[SWLUG] Not-for-profit formalisation?

[Matthew Moore]

James Edgeworth wrote:

<snip stuff about lug structure>

>> This was something we talked about at the last Cardiff night.

We did?  I must have missed that part.  Unless you're refering to my 
wimbling about running more talks and stuff.

<whats the point of the lug?>
>>
>> What's the point of the LUG? You'd be forgiven for thinking it's a 
>> geek's drinking club ;-)

You almost say that like it's a bad thing...  ;)

Personally I don't mind just getting on with it.  Several people did 
chip in and help.  Sitsofe with getting the room.  The various people 
who did talks and someone who's name I don't remeber (sorry!) sorting 
out a much better poster than my effort.  Over the years I've organised 
plenty of things like this and I tend to find you end up largely doing 
it on your own.  Most people will talk the talk but never actually help 
much.  Horribly cynical I know and I don't mean it as a dig at people in 
the lug, but it's what's happened to me when I've organised things.

<organisation>

I think if we do get going a bit more then we can revisit it a bit more 
seriously.  I'm happy to arrange a meeting with the sole purpose of 
trying to get a group of us who want to organise events.  Any one 
interested?

I do have several ideas on stuff to do (which I'll share on list one of 
these days) and I do plan on doing more talks at the very least.

>> These are just my thoughts, from what we were discussing the other 
>> week. It'd be worth seeing what some other LUGs around the country are 
>> doing and how they do it. If their model works, perhaps it should be 
>> ours too.

In my experience of mklug and wwlug we're a lot more organised than 
them.  wwlug is basically dead and mklug holds meetings even less now 
than it used to.  mklug used to piggy back off the fast janet connection 
at the Open University for getting updates/isos etc pre cheap fast 
broadband.  But broadband did kill all that.

>> PS - I'm not having a dig at anyone or the LUG in general, just trying 
>> to raise some discussion about whether folk want the LUG to develop in 
>> this way!

I think it's good to have this kind of discussion, might spur a few more 
of us into action.

> I second all that.

Thirded with caveats!

<lighting talk>

Well I did one in Swansea last year.  I plan on doing one again in 
Cardiff in the next few months, so make sure you come along!

> 
<cardiff lug apathy>

Well out of the current group there are a few of us who are discussing 
and planning some activities over then next year.  Yes it is a bit of a 
talking/drinking shop but that's not a bad thing.  Hopefully that'll 
lead on to more events.


<lug troubleshooting/install day>

If you have a contact at Cardiff uni who could arrange a room get in 
touch, that would be very useful in running an event in Cardiff.  I'd be 
happy to try something like that.  Not sure it would be that popular, 
but I'm willing to try.  Obviously publicity is a tough thing for 
something like that.  Also personally, I'm not sure I'm enough of an 
expert tbh.  Mainframe financial systems yes, Networking maybe.  But not 
much else.

> 
> I guess time is also a big factor - it just seems that, if someone 
> misses an 'extra event', its a very long wait until the next one.
> 

Personally I do hope to change that.  Hopefully me doing that will get a 
few more people involved in doing events.  We'll see.

Matt