[Linux-aus] Representation: remote vote, face2face meetings

[Anthony Towns]

On Mon, Feb 03, 2003 at 03:32:28PM +0800, Leon Brooks wrote:
> [...] (he says, writing from the world's most isolated city).

On Mon, Feb 03, 2003 at 03:29:40PM +0800, Leon Brooks wrote:
> You forget gender balance, age balance, inclusion of people who don't 
> understand connector standards, race and religion, an appropriate 
> environmental policy, and a Microsoft representative. (-:
> 
> In short, point taken. Is LA here to do stuff for Linux in Australia, or be 
> the model of political correctness?

Obviously to do stuff for Linux in Australia. Do you really think anyone
on this list believes differently -- even the people who haven't read
the constitution or organisation objectives?

The question is whether Linux Australia will be more effective at "doing
stuff" if it's focussed in Sydney, or if its committee is spread around.
The question is what the point of the committee is: are the ctte members
the core of the organisation from which everything springs -- who work out
what to focus on, then recruit people and lead them through it; or are
they just a bunch of people facilitating everyone else -- who're there
to lend the support of an incorporated organisation with a decent bank
account, to provide access to experience and communication throughout
the state?

If you're expecting the ctte to take the lead in advocating Linux in
Australia, then it's probably reasonable to take the approach people
seem to want to: get the best people on, don't worry where they are, and
support them as much as possible to let them get on with their activities.

That's not what Linux Australia's been about -- it's been inactive
enough so that it's only ever been able to basically offer support for
the guys running linux.conf.au each year. And there's probably a lot of
things you can do in that vein if you've got a more active committee:
coordinating installfests that're run by the LUGs, providing funds for
some group to print Debian or aboriginal-art-Tux t-shirts which can be
recouped later, or whatever else you want to do. And there's a lot of
value in having an organisation that you can go up to with your cool idea,
that can give you access to the resources -- name, money, other people --
to make it happen, without getting in your way or taking it over from you.

If that's not the way Linux Australia's going to continue, then fair
enough.

If it is, having a ctte member in each state gives the people who'd like
to get Linux Australia's support in each state an easy point of contact
to get things going; it ensures the ctte doesn't end up focussing on
any particular LUG's pet projects to the exclusion of other groups';
and it lets Linux Australia have an honest claim to being representative
of the entire country for advocacy purposes.

Seriously, this isn't about political correctness, or fairness, or
whatever loser bleeding heart namby pamby wannabe-ism from a bunch
of second rans you seem to be thinking. It's about making sure Linux
Australia doesn't remain insulated from the cool "Linux stuff" that LUGs
outside of Sydney make up, no matter how isolated they are.

Cheers,
aj

-- 
Anthony Towns <aj at humbug.org.au> <http://azure.humbug.org.au/~aj/>
I don't speak for anyone save myself. GPG signed mail preferred.

    ``Australian Linux Lovefest Heads West''
                   -- linux.conf.au, Perth W.A., 22nd-25th January 2003
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