[Glastonbury] tomorrow's -- now today's -- meeting

[Andrew M.A. Cater]

On Sun, Dec 11, 2005 at 02:21:18PM +0000, Greg Browne wrote:
> Like Cherry, I just want to add my thanks to you Steve for all your hard
> work and to others for all their invaluable tips and advice, especially
> Martin. I've not been a frequent visitor but all in the group have helped me
> a lot. All the best with your future, Steve.

This situation is getting beyond a joke: various "stuff" has been
said on LUGoG mailing lists, tempers have run high and so on - but 
please don't assume that it's necessarily the end of LUGOG, that
people are forced to take sides and so on. I've been staying out
of this one as a relative outsider - though one who has been involved
one way or another with LUGOG since its inception - but I'd like to 
add a little here, if I may.

Steve,

Thanks for your good work. It's not easy being a teacher - for you, it
can't be any easier to go back into school after work and work hard to
keep a group of enthusiasts together, provide them with facilities and
still feel pressured/undervalued/put upon. Don't walk away from the LUGoG
altogether: you are valued, as is everyone else.

Martin,

Try hard not to annoy people accidentally/negligently/gratuitously. 
Too many people can't cope with it: think for a moment before annoying
people deliberately.

[Though it pains me to say it, given my own character: it really _is_ true 
that not everything can be black and white nor can one man alone rid the 
world of fools and others, no matter how well intentioned he may seek to be :) ]

Everyone else

I don't know/care precisely what/what was not said at the school. Nor does
anyone else : CLUE TO EVERYONE ELSE THAT ISN'T STEVE OR MARTIN - it really 
doesn't/shouldn't matter in the medium to long term.

Martin expressing himself in forthright terms is Martin, pure and simple. 
I've known and respected him for many years and, right or wrong, he is 
consistent in his approach and lives with it - for good or ill, Martin's 
post is entirely consistent with Martin in real life. Ian's point about 
worrying about the tone of Martin's postings to the list is probably overkill - 
anyone who has hung around the 'Net for more than six months is probably
used to flamewars and such.

No-one has to associate themselves with every post on this list 
(nor should they) but a continuing association with a successful LUGOG should
mean rather more in six months from now than an obscure post (on a relatively 
obscure list).

What does need sorting out - as it seems to me and all IMHO:
============================================================

1. The LUGoG may need a committee or hierarchy of some kind - if only so
that the outside world knows who to contact / who can speak
authoritatively for the group if there are problems and so that Steve
can have some backup / deputy.

2. The LUGoG should consider how best to pay for the facilities they use -
be it in providing Linux training / networking courses / desk top
publishing courses to St. Dunstan's students (or whatever) or assisting
the centre (bespoke software / fixing computers that break ...)
or in giving back to the wider community in some other way [install days
, copies of Firefox/OpenOffice, security/networking/anti-virus help??]

3. Location, location, location. T1 is, fairly obviously, an ideal 
location if it can be secured. If it can't / outside school terms 
is there anywhere else within 15-20 miles - any corporates who might help
/ any Govt. department?? 
[I remember doing disability access surveys for fire stations here in
Gloucestershire: one of the remits for this IIRC was because the Home 
Office had suggested that the Fire Brigade ensure good use of training 
rooms and so forth outside 9-5, perhaps by letting the local communities 
use them.] Pubs are a no no if only because you may have young people around. 

4. If you do have young people around / "vulnerable" adults, is the group
effectively "clean" [given the need for CRB clearances and the
legal liabliity culture when working with young people] and are
appropriate safeguards in place? The same goes for liability insurances
and other safeguards for group members attending meetings (possibly) -
if you fall over a desk / get electrocuted by opening a laptop outside
school hours, how far is the group liable?

5. Timing of meetings and events planning. You will never get a meeting
night that will suit everyone - but you do need a regular meeting on a 
known day insofar as this is possible.

This is all growing pains: I've seen similar from radio clubs in the
past. Key people need to feel they have support and a succession plan
from the wider membership - the membership in the widest sense need
to "own" the LuGOG and see its success as theirs. We all need to push
Linux like mad and help poeple to get to grips with it - potentially
there may be more demand for support as Windows requires more and
more and people can't afford to upgrade hardware and software / don't
trust big corporations after the Sony rootkit.

> Greg
> PS. Intend to get to Mepis land in February. Will report back if I succeed.

A permanent move / visit to WV??

> PPS www.computux.com is an ideal presentation of the future of computing,
> IMO. The need is in support, not in locked in software.
 
Thanks for the hint :)

Andy

> --
> Greg Browne
> www.rotherleigh.co.uk
> Tel: 0845 458 8172, 020 7871 8495
> Fax: 07967 627835