TLUG vs. GTALUG

Thu Dec 8 04:51:25 UTC 2005

On Wed, Dec 07, 2005 at 09:40:39PM -0500, Tim Writer wrote:
> 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.
> 
Nothing the informal organization did had a mandate. Neither Lazlo, nor Drew were ever elected. NewTlug was never voted on. WestLug formed and then showed up saying they were part of the group. The various SIGs that have come and gone had no mandate other than the people that started them claiming to be part of TLUG. 
> 
> > 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.
> 
You are correct "managing" is the wrong word to have used. I think the best word was coordinator. I got to the point where I was telling the other volunteers what needed to be done and find volunteers to do the job. Presently that role is being shared by several people, myself being one of them.

> > 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.  
Actually that was the title that was given to them on the mailing list. I'm not sure why but it did stick.
> 
> > The incorporation was spearheaded by Clive Apps, Jan Carlson, and George
> > (????).
> 
> George Free, IIRC.
Yes I remembered the name after I sent the email.

> 
> 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?
> 
I have answered all of these questions before. The last one is one that Chris has been working on to get on-line since only paper copies were provided to us.

> 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.
I didn't send an email, but I know it was sent. It may have been sent to the GTALUG-members list though.

> 
> > 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.
There are three groups that really make up the executive:
 The Board - those elected officials.
 The Officers - there are several appointed positions that the board appoints.
 The Leaders - these are people who do most to all the volunteer work and thus are invited to the meetings. These people don't actually vote on issues although most of the discussion is started by them.

> 
> > 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.?
> 
There is no requirements of membership to be on this list or to attend the public meetings. If the board decides to do something only for the members you would not be invited, but that has never happened yet.

Bill

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