However, I do think that the idea of $2 dues at monthly meetings is a great idea. It will build up the kitty that much faster and allow us to do different things.
I personally think that it would be great if CLUG had a computer lab that could be used for experimental purposes. Some machines could be shared and remote access allowed, and other machines given physical access for some users to play with.
These same computers could be used for holding workshops, or for teaching new users about linux.
If the membership would decide that this would be a good idea, then it takes money to pay for the real-estate, to pay for the computers, the internet connections, etc, etc, etc.
If twenty bucks gives you the ability to influence the direction of the group, and access to the perks we already have, and possibly in the future perks like I've mentioned above, then it's well worth the money.
On Thu, 2005-04-07 at 13:33, Jarrod Major wrote:
I figured I would take the opportunity to break this out as it has little to do with CUUG's upcoming events. CLUG membership is a very simple way to support the group financially. We are not actively seeking capitol towards a goal but that is not to say that one couldn't come along at any time. Certainly the idea of funding a BBQ is within the realm of possibility and you can count this as my nod of support of such a decision. At the last InstallFest, CLUG purchased meal voucher's for pizza, a drink and banana bread at Coco Brooks for anyone that attended the event. It did not cost us much and wasn't advertised but it was a nice perk. CLUG is very fortunate in that we have not had to pay thus far for the space that we have had our meetings. I believe that CUUG and most other organizations do pay. Having a treasury for this purpose in case we needed it is a good idea. The whole voting rights thing is a contentious issue but as Aaron and I have tried to explain, the decisions that are usually put to a vote are concerning things CLUG may or may not pay for or some organizational decision which usually affects those actively involved. So if you are not actively involved what kind of things do you honestly feel qualified to vote on? You have to ask yourself if this is worth fighting for. I for one would rather have a majority decision of paying members decide how to spend money than those who show up once a year or only contribute once or twice on the mailing list. Honestly, we are talking about $20 a year (if you care to sign up and renew). That's the cost of a case of beer. Is CLUG worth that to you? If not then don't get a membership. If it is, you can take pride that your money is helping CLUG to do things like pay for web hosting. Having sponsors who offer CLUG members a discount was not supposed to be the driving force behind getting a membership. It is a perk as is the ability to review books. As Shawn already suggested, we will accept book reviews from anyone but if you want to review a book we have from Prentice Hall PTR or one from O'Reilly you must be a valid Tier Two member. Again this was considered only from an accountability standpoint. We have a good relationship with our Sponsors and if someone were to take a book for review and run off never submitting one then this hurts our relationship with them. With the sponsorship thing, this necessitated the need for a membership card that lends us more legitimacy. The card shows our sponsor that you are an (ideally) active member and it's easier to deal with that. This as a result incurs costs; printing, laminating supplies, etc. I think we are missing the point here. CLUG is not in the business of making money. As a professional organization however, we do need to pay for things. We are working towards non-profit status which means we will have Government looking at our books. We have talked about doing things like donating computers (loaded with Linux and Open Source apps) to needy families or helping some other governmental agencies. These resources could be donated or they could be purchased by CLUG. There's many ways we can spend our money but $3000 isn't a great deal and would take no time to burn through. We have our future to think of. I feel confident that this little purse we have will ensure CLUG will be here to stay. Jarrod _______________________________________________ clug-talk mailing list [email protected] http://clug.ca/mailman/listinfo/clug-talk_clug.ca Mailing List Guidelines (http://clug.ca/ml_guidelines.php) **Please remove these lines when replying
_______________________________________________ clug-talk mailing list [email protected] http://clug.ca/mailman/listinfo/clug-talk_clug.ca Mailing List Guidelines (http://clug.ca/ml_guidelines.php) **Please remove these lines when replying
