The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Editorial Major Keary

0ur first issue of PC Update for 1993, a year in which many issues must be faced. Not the least of those is a proposal to increase fees, which will cause some to suffer a great rush of blood to some part or other.

This is the Chinese Year of the Rooster, which happens to be the tenth year of Melb PC's existence. We do have something to crow about, but also much to reflect on. The Group is about to make a great leap (no, not one of Chairman Mao's) as membership rapidly expands. Professional administration is now a necessity rather than a luxury. Other areas of our activities and services will inevitably require more than voluntary support

I am not in favour of getting bigger just for the sake of being big. If our growth is the result of an increasing use of computers in the community, then that is healthy and welcome. Melb Pc should be about educating, encouraging, and helping those who seek assistance and knowledge; at the same time it provides satisfaction for those of us who like to be providers.

One of the drawbacks of 'bigness' is a potential loss of intimacy - the social aspect of Melb PC is an important ingredient in the mix of reasons for people being members. However, our SIG structure is able to provide for smaller groups.

It is surprising just how large such a group can get without losing its social bonds. The Retirees (who haven t really retired at all) are able to get close to a hundred people along to their meetings and still maintain an informal and comfortable atmosphere.

Getting bigger does have the benefit of economies of scale. The problem is to cross the divide where operating costs have to increase before those economies can be realised. It is very easy for doomsayers to be critical of those who are trying to come to grips with problems of management. While we have to be prudent and not allow ourselves to be carried away with extravagant ideas, we should not allow 'hasten slowly' to be an excuse or reason for doing nothing.

Expand or perish is a maxim of commerce. I think that does not necessarily apply to a user group such as ours. However, if we are to keep a place in the computer community - to use that term in its widest sense - we must look to expansion. The alternative is to become inward-looking and parochial; to drift away on a tide of irrelevance, with our cries of. "What's in it for us?" rapidly fading away.

This is not a time for bellicose blustering, but a time for sober reflection.

Reprinted from the Jan / Feb 1993 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia

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