[ALUG] Why we should not form a committee or a single website

[alug@stu.uea.ac.uk]

* From: Mark J Ray <h089@uea.ac.uk>

WARNING: LONGISH MESSAGE FOLLOWS.

SUMMARY:
    There is a LUG HOWTO;
    We've nearly done the setting-up tasks suggested;
    Request comments on:
        The ALUG web site: a WWWVL-ish model?
            http://www.mth.uea.ac.uk/~h089/alug/template.html
        Intentional lack of a committee
        Limitation of the use of the ALUG name/voice
        Recognition of donations
    I've emailed Northants and Cambs.


MESSAGE FOLLOWS

Hi all

I've just been looking through the LUG HOWTO (yes, it does
exist!  What was I saying on uk.comp.os.linux about the
excellent documentation for Linux?) and I came across the
following to-do list for setting up a LUG.  Thought you may
like to review it with me:

DONE * Determine the nearest pre-existing LUG
(Cambridge and Northants)
DONE * Announce your intentions on comp.os.linux.announce and on an
       appropriate regional hierarchy
(Well, uk.comp.os.linux and uk.local.east-anglia)
     * Announce your intention wherever computer users are in your area:
       bookstores, swap meets, cybercafes, colleges and universities,
       corporations, Internet service providers, etc.
     * Find Linux-friendly businesses or institutions in your area that
       may be willing to help you form the LUG
Would people be interested in helping in these two?  As soon as
we've got some meeting details, someone with artistic ability
could make a PostScript file of a poster available for the
first.  I guess the second is happening a bit already, with the
nice support people are giving us ;)

DONE * Form a mailing list or some means of communication between the
       people who express an interest in forming a LUG
     * Ask key people specifically for help in spreading the word about
       your intention to form a LUG
Who do you think they mean?

DONE * Solicit space on a Web server to put a few HTML pages together
       about the group
We've more than enough places being offered.  More about this
a bit later.

DONE * Begin looking for a meeting place
NEAR * Schedule an initial meeting
     * Discuss at the initial meeting the goals for the LUG
One for the meeting, Andrew!

So, as you can see, we're pretty close to target already.

The next bit of the list you can go read for yourself.  Whereas
some goes without saying ("Install Linux for anyone who wants
it" etc) and some are really good ideas ("Meet in conjunction
with computer shows"), there are some I completely disagree
with.  See what you think of:
     * Secure dedicated leadership
     * Elect formal leadership for the LUG as soon as is
       practical: some helpful officers might include
       President, Treasurer, Secretary, [...]

Now, I've done this before, in various forms, and most of the
time it follows the same predictable route: 25% of the time you
get a really good committee and it's a blast for all involved;
25% you get a diabolical committee and it stands a chance of
dying; half the time you get an average committee and it
continues as it was before.  The whole "committee" idea has
some fairly major pitfalls to avoid: cliques, irrelevance and
legality to name but three.

What we're doing at the moment, with the mailing list as the
"supreme body" of ALUG, looks like it may work.  OK, we have
the alug/alug-announce distinction between those people who are
actually a working part of the group and those who just want to
be kept informed about us, but it allows us to become more or
less involved as time permits.  We now have a de facto
"hostmaster" for our domain, Martyn Drake, and Andrew Savory
has agreed to co-ordinate the first meeting.  The rest of us
are donating things as needed: support, time, ideas, resources.

If that's going to continue (I hope so!) and we think that most
new members are likely to participate in a similar spirit, then
I think we should NOT form a committee.  After all, to quote
the LUG HOWTO again for what makes Linux unique:
   This loose structure is not likely to change with regard to
   Linux as a software project. And it's a good thing, too.
   Linux works precisely because people are free to come and go
   as they please

I am well aware that not having an organising committee has its
weaknesses too.  (No-one having time to organise a meeting is
actually less of an issue, as there is a bigger pool of
potential meetings co-ordinators to draw from.) The main among
them are a higher list traffic, as everything is open for
discussion by all members, less ability to resolve contentious
decisions (as a clear on-list majority is required, else things
will fail) and no-one being able to speak on behalf of the
group apart from in limited capacities.  (Linux avoids this
because Linus can speak for it as a whole.  We have no
"benevolent dictator" and nor should we.)

Following on from that last point, I'd like to suggest that
regardless of who actually writes and orchestrates the press
release announcing our formation, Andrew has to agree to (and
put his name to) it, as our "First ALUG Meeting Coordinator". I
also propose that anyone who donates anything to ALUG is
mentioned on the appropriate bit of the website. Laurie,
Martyn, Andrew and Net Communications have also made/are making
major contributions to the group so far.  I've probably missed
someone out there.

Right, the website: we seem to be blessed with a number of
people willing to create websites, so rather than have to
assign the management of the whole site to any one person, I'd
like it if _everyone_ who wants to creates a page (or more)
about something useful to ALUG.  The main website then becomes
an index for members own sites, in a WWWVL sort of way.  (If
you haven't seen the WWWVL, the UK mirror is at
http://www.mth.uea.ac.uk/VL/ oddly enough.) Just please keep us
informed about what you're doing so that we don't duplicate too
much work.  I've a suggested template available at
http://www.mth.uea.ac.uk/~h089/alug/template.html -- download
it (and alug_bar.gif and alug_logo.jpg) to your own site and
use it as a base for your pages.  I doubt anyone will care much
how much you change, as long as you link back to the ALUG index
near the top of each page.

So, Andrew, can you change www.cpc.uea.ac.uk/alug/ into the
index site for the time being (and keep the list info page and
put up a first meeting info page).  As soon as
www.anglian.lug.org.uk is up, bounce people there and I'll
change the template.

And finally (at last!), as no-one else told me they have, I'm
just emailing Northants and Cambridge LUGs about our first
meeting.  Now to get some proper work done...

Hope you agree with all that ;)

-- 
Mark.
Stats Postgrad  mailto:M.J.Ray@UEA.ac.uk  http://stats.mth.uea.ac.uk/
UEA Norwich UK  mailto:markj@stu.uea.ac.uk  http://www.stu.uea.ac.uk/
  My Windows unders~1 long filena~1, and yours?  (r0gi@chat.ru)
[ This email came to you via the Anglian Linux User Group list ]
[  If you only wish to recieve event announcements, email the  ]
[   SUBJECT of "unsubscribe" to this list and "subscribe" to   ]
[ alug-announce@stu.uea.ac.uk -- We do need your support, tho' ]