Group: Manchester/2008-05-20/Minutes

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Manchester Free Software Minutes

17:30, Tuesday 20th May 2008

Attendance: Simon, Dave, Lucy, Paul, Tim Apologies: None

Minutes of the previous meeting

The minutes of the previous meeting on 15th April 2008 were read and approved.

Announcements

  • After the vote on the mailing list, Simon was announced as the permanent chairperson of Manchester Free Software for the next six months.

Aims

Lucy had drawn up a series of possible aims and a mission statement for the group, which was briefly discussed. We made some minor amendments, and came up with the following revised text:

Mission Statement

Manchester Free Software was formed in response to a growing apparent need for a group based in the Manchester area that focuses on free software and GNU/Linux primarily, but also on topics such as Digital Restrictions Management and other issues which impact on the freedoms of computer users.

The purpose of this group is to:

  • Increase awareness and promote the use of free software within Manchester.
  • Provide a social space for individuals in Manchester to learn about and discuss free software, with particular emphasis on ethical considerations.
  • Be a source of information regarding free software to individuals and organisations in Manchester.

Aims

  • To help protect the freedoms of computer users.
  • Create a friendly and accessible community.
  • To promote the use of free software.

Further discussion was deferred until the next meeting.

Responsibilities

It was agreed that, whilst all members are encouraged to find speakers for events, it would be useful to have someone who will chase up leads to ensure that we have a speaker each month. This will become part of the chairperson's responsibilities.

Secretary
It was agreed that we should have a position of secretary within the group - this person would deal with taking minutes at meetings, ensuring that the agenda was distributed beforehand etc. As no one volunteered to take up this position immediately, we agreed to continue to seek someone to take the minutes on an ad hoc basis at each meeting.
Spokesperson
It was suggested that having someone to deal with media/press work might be useful, but no decision was made with regards to this possible role.

Additional responsibilities and roles within the group were also discussed - Simon will draw up a list of possibilities.

ACTION: Simon to draw up a list of responsibilities within the group with a view to seeing if roles can be fitted around them at a later meeting.

Speakers

Speakers for May and June are already confirmed, and we have Dave Crossland coming to speak at our September meeting. Simon has also contacted Ian Forrester of BBC Backstage with a view to organising a talk/discussion at some point in the future.

ACTION: Dave to contact Mike Fuzz about a potential talk on free software and media.

ACTION: Dave to promote June's talk (OpenStreetMap) to the psychogeographic group.

ACTION: Tim to contact Stephen Fry's agent about the possibility of a talk.

Venue

Funding at the MDDA appears to have been secured, so we now have the facilities available to us for the foreseeable future. Simon has asked to book MDDA for our monthly meetings until September but is waiting for confirmation that this is the case.

ACTION: Simon to book MDDA through to December once the July meeting is organised.

Domain

It was agreed that there was no need to look for a new domain for the group in the immediate future, but it would be useful to arrange a meeting with Matt Lee at some point to discuss plans for the FSUK name - particularly as some people are becoming confused as to the distinction between Manchester Free Software and FSUK. It was also suggested that having a setup similar to lug.org.uk would be useful for helping other people to start local free software groups in other areas, but that it would be a good idea to defer doing this until our group is fully established.

IRC channel

It was decided that at the present moment in time we do not need a dedicated IRC channel for the group.

Next meeting

It was suggested that having these meetings before the regular talks made it difficult for many people to get into town in time for the meeting, and that an alternative solution might be to hold separate meetings, combined with a social event, to allow more people to get involved.

ACTION: Dave to start a discussion on the mailing list about meeting times, with a view to organising something for the 1st/2nd week in June.

Actions Summary

Simon

  • Draw up a list of responsibilities within the group with a view to seeing if roles can be fitted around them at a later meeting.
  • Book MDDA through to December once the July meeting is organised.

Dave

  • Contact Mike Fuzz about a potential talk on free software and media.
  • Promote June's talk (OpenStreetMap) to the psychogeographic group.
  • Start a discussion on the mailing list about meeting times, with a view to organising something for the 1st/2nd week in June.

Tim

  • Contact Stephen Fry's agent about the possibility of a talk.
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