Path: utzoo!mnetor!tmsoft!mason
From: mason@tmsoft.uucp (Dave Mason)
Newsgroups: can.usrgroup
Subject: Re: Renewed Call for Nominations for Directors for /usr/group/cdn
Message-ID: <1989May4.200744.6152@tmsoft.uucp>
Date: 4 May 89 20:07:44 GMT
References: <1989Apr24.161951.16349@tmsoft.uucp> <544@aurora.AthabascaU.CA> <1989May4.042805.24120@tmsoft.uucp> <560@aurora.AthabascaU.CA>
Reply-To: mason@tmsoft.UUCP (Dave Mason)
Followup-To: can.usrgroup
Distribution: can
Organization: TM Software Associates, Toronto
Lines: 62

In article <560@aurora.AthabascaU.CA> lyndon@nexus.ca writes:
>I agree it would be nice, however /usr/group/cdn has been approached
>in the past on the issue of regional representation with no results
>forthcoming. It has been suggested many times that /usr/group/cdn
>become an umbrella organization encompasing all the regional /usr/group
>organizations. A proposal was put out by the Toronto group, but it seemed
>that it was just a vehicle to siphon funds from the regionals to the
>exclusive benefit of the Toronto group. If there is interest I could
>dig out and post the minutes of the Edmonton groups meeting where this
>was discussed.

I think this is a combination of at least 42 different effects, of
which I will mention only a few:
 1) Almost all of the 42 boil down to poor communications of one sort
or another.
 2) Group A sends merger proposals to group B.  Group B sends merger
proposals to group A.  Neither really tries to find a compromise. 
 3) Group A claims to represent ``the real X in Canada''.  Group B
claims to represent ``the real X in Canada''.  Both are, of course, full
of horse-feathers.
 4) Group A talks about joining with Group B, but already doesn't do a
good job for its own members, so people in power (or trying to get
there) address (or don't) that problem rather than putting energy into
joining with Group B.
 5) Group A sends copies of its Newsletter to Group B, says talk to us
when you can do this!  Group B sends copies of its Newsletter to Group
A, says talk to us when you can do this!  One of newsletters has some
nice technical tidbits, one has nice layout, one has good upcoming
date information, one comes out fairly regularly, one comes out when
necessary, one hasn't come out in 18 months.  To keep it interesting
one of Group {A,B} even has 2 newsletters!

When you add all of these, plus the other 37, plus personalities and
traditional (often justified) distrust of central Canada by those
fortunate enough to live somewhere more reasonable, it all adds up to
poor communication and lack of trust and lack of willingness to work
together. Which is very unfortunate, because I think a strong NATIONAL
organization would be good for all of us.  And good for the Canadian
Unix industry trying to export to that big market south of us.
 
>>And more importantly we could certainly use you and your talents on
>>the board of /usr/group/cdn, so we can make it !!CDN!!
>
>Ha! I just wrapped up a three year stint on the board in Edmonton.
>I plan on "retiring" for at least a year. Maybe now I'll have time
>to start looking at this whole issue again :-)

Sigh.  (I've been doing that too much lately.)

Here is an example of the problem.  Someone I respect from factual
(except when he's misinterpreting me :-) and knowledgeable postings on
the net turns out to have been an adversary :-) for the 2 years I've
been on the /usr/group/cdn board, and I didn't even know it.  A sad
comment, I think, on all sides.

People can't we pull together?  Please?  I want to remain a Canadain,
not an American appendage, and to do that with Uncle Brian's new
Free-Trade world, we've got to work together to compete in the world
market.  We're a big country with a small population (at least until
the greenhouse effect really gets going), let's get together!

	../Dave