1. WHAT: We are a sub-group (Special Interest Group or SIG) of the Canberra PC Users group (PCUG).
2. WHEN: We meet once a week on Tuesdays, to discuss Computer problems (and successes), and usually to enjoy some social activity, including meals if you wish. Meetings start at around 9:30 AM for coffee and individual discussion. The more formal part starts at 10 am and runs to 11:30 am.
3. WHERE: Meetings are noted in the “16-Bits” PCUG magazine Calendar. Meetings alternate between the PCUG (Northpoint Plaza, Belconnen) and the Canberra Irish Club (6 Parkinson St, Weston).
4. GUESTS: Are always welcome and they are the responsibility of the host. Guests must be signed in if attending at the Irish club. Guests should not use the facilities of the PCUG centre unless accompanied by a member.
5. ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS: May find the main meetings a bit too technical at first. A Third group meets every 2 weeks in the Irish club at 1 PM after the normal meeting. Contact Gloria for details. But you can learn a lot by sitting at the main meetings and just soaking up the lingo for a while. Fear not to ask a ‘dumb’ question! They sometimes stump the ‘experts’.
6. HOW: We are a gregarious, fairly democratic bunch, of mostly retired people. Someone, somehow, is appointed Chairperson for the day and tries to keep control. Members with questions to ask (or something to report) write them on the white board, and the Chairperson addresses each in turn.
7. BUDDIES: If a newcomer would like someone to discuss problems ‘one on one’, the Chairperson will try to organise a ‘buddy’ for you who lives nearby.
8. NOTES: Someone is persuaded to collate the meeting notes which are much appreciated by PCUG members who could not attend. The task involves copying the white board questions and publishing them to the News Group and mailing list as a reminder. Then persons who asked the questions are encouraged to Email the collator with details of the question and response (by COB on Friday). The collator then publishes the collated notes prior to the next meeting.
9. WEBSITE: The group maintains a Website at http://www.pcug.org.au/pcug/candc The Website contains the group Charter, Archived meeting notes, and a listing of members, their suburb, phone numbers and computing interests. See the Chairperson for the password to access the listing. A printout of the latest listing is generally passed around at meetings so that new members can add their details if they wish.
10. NEWS GROUP: We maintain a news group ‘tip.coffee-chat’ on the PCUG News server at ‘newshost.pcug.org.au’ This news server can normally only be accessed via PCUG dial-up. But follow the help at http://www.tip.net.au/tipnews/ if you subscribe to another ISP and would like access via the Web.
11. MAILING LIST: We maintain a (free) mailing list for those members who would like to subscribe. It is not too busy – just the weekly notes and occasional discussions. If you would like to subscribe to the mailing list (normally only 3-4 messages per week) click here .
12. LIBRARY: We maintain a small software and hardware library for members’ use. See the Chairperson for details.
13. Above all – WELCOME and ENJOY!
1 Jan 2003