[ncolug] NCOLUG's direction and purpose

  • From: Chuck Stickelman <cstickelman@xxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: NCOLUG <ncolug@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Sun, 04 Sep 2011 11:38:33 -0400

All,

Recent conversations on this list have gotten me thinking about our
group, its purpose, and its goals.  Honestly, the LUG is in a slump and
I have no one to blame but myself.  When the LUG was formalized a few
years back a Board of Directors was elected and that body recognized a
potential for the LUG to fall into a slump such as this.  The Board
created the position of Director Emeritus For Life as a mechanism for
providing perpetual leadership in the event such a slump occurs.   Soon
after I was honored with the title.  As Director Emeritus For Life it is
my responsibility to provide guidance and direction to help us get out
of this slump.  I still believe strongly in the principles embodied in
Linux and other Free and Open Source Software (FOSS).  But the term FOSS
is self-limiting; those same principles can be applied to hardware and
data/file formats, as well as software.  More importantly, FOSS
principles are at the heart of the free exchange of ideas and
information necessary in a free society.  To that end, I believe that by
focusing the group on one tool -- the Linux kernel and related utilities
-- we have limited are our scope and our potential.

So what do we do?  We can: 

     A. keep doing what we've been doing,  (and continue getting what
        we've been getting.) 
     B. end the LUG and let whatever files the void (such as it would
        be) file the void, 
     C. re-purpose the LUG to be more inclusive of FOSS and
        FOSS-inspired projects in general, 
     D. do something not yet considered.

Ultimately, the whole thing is fairly rhetorical, as there really isn't
a "we".  As Director Emeritus For Life, I and I alone, can make the
final call.  But I do want your thoughts and opinions to be heard and
considered.   My expectations are that the direction and fate of the
NCOLUG is to be resolved by the end of September.

Please advise.
Chuck

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