 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group PC (President's Comments) George Skarbek gskarbek@melbpc.org.au |
 |
I would like to open my first President's Comments page by thanking Morris Tobias for his work as past President. Morris Tobias had to relinquish the President's role because of changes in his work.
I feel honoured to be chosen as the replacement President by the committee and will work hard at representing all members and trying to look after your interests. This job is made easier by the fact that again we have an able, hard working and cohesive committee whose primary focus is to provide the best service for all of our members.
I do not intend to make any radical changes to the club. However, one change that I see naturally occurring is that the importance of SIGs (Special Interest Groups). As computing is now covering a very wide range of interests nobody can keep up with all aspects, SIGs will become even more important to our members as will the volunteers who run these groups and I will be sympathetic to their needs. We are fortunate that a hard working Dave Botherway is the SIG coordinator and he has the SIG interests at heart.
Internet Service
If time permits I hope to be still involved with the Internet team. At the time of writing all functions are going very well. Response is good, mail and news are flowing well. The number of Internet users is approximately 5,500 and is growing slowly. One interesting statistic is that approximately 3,200 different users login each day and many login more than once. This illustrates to us the importance our users place on our Internet service and I will endeavour to ensure that it remains a good and reliable service.
Community Responsibility
I am proud to say that during the recent power restrictions, which included computer usage bans, you were all excellent! Compliance was way above all expectations showing a great community spirit. For more details see Internet Newsletter No.8.
Training
Our courses appear to be underrated by our members. The same lecturers at CAE are giving the same courses in Dorcas St. for less money yet Melb PC members are paying more money to attend the same course at CAE. There must be a perception that if it is a low cost course then it cannot be good. The committee is reluctant to increase fees in order to attract more users. My suggestion is that if you are considering a computer course then have a look at what Melb PC is offering.
Furthermore, on the subject of training, Stan Johnstone, a past president and member of the Internet team, is conducting free Internet classes. These are not a part of the normal training schedule but are restricted to the retired or unemployed Melb PC members. These sessions start at 10.00 am and run until 3.00 pm at Dorcas St and cover browsing, mail & news, netiquette and what happens behind the scenes. To book you can either call the Office on 9699 6499 or contact Stan directly by e-mail stanj@melbpc.org.au. There has been an overwhelming response to this offer with more than five sessions filled in the first five days after the announcement. More sessions are being planned.
Think Tank
A new newsgroup melbpc.thinktank has been formed. It is accessible only to members who use the Melb PC Internet service. The purpose of this newsgroup is to enable members to have input into the committee decision-making process and to allow the committee to ask questions of the membership at large.
Unfortunately not many Internet users access newsgroups and there may be only a few hundred members who read the main newsgroup melbpc.general. However, many of those members are quite vocal and contribute a lot. If anyone would like to use the news-groups and does not know how to start, send an e-mail to help@melbpc.org.au and detailed instructions will be mailed back to you.
Orientation Days
Following the success of the Orientation Days that started again in March, the next date will be Saturday 8 April 2000 starting at 10.00am.
Membership Sub-committee
Due to the additional workload I have stepped down from the Membership sub-committee. Keith Beresford has taken on the job of co-ordinator. The main role of this group is to increase membership. If you have any ideas contact Keith at keith@melbpc.org.au.
GST
Unfortunately the GST cannot be avoided in our membership fees. The last fee increase was in July 1996 and our salary, magazine production costs and rent have increased in that time so we are unable to absorb the 10% GST. On a happier note, we are in a position to absorb the GST in relation to Internet subscriptions.
Reprinted from the April 2000 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
