<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Beth,<div><br></div><div>Thanks for the historical perspective and fond memories of your early days at CMU creation of the WPLUG.</div><div><br></div><div>I have worked with Jennifer Landefeld and Mark Dalrymple as well … great people.</div><div><br></div><div>The WPLUG relationship with the Apple community will be growing through others in the upcoming months.</div><div><br></div><div>Leaders with this much dedication to a cause …. in your case the cause of Free Software … is rare and I admire your long term perseverance.</div><div><br></div><div><div>Best of luck in Chicago from all of the Apple folks aver at Goodwill and ComputeReach.</div></div><div><br></div><div>Dave Sevick</div><div>Apple Users Groups, Pittsburgh</div><div>Apple Recycler, Pittsburgh</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br><div><div>On Jul 28, 2011, at 6:36 PM, Beth Lynn Eicher wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"><div>Dear WPLUG folks,<br><br>It has been an excellent pleasure serving the Western Pennsylvania<br>Linux User Group and the extended Free Software community here in<br>Pittsburgh since 1999. I hereby announce as I had at the General<br>Users' Meeting on July 9th that I will not seek re-election for board<br>service for the nominations season this Fall. I encourage all<br>interested parties in board service to secure membership in good<br>standing to participate in the election process.<br><br>As some of you know, I am moving to Chicago this Fall as my employment<br>with Wellspring Worldwide has me going that direction. With this new<br>opportunity, I am the Information Technology Director. I started work<br>with them via the Pittsburgh office in June and I am excited to be<br>working with an innovative company. And, for what it is worth, bug one<br>is resolved here.<br><br>Leaving Pittsburgh was not an easy one to make as it was here that I<br>grew up, went to the University of Pittsbugh, made a home with my<br>husband William, and started an awesome Free Software career. Much of<br>my personal and professional success would not be possible if it were<br>not for the love and support of my friends here at WPLUG.<br><br>It was during my internship at Pittsburgh Supercomputing in 1999 that<br>I first encountered WPLUG. I needed assistance installing a browser on<br>my Red Hat Linux desktop on the ALPHA processor. The Mozilla source<br>was just released and I tried, unsuccessfully, to build it for the<br>ALPHA. I asked for help on the then named "Open Projects IRC Network"<br>#wplug channel for help. It was there I met James O'Kane who had<br>dreams of building a zero-cost Linux Beowulf. I agreed to help.<br><br>James and I never did finish the beowulf cluster. In reflection, I am<br>not sure what the problem was. Did we setup the job scheduler<br>incorrectly? Maybe we had the wrong version of MPI installed? Could it<br>have been hardware failure of the 386/486-class systems in James'<br>non-air-conditioned apartment? In the end, I learned a lot and felt<br>welcomed by the WPLUG community.<br><br>Also, at the time of my WPLUG arrival in 1999, the founding members of<br>WPLUG were Jeremy Dinsel, Jennifer Landefeld, and Alex Landefeld were<br>leaving Pittsburgh. Jeremy had moved to Seattle and the Landefelds had<br>moved to the California bay area. There was a moment of uncertainty,<br>not only for the leadership of the organization, but the meeting place<br>of WPLUG was in question. Jennifer, being a departing Carnegie Mellon<br>employee in 1999 was reserving the room on campus for us. It was then<br>that Jonathan Billings stepped in by reserving the room and being an<br>organizational leader.<br><br>Others had stepped forward to help Jonathan lead WPLUG minus the<br>founders: Rob Dale, Zach Paine, Evan DiBiase, and James O'Kane. Rob<br>and James made sure that there was a talk for each meeting, even if<br>they had to give it themselves. Zach made sure the meetings were<br>announced and took the lead on many PR initiatives. Evan put countless<br>hours into the website. Jonathan made sure that people felt welcome at<br>the meetings. This collective had continued the WPLUG tradition<br>without any formal written bylaws for about a year.<br><br>It was my controversial opinion at the time that WPLUG needed to have<br>bylaws. Even though I liked and respected all of the leadership, I was<br>concerned for the succession planning and overall survivability of an<br>organization without basic structure. I kicked up a fuss and David<br>Tessitor, a Pittsburgh independent political and non-profit<br>consultant, stepped in. David wrote and proposed a document which<br>represents the characteristics of the organization as it was. This<br>document was adopted and became the first bylaws of WPLUG. These words<br>are readable today at <a href="http://www.wplug.org/wiki/OldBylaws">http://www.wplug.org/wiki/OldBylaws</a><br><br>I was grateful that WPLUG had a set of bylaws and I continue to hold<br>everyone I have mentioned so far in the highest regards. There were<br>some unfortunate characteristics of this document that I would not<br>wish of any Free Software community:<br>1. Any board member could veto any initiative. Abstention caused an<br>initiative to die. Only unanimous affirmation would do.<br>2. The membership of the organization was limited to the board.<br>3. Board term was perpetual until the person quit.<br>4. Due to 1, 2, and 3, changes to WPLUG's board was only by unanimous approval.<br>5. There was no facility for handling member conflict.<br><br>It was some time around 2001, I was taking a more active role in the<br>organization. At the time, I too was working with Jonathan at Carnegie<br>Mellon along with another individual named Brian Sammon. Jonathan,<br>Brian, and I took turns making sure the rooms were reserved for WPLUG.<br>After a few times serving as room host, I asked the board to vote me<br>on and they did. I would setup the room with coffee and snacks and<br>introduce the guest speaker. Brian would help new users get started at<br>installfests. James and Jonathan would make sure we had good talks<br>pre-arranged. Zack and Evan would still show up and record themselves<br>talking about Free Software in a pre-podcast-era stream called<br>"wplug-radio." Rob would show up at meetings sporadically due to his<br>job but he did an excellent at maintaining the web server at site.<br>Somewhere along the line, the board added Mark Dalrymple, an OpenACS<br>web guru, who also ran the website.<br><br>While on the board, I witnessed folks go as their personal lives<br>changed. Rob joined the Army. Zack and Evan became college students<br>and found other interests. James moved to California to go work for<br>Google. Jonathan followed his heart and left the state. I looked up<br>and we were a board of two: Mark and me.<br><br>Mark and I knew that the comings and goings of the regular attenders<br>and WPLUG board demanded new bylaws to insure for a survivable<br>organization. WPLUG needed to be a member-own, member-run community.<br>Vance Kochenderfer agreed to chair a committee who wrote the current<br>bylaws. These were adopted by the board, Mark and me, on in September<br>2005. These are the bylaws that govern this organization today:<br><a href="http://www.wplug.org/wiki/ByLaws">http://www.wplug.org/wiki/ByLaws</a><br><br>I have served on most boards of WPLUG since 2005 and had the pleasure<br>to serve with many outstanding people. It is due to their outstanding<br>dedication to community, and not due to any technical knowledge, has<br>kept WPLUG operational, relevant, and thriving in a post-desktop era.<br>It is up to you, the local Free Software community, to continue this<br>legacy. If ever in doubt, look to the organizational purpose:<br><br>"<br>The purpose of WPLUG is to provide:<br><br>* a forum for the discussion and exploration of Linux-related issues;<br>* technical assistance to participants by participants;<br>* education about, advocacy for, and development of open source<br>software, standards, and protocols; and<br>* opportunities for socializing among WPLUG participants and/or<br>other Linux/open source users or advocates.<br>"<br><br>My advice based on WPLUG's purpose is:<br><br>Do what advances Free Software. Don't do things that distract from that.<br><br>I will be forever grateful that this community has made me the leader<br>that I am today. If it were not for this organization, I would not<br>have the background to be involved in the Ohio LinuxFest. It is my<br>hope that WPLUG will continue to have a strong presence there and that<br>we will continue to see each other annually then.<br><br>It is my turn to leave this organization as others had, with much love<br>and respect for it, for my own personal live-changing reasons. Long<br>live WPLUG!<br><br>And now, without further a-do, some Frequently Asked Questions:<br><br>1. What will happen to WPLUG?<br><br>WPLUG is a member-run organization. A new board will be elected in the<br>Fall. They will have many assets of the organization such as a<br>projector, a great working relationship with the frequent venue, the<br>Wilkins School Community Center, and a modest yet sufficient treasury<br>to sustain the internet presence. I will be available online or by<br>phone to provide any tacit knowledge or wisdom I hold. While my advice<br>is complimentary, it will not be in an official capacity. WPLUG, it is<br>your time to soar.<br><br>I have faith in you.<br><br>2. What are you going to do about the Ohio LinuxFest?<br><br>I will continue to serve the Ohio LinuxFest as my work has always been remote.<br><br>3. What happened to your blog/prediction at <a href="http://whatwillweuse.com">whatwillweuse.com</a> ?<br><br>I will be tabulating the results of Microsoft's market share as of<br>June 30, 2011 as-per MSFT FY2011 financial reports. The results will<br>be delivered at a party this Fall at a yet to be determined Pittsburgh<br>venue, date, and time. Nick will be present to certify said report.<br>WPLUG will be welcome spectators. Please stay tuned for further<br>details.<br><br>4. What is your moving schedule in relationship to WPLUG?<br><br>I am having a yard sale this Saturday July 30, 2011 from 8 A.M. to 2<br>P.M. at 4841 Flamingo Drive 15236. All are welcome to stop by, pick up<br>*FREE* old computer stuff, and hang out. I am selling as much of my<br>stuff as possible including my home and car. Those that stay after 2<br>P.M. may make ridiculously offers. In return, I would like help<br>donating the rest to charities that I specify and hauling stuff to the<br>dumpster.<br><br>On August 21, we will have our annual picnic. I will be there but I<br>will be transferring many WPLUG assets such as the grill and the<br>official WPLUG Tux to those who the board deems responsible for<br>storage duties. This may be the last time we are holding is at Snyder<br>Park unless another responsible Whitehall Boro resident steps forward.<br>Please sign up on the wiki:<br><a href="http://www.wplug.org/wiki/Meeting-20110821">http://www.wplug.org/wiki/Meeting-20110821</a><br><br>On August 31 there will be an evening special event. Details are in<br>the works. I will be present.<br><br>The weekend of September 9-11 I will attend the Ohio LinuxFest as usual.<br><br>October 8 and November 12 will be the WPLUG nominations and elections<br>meetings respectfully. Due to my upcoming move, I can not guarantee my<br>physical presence.<br><br><br>All of the Best,<br><br>Beth Lynn Eicher<br><br>Western PA Linux User Group Chair<br><br>Phone: 412 512 5761<br>Chat: bethlynn on freenode<br>_______________________________________________<br>wplug mailing list<br>wplug@wplug.org<br>http://www.wplug.org/mailman/listinfo/wplug<br></div></blockquote></div><br></div></body></html>