Greater New Hampshire Linux Users Groups (GNHLUG)
Organization and Board of Directors' meeting
31 May 2007, East Basement Room, Nashua Public Library
Attending:
Heather Brodeur “Heather”
Jon Hall “md”
Michael Kazin “Michael”
Shawn O'Shea “Shawn”
Ted Roche “Ted”
Bill Sconce “Bill”
Ben Scott “Ben”
Ted, acting as chairman pro tem, called the meeting to order at 7:30 PM EDT.
Proceedings
● Ted orally reviewed the minutes from the 22 December 2006 meeting of the incorporators (where
they agreed to serve as the initial Board of Directors of GNHLUG
● It was observed and confirmed:
● that Ben, Heather, Ted, Bill, and md (md in absentia) had consented to be incorporators
● that the full size of the Board is 7 members
● that coincidentally, there seemed to be 7 persons present :)
● that certain others had also been approached but had declined
● It was agreed to defer appointment of officers, except for Bill, who consented to serve as
Secretary pro tem.
● Resolved: it was moved (md) and seconded (Ted) that nominations be opened for fulfillment of
the Board of Directors. (Unanimous.)
● Resolved: it was moved (Ted) and seconded (md) that two new members, Mike and Shawn, be
accepted onto the Board of Directors. (Unanimous.)
● Ben asked if anyone present had an accounting background. Answer: Ben, Heather.
● Resolved: it was moved (Ted) and seconded (Heather) that Ben be named to serve as Treasurer.
(Unanimous.)
● Resolved: it was moved (Ted) and seconded (md) that Bill be named to serve as Secretary.
(Unanimous.)
● Resolved: it was moved (Heather) and seconded (Heather) that Ted be named to serve as
Chairman. (Unanimous.)
● Tax status
● We are OK with current status for 5 years
● We are a New Hampshire nonprofit: “Greater New Hampshire Linux Users Group”
● GNHLUG have no debts; everything we own has been contributed by members (e.g., our
computer equipment)
● We are not yet IRS 501«anything»
● Ted has IRS documents; some of the instructions are on the Wiki
● What locations should the Treasurer consider in opening the bank account?
● DCU mentioned
● Citizens mentioned
● A consideration: it would be nice if the institution selected has branches nearby for any
future Treasurer (e.g., should a future Treasurer live in Hanover)
● Shawn asked if we should start a mailing list for the Board of Directors. Ted suggested that no,
the .org list is appropriate. This was the consensus (no vote was taken).
● Resolved: It was moved (Bill) and seconded (Ted) that Ben:
● is to get our Federal Tax ID
● is to come back with a recommendation as to a bank for GNHLUG to use
● is to get together with Ted and and open the account
(Unanimous.) (Action Item)
● Ted noted that GNHLUG's address is his address for now. Ted asked if GNHLUG needs an
address; the sense of the Board (no vote was taken) was that we do. Ted is to e-mail Ed Lawson
and ask if the need is real. (Action Item)
● Resolved: It was moved (Bill) and seconded (md) to authorize Ben and/or Ted to open the PO
Box, if/when Ed Lawson and/or list discussion so indicates. (Unanimous.)
● It was informally agreed that Ted would find out whether Board voting can be done electronically.
It was the sense of the Board (especially md) that the answer is yes. (Action Item)
● Ted read to the Board the Terms of Service of GNHLUG's Web server. It was informally agreed
that Ted was to submit them to Ed Lawson for comments. (Action Item)
● Resolved: It was moved (md) and seconded (Bill) that GNHLUG purchase our server from Ben
for $1 US. (Unanimous.) (Action Item)
● Ben requested permission to go to MV Communications and
● transfer to us FIXME: what? [record of who owns the server, probably]
● hosting services (loc, air conditioning, etc.) FIXME
● It was informally agreed that MV Communications should be frequently and publicly praised and
thanked for their hosting and contributions to the electronic communications which make
GNHLUG possible. (Action Item)
● The fact that the mailing list sometimes veers off course, and sometimes drives people away, was
brought up (md) and informally discussed.
● Do we need “guidelines”?
● It was suggested (md) that guidelines be written up
● By whom? Ben volunteered; Ted demurred; Bill demurred, mentioning Shirky's paper1.
● md volunteered to do the draft
● md appointed by acclamation.
● It was informally discussed and agreed that the current triple of .org/.jobs/.announce has proven
itself a good structure.
● The MythTV InstallFest was informally discussed.
● Jarod showed up on Slashdot.
● md will review over the next week or so (Action Item)
● Next round: shall we invite students at NHTI to join in?
● Next round: our rules will include “the hardware configuration we specify or else”
● md to put together a timeline, clear it with the school, make a proposition (Action Item)
● NEARFest and GNHLUG's participation were informally discussed.
● Ben and md staffed the GNHLUG booth
● Spaces and support were a lot more expensive than had been the case at Hopkinton
● $40 US for one space; tables were more expensive too
● A lot of people attending, and traffic by our table was good
● Our locations was not so good
● Building was nice; electricity was good
● Organizers were disorganized
● md to write it up (Action Item)
● Bill to copy recent QST articles about Linux in the amateur radio press (Action Item)
Adjournment was moved, seconded and voted (unanimously); the meeting was adjourned at 8:50 PM
EDT.
1 http://shirky.com/writings/group_user.html - “Netiquette [mostly doesn't] work...the recidivism rate for flamers is high.”
Some additional discussion followed informally after adjournment:
● It was informally discussed and agreed that a formal “status of GNHLUG” is a continuing
discussion (among the entire membership as well as the Board), and not resolved at this meeting
● It was informally discussed and agreed that treating volunteers well is important; e.g., that
someone who has volunteered to help with a particular issue should not find his or her efforts
treated in such a way that it appears they are being ignored or shunted aside – always a possibility
in any organization, particularly a volunteer organization
● It was informally discussed and agreed that definitions of “membership” or classes of
membership is a continuing discussion, and that neither was resolved at this meeting.
Prepared and revised 2 August 2007; re-proofed revised 7 August 2007
Respectfully submitted,
Bill Sconce
Secretary