Re: Rooms at WVU available

I just received a reply to my offer of rooms at WVU, which I accidentally
erased, but the essence was that the WVU option should be used as a final
resort, when the current option is not available. The justification for
this was that it will reflect positively on our organization if we are
seen helping other people or something in those lines.

I would respond to this with saying that there are two things here that 
don't have to be connected: 

- Helping people
- Having a place to meet.

For the latter we need only to look at two things:
what is convenient and what is appropriate.

WVU is convenient in location and in facilities, including
presentation equipment Internet etc.

WVU is appropriate because the ESB building, which I recommended
hosts the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, as
well as other departments with potential members for our group. 

Consider even such "conservative" department as mine (Mechanical and 
Aerospace), where only in my group we run 3 Linux clusters, and use
Linux clusters at Pittsburgh Supercomputer center, NETL etc.

In fact, we can attract a lot of attention to our meetings by posting
fliers on all 8 floors of that buildings advertising Morlug, and the
auditoriums are big enough to accommodate all the newcomers.

Now, if we want to help those folks, we can always do it on a voluntary
basis, and it will look as a gesture of generosity and good will, rather
than payment for the service of letting us use their place. I can envision
a newspaper article "Morlug helping schools with computer networks", or
something like that.

No offense, but the current situation can be interpreted by outsiders, 
like we are a group of punks who were only allowed to meet in a remote 
location under the condition that we fix their equipment problems there.

For me it is really less responsibility if we meet where we meet now, but 
I somehow became emotionally involved with this movement, and I think that 
we should make choices that will strengthen our position rather than 
weaken it.

Andrei

On Thu, 26 May 2005, Andrei Smirnov wrote:

> 
> Just to followup on my suggestion at the last meeting. I can offer to have
> meetings at ESB (Engineering Sciences Building). There are plenty of rooms
> available after 18:00. I can officially book a big one on the ground floor
> - (60 people), soft chairs and wireless. But I will have to do some
> negotiations.
> 
> I can also offer access to ESB-355, which is a 40 persons 
> auditorium on 3rd floor. Hard chairs, but wireless access, and 
> multimedia projector if needed. I have a key to that room, and there
> is no negotiation needed.
> 
> For a small group meeting 4-6 persons I have a permanent access to our
> computer lab in Engineering research Building: soft chairs, round table,
> video-projection equipment, Apple box, local 192.168 network, wireless (no
> DHCP, sorry).
> 
> The only problem now is that I'll be out of town for the next two meetings
> (end of June and July), However, I still can book those rooms and let
> someone else from the group use them in my name. Or we may consider this
> as an option starting with August.
> 
> Sorry I did not come out with this suggestion earlier - I thought there 
> was some political reason to abandon WVU facilities and move to that place
> we have now, so I did not bother to suggest.
> 
> Andrei
> 
> 

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Dr. Andrei Smirnov,  West Virginia University
Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Morgantown WV, 26506-6106
Tel:+1(304)293 3111 x2345, fax:+1(304)2936689
Email: [email protected]
http://smirnov.mae.wvu.edu     1024D/5CEDD3E2
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