Paul M Foster wrote:
>On Wed, Jan 08, 2003 at 09:49:47AM -0500, Joe Brandt wrote:
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>>. I just discovered last night that the PC users group in Bradenton has
>>Linux classes every other Saturday afternoon.
>>Their membership is $25 per year. I will join it.
>>
>>The idea of a free as in beer group has a lot of inherant drawbacks.
>>Charging an expensive fee has others.
>>I would be willing to pay a nominal yearly membership as it is certainly
>>in my best interest to do so. Then we can do things that do not require
>>volunteers. Basic business dictates that something for nothing does not
>>work. It does not have to be an all or nothing setup either. We can
>>make the list one price (or none) and have an alacarte menu. As far as
>>the legal aspect of it maybe we can hook up with an existing non profit
>>group. Or we can start our own.
>>
>>
>
>Early on in this group this was discussed. I argued for having dues, but
>the concensus was that "free as in beer" was the way to go. So we put it
>in the bylaws, and it's set in stone now. You're welcome to send SLUG
>money if it will make you feel better <grin>, but we won't be charging
>dues.
>
>I'm not sure what charging dues has to do with relying on volunteers to
>work for the group. The Tampa Bay PC Users Group charges dues, and I
>think everyone who works for the group does so voluntarily. What they
>have that we don't is an office and a helluva lot more members. They
>also have (free) vendor company speakers at nearly every meeting. That's
>because they deal in the Windows world, and there are a ton of companies
>who make software and would love to sell it to user group members. Not
>so in the Linux world.
>
>Another question (rhetorical) is what more do you think you'd get from
>SLUG if we charged dues?
>
>Paul
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For starters we could promote and advertise Linux and/or slug. We could
use Newspaper adds etc.
Basically speaking this is the real world and you can not do very much
for free.
Marketing costs money.
Promotional materials cost money.
Training materials cost money
and for a lot of talented and informational speakers cost money
If linux ever really wants viable marketshare. It must be conducted like
a business. John Q. Public does not go to trade or computer shows nor
does he read computer magazines.
John Q. Public does not know beans about Linux. That is a problem.
What is your solution?
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