make a nice splash.
Discussion
We have done many discussion on matrix, LoCo Sync meeting(Video call) and discourse until now. Here is the quick summary.
1. Rescoping (Smaller/Diverse Scopes)
Proposal: Explicitly allow smaller, more agile teams like cities, universities, and clubs—not just country-level groups—to lower the barrier to entry and incorporate existing FOSS enthusiast groups.
Discussion Highlights:
- Agreement: There is broad agreement that shrinking the scope makes the community more human and accessible and will help boost grassroots enthusiasm.
- Need for Rules: Clear rules are needed for the functioning, jurisdiction, and application of the Code of Conduct (CoC) for these new smaller LoCos.
- Some suggested that smaller teams should be considered “technically autonomous sub-teams” of the nearest national or supra-national team.
- However, others argued that creating this kind of hierarchy might cause more problems in a volunteer community and that every LoCo should be treated as independently as possible.
- Cooperation/Clarity: It’s encouraged that smaller LoCos connect and cooperate with their national LoCo and nearby teams, and they should be asked to clearly define their own scope to avoid confusion or duplicates.
2. Rebranding
Proposal: Rebrand the Local Community program with a new name: “Ubuntu Circles.” The rationale is that it aligns with the “circle of friends” logo, avoids negative connotations in Spanish, and fits better on a business card.
Discussion Highlights:
- Agreement: “Ubuntu Circles” is largely seen as a natural, warm, and inclusive evolution that better reflects the diverse scopes now being considered. It’s viewed as a good visual metaphor for the community structure.
- Concerns: Initial skepticism existed due to the heritage and recognition of the name “LoCo.” However, the argument for better reflecting a broader concept was deemed decisive.
- “Chapter” Alternative: Some suggested “Chapter” (used by groups like GDG) as a good alternative, but noted it doesn’t offer the same visual metaphor as “Circles.”
- Transition for Existing Teams: The consensus is to not force existing LoCos to change their name or branding immediately. They can be grandfathered in, and a naming and branding guideline should be provided for new or rebooted LoCos, encouraging them to adopt the “Circles” scheme.
Vote
To confirm and make things clear on what we currently and largely agrees on, Let’s vote then continue discussing on details of each topics later.
Here, We only vote on ideas that we broadly agrees. Please vote until 2025-10-18T23:59:00Z.
- Yes
- No
- Yes
- No