Re: [activities] President's report, 2010-2011

If it was only a funding problem, then all you need is for the on-campus
Computer Student-Group host the event, they get free room hire.

They may also help advertise it, which will bring in a new dynamic of
interested students

On Fri, Apr 8, 2011 at 9:59 AM, James Polley <[email protected]> wrote:

> The rooms we'd previously allowed to use gratis were suddenly going to cost
> us hundreds of dollars a month.
>
> I wasn't around at the time either, but I believe thus was related to VSU
> and the union suddenly needing to find alternate funding
> On Apr 7, 2011 11:36 PM, "Samuel Marks" <[email protected]> wrote:
> > Perhaps the business focus of SLUG should be changed back to a student
> > focus... I wasn't part of SLUG when it was at UTS, so maybe someone can
> > enlighten me as to why we moved (not that I don't like Google HQ, just
> that
> > our President wants more members...)
> >
> > On Thu, Apr 7, 2011 at 9:16 PM, James Polley <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> >> President's Report 2010-2011 by Sridhar Dhanapalan
> >>
> >> Experimentation and minimalism have been the themes of the 2010-2011
> >> period. We
> >> started 2010 (prior to the 2010 AGM) by utilising the many rooms
> available
> >> to
> >> us at Google to hold meetings with many streams at once; we ended in
> early
> >> 2011
> >> by having simple brief meetings, with just one speaker followed by
> >> socialising
> >> in the pub.
> >>
> >> = Statistics =
> >>
> >> Prior to the 2011 AGM (ie, for the 2010 year), we had 34 financial
> members.
> >> This is around the same as a year ago, but represents just over 60% of
> our
> >> membership in 2009. Importantly, this number of financial members was
> not
> >> sufficient to meet our costs during 2011 financial year - but our
> >> treasurer'sreport will cover this in more detail.
> >>
> >> Mailing lists (lists.slug.org.au) continue to be a major part of SLUG.
> >> Compared to figures from the previous two years (in brackets), the
> numbers
> >> of
> >> subscribers have been increasing, although the rate of change has
> slowed:
> >>
> >> announce = 452 (402) (332)
> >> slug = 787 (778) (732)
> >> activities = 221 (210) (200)
> >> slug-chat = 231 (227) (218)
> >> coders = 190 (172) (155)
> >>
> >> Also important is the #slug IRC channel on Freenode.
> >>
> >> = Minimalism =
> >>
> >> To quote from my email announcing my candidacy for president over a year
> >> ago:
> >>
> >> I do believe there's a place for an organisation very much like SLUG, I
> >> just
> >> don't think it makes any sense for that organisation to be called the
> >> Sydney
> >> Linux Users Group; nor do I feel that SLUG, as it currently exists,
> >> adequately
> >> serves the needs of the people I've just talked about. SLUG is slowly
> >> dying a
> >> natural death; I want to be President so I can help ease the
> >> suffering and pain
> >> and ensure that its death is swift, painless, and serves a purpose.
> >>
> >> Through the year I had discussions with many people in the community,
> both
> >> en
> >> masse at meetings and in private. These discussions revealed a broad
> >> consensus across several areas.
> >>
> >> Many people feel that SLUG could use more meetings - meetings with a
> more
> >> specific focus on more technical areas were mentioned; weekend daytime
> >> social
> >> events were suggested. However, no-one has yet stepped forward to run
> any
> >> of
> >> these meetings...
> >>
> >>
> >> Another common theme was that the name SLUG should be retained.
> >>
> >> In discussing the differences between SLUG and other similar bodies such
> as
> >> Linux Australia, there was consensus that SLUG's main differentiator was
> >> it's
> >> focus on the local - it's a forum for people to meet local people with
> >> similar
> >> interests, for people looking for local jobs, and so on.
> >>
> >> Lastly, there was general agreement that the fact that our membership
> >> numbers
> >> aren't high enough to pay cover our expenses was a concern.
> >>
> >> To address all of these concerns, several motions were passed at the EGM
> >> held
> >> immediately prior to the AGM. The committee will be approaching Linux
> >> Australia
> >> and asking them to take over the running of the regular Sydney meetings,
> >> and
> >> then winding up and leaving the Sydney FOSS community in the hands of
> Linux
> >> Australia.
> >>
> >> = Conclusion =
> >>
> >> As one of the oldest Linux user groups in the world, the SLUG community
> has
> >> shown a remarkable degree of persistence and adaptability. Hopefully the
> >> work
> >> we've done over the last 12 months (and are doing over the next 12
> months)
> >> will
> >> help the community to grow in size and strength.
> >> --
> >> SLUG Activities
> >> Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Samuel Marks
> >
> > Degree: Bachelor of Information Technology
> > Emphasis: Majoring in Software Technology
>



-- 
Samuel Marks

Degree: Bachelor of Information Technology
Emphasis: Majoring in Software Technology

-- 
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