SPUG: Re: Happy Birthday to SPUG!

[Richard Anderson]

At the risk of starting a flame war, I would like to differ with Tim's statement that "this is our group".  Actually, Tim has veto power over all SPUG decisions, as he controls the web site and mailing list.  Tim has exercised his veto power in the past. (I have transgressed his rules twice now and been flamed by him for doing so - details available upon request).  I'm not saying that this is a bad thing, as no one is more qualified than Tim in terms of time, expertise and motivation to lead the group.

However, if Tim wants others to begin putting significant amounts of effort into running the group, I think he should consider sharing some of the executive authority.  Methods for doing this might include bylaws (which would legitimize our nebulous tax-ecempt status), electing a board of directors, etc., etc.

This may not be appropriate for the free-wheeling nature of a Perl users group.  I recall that the group that originally set up the  www.perl.org web site fell apart after too much bickering on process.  Perhaps SPUG could adopt the model of the group that spawned it three years ago: the Seattle Unix Users Group: a board of directors that meets once a month or quarterly at a time and place separated from the general meeting.  This would keep the general meeting focussed on teaching / learning Perl, which is what the organization is all about, yet create a forum where those (like myself) with beefs can air them without disrupting the general meeting.

Richard Anderson, Ph.D.          www.unixscripts.com
Perl / Java / Oracle / Unix       Richard.Anderson at raycosoft.com
Raycosoft, LLC                        Seattle, WA, USA
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tim Maher/CONSULTIX" <tim at consultix-inc.com>
To: <spug-list at pm.org>
Sent: Saturday, March 17, 2001 1:25 PM
Subject: SPUG: Happy Birthday to SPUG!


> SPUGsters,
> 
> Just a quick note to commemorate the fact that this group was born
> 3 years ago today, at a meeting at a community center in Ballard.
> While contemplating my
> life atop a smoke-spewing volcano in Java, Indonesia a few weeks
> earlier, I had resolved to try to establish a local community
> to support those using this fantastic language.  I wasn't sure
> if anybody would show up to that inaugural meeting, but as it
> happened, about two dozen gave up their inalienable rights as
> Americans to drink Green Beer and attended this meeting instead
> (or perhaps before!).  There are hundreds of Perl groups now, but
> at the time, SPUG was only the sixth ever formed.  (Incidentally,
> this is why we've retained the SPUG moniker, despite the fact
> that later groups came to be know by "Perl Monger" appellations.)
> 
> Thanks to all those who've participated in making SPUG a success!
> (Actually, by all accounts, we're the MOST successful and
> productive Perl group on the planet.)  In particular, please join
> me in thanking Winstar Northwest Nexus, our web-page sponsor,
> the folks at N2H2, especially Andy Sweger, who provide our meeting
> space, and of course Damian Conway ("The Damian"), who frequently
> ventures halfway across the globe to inspire and terrify us with
> his strangely deranged yet magical Perl musings.
> 
> For those of you who are interested in contributing to the group,
> there are many ways to do so.  We are always looking for speakers
> for upcoming meetings who can teach us something about the
> Perl language or describe interesting Perl applications they've
> discovered or written, so if you'd like to make a presentation,
> get in touch with me.  I'm also looking for volunteers to help
> with other tasks, like recruiting speakers, maintaining the web
> page, coordinating job-ads, setting up additional internet-based
> services, coordinating joint software development activities, etc.
> 
> This is our group, and we can do whatever we want with it, so if
> anybody has suggestions about improvements, especially if you're
> willing to help implement them, let me know!
> 
> Happy SPUG-Patrick's Day!
> 
> ==========================================================
> |  Tim Maher, Ph.D.           Tel: (206) 781-UNIX        |
> |  SPUG Founder & Leader      Email: spug at halcyon.com    |
> |  Seattle Perl Users Group   HTTP: www.halcyon.com/spug |
> ==========================================================
> 
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