[PLUG] Coordination and Planning

sendai sendai at thedustyshelf.com
Wed Apr 24 21:10:25 UTC 2002


This is an idea.  I doubt there is room for both a completely volunteer
group and a group similiar to what Alex describes.  There are big advantages
for either model.

Advantages of the full volunteer group include:

True non-profit status which could easily attract corporate sponsorship.
More evangelical campaign style.
There is no monetary agenda, which increases our chances of public support.

Disadvantages of the above.

More evangelical campaign style.
Money would be a constant issue.
There would not be as much confidence from the schools without having a
guaranteed staff to 	help in case of emergencies or support.

Advantages of the method described below:

The possibility of money attracts better talent.
We could still get corporate partnerships, but getting sponsorships is
unlikely.  	Investments would also be possible.
With an actual income we could have a full time staff which would make
schools more 	comfortable in making a switch.
We could more quickly expand to other markets before MS made their audit
demands or whatever 	other plan they come up with.

Disadvantages of the method described below:

We could not get as much public support, since many would see us as having
an agenda.
There is alot of room for losing sight of our purpose.

Whatever we do we need to remember why we are doing it.  For me, it's about
getting a better education for the children.  That's it.  So what's the best
way to do that?  I don't know.  Please add to the above as necessary.

-----Original Message-----
From: plug-admin at lists.pdxlinux.org
[mailto:plug-admin at lists.pdxlinux.org]On Behalf Of Alex Daniloff
Sent: Wednesday, April 24, 2002 1:50 PM
To: plug at lists.pdxlinux.org
Subject: RE: [PLUG] Coordination and Planning


Hello Linux folkz,
Why can't we create Linux Support Alliance Inc. (LSA Inc.) from PLUG
members.
It can be formed as a loose corporation/cooperation of Linux users and
professionals for the purpose of promoting Linux in public schools,
government and other institutions.
Some of you have professional programming skills, others are network
gurus. Some people are good at educating and supporting users, other
are good administrators.
Imagine, that some government or public institution wants to cut
licenses and administration costs in their PC/Server environment.
They can contact LSA Inc. and conversion to Linux can be done in
almost no time because of the number of participants and high
availability.
They'll need Linux based custom developed applications for business,
here the job for Linux programmers and developers.
They'll need 24x7 network administration, here the job for network
administrators.
They'll need customer support, here the job for customer support
specialists and educators.
They'll need new web and database servers, here the job for hardware
specialists who can assemble equipment for the fraction of vendor
price.

So, we can create semi-commercial semi-not for profit organization.

I don't want to idealize this idea, but every member of LSA Inc. will
be paid according to his/her coefficient of participance in ongoing
commercial projects. In the same time voluntary work can be easily
done for public school due to the number of participants and
centralized coordination.

The coordination of LSA Inc. members can be done in a couple of ways.
For example, each member submits his/her schedule of availability and
list of skills at the beginning of the each month to the elected
coordinators.

The coordinators contact (over e-mail or the phone) available member
if a new project or voluntary work needs to be performed.
Upon project completion the participants are getting value points.

Each participant is encouraged to go around and find new Linux related
projects. If he/she can do it on his/her own time, it's fine, if not,
the project should be submitted to the coordinator.

The points for commercial projects are transferred into pay checks for
the participants minus organizational expenses. The points for
voluntary work can be transferred into special awards of recognition
or certificates.

Can we discuss this idea at the nearest PLUG meeting?
Thank you for your time.
Alex



-------------------
> Ok, here is a general outline of what I see happening here.
>
> We appear to have two groups represented here.  One group feels that
we
> should take a passive approach, slowly building a case and finding
our own
> support where we can.

--- snip

>
> The other group wants to take an active approach, get in now and
make the
> changes and force the public to take notice and hopefully provide
support.


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