Re: Please read

[Prabhu Ramachandran <prabhu@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

hi,

>>>>> "Biju" == Biju Chacko <botsie@xxxxxxxx> writes:

    Biju> 1. Some kind of legal existence of LI is required for
    Biju> practical reasons. The reasons being:

    Biju> * So that we can *legally* meet once a month. As I
    Biju> understand it, I open myself to prosecution when I take
    Biju> money from people to pay for snacks, projectors, et al.

	Duh? Why do LUG's have to "legally" meet?  Why does opening a
canteen at a meet have to open you up for prosecution?

	And please I am asking these because I dont understand the
issues that you face.  I am not against anything.

    Biju> * So that corporates can help us out during these meets and
    Biju> for expos.
    Biju> * So that freebies that have been offered can be passed on
    Biju> to members.

	Sure.

    Biju> 2. There should not be more formality than is required to
    Biju> fulfill these ends.

	Absolutely.  There is one thing to be noted here: different
LUG's obviously require different degrees of formality.  For instance:
AFAIK, the ILUGB is very different from ILUGC.  You have a larger
population of corporates who attend.  We dont.  We are more like a
loosely organised, informal group.  Our meetings reflect this and
similarly will yours.

	I am sure you see my point.  It is evident that the LUG's need
to be given some kind of "autonomy" on how they wish to conduct their
meetings.  So this formality can be a part of the particular LUG's
charter?  It is unfair to expect all LUG's to be similar. 

    Biju> I fail to see how this can be termed hi-jacking for
    Biju> commercial ends.

	Neither do I. :) I think the problem is one of communication.
Some of us simply havent been to any of ILUGB meetings.  We do not
understand the scale, magnitude of the things you do.  This again
reinstates the importance of a core group of communicating local LUG
members.

    Biju> <IMHO> I also fail to see what is wrong with making money
    Biju> off linux. Whenever the words 'commercial' or 'money' is
    Biju> mentioned on this list it is in a context as if it were
    Biju> 'paedophile' or 'fascist'.

	Please dont make serious accusations like this.  :) There was
one post by Raghavendra Bhat in this vein, but we all know his views
on the subject.  Certainly, not everyone subscribes to his views.  And
please, I dont mean that Raghavendra Bhat is wrong or right.  To each
his/her views.

    Biju> Linus makes money off Linux. RMS makes (made?) money off
    Biju> EMACS. Ditto Miguel De Igaza, ESR and others. Closer to
    Biju> home, Arun Sharma worked on Linux at Intel.

    Biju> The GPL allows for making profits (indirectly) off free
    Biju> software. Companies that use M$ technologies get some
    Biju> benefit from the M$ publicity bandwagon.  Companies that use
    Biju> OSS have every right to expect similar support from the OSS
    Biju> community.  </IMHO>

	Sure, I agree.  People need to make money.  But remember there
are people who are of the view that linux has to remain a hobby OS.  I
am not one of them.  But we need to respect other views too.
Similarly they must see our point.  

	Even debian needs money, SPI manages their assets, people
donate money and all of us have the greatest respect for the debian
folks.  Maybe we need to understand how debian works?

    Biju> There is no gain in analysing people's motives. We can only
    Biju> judge from their actions. So if anybody comes up with an
    Biju> idea let us judge it using the baseline "Does this
    Biju> ultimately benefit Linux in India?".

	Yes, and we need to define "benefit" too. :) <Prabhu Shakes
his head: Maye I'm doing too many math cources! ;>

    Biju> Finally, let me address the "insignificance" of IT.COM. In
    Biju> IT.COM LI would have had national exposure with support from
    Biju> an organisation that is a force in IT in India. By declining
    Biju> to participate due to internal organisational problems we
    Biju> have demonstrated to the IT community that Linux in India is
    Biju> composed solely of amateurs who cannot be trusted to honor
    Biju> their commitments. Whether or not this is true, this does
    Biju> not bode well for the long term future of Linux in India.

	Gosh! Who ever said dont participate in IT.com?  If you are
referring to my posts, please reread them carefully.  All I said was
that we should not hurry this formalisation thing before IT.com.  I
did split too many hairs but I apologized for that later.

    Biju> I am sure that I will now get flamed by those who somehow
    Biju> see purity in penury. If that is the price of speaking one's
    Biju> mind, so be it.

	Sometimes you dont say anything wrong and are flamed. :) Life!
:)

regards,
prabhu