BOOG - your letters page

Opinions expressed are solely those of the correspondents and may not represent the opinions of BOOG Ltd.

Members benefit in different ways. Some only receive the Journal, which is produced aproximately monthly by the stalwart efforts of editor Barrie Towey and two key contributors. The Journal is quite cheap to produce and will continue just as long as Barrie receives some encouragement - articles for the Journal always welcome! We could save money by email publishing, though there may not be enough members online to justify the extra editing involved.

Some members use the telephone support provided mostly by Barrie, which is very expensive in his time. This kind of service can be provided much more effectively by an email discussion list, because anyone can field the questions and Frequently Asked Questions (and their answers) can be made available in online archives. We hope to offer BOOG discussion lists soon.

Some members like the meetings, National or GLOW. There is a core of dedicated attendees, some of whom have to travel great distances. Unfortunately for them, they are few and hired meeting rooms are expensive, so this is a disproportionate strain on the BOOG budget. The last National meeting was in a smaller, cheaper hall than before, (though a very nice one), and GLOW's last meeting was in private offices, (again, a pleasant venue and a successful meeting). It seems likely that National meetings will be fewer and local meetings will be encouraged, where practical in association with local events. Read my 'Local meetings' letter.

Len Warner

This could be by
• finding a smaller and cheaper venue
• sharing meetings with other groups, for example Sutton Computer Club
• meeting at other events, such as computer rallies, fairs or exhibitions
• using Bletchley Park
• meeting in pubs or restaurants (not convenient for hardware)
• meeting online rather than face-to-face

Examples:
• GLOW has met at Sutton and in pleasant private offices
• several people from the GLOW meeting may be at the Verulam Rally
  (whether we will be able to find each other is another problem)
• Netreach meets at Aslib, where there is a good Internet connection
• Bletchley Park, the wartime cryptographic centre, might be able to offer a free room on their open weekends. Admission to the site is three pounds, but there are refreshment facilities and a quite interesting exhibition.

Your comments, please.

Len Warner

Email your contributions to BOOG Online editor len@easynet.co.uk (Len Warner).