[Linux-aus] Goodbye AUUG, hello phoenix

[Michael Davies]

On 9/14/06, Jeff Waugh <jdub at perkypants.org> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> Greg Lehey has proposed the dissolution of AUUG:
>
>   http://www.auug.org.au/pipermail/auug-announce/2006/000241.html

Very sad.  Greg has put in _huge_ efforts over the years.

> I've written a response to his proposal, and listed a number of (potentially
> controversial) follow-up proposals for Linux Australia in my blog:
>
>   http://perkypants.org/blog/2006/09/14/goodbye-auug-hello-phoenix/

Thanks for that Jeff.  Good stuff.

> I think we have an awesome opportunity here. If it is sufficiently difficult
> for the membership and current committee to decide, I will happily run for a
> position on the Linux Australia committee to pursue these ideas.

Since LA's membership is currently free, wouldn't all AUUG members who
weren't into Proprietry Unix be LA members already?  If yes, then
there's no action to be taken - there's no new members to be invited
over.  If no, you'd need to ask why.

Why?  If people aren't happy with being an LA member today but are
currently an AUUG member, you'd have to ask why - are they anti-GPL?
pro-software patents?  pro-DRM?  If something else, what is it?  I
think our LUG mailing lists around the country have shown that we are
very much friendly towards *BSD, so I don't think that's it (pats the
OpenBSD box sitting on top of my Ubuntu box).  Another way of putting
it, our stance on freedom is what defines what we are - it's not
negotiable.

What I don't want to see happen is for Linux Australia to lose the
fun, excitement, non-politics, anti-software patent/AUSFTA/DRM
viewpoint, cool technology focus that it currently has.  If we merge
with anyone, that would have to be guarded.  Put another way - if our
organisation isn't broke, why change it?

All of this goes double for linux.conf.au.  We have a low cost, local
but one of the best in the world conferences, with the coolest
speakers and topics - it's a highlight of the year for me.   Why would
we mess with it?

While we see micro-evolution of the conference every year,
linux.conf.au 2007 will be a lot like CALU 1999 - and that's a good
thing - we have a rocking open-source conference recipe and we just
keep on tweaking it and making it better!

Let's not change our conference or Linux Australia.  Both work as they
currently are.  Invite over those who believe in our ideals, but let's
not change our ideals just for more membership numbers.

-- 
Michael Davies               "Do what you think is interesting, do
mailto:michael at msdavies.net   something that you think is fun and
http://michaeldavies.org      worthwhile, because otherwise you won't
                              do it well anyway." -- Brian Kernighan