[H-GEN] [Linux-aus] LUV considering joining LA

[Russell Stuart]

On Sat, 2013-08-24 at 11:24 +1000, Aguido Davis wrote:
> > We'd like to take this opportunity to inform you that Linux Users'
> > Victoria is considering disincorporating from its current legal status,
> > and re-forming as a subcommittee of Linux Australia. LUV members will
> > vote on this motion at their AGM in Melbourne on 3rd September. LUV's
> > committee and LA's council have had some high level talks around this
> > and warmly welcome the move.
> 
> So. Anybody think it would be worth HUMBUG following suit?

We have discussed this on a number of occasions.

The upsides are:

1.  LA would provide us with public liability insurance.
2.  We could LA's infrastructure (wiki, mailing lists principally).


It would have no effect on:

a.  Someone still has to organise rooms.
b.  Someone still has to chase membership.
c.  We will still need AGM's to elect committee members.
d.  Money.  We have enough.


The downsides:

i.    We would have to do what LA says.  For example they have said
      since we would be using their mailing lists, they have the
      right to determine what we could and could not post there.
      Ditto running our IRC channel.

ii.   We would have to turn over all our funds to LA, so undoing it
      if we wanted to would be hard.

iii.  We would have to ask for permission when we spend money.

iv.   There is no guarantee we have any representation or say in the
      running us (LA), and consequently how Humbug is run.  So for
      example if we became an LA subcommittee next year, then LA 
      could decide to disband the subcommittee the year after that
      and the members of Humbug would have no say in the matter.

v.    The huge amount of work put into our wiki (by Matt, principally)
      would almost certainly be lost.  As I suspect would a lot of
      Humbug's history and character.


If we were a new club with no money, no infrastructure, and no existing
organisational structure (eg, a constitution) then becoming a LA
subcommittee using LA's resources might make sense.

Even then, I would feed a lot more comfortable if LA needed us as much
as we would need them if we became a subcommittee.  For example, in the
NRL the organisation needs the clubs (for players, grounds, supporters)
as much as the clubs need the NRL (the competition, and a share of the
TV rights money).  But that isn't the case with LA.  LA could happily
exist without any LUG subcommittees, and in fact has done so in the past
for years.

Pushing the comparison further, in the case of the NRL each club remains
an separate entity, which is independently run and happens to choose to
be part of the NRL for now.  The club could leave the NRL tomorrow and
still have it's members, grounds, bank accounts and players intact.
What we are suggesting here is to disband Humbug as a separate entity
entirely - which is an completely different thing.

Speaking for myself, I am not comfortable with it.