The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group President's Update Lyn Goodall president@melbpc.org.au |
 |
Mailouts
From time to time Melb PC receives information on special offers and other
member benefits through the Association of PC User Groups (APCUG). We also
receive information on new releases of software at special member discounted
prices. Through our member services portfolio we like to pass these on to you.
We do not endorse any product or service in particular and it's up to you as a
member to research the information and find out whether the offers are suitable
for your purposes. We'll endeavour to provide more information about these
special offers and you should be aware that most of the items will be American
and priced as such.
If you don't wish to receive this information please look for the process to
"opt out", written in each of our mailout emails. We're acutely aware of the
need to reduce unsolicited emails and therefore will abide by your requests.
Interest groups
In the June PC Update, after one of our Publishing and Managing Editor's
visits to Melbourne, a letter to the Editor was written to ask us to think
carefully before removing any of the Interest Group information from our
magazine.
We all want to "get the information out there" and it's not our intention to
change this. How we do it is another matter. The idea was more to amalgamate the
current information, so that contact details and the purpose of the group
appears at the top or the bottom of the group reports, instead of being spread
over two sections of the magazine. This way if a member is interested in a
particular group subject, they'll have all the information in one place.
Our Interest Groups provide a forum for members to find out about the latest
technology, share knowledge on specific and general computing and ask questions
about their specific problems. We need to make the information as attractive as
possible to readers, and contact details, in particular, easy to find. What do
you think? Please email me president@melbpc.org.au or groups@melbpc.org.au to let us know your thoughts,
so we can make the magazine work for you!
Need for privacy
Melb PC is required to comply with the Victorian Information Privacy Act 2000
(VIP Act) and the privacy requirements of the Telecommunication Act 1997.
Day-to-day compliance is part of our responsibility when dealing with member
information and this applies throughout all our activities. The major custodians
of this information at Melb PC are our office staff and volunteers. Through
their work they may come into contact with Membership, Events, Training,
Accounting
and Communication (including publication subscriptions) details. All Melb PC
staff and volunteers are responsible for complying with the above legislation
and the Privacy Policy of the organisation, where such a document exists.
Melbourne PC User Group is currently developing its Privacy Policy. Personal
information will be collected, as it is now, with the knowledge and consent of
the person concerned, and directly from them, in accordance with applicable law.
No information will be communicated to third parties
without the consent of the subject, except as required or permitted
by law. Personal information will not be used, made available or otherwise
disclosed for purposes other than those specified, unless the consent of the
individual is obtained or where Melb PC is compelled by law to do otherwise.
The Public Officer is accountable for this Privacy Policy and for
its implementation. The draft document will be circulated to committee for its
endorsement and implemented as soon as possible. A copy will be made available
on the web site.
Committee news
During this year we've been able to fill the casual vacancies on
committee. We're now approaching the AGM and you will start to
see information concerning this event and calls for members to stand for
election to the new committee for 2008-2009.
Please give some serious thought as to whether you have the skills and/or
experience to become a committee member. The work is full of variety as we all
contribute to managing this ever-changing organisation.
If you're interested in applying for committee roles, please contact me or John
Swale to discuss
the positions further.
Committee experience, management and/ or finance skills
and a desire to contribute to the work of this successful PC user group will be
highly regarded. All contact will be treated confidentially.
Your committee welcomes the chance to provide you with more information (please
read http://websec.melbpc.org.au/committee/ regularly for committee reports). We also welcome
all feedback — contact me at president@melbpc.org.au
or the office on (03) 9567 8000.
Reprinted from the September 2008 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
