TLUG vs. GTALUG

[Tim Writer]

billt-lxSQFCZeNF4 at public.gmane.org writes:

> I'm probably the only one qualified to answer this so let me try.
> 
> 1) GTALUG as an organization was incorporated in 2003

So far so good. But this:

> to carry on the management of the Toronto Linux Users Group (TLUG),

is in dispute because it's not clear that GTALUG has been given that mandate
by the membership of the informal organization known as TLUG.

[snip]

> 2) TLUG is the organization that existed prior to formal incorporation and is
> generally used to denote the meeting that happens at UofT once a month and
> this mailing list.

Perhaps it's worth noting that TLUG was always an informal
organization. AFAIK, there were never any rules regarding its membership and
governance.

[snip]

> History =======
> 
> The incorporation started in 2000. At the time I was one of the people
> managing the club but was not involved with the incorporation.

I think it would be better to say you were an active volunteer as the term
"managing" implies you had both the responsibility and authority to act on
behalf of the group, neither of which is really true. I don't mean to
diminish or belittle your efforts but I do think it's important to try and
clarify roles. FWIW, I was also an active volunteer in 2000 but I never
considered myself to be managing anything other than my own time.

> I became involved after about a dozen meetings of the incorporation
> committee.

"Incorporation committe", that sounds formal. There was a loose group of
volunteers who thought incorporation might be beneficial.  

> The incorporation was spearheaded by Clive Apps, Jan Carlson, and George
> (????).

George Free, IIRC.

> Many of the people complaining about it now were part of that orginal
> group.

I participated in that group for a short while. 

> The Incorporation committee argued back and forth for several years and in
> 2002 we put in all the paperwork for incopration. A year later we had to
> resubmit the same paperwork because the lawyer we were using was less than
> competent.
> 
> The incorporation was finally completed in June 2003 and myself, Edward Chin,
> and Don Rambajan became its first directors. The next year two more directors
> were added, Drew Sullivan and Gordon Chillcott pretty much by acclamation.

So, a bunch of paper work was done to incorporate an entity known as GTALUG.
Unfortunately though, a plan was not presented to the full TLUG membership
(i.e. this mailing list) and there was no attempt to build a wide concensus.
Ideally, this should have been done before the incoporation but it could have
been done afterwards and it can still be done.

Until this week, I've stayed out of the politics but I've been paying
attention to the list. From time to time, people have been asking
questions like:

    o   What is GTALUG?

    o   How is the membership defined, i.e. who are the members?

    o   How is GTALUG governed?

    o   What rights and obligations do members have?

    o   What do we get for $20?

    o   What are the by-laws of GTALUG?

Pretty basic, reasonable stuff. At best the response has been defensive.

> September of this year we had our first election where, Edward, Don and I
> stepped down and Chris Browne, Seneca Cunningham, and William Park were
> elected.

Hmmm. I can't find an announcement in the mailing list archives.

> Presently the members of the board and several other people, myself included
> make up the excutive that helps organize the TLUG meetings downtown, the
> NewTlug meetings at Seneca and IBM, and the WestLug meeting in Mississauga,
> although these tend to be done by people that are on the board rather than a
> group effort. We also on many occasions make contacts with people in other
> LUGs, people in industry, and people in government on behalf of the club to
> foster outreach programs, provide advice, or do joint projects.

How is the executive defined? Do people just show up to an executive meeting
and say, "Here I am, I'm an executive?" That's pretty much how it worked in
the past but that's not appropriate if you plan to represent the group as you
said above.

> Please remember that the people that ran TLUG before and after the
> incorporation haven't changed substantially. GTALUG is the formal
> organization.
> 
> Generally the only major difference between the old organization and the new
> one is a fee of $20 a year collected for membership. The main complaint is
> asking what is the money to be used for. Presently the money is used for very
> little and is kept in a bank.

I haven't paid my $20. Am I (still) a member? Should I be dropped from this
list, barred from meetings, etc.?

-- 
tim writer <tim-s/rLXaiAEBtBDgjK7y7TUQ at public.gmane.org>                                  starnix inc.
647.722.5301                                      toronto, ontario, canada
http://www.starnix.com              professional linux services & products
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