🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1992Dec18.150244.4707@spcvxb.spc.edu>, killeen@spcvxb.spc.edu (Jeff Killeen) writes:
> 
(Incredibly long and boring diatribe deleted)

I may be making assumptions, but I'll bet I'm speaking for the huge majority
of DECUS members when I say that I don't give a rat's tail about what jobs
the MC members hold, or whether they are out of touch, or whether Di and
Charles will ever get back together.

As a Decus member (true, I have a DCS account, but, gosh, I think I'm still
_in touch_ as the saying goes) my major concern is _What does DECUS provide
me that is of value_? I'll be honest, DECUS representation on standards
committees is NOT one of the benefits of the organization. Oh, excuse me, I
accidentally got onto the subject in the subject line....

I don't believe DECUS can afford to send people all over North America and
the world any more. DECUS, like DEC itself, got fat during the boom years,
but now someone has to pay the piper. Let's look at what I as Joe Member get
from DECUS:

1. As a normal member, I can attend LUG meetings and get information there.
   That's where the majority of information should be, since many of the
   people at a LUG meeting can never attend a symposium. From what I've
   seen, LUGs are left to fend for themselves, and many don't do well at it.

2. As a normal member, I can attend the national symposia. Trouble is, 
   registration is now well over $600, and symposia are at high-dollar
   hotels in high-dollar cities. Please forego the arguments about accomodating
   a zillion attendees, negotiated rates, etc. It's a simple fact that a
   symposium now runs about $1600 to attend. This explains why attendance
   is going down. There is good information at a symposium, and the DEC
   presence has always made it worthwhile. But it's expensive.

3. Hmmm. Can't think of anything else I get out of DECUS. DECUServe, I guess.
   And I can buy cute novelty items with the DECUS logo.

I really don't know what percs the Leadership gets, but from what I've
read, it's lots of trips to lots of exotic places. It's lots of food and
drink, etc. And it's a lot of pie-in-the-sky "planning" while the lower
leadership does the dirty work.  Even then, the leadership
never actually goes to sessions at national symposia.

I believe that DECUS needs to have regional symposia, complete with DEC
representation, at a substantially reduced cost. Some way of facilitating
information exchange without the enormous scale of a national symposium.
The demo area is cute, but not essential. Sessions are important. Perhaps
the national DECUS symposium folks and the LUG folks could get together and
do such I thing...

But from the bickering I've been reading in this newsgroup, I have my doubts!