What to see and do at Linuxcon

[mikebw at bilow.bilow.uu.ids.net (Mike Bilow)]

Jerry Feldman wrote in a message to Mike Bilow:

> When I originally joined the BCS in 1976 or so, the membership 
> forms were mimeographed onto blue construction paper and the 
> dues were about $5.  Maybe we should go back to that.

 JF> There is a proposal from a couple of BOD members to roll
 JF> back dues. Maybe we should limit staff based upon the
 JF> percentage of members. However, the BCS does a lot of public
 JF> service work, and does receive grants.

It is not the dues I have problems with.  It is the absence of a mission.  When
you could simply round up people in a room because they had a common interest
in computers, and discussion could concern soldering technique, the BCS did not
so much require a formal mission.  Now these odd toys are in every office and
in many homes, they are sold at Lechmere, and the BCS is bewildered.

I am really appalled by the idea of turning the Megameeting over to a
professional trade show producer.  I go to that crap all the time.  My God, I
even had free passes to "E-Mail World" a couple of months ago!  We do not need
yet another one of these things.  The BCS should not be in the business of
playing a captive audience.

I do not have all the answers, but I can see that commercializing BCS like this
is a serious mistake.  Perhaps the proper business model is the non-profit
Consumers Union, which publishes Consumer Reports.  Turning the Megameeting
into a brand-name and selling it is the beginning of the end.  I expect that
the Linux group, if no one else, would understand this.
 
-- Mike