Re: [aclug-L] PGP--Meeting Topic

[John Goerzen <jgoerzen@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

jg <jamesga@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:

> against the Bill Clinton model of leadership (i.e. take a pole). This is
> very time consuming, ineffective, and gets nowhere fast. If Clint is our
> leader, then he should be allowed to make the choices. Success should be
> measured by how many people continue to show up week after week.

I must disagree.  Success must be measured by how much people benefit
from the meetings, not how many show up.  If we base things on how
many show up, the meetings will constantly be aimed at the middle of
the road, and ignore both the people that are new to Linux and those
that are more advanced users.

>  It should be clear we need to address the needs of beginners as well as
> advanced users. It should also be evident that the right thing to do is to
> expand. I think having a group discussion on the IRC was a good idea.

Of course, the more that can be helped with Linux, the better.

> However, who cares whether or not ALL members can logon a particular night
> or not. We just need to have the transcripts available for people who
> missed it up on the web. We should also have many IRC meetings, even if
> only two people show up. Again make transcripts available (with the
> "script" command). 

There are two conflicting goals here.

1. Should happenings of the committee be public?

2. Is it necessary to have purely administrative details public?

Regarding #1, I think that having them public is a good idea; more
input is found that way.  For instance, when picking meeting topics,
I'd often mail the list before letting ideas get from one side of the
brain to the other :-)  That is, solicit input whenever possible.

Regarding #2, probably not.  Do people really have an interest in
knowing whether or not a particular person was available at Barnes and 
Noble at 4:30 to give permission for a Linux demonstration, as an
example?  While not presuming to speak for the public, probably not.
These details are the committee's job.  For instance, when I
investigated options for projectors (including a different location at 
WSU) suggested by members, I didn't post every time I called somebody
-- just what the final result was, which ought to be sufficient.

As such, I think that IRC logs are not terribly useful, keeping in
mind that decisions shouldn't be made in IRC.

-- John