Re: [WAMUG] Subject: *** IMPORTANT *** Please read
Thanks Peter for the update. It is sad whenever any group disbands. I have been a member of quite a few over the years that disbanded because of a lack of interest, helpers or whatever. But each had its day when it flourished! And when an organisation is flourishing volunteers are not hard to find! I guess the solution is to dissolve WAMUG as you state in your first point Peter. And then in your second point maintain the mailing list. I am not currently in Perth and will be ‘on the road’ on Tuesday 5 Sept but I shall endeavour to tune in if I have reception. Best wishes Wendy Friends of Gabbiljee respectfully acknowledges that it is located on the land of the Whadjuk Noongar people. On 7 Aug 2024, at 10:32 AM, Peter Hinchliffe via WAMUG wrote: WAMUG as an entity is reaching an impasse. WAMUG (Western Australian Macintosh Users Group) has been an incorporated body since 1984, ie, the birthdate of the Macintosh computer. Long-term members will remember the early meetings at UWA, and later Curtin University, through the efforts of Martin Hill, Shay Telfer, John Curry and many others. After Curtin started placing prohibitive costs on our use of their facilities, we moved our monthly meetings to ChristChurch Grammar School in Claremont until clashes with school activities and resultant parking problems forced to find somewhere else. Member Lyn Muir kindly offered us the use of her real estate business premises at ProWest in Willetton, until the premises had to be rationalised in response to business pressures from a market downturn. so we moved to a hall in Bull Creek. Through this time our numbers dwindled to a mere trickle until Covid-19 hit and forced us to abandon physical meetings altogether. Since that time we have been running our monthly meetings via Zoom, but we have never had more than 3 or 4 members attending, other than the committee. We have found that the effort required in coming up with meetings themes, paying for Zoom, etc, is is not justified given the one or two people that do regularly turn up, so we have greatly reduced the frequency of the meetings, which has not exactly been met with a flood of complaints. We now have a real problem: being an incorporated body, we are constitutionally required to hold an Annual General Meeting, and we are now well overdue to do this for 2024. Maureen Smith, our erstwhile President and now secretary, has declared that she will not be nominating for a position on the committee, thereby reducing our small, tired committee to 4: Bernard Barnwell (Treasurer), Pete Smith (Website updates), myself (President), and Daniel Kerr, who keeps this mailing list online and in order. Notwithstanding the fact that the remaining members are happy to retain their involvement, if no further nominations are received at the AGM our tiny committee will not meet our constitutional requirement of at least 5 members. Apart from this, we are desperate for some new blood. The current members are generally feeilng beyond their use-by dates, and it’s clear that it’s up to the exisiting membership to decide if we want to continue or not. The lifeblood of WAMUG in 2024 is this Maiiling List, and it is treasured by all those who contribute to it. It is certainly far less active than it was, but it really is all that remains of WAMUG is any real sense. If no-one is willing to step up to be a Committee member at the upcoming AGM these appear be our two options: 1 Dissolving WAMUG, the associated mailing list and website. 2 Changing WAMUG to an unincorporated entity in order to keep the mailing list. According to the Associations Incorporation Act 2015, we will need a Special Resolution meeting to dissolve or unincorporate WAMUG. Changing WAMUG to an unincorporated entity. This action Requires a Special Resolution meeting, and we still need people to run the organisation, but our current financial holdings cannot be retained and will need to be distributed according to the Associations Incorporation Act 2015, which effectively means we will be starting again from scratch. Whatever entity we decide to change into, we will still have to charge a fee for the mailing list. However, there is no insurance for an unincorporated entity so the people running WAMUG would be liable for its actions and results. We will also lose the use of [1]wamug.org.au as a Domain Name. Dissolving WAMUG This requires a Special Resolution meeting. Again, our current financial holdings will need to be distributed according to the Associations Incorporation Act 2015; and again, the website and mailing list wi
Re: [WAMUG] Subject: *** IMPORTANT *** Please read
Dear WAMUG members, Peter Hinchcliffe update on WAMUG has saddened me because of the many great memories I attach to the group and to the Apple II club of years gone by. Though I somehow expected this news seeing the lack of fervent activity by us the members and of which I am shamefully guilty, the lack of ’new blood’ is our main problem. Like many other members have mentioned, I have reached a period when life is becoming an uncertainty and hence almost daily battle. But I would be prepared to offer whatever help I can give if that can give WAMUG a few more years while trying to get younger members. I do not have any suggestions on how to resolve the dilemma except perhaps a last ditch effort during the AGM and if there are no great interest let nature takes its course and dissolve WAMUG. Having said this, I join all those who have already expressed their gratitude and thanks to those who have kept WAMUG going for so long. How can I ever forget names like Martin Hill, Shay Telfer, John Curry who was my very first contact with the group, Peter Hinchliffe, Ronni, Daniel, Maureen, Pete Smith and the many others who valiantly kept the name of Apple alive within our then small community of Apple users. I am following the current debate with the hope that someone will come up with a solution to keep the group alive. With great sadness but with enormous gratitude to those who kept the flame burning, Philippe Chaperon On 8 Aug 2024, at 12:05 AM, Adam Lippiatt via WAMUG wrote: I am on a [insert interest] Slack group. Pretty good functionality for low fees (or free if you only want a 90 day memory). I don’t think they harvest all of your personal data like Facebook. I have never received any direct or so far as I can tell indirect marketing or appear to have had my info sold. On 7 Aug 2024, at 7:13 PM, Tim Law via WAMUG wrote: Hello all, I run a similarly small community group that must comply with the requirements of Dept Commerce to remain functioning, so I appreciate the decisions facing the leadership team and us as a group. The responsibilities placed on the leadership group to continue to comply with the requirements are just too bothersome and it is a wise move to lay out the situation to the group. Whilst it may have been required in the past in more vibrant times, I don’t see the need for WAMUG to remain an incorporated body. I appreciate this will mean the loss of the domain name and associated email addresses - plus sadly the archive. These are not decisions to be taken lightly. I feel a Facebook group set to private would provide a familiar chat style amongst the small number of active members. There’s an advantage of such a group being able to show images which might be useful for some problem solving. This may be a satisfactory and viable option for the future Regards Tim On 7 Aug 2024, at 4:43 pm, Stephen Chape via WAMUG wrote: Hi Rod … that is a very valid point. And a great idea in my opinion. I only use Facebook sparingly, but I am a member. I feel that this suggestion should be looked at. On 7 Aug 2024, at 4:40 pm, Rod Blitvich via WAMUG wrote: WAMUG has been there for us for SO LONG.My gratitude to the various Committee members for all their work over the many years. I value the list and the knowledgeable contributions from Peter, Maureen, Daniel, Ronni and many others. It would be very sad to lose this community and this knowledge base. But you need to face the facts. WAMUG will die unless us oldies embrace Social Media. If a WAMUG Facebook group was formed, you would triple membership in a few months. Why not create a WAMUG Facebook Group as a trial for say 12 months and then evaluate the trial at the end of that period? If you want new blood then WAMUG needs to target people younger than us “oldies” – and guess where you will find them – on Social Media. Another possible alternative would be to use Microsoft Teams – I believe there is still a free version around. A WAMUG Facebook group can be Public or Private. It can have a Code of Conduct/ List of Rules. It can have 1 or more Moderators. People can “apply” to join the group and can also be removed from the group. So it is my view that you have 2 choices – 1)Go with Social Media OR 2)Accept the demise of our wonderful group. Rod Blitvich - Amy & Sam’s Dad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . On 7 Aug 2024, at 9:02 AM, Peter Hinchliffe via WAMUG wrote: WAMUG as an entity is reaching an impasse. WAMUG (Western Australian Macintosh Users Group) has been an incorpo
Re: [WAMUG] Subject: *** IMPORTANT *** Please read
I am on a [insert interest] Slack group. Pretty good functionality for low fees (or free if you only want a 90 day memory). I don’t think they harvest all of your personal data like Facebook. I have never received any direct or so far as I can tell indirect marketing or appear to have had my info sold. On 7 Aug 2024, at 7:13 PM, Tim Law via WAMUG wrote: Hello all, I run a similarly small community group that must comply with the requirements of Dept Commerce to remain functioning, so I appreciate the decisions facing the leadership team and us as a group. The responsibilities placed on the leadership group to continue to comply with the requirements are just too bothersome and it is a wise move to lay out the situation to the group. Whilst it may have been required in the past in more vibrant times, I don’t see the need for WAMUG to remain an incorporated body. I appreciate this will mean the loss of the domain name and associated email addresses - plus sadly the archive. These are not decisions to be taken lightly. I feel a Facebook group set to private would provide a familiar chat style amongst the small number of active members. There’s an advantage of such a group being able to show images which might be useful for some problem solving. This may be a satisfactory and viable option for the future Regards Tim > On 7 Aug 2024, at 4:43 pm, Stephen Chape via WAMUG > wrote: > > Hi Rod … that is a very valid point. > > And a great idea in my opinion. > I only use Facebook sparingly, but I am a member. > I feel that this suggestion should be looked at. > > On 7 Aug 2024, at 4:40 pm, Rod Blitvich via WAMUG > wrote: > >WAMUG has been there for us for SO LONG.My gratitude to the various >Committee members for all their work over the many years. I value the >list and the knowledgeable contributions from Peter, Maureen, Daniel, >Ronni and many others. It would be very sad to lose this community > and >this knowledge base. >But you need to face the facts. WAMUG will die unless us oldies > embrace >Social Media. If a WAMUG Facebook group was formed, you would triple >membership in a few months. Why not create a WAMUG Facebook Group as > a >trial for say 12 months and then evaluate the trial at the end of > that >period? >If you want new blood then WAMUG needs to target people younger than > us >“oldies” – and guess where you will find them – on Social Media. >Another possible alternative would be to use Microsoft Teams – I >believe there is still a free version around. >A WAMUG Facebook group can be Public or Private. It can have a Code > of >Conduct/ List of Rules. It can have 1 or more Moderators. People can >“apply” to join the group and can also be removed from the group. >So it is my view that you have 2 choices – 1)Go with Social Media OR >2)Accept the demise of our wonderful group. >Rod Blitvich - Amy & Sam’s Dad >. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . >On 7 Aug 2024, at 9:02 AM, Peter Hinchliffe via WAMUG > wrote: > WAMUG as an entity is reaching an impasse. WAMUG (Western > Australian > Macintosh Users Group) has been an incorporated body since 1984, > ie, > the birthdate of the Macintosh computer. Long-term members will > remember the early meetings at UWA, and later Curtin University, > through the efforts of Martin Hill, Shay Telfer, John Curry and > many > others. After Curtin started placing prohibitive costs on our use > of > their facilities, we moved our monthly meetings to ChristChurch >Grammar > School in Claremont until clashes with school activities and >resultant > parking problems forced to find somewhere else. Member Lyn Muir >kindly > offered us the use of her real estate business premises at ProWest > in > Willetton, until the premises had to be rationalised in response to > business pressures from a market downturn. so we moved to a hall in > Bull Creek. Through this time our numbers dwindled to a mere > trickle > until Covid-19 hit and forced us to abandon physical meetings > altogether. Since that time we have been running our monthly > meetings > via Zoom, but we have never had more than 3 or 4 members attending, > other than the committee. We have found that the effort required in > coming up with meetings themes, paying for Zoom, etc, is is not > justified given the one or two people that do regularly turn up, so >we > have greatly reduced the frequency of the meetings, which has not > exactly been met with a flood of complaints. > We now have a real problem: being an incorporated body, we are > constitutionally required to hold an Annual General Meeting, and we >are > now well overdue to do this for 2024. Maureen Smith, our erstwhile > President and now secretary, has declare
Re: [WAMUG] Subject: *** IMPORTANT *** Please read
Hello all, I run a similarly small community group that must comply with the requirements of Dept Commerce to remain functioning, so I appreciate the decisions facing the leadership team and us as a group. The responsibilities placed on the leadership group to continue to comply with the requirements are just too bothersome and it is a wise move to lay out the situation to the group. Whilst it may have been required in the past in more vibrant times, I don’t see the need for WAMUG to remain an incorporated body. I appreciate this will mean the loss of the domain name and associated email addresses - plus sadly the archive. These are not decisions to be taken lightly. I feel a Facebook group set to private would provide a familiar chat style amongst the small number of active members. There’s an advantage of such a group being able to show images which might be useful for some problem solving. This may be a satisfactory and viable option for the future Regards Tim > On 7 Aug 2024, at 4:43 pm, Stephen Chape via WAMUG > wrote: > > Hi Rod … that is a very valid point. > > And a great idea in my opinion. > I only use Facebook sparingly, but I am a member. > I feel that this suggestion should be looked at. > > On 7 Aug 2024, at 4:40 pm, Rod Blitvich via WAMUG >wrote: > > WAMUG has been there for us for SO LONG.My gratitude to the various > Committee members for all their work over the many years. I value the > list and the knowledgeable contributions from Peter, Maureen, Daniel, > Ronni and many others. It would be very sad to lose this community > and > this knowledge base. > But you need to face the facts. WAMUG will die unless us oldies > embrace > Social Media. If a WAMUG Facebook group was formed, you would triple > membership in a few months. Why not create a WAMUG Facebook Group as > a > trial for say 12 months and then evaluate the trial at the end of > that > period? > If you want new blood then WAMUG needs to target people younger than > us > “oldies” – and guess where you will find them – on Social Media. > Another possible alternative would be to use Microsoft Teams – I > believe there is still a free version around. > A WAMUG Facebook group can be Public or Private. It can have a Code > of > Conduct/ List of Rules. It can have 1 or more Moderators. People can > “apply” to join the group and can also be removed from the group. > So it is my view that you have 2 choices – 1)Go with Social Media OR > 2)Accept the demise of our wonderful group. > Rod Blitvich - Amy & Sam’s Dad > . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . > On 7 Aug 2024, at 9:02 AM, Peter Hinchliffe via WAMUG > wrote: > WAMUG as an entity is reaching an impasse. WAMUG (Western > Australian > Macintosh Users Group) has been an incorporated body since 1984, > ie, > the birthdate of the Macintosh computer. Long-term members will > remember the early meetings at UWA, and later Curtin University, > through the efforts of Martin Hill, Shay Telfer, John Curry and > many > others. After Curtin started placing prohibitive costs on our use > of > their facilities, we moved our monthly meetings to ChristChurch > Grammar > School in Claremont until clashes with school activities and > resultant > parking problems forced to find somewhere else. Member Lyn Muir > kindly > offered us the use of her real estate business premises at ProWest > in > Willetton, until the premises had to be rationalised in response to > business pressures from a market downturn. so we moved to a hall in > Bull Creek. Through this time our numbers dwindled to a mere > trickle > until Covid-19 hit and forced us to abandon physical meetings > altogether. Since that time we have been running our monthly > meetings > via Zoom, but we have never had more than 3 or 4 members attending, > other than the committee. We have found that the effort required in > coming up with meetings themes, paying for Zoom, etc, is is not > justified given the one or two people that do regularly turn up, so > we > have greatly reduced the frequency of the meetings, which has not > exactly been met with a flood of complaints. > We now have a real problem: being an incorporated body, we are > constitutionally required to hold an Annual General Meeting, and we > are > now well overdue to do this for 2024. Maureen Smith, our erstwhile > President and now secretary, has declared that she will not be > nominating for a position on the committee, thereby reducing our > small, > tired committee to 4: Bernard Barnwell (Treasurer), Pete Smith > (Website > updates), myself (President), and Daniel Kerr, who keeps this > mailing > list onl
Re: [WAMUG] Subject: *** IMPORTANT *** Please read
Hi Rod … that is a very valid point. And a great idea in my opinion. I only use Facebook sparingly, but I am a member. I feel that this suggestion should be looked at. On 7 Aug 2024, at 4:40 pm, Rod Blitvich via WAMUG wrote: WAMUG has been there for us for SO LONG.My gratitude to the various Committee members for all their work over the many years. I value the list and the knowledgeable contributions from Peter, Maureen, Daniel, Ronni and many others. It would be very sad to lose this community and this knowledge base. But you need to face the facts. WAMUG will die unless us oldies embrace Social Media. If a WAMUG Facebook group was formed, you would triple membership in a few months. Why not create a WAMUG Facebook Group as a trial for say 12 months and then evaluate the trial at the end of that period? If you want new blood then WAMUG needs to target people younger than us “oldies” – and guess where you will find them – on Social Media. Another possible alternative would be to use Microsoft Teams – I believe there is still a free version around. A WAMUG Facebook group can be Public or Private. It can have a Code of Conduct/ List of Rules. It can have 1 or more Moderators. People can “apply” to join the group and can also be removed from the group. So it is my view that you have 2 choices – 1)Go with Social Media OR 2)Accept the demise of our wonderful group. Rod Blitvich - Amy & Sam’s Dad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . On 7 Aug 2024, at 9:02 AM, Peter Hinchliffe via WAMUG wrote: WAMUG as an entity is reaching an impasse. WAMUG (Western Australian Macintosh Users Group) has been an incorporated body since 1984, ie, the birthdate of the Macintosh computer. Long-term members will remember the early meetings at UWA, and later Curtin University, through the efforts of Martin Hill, Shay Telfer, John Curry and many others. After Curtin started placing prohibitive costs on our use of their facilities, we moved our monthly meetings to ChristChurch Grammar School in Claremont until clashes with school activities and resultant parking problems forced to find somewhere else. Member Lyn Muir kindly offered us the use of her real estate business premises at ProWest in Willetton, until the premises had to be rationalised in response to business pressures from a market downturn. so we moved to a hall in Bull Creek. Through this time our numbers dwindled to a mere trickle until Covid-19 hit and forced us to abandon physical meetings altogether. Since that time we have been running our monthly meetings via Zoom, but we have never had more than 3 or 4 members attending, other than the committee. We have found that the effort required in coming up with meetings themes, paying for Zoom, etc, is is not justified given the one or two people that do regularly turn up, so we have greatly reduced the frequency of the meetings, which has not exactly been met with a flood of complaints. We now have a real problem: being an incorporated body, we are constitutionally required to hold an Annual General Meeting, and we are now well overdue to do this for 2024. Maureen Smith, our erstwhile President and now secretary, has declared that she will not be nominating for a position on the committee, thereby reducing our small, tired committee to 4: Bernard Barnwell (Treasurer), Pete Smith (Website updates), myself (President), and Daniel Kerr, who keeps this mailing list online and in order. Notwithstanding the fact that the remaining members are happy to retain their involvement, if no further nominations are received at the AGM our tiny committee will not meet our constitutional requirement of at least 5 members. Apart from this, we are desperate for some new blood. The current members are generally feeilng beyond their use-by dates, and it’s clear that it’s up to the exisiting membership to decide if we want to continue or not. The lifeblood of WAMUG in 2024 is this Maiiling List, and it is treasured by all those who contribute to it. It is certainly far less active than it was, but it really is all that remains of WAMUG is any real sense. If no-one is willing to step up to be a Committee member at the upcoming AGM these appear be our two options: 1 Dissolving WAMUG, the associated mailing list and website. 2 Changing WAMUG to an unincorporated entity in order to keep the mailing list. According to the Associations Incorporation Act 2015, we will need a Spe
Re: [WAMUG] Subject: *** IMPORTANT *** Please read
WAMUG has been there for us for SO LONG.My gratitude to the various Committee members for all their work over the many years. I value the list and the knowledgeable contributions from Peter, Maureen, Daniel, Ronni and many others. It would be very sad to lose this community and this knowledge base. But you need to face the facts. WAMUG will die unless us oldies embrace Social Media. If a WAMUG Facebook group was formed, you would triple membership in a few months. Why not create a WAMUG Facebook Group as a trial for say 12 months and then evaluate the trial at the end of that period? If you want new blood then WAMUG needs to target people younger than us “oldies” – and guess where you will find them – on Social Media. Another possible alternative would be to use Microsoft Teams – I believe there is still a free version around. A WAMUG Facebook group can be Public or Private. It can have a Code of Conduct/ List of Rules. It can have 1 or more Moderators. People can “apply” to join the group and can also be removed from the group. So it is my view that you have 2 choices – 1)Go with Social Media OR 2)Accept the demise of our wonderful group. Rod Blitvich - Amy & Sam’s Dad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . On 7 Aug 2024, at 9:02 AM, Peter Hinchliffe via WAMUG wrote: WAMUG as an entity is reaching an impasse. WAMUG (Western Australian Macintosh Users Group) has been an incorporated body since 1984, ie, the birthdate of the Macintosh computer. Long-term members will remember the early meetings at UWA, and later Curtin University, through the efforts of Martin Hill, Shay Telfer, John Curry and many others. After Curtin started placing prohibitive costs on our use of their facilities, we moved our monthly meetings to ChristChurch Grammar School in Claremont until clashes with school activities and resultant parking problems forced to find somewhere else. Member Lyn Muir kindly offered us the use of her real estate business premises at ProWest in Willetton, until the premises had to be rationalised in response to business pressures from a market downturn. so we moved to a hall in Bull Creek. Through this time our numbers dwindled to a mere trickle until Covid-19 hit and forced us to abandon physical meetings altogether. Since that time we have been running our monthly meetings via Zoom, but we have never had more than 3 or 4 members attending, other than the committee. We have found that the effort required in coming up with meetings themes, paying for Zoom, etc, is is not justified given the one or two people that do regularly turn up, so we have greatly reduced the frequency of the meetings, which has not exactly been met with a flood of complaints. We now have a real problem: being an incorporated body, we are constitutionally required to hold an Annual General Meeting, and we are now well overdue to do this for 2024. Maureen Smith, our erstwhile President and now secretary, has declared that she will not be nominating for a position on the committee, thereby reducing our small, tired committee to 4: Bernard Barnwell (Treasurer), Pete Smith (Website updates), myself (President), and Daniel Kerr, who keeps this mailing list online and in order. Notwithstanding the fact that the remaining members are happy to retain their involvement, if no further nominations are received at the AGM our tiny committee will not meet our constitutional requirement of at least 5 members. Apart from this, we are desperate for some new blood. The current members are generally feeilng beyond their use-by dates, and it’s clear that it’s up to the exisiting membership to decide if we want to continue or not. The lifeblood of WAMUG in 2024 is this Maiiling List, and it is treasured by all those who contribute to it. It is certainly far less active than it was, but it really is all that remains of WAMUG is any real sense. If no-one is willing to step up to be a Committee member at the upcoming AGM these appear be our two options: 1 Dissolving WAMUG, the associated mailing list and website. 2 Changing WAMUG to an unincorporated entity in order to keep the mailing list. According to the Associations Incorporation Act 2015, we will need a Special Resolution meeting to dissolve or unincorporate WAMUG. Changing WAMUG to an unincorporated entity. This action Requires a Special Resolution meeting, and we still need people to run the organisation, but our current financial holdings cannot be retained and will need to be distributed according to the Associations Incorporation Act 2015, which effectively means we will be starting again from scratch. Wh
Re: [WAMUG] Subject: *** IMPORTANT *** Please read
Good Afternoon WAMUG Members. I am sorry to see that WAMUG is also going the way of many Volunteer Groups, I have belonged to several Groups over the years and it appears that it’s inevitable that interests wain, members die or retire due to old age or ill health, I will also be sad to see WAMUG finish, I have been a member for many years and have enjoyed the help and advice from our top members, Ronnie Brown comes to mind, Ronnie was always pulling me out of trouble and telling me off, Stephen, Daniel and Peter have also helped me when required and I found the $30.00 annual fee to be of top value for money, what's that 57 cents per week? People go online to watch Movies etc and pay up to $19.00 per month. My health is not the best but I could sit here at home and go on Zoom, travelling for me from Boddington was always difficult, although I have attended a few meetings over the years. I will be 78 years young in March 2025 and I don’t use the Mac’ as often as I did, there are other distractions for me now as I age, but I really would like to see WAMUG continue, it has always been a wealth of knowledge for myself and my family, also for fault finding, rectifying problems, WAMUG has saved me a lot of money over the years. Thank you WAMUG members I enjoy being a member and hope a solution can be found. Kindest regards Tony Francis BODDINGTON W.A. > On 7 Aug 2024, at 10:24, Stephen Chape via WAMUG > wrote: > > Sometimes I wish I was a lot younger … I will be 78 in January. > > Then I may have become much more involved. > > I find driving at night difficult and I live in the Swan Valley so > physical meetings are out. > > I do not feel that my mind is sharp enough to take part in meetings > anyway. > > However I do enjoy hearing from other members and helping other members > online. > > It would be a sad day for WAMUG to disappear. > > I did notice how many people “dropped out” when the annual fee was > introduced. > > It was downright amazing that so many people actually grizzled about a > $30.00 annual fee. > > I have always appreciated the effort made by those on the committee. > > And I am sorry that I am not able to be more supportive. > > But I for one would be sad if WAMUG disappeared. > > On 7 Aug 2024, at 9:02 am, Peter Hinchliffe via WAMUG >wrote: > > WAMUG as an entity is reaching an impasse. WAMUG (Western Australian > Macintosh Users Group) has been an incorporated body since 1984, ie, > the birthdate of the Macintosh computer. Long-term members will > remember the early meetings at UWA, and later Curtin University, > through the efforts of Martin Hill, Shay Telfer, John Curry and many > others. After Curtin started placing prohibitive costs on our use of > their facilities, we moved our monthly meetings to ChristChurch > Grammar > School in Claremont until clashes with school activities and > resultant > parking problems forced to find somewhere else. Member Lyn Muir > kindly > offered us the use of her real estate business premises at ProWest in > Willetton, until the premises had to be rationalised in response to > business pressures from a market downturn. so we moved to a hall in > Bull Creek. Through this time our numbers dwindled to a mere trickle > until Covid-19 hit and forced us to abandon physical meetings > altogether. Since that time we have been running our monthly meetings > via Zoom, but we have never had more than 3 or 4 members attending, > other than the committee. We have found that the effort required in > coming up with meetings themes, paying for Zoom, etc, is is not > justified given the one or two people that do regularly turn up, so > we > have greatly reduced the frequency of the meetings, which has not > exactly been met with a flood of complaints. > We now have a real problem: being an incorporated body, we are > constitutionally required to hold an Annual General Meeting, and we > are > now well overdue to do this for 2024. Maureen Smith, our erstwhile > President and now secretary, has declared that she will not be > nominating for a position on the committee, thereby reducing our > small, > tired committee to 4: Bernard Barnwell (Treasurer), Pete Smith > (Website > updates), myself (President), and Daniel Kerr, who keeps this mailing > list online and in order. Notwithstanding the fact that the remaining > members are happy to retain their involvement, if no further > nominations are received at the AGM our tiny committee will not meet > our constitutional requirement of at least 5 members. > Apart from this, we are desperate for some new blood. The current > members are generally feeilng beyond their use-by dates, and it’s > clear > that it’s up to the exisiting membership to decide if we want to > continue or not. The lifeblood of WA
Re: [WAMUG] Subject: *** IMPORTANT *** Please read
I’m very similar to Stephen being 81 and consumed with carer’s activities. Reading the missive by Peter it seems to me that the imminent hurdle is the AGM. Maureen please don’t resigns before the AGM. Then the five person committee fills the statutory obligation. Mauren please Resign post AGM. WAMUG exists to resolve members tech issues online from the deep understanding of MacOs iOS that members have. The forums are now too difficult to present on a monthly basis. Perhaps six monthly would work. Then perhaps an annual members fee of $15 -$20 would cover website maintenance and the mailing list and a forum fee of $50 each would cover forums separately. As well as Daniel there are several other professional Mac retail /service sites in WA. A letter to them requesting assistance to consolidate the committee is my initial suggestion. If that doesn’t work try Facebook or Instagram or Linkedin. If that doesn’t produce committee members then, WAMUG being financial could entice a student willing to commit to be an active committee member with a hardware gift- even a refurbished one. If none of these approaches work it might be possible to merge with a similarly incorporated group. Some bowling clubs are in need of a secondary interest group to bolster membership. Regards Marcus Marcus Harris Mobile +61417965618 > On 7 Aug 2024, at 10:25 AM, Stephen Chape via WAMUG > wrote: > > Sometimes I wish I was a lot younger … I will be 78 in January. > > Then I may have become much more involved. > > I find driving at night difficult and I live in the Swan Valley so > physical meetings are out. > > I do not feel that my mind is sharp enough to take part in meetings > anyway. > > However I do enjoy hearing from other members and helping other members > online. > > It would be a sad day for WAMUG to disappear. > > I did notice how many people “dropped out” when the annual fee was > introduced. > > It was downright amazing that so many people actually grizzled about a > $30.00 annual fee. > > I have always appreciated the effort made by those on the committee. > > And I am sorry that I am not able to be more supportive. > > But I for one would be sad if WAMUG disappeared. > > On 7 Aug 2024, at 9:02 am, Peter Hinchliffe via WAMUG >wrote: > > WAMUG as an entity is reaching an impasse. WAMUG (Western Australian > Macintosh Users Group) has been an incorporated body since 1984, ie, > the birthdate of the Macintosh computer. Long-term members will > remember the early meetings at UWA, and later Curtin University, > through the efforts of Martin Hill, Shay Telfer, John Curry and many > others. After Curtin started placing prohibitive costs on our use of > their facilities, we moved our monthly meetings to ChristChurch > Grammar > School in Claremont until clashes with school activities and > resultant > parking problems forced to find somewhere else. Member Lyn Muir > kindly > offered us the use of her real estate business premises at ProWest in > Willetton, until the premises had to be rationalised in response to > business pressures from a market downturn. so we moved to a hall in > Bull Creek. Through this time our numbers dwindled to a mere trickle > until Covid-19 hit and forced us to abandon physical meetings > altogether. Since that time we have been running our monthly meetings > via Zoom, but we have never had more than 3 or 4 members attending, > other than the committee. We have found that the effort required in > coming up with meetings themes, paying for Zoom, etc, is is not > justified given the one or two people that do regularly turn up, so > we > have greatly reduced the frequency of the meetings, which has not > exactly been met with a flood of complaints. > We now have a real problem: being an incorporated body, we are > constitutionally required to hold an Annual General Meeting, and we > are > now well overdue to do this for 2024. Maureen Smith, our erstwhile > President and now secretary, has declared that she will not be > nominating for a position on the committee, thereby reducing our > small, > tired committee to 4: Bernard Barnwell (Treasurer), Pete Smith > (Website > updates), myself (President), and Daniel Kerr, who keeps this mailing > list online and in order. Notwithstanding the fact that the remaining > members are happy to retain their involvement, if no further > nominations are received at the AGM our tiny committee will not meet > our constitutional requirement of at least 5 members. > Apart from this, we are desperate for some new blood. The current > members are generally feeilng beyond their use-by dates, and it’s > clear > that it’s up to the exisiting membership to decide if we want to > continue or not. The lifeblood of WAMUG in 2024 is this Maii
Re: [WAMUG] Subject: *** IMPORTANT *** Please read
Sometimes I wish I was a lot younger … I will be 78 in January. Then I may have become much more involved. I find driving at night difficult and I live in the Swan Valley so physical meetings are out. I do not feel that my mind is sharp enough to take part in meetings anyway. However I do enjoy hearing from other members and helping other members online. It would be a sad day for WAMUG to disappear. I did notice how many people “dropped out” when the annual fee was introduced. It was downright amazing that so many people actually grizzled about a $30.00 annual fee. I have always appreciated the effort made by those on the committee. And I am sorry that I am not able to be more supportive. But I for one would be sad if WAMUG disappeared. On 7 Aug 2024, at 9:02 am, Peter Hinchliffe via WAMUG wrote: WAMUG as an entity is reaching an impasse. WAMUG (Western Australian Macintosh Users Group) has been an incorporated body since 1984, ie, the birthdate of the Macintosh computer. Long-term members will remember the early meetings at UWA, and later Curtin University, through the efforts of Martin Hill, Shay Telfer, John Curry and many others. After Curtin started placing prohibitive costs on our use of their facilities, we moved our monthly meetings to ChristChurch Grammar School in Claremont until clashes with school activities and resultant parking problems forced to find somewhere else. Member Lyn Muir kindly offered us the use of her real estate business premises at ProWest in Willetton, until the premises had to be rationalised in response to business pressures from a market downturn. so we moved to a hall in Bull Creek. Through this time our numbers dwindled to a mere trickle until Covid-19 hit and forced us to abandon physical meetings altogether. Since that time we have been running our monthly meetings via Zoom, but we have never had more than 3 or 4 members attending, other than the committee. We have found that the effort required in coming up with meetings themes, paying for Zoom, etc, is is not justified given the one or two people that do regularly turn up, so we have greatly reduced the frequency of the meetings, which has not exactly been met with a flood of complaints. We now have a real problem: being an incorporated body, we are constitutionally required to hold an Annual General Meeting, and we are now well overdue to do this for 2024. Maureen Smith, our erstwhile President and now secretary, has declared that she will not be nominating for a position on the committee, thereby reducing our small, tired committee to 4: Bernard Barnwell (Treasurer), Pete Smith (Website updates), myself (President), and Daniel Kerr, who keeps this mailing list online and in order. Notwithstanding the fact that the remaining members are happy to retain their involvement, if no further nominations are received at the AGM our tiny committee will not meet our constitutional requirement of at least 5 members. Apart from this, we are desperate for some new blood. The current members are generally feeilng beyond their use-by dates, and it’s clear that it’s up to the exisiting membership to decide if we want to continue or not. The lifeblood of WAMUG in 2024 is this Maiiling List, and it is treasured by all those who contribute to it. It is certainly far less active than it was, but it really is all that remains of WAMUG is any real sense. If no-one is willing to step up to be a Committee member at the upcoming AGM these appear be our two options: 1 Dissolving WAMUG, the associated mailing list and website. 2 Changing WAMUG to an unincorporated entity in order to keep the mailing list. According to the Associations Incorporation Act 2015, we will need a Special Resolution meeting to dissolve or unincorporate WAMUG. Changing WAMUG to an unincorporated entity. This action Requires a Special Resolution meeting, and we still need people to run the organisation, but our current financial holdings cannot be retained and will need to be distributed according to the Associations Incorporation Act 2015, which effectively means we will be starting again from scratch. Whatever entity we decide to change into, we will still have to charge a fee for the mailing list. However, there is no insurance for an unincorporated entity so the people running WAMUG would be liable for its actions and results. We will also lose the use of [1]wamug.org.au as a Domain Name. Dissolving WAMUG This requires a Special Resolution meeting. Again, our current financial holdings will need to be distributed according to the Associations Incorporation Ac
