[kwlug-disc] I miss KWLUG so badly!

Wed Nov 22 12:10:15 EST 2017

To add, not sure how well versed they are in Wordpress.  Contact form 7 is
very simple to setup for a contact form. Even using Stripe or Paypal is
very simple solution to accepting payments online if they really need to.

On Wed, Nov 22, 2017 at 10:16 AM, Khalid Baheyeldin <kb at 2bits.com> wrote:

> I agree with everything Paul says.
>
> Regarding the web site, it is built with WordPress, so there are plenty of
> resources that describe how that works, and it is fairly easy to get that
> going. One important thing is to keep it up to date and not indulge on
> every extension that is available. These tend to be not maintained over
> time, and with security holes that are exploited by future automated
> hacking scripts. Stay with the minimum functionality needed.
>
> One issue is that they want to cram functionality into the web site
> (membership info, payments, ...etc.) which prevents the web site from even
> being an accurate announcement/general info site.
>
> As Paul said, let the membership be a manual thing: a person collects cash
> from attendees and issues receipts and then uses pen and paper with
> spreadsheet. That way the web site is freed from these complexities and can
> be effective for other things.
>
> On Wed, Nov 22, 2017 at 10:03 AM, Paul Nijjar via kwlug-disc <
> kwlug-disc at kwlug.org> wrote:
>
>>
>> We miss you too! I do, anyways.
>>
>> It sounds to me as if VanLUG is in trouble, but not critically so. Do
>> you have any inclination/energy to help revive it? You could be the
>> VanLUG that you want to see in the world.
>>
>> KWLUG went through a similar process where things were still happening
>> but the organizers were losing enthusiasm, and then an energetic young
>> man by the name of Richard Weait came in and revitalized the place
>> with his energy. That kept KWLUG going for at least a decade longer
>> than it would otherwise have, even though Richard has since moved on.
>>
>> Here are some easy wins, based upon looking at the website and what
>> you have told us:
>>
>> - You could work with the website maintainer and make some small
>>   fixes. The front page could show upcoming meetings rather than the
>>   wall of text that is there now.  You could figure out what the
>>   proper meeting day is and then make sure the website reflects that
>>   information. You could set up some contact mechanisms that work,
>>   even if they are just ineffectively obfuscated email addresses
>>   ("Contact us at vanlug at gmail dot com") and not real webforms.
>>
>> - You have done all kinds of interesting things, and you gave a talk
>>   with Bob Jonkman on some of them. You could revive that talk or
>>   offer to give a different one, the same way you were planning on
>>   speaking with KWLUG.
>>
>> - There is a watcamp-style listing of tech events for Vancouver at
>>   http://startupnorth.ca/events/vancouver-events/ . I see that the
>>   last VanLUG meeting was not on that. It might be possible to get
>>   future VanLUG meetings there (or maybe you can use that calendar to
>>   find a less dysfunctional community).
>>
>> - After putting your money where your mouth is by giving a talk, you
>>   could get some of the members to commit to giving talks in future
>>   months, thus ensuring that there are regular meetings happening. One
>>   of the reasons KWLUG still exists is because we do not take months
>>   off. As soon as you start skipping meetings you are in trouble.
>>
>> There are some things that are less easy wins. Losing a mailing list
>> is traumatic; if we lost kwlug-announce and its subscription base then
>> KWLUG would likely be hosed. Dealing with membership fees and the
>> restrictions of a nonprofit structure is a hassle, which is why I have
>> resisted it (and probably hurt KWLUG in the process).
>>
>> The existing website is not fantastic but it is functional enough.
>> People want to integrate all kinds of functionality into their
>> websites, but I have come to believe that splitting this
>> functionality can be a good idea. kwlug.org is now mostly an
>> announcement site. If we had to deal with memberships and fees and
>> such, then my preferred solution would be for the treasurer to have a
>> spreadsheet or a GnuCash setup or something rather than trying to
>> integrate some e-commerce solution into the main website. But these
>> things are out of your hands as a newbie.
>>
>> What you do have to offer is a set of fresh eyes and (potentially)
>> some energy. Both of these things are invaluable to keeping user
>> groups alive.
>>
>> You may well get resistance to change from the old guard. That's okay.
>> Sunny persistence goes a long way. Once people start trusting you and
>> believing that you are in this for the long haul (or the medium haul)
>> they will trust you more.
>>
>> Of course, if VanLUG is not worth your time or energy then you should
>> not feel obligated to revive it. But it seems that the opportunity is
>> there if you want to take it on.
>>
>> - Paul
>>
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Nov 21, 2017 at 07:48:27PM -0800, Ronald Barnes wrote:
>> >
>> > Hi everyone,
>> >
>> > I just had to say how much I'm missing KWLUG.
>> >
>> > The organizational skills by Paul, Andrew, and everyone are sorely
>> missed in
>> > Vancouver.
>> >
>> >
>> > /begin rant
>> >
>> > Since arriving back in Vancouver in July, there has been *one*
>> presentation
>> > at VanLUG - a display of BSD file system hierarchy.
>> >
>> > On average, 3-4 regulars attend and a couple stragglers.  There are
>> *nine*
>> > Board of Director members though.
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > The web site states:
>> >
>> > >As a registered non-profit society in British Columbia, VanLUG is
>> > >governed by a volunteer Board of Directors. Without its executive,
>> > >the VanLUG community would be quite disfunctional [sic].
>> >
>> > Yet the president admitted on the recently restarted mailing list:
>> >
>> > >Although we've been working on our website for *years*, we have yet to
>> > >get the back-end to function properly. We can't input data manually,
>> > >we can't get proper reports out, we can't transfer funds into our
>> > >bank account. MySQL currently tells us that VanLUG has three
>> > >members.
>> >
>> > It's unfathomable that a LUG would spend "years" on a simple web site
>> and
>> > still be non-functioning.
>> >
>> >
>> > They want $20 per year for membership.
>> >
>> >
>> > * Their web site listed monthly meetings on the 2nd monday of each
>> month,
>> > and on another page, on the 3rd monday of each month.
>> > * The mailing list was out-sourced and they lost all data.
>> > * Their Twitter account wasn't even registered.
>> > * The "Contact Us at the form below" ... didn't actually have a form to
>> > contact them at.
>> > * etc ad nauseam
>> >
>> > /end rant
>> >
>> > Gawd, I miss KWLUG!
>> >
>> >
>> > r b
>> >
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > kwlug-disc mailing list
>> > kwlug-disc at kwlug.org
>> > http://kwlug.org/mailman/listinfo/kwlug-disc_kwlug.org
>>
>> --
>> http://pnijjar.freeshell.org
>>
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>>
>
>
>
> --
> Khalid M. Baheyeldin
> 2bits.com, Inc.
> Fast Reliable Drupal
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> wrong." -- H.L. Mencken
>
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