The Java user group of SA (JUGSA) has rejected claims that there is no active forum for the Java development community in Gauteng.
The claims were made by Richard Walton in a recent announcement of plans to hold the inaugural meeting of a new Java user group (JUG) in Johannesburg today.
"JUGSA has around 500 members subscribed to its mailing list and bimonthly meetings are well attended," says JUGSA chairman Edwin Peer.
He says it would be better for Walton to contribute to a longstanding technical forum committed to the principle of vendor neutrality, rather than fragmenting the developer community into disparate groups with similar aims.
"We are stronger together because this increases the number and variety of contributions to discussions and events," he asserts.
JUGSA is continually growing membership by word of mouth, Peer maintains. However, he concedes that the JUGSA Web site has not been updated for several months.
"Most of JUGSA's activity happens online via the group's mailing list, which does not require the same amount of time and effort to maintain as a Web site," he explains.
Walton plans to create a more Web-centric community, but Peer has urged collaboration to preserve and grow the existing community. He says a proliferation of user groups will not necessarily benefit the community as a whole.
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