Re: [vcf-midatlantic] Announcement: Administrative and Policy Changes
Regardless of what we call ourselves. The elephant in the room here is still apparent, and this is my opinion (I am sure many have seen it as well.) We have not really acted as a club in a long time. Besides Festivus, when is the last time we did anything club like? People show up to the Swap and leave immediately after many ignoring our post event workshops. The same 5 or so people show up to workshops monthly, barring the one right before VCF East which always has a higher turnout. Very few newcomers appear to stick around, and if they do they just lurk. How many are registered in the list again? Hell it took me about a year to figure out how to even “join” the club because no information was out about how to get involved. I was told to talk to someone and wait for a phone call, which took over 6 months to come in.
From what I have gathered, we have always regarded it as “If you are on the list, you are in” but that is a terrible way, especially for an organization that has grown to our size, as people have put it to keep a member log.
We want to grow the local community here, do some outreach, fund fixing the warehouse to protect our artifacts, and eventually expand our museum and assist the other local groups on campus at InfoAge. All of which requires having an active and informed local membership. We are not renaming the organization here, not even the list. Specifically it is proposed to rename and restructure the local chapter that handles the local events, local fund raising, local museum, local warehouse, local artifacts, local workshops, etc.. Did I mention Local? -Ian L. On Tue, Oct 29, 2024 at 09:04 Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
We are, or were created as one in 2015, an extension/chapter/whathaveyou of VCF National.
We don’t necessarily need to remain that, but that is what we are at the moment.
Tony Bogan
On Oct 29, 2024, at 8:39 AM, Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
<mime-attachment>
As a new-ish member who ends up lurking more than participating, I wholeheartedly agree with what Ian just said. It's hard to know how to be part of the VCF-MA/MARCH "club" & what that means. Other than Festivus or volunteering for support are there other "club" functions, meetings, gatherings, etc.? Ben On Tue, Oct 29, 2024 at 10:05 AM Ian Litchfield via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Regardless of what we call ourselves.
The elephant in the room here is still apparent, and this is my opinion (I am sure many have seen it as well.)
We have not really acted as a club in a long time.
Besides Festivus, when is the last time we did anything club like? People show up to the Swap and leave immediately after many ignoring our post event workshops. The same 5 or so people show up to workshops monthly, barring the one right before VCF East which always has a higher turnout. Very few newcomers appear to stick around, and if they do they just lurk. How many are registered in the list again?
Hell it took me about a year to figure out how to even “join” the club because no information was out about how to get involved. I was told to talk to someone and wait for a phone call, which took over 6 months to come in. From what I have gathered, we have always regarded it as “If you are on the list, you are in” but that is a terrible way, especially for an organization that has grown to our size, as people have put it to keep a member log.
We want to grow the local community here, do some outreach, fund fixing the warehouse to protect our artifacts, and eventually expand our museum and assist the other local groups on campus at InfoAge. All of which requires having an active and informed local membership.
We are not renaming the organization here, not even the list. Specifically it is proposed to rename and restructure the local chapter that handles the local events, local fund raising, local museum, local warehouse, local artifacts, local workshops, etc.. Did I mention Local?
-Ian L.
On Tue, Oct 29, 2024 at 09:04 Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
We are, or were created as one in 2015, an extension/chapter/whathaveyou of VCF National.
We don’t necessarily need to remain that, but that is what we are at the moment.
Tony Bogan
On Oct 29, 2024, at 8:39 AM, Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
<mime-attachment>
-- - Benjamin Krein
That's all part of what's driving things like name changes, etc. I side with the idea that any (new) variation of name change involving the continued use of the letters 'V', 'C', and 'F' as part of the name will keep perpetuating the confusion. We already have the blessing of the VCF (official) Treasurer and occasional legal advisor that it's OK to use the former name MARCH as the acronym of Mid-Atlantic Retro Computing Hobbyists. MARCH is not a new name, as many of us older members are aware, but it is a recognizable name that we have the ability to use. Really, why would we want to add a THIRD option (on top of VCF-MA or MARCH) to the history of this local chapter that can potentially cause even more confusion? As to Ian's remarks, even this past weekend, several Steering Committee members in attendance at the Workshop were brainstorming additional event ideas that will operate at the local level, along with ways to promote outreach both for membership and the public. But it's a LOT easier as a separately defined entity to do so, especially when we start creating names for the events. Yes, we are still a part of the larger Vintage Computer Federation, but we still should have an easily identifiable, yet distinctive name. Any of you parents can relate to this... when your child was born, I'll bet you didn't just jump into planning for its future and how you wanted to raise your child BEFORE you gave your child an easily identifiable name, correct? The same thought can be applied here. We finally want to name this baby and give it a good one to boot. However, naming ourselves with any variation containing VCF is like calling ourselves "VCF Jr.", and that's kind of what the current name depicts, and creates confusion. This organization isn't looking to emancipate itself from the Vintage Computer Federation, but it can certainly be its own entity as a child of the parent organization. Jeff Salzman On Tue, Oct 29, 2024 at 10:13 AM Benjamin Krein via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
As a new-ish member who ends up lurking more than participating, I wholeheartedly agree with what Ian just said. It's hard to know how to be part of the VCF-MA/MARCH "club" & what that means. Other than Festivus or volunteering for support are there other "club" functions, meetings, gatherings, etc.?
Ben
On Tue, Oct 29, 2024 at 10:05 AM Ian Litchfield via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Regardless of what we call ourselves.
The elephant in the room here is still apparent, and this is my opinion (I am sure many have seen it as well.)
We have not really acted as a club in a long time.
Besides Festivus, when is the last time we did anything club like? People show up to the Swap and leave immediately after many ignoring our post event workshops. The same 5 or so people show up to workshops monthly, barring the one right before VCF East which always has a higher turnout. Very few newcomers appear to stick around, and if they do they just lurk. How many are registered in the list again?
Hell it took me about a year to figure out how to even “join” the club because no information was out about how to get involved. I was told to talk to someone and wait for a phone call, which took over 6 months to come in. From what I have gathered, we have always regarded it as “If you are on the list, you are in” but that is a terrible way, especially for an organization that has grown to our size, as people have put it to keep a member log.
We want to grow the local community here, do some outreach, fund fixing the warehouse to protect our artifacts, and eventually expand our museum and assist the other local groups on campus at InfoAge. All of which requires having an active and informed local membership.
We are not renaming the organization here, not even the list. Specifically it is proposed to rename and restructure the local chapter that handles the local events, local fund raising, local museum, local warehouse, local artifacts, local workshops, etc.. Did I mention Local?
-Ian L.
On Tue, Oct 29, 2024 at 09:04 Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
We are, or were created as one in 2015, an extension/chapter/whathaveyou of VCF National.
We don’t necessarily need to remain that, but that is what we are at the moment.
Tony Bogan
On Oct 29, 2024, at 8:39 AM, Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
<mime-attachment>
-- - Benjamin Krein
Might be good to do the opposite and say what you would like thats not currently happening. There was one group visit to the National Cryptologic Museum many years ago. Have been some local get togethers for a meal and whatever that aren't really the group but group members. These are nice but need additional people to organize. Problem with any group is only a few people want to organize things and they get burned out. All I know of is the workshops, fetivus year end party, and occasional calls for special help. Also docent for museum and VCF east help may be concidered part of club. On Tue, Oct 29, 2024 at 10:13:19AM -0400, Benjamin Krein via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
As a new-ish member who ends up lurking more than participating, I wholeheartedly agree with what Ian just said. It's hard to know how to be part of the VCF-MA/MARCH "club" & what that means. Other than Festivus or volunteering for support are there other "club" functions, meetings, gatherings, etc.?
Ben
On Tue, Oct 29, 2024 at 10:05 AM Ian Litchfield via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Regardless of what we call ourselves.
The elephant in the room here is still apparent, and this is my opinion (I am sure many have seen it as well.)
We have not really acted as a club in a long time.
Besides Festivus, when is the last time we did anything club like? People show up to the Swap and leave immediately after many ignoring our post event workshops. The same 5 or so people show up to workshops monthly, barring the one right before VCF East which always has a higher turnout. Very few newcomers appear to stick around, and if they do they just lurk. How many are registered in the list again?
Hell it took me about a year to figure out how to even “join” the club because no information was out about how to get involved. I was told to talk to someone and wait for a phone call, which took over 6 months to come in. From what I have gathered, we have always regarded it as “If you are on the list, you are in” but that is a terrible way, especially for an organization that has grown to our size, as people have put it to keep a member log.
We want to grow the local community here, do some outreach, fund fixing the warehouse to protect our artifacts, and eventually expand our museum and assist the other local groups on campus at InfoAge. All of which requires having an active and informed local membership.
We are not renaming the organization here, not even the list. Specifically it is proposed to rename and restructure the local chapter that handles the local events, local fund raising, local museum, local warehouse, local artifacts, local workshops, etc.. Did I mention Local?
-Ian L.
On Tue, Oct 29, 2024 at 09:04 Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
We are, or were created as one in 2015, an extension/chapter/whathaveyou of VCF National.
We don’t necessarily need to remain that, but that is what we are at the moment.
Tony Bogan
On Oct 29, 2024, at 8:39 AM, Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
<mime-attachment>
-- - Benjamin Krein
Out of nostalgia, I went spelunking through my old MARCH emails dating back to early 2014. It brought back some great memories and I found some interesting things relevant to this thread. If you read them, you'll see not much has fundamentally changed, save for our governance structure. You can see the old emails below, but the TLDR version is that we need not fret over reverting the local chapter's name to MARCH. We have always been MARCH in spirit and will continue to be. I think we can even leverage our leaning back into using the name to create some positive publicity. And I agree completely with Andy's points. As long as we do a good job of communicating, all of our activities are open to participation. You get out of our organization what you put into it, and I've seen evidence of that time and again over the years. Our mission is a good one, and it's gotten us to where we are now. Encouraging feedback and ideas from our visitors and membership will help us to continue along the right path. "*On Sunday, November 9, 2014, 7:56 AM, midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com <midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com> wrote:* *MARCH frequently asked questions -- updated Sept. 29, 20141. What is MARCH?MARCH is a user group for people who enjoy collecting, restoring, using, and exhibiting antique/vintage computers. Our name is an acronym for Mid-Atlantic Retro Computing Hobbyists. Our club's legal name has an "Inc." on the end because we're incorporated as a non-profit in New Jersey. However we do not yet have federal 501(c)3 tax status.2. Cool, I have some old-school Pentium IIs, and even a 486!Sorry, but that's not what we do. By "antique/vintage" we mean things that are far more historic. We start (with some exceptions) at the mid-1980s early GUI systems, go into early-1980s/late-1970s 8-bit microcomputers, back into mid-1970s homebrew kits and single-board computers, then find our way into 1970s/1960s minicomputers when "mini" meant as big as a desk or refrigerator. Finally, we're into mainframes of the 1950s and 1960s. Of course, we also focus on all sorts of books/magazines, cultural artifacts, I/O devices (teletypes, terminals) peripherals, software, storage hardware (keypunches, magnetic/paper tape, etc.), and everything from this realm. Not counting mathematical tools such as a slide rule, our oldest computer artifact is an IBM 082 punch card sorter, from 1948.3. I'm a nerd and live somewhere between Connecticut and Virginia, yet I never heard of you before.Andy Meyer reiterated his idea for a regional user group in the second half of 2004. Evan Koblentz started the Yahoo discussion group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/midatlanticretro/ <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/midatlanticretro/>) in the beginning of 2005. MARCH became a legal entity later that year. Our expertise is technical, but we're not so good at marketing. Please help!4. So I have to live in the Mid-Atlantic part of the U.S. to join?Nope. That description just conveys where most of our members and activities are concentrated -- in the scalene triangle between Hartford, Pittsburgh, and D.C. -- but people from beyond these areas are certainly welcome to join us.5. What does MARCH actually do?In addition to the busy discussion list here in our Yahoo group, we also operate a bricks-and-mortar computer museum on the New Jersey shore. Currently our museum occupies almost 1,500 sq. ft. in a wing of the InfoAge Science Center, located in Wall Township, New Jersey. We also host various events throughout the year including the Vintage Computer Festival East (see question #11), technical repair workshops, and our legendary holiday party.6. InfoAge Science Center? What's that?7. InfoAge is a relatively new museum and 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Its construction began in the late 1990s and it opened in a "beta" mode in the mid-2000s. Its facility is a whole campus, not just one building. There is a very rich history here. The campus was built by the Marconi America Wireless Telegraphy Co. as a receiving station in 1912, was used as a communications laboratory by the U.S. Navy during WWI, and then was in private hands. It became a U.S. Army Signal Corps R&D lab just before WWII and remained so until the 1990s. Congress decided to close the lab and sell the land. Instead, local historians recognized its history and formed InfoAge. Now the campus is on the National Parks Service's National Register of Historic Places. InfoAge is also a Black History Site and had several other federal and state designations related to its service before, during, and after WWII. Public hours for our wing are Sunday from 1pm to 5pm. We're also open on many Wednesdays, and some Saturdays. You can also make an appointment. For more about the museum and campus history please visit www.infoage.org <http://www.infoage.org/>.8. Okay, so back to this computer museum of yours. What's there?Our museum has five exhibits: Mainframes, minicomputers, homebrew-era computers, business microcomputers, and consumer microcomputers. We have many ideas for more exhibits, and we plan to implement those ideas just as soon as we move from our current space on campus into a larger building next door. That could happen in another year or so.9. Do the computers just sit there or can I use them?We strive to restore our systems to operational condition. Some computers, especially the microcomputers, are relatively easy to restore and easy to replace if necessary. Others, such as our minicomputers, require a more serious effort. We make every effort to have these computers available for our members' use and to demonstrate them for visitors.10. Can I help restore the computers?Yes! Join our group, get to know us, and volunteer to help out.11. What else does MARCH do?Lots of fun stuff. In addition to our discussion list and our museum, we also host special events. Our flagship event is the Vintage Computer Festival East. "VCF East" is a multi-day celebration of computer history! It includes a hands-on exhibit hall, lectures, consignment room, book sale, food, prizes, museum tours, and more. Our first edition of this hobbyist convention was VCF East 3.0, in 2006, because the first two editions were run by a different organization. VCF East 4.0 was in June 2007; VCF East 5.0 was in Sept. 2008, VCF East 6.0 was in Sept. 2009, VCF East 7.0 was in May 2011, and VCF East 8.0 was in May 2012. We skipped 2010 and 2013. The next show, VCF East "9.1", is scheduled for April 4-6, 2014. Details are frequently updated at http://www.vintage.org/2012/east/ <http://www.vintage.org/2012/east/> and at http://wwww.facebook.com/vcfeast <http://wwww.facebook.com/vcfeast>,We also produce smaller exhibits at other events such HOPE (Hackers on Planet Earth conference), NJ Science & Engineering Festival, Philadelphia Science Carnival, Trenton Computer Festival, and World Maker Faire. In addition, we have social events, tech days, museum days, a winter party, etc.12. I still don't get it. Where can I learn more about what's antique/vintage?Many places. Pick up a copy of the book "Collectible Microcomputers" by Michael Nadeau. Or for non-micro aspects, go online. Heck, go online anyway. Check out the classiccmp.org <http://classiccmp.org/> mailing lists; vintage-computer.com/vcforum <http://vintage-computer.com/vcforum>, old-computers.com <http://old-computers.com/>; and many, many, many others. (If you're interested in specific machines, just post your question to our discussion list and we can refer you to the best sites.)13. What's behind the scenes of this wacky endeavor?We have some de facto officers; an official set of bylaws and all that boring stuff is being worked on... we're just so busy having fun that we keep procrastinating. The officers are (Evan Koblentz - prez), Jeffrey Brace and Corey Cohen (VPs), and Justin Jernigan (treasurer).14. Members? Is it like just you and two buddies?We're much bigger than that! We have dozens of members, and around 300 people in our Yahoo group. Our youngest member is in his teens; our oldest is in his 80s.15. What's it cost to join?Nothing. MARCH membership is free (as in beer).16. So how do you fund the club?Our primary fundraiser is the Vintage Computer Festival East, during which we sell tickets, exhibit space, and various items. We also have an annual donation drive. Sometimes we also rent artifacts for use at film/television props.17. Can I make a donation of artifacts or funds?Yes! Contact us first, and we'll make arrangements. Info is in the very next question of this FAQ.17. I have a question.Okay. Reach out to us! Do so by posting to our message boards. Ask us anything, we're not shy! (And moreover, unlike some computer clubs, we're not cliquey. All are welcome here!)18. What else should I know before diving into MARCH?If you're a nerd who thinks really old computers and their related technologies were cool, then give MARCH a chance. You'll be glad you did. Also, if you were wondering, we're NOT a bunch of old farts who sit around and whine about how much better things used to be. Quite the contrary: we're a bunch of young and mid-life farts who ... ooooh maybe we said too much. :)19. What is your web site?We're at www.midatlanticretro.org <http://www.midatlanticretro.org/>*" ***This domain has been squatted :-( "*On Monday, July 27, 2015, 1:42 PM, Evan Koblentz evan@snarc.net <evan@snarc.net> [midatlanticretro] <midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com <midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com>> wrote:* *We heard back from Uncle Sam @ the IRS: MARCH is finally a federal501(c)3 non-profit charity.It took 9 years of prognosticating and 1 year of actual work. :)We needed to file using a different name than "Mid-Atlantic RetroComputing Hobbyists" so that's the other big piece of news here: Ourcharity's official name is:Wait for it ........."Vintage Computer Federation".We'll continue to do business as MARCH. The new name, which happens tohave the abbreviation "VCF" (get it?), allows us to potentially expandbeyond just a regional computer club. Stay tuned for more announcementsabout this.In the meantime, me / Jeff B. / Corey C. -- well, mostly Corey C. --have to finish some business stuff behind-the-scenes. Lots of details atthe bank, with insurance, and so on.*" "*On Monday, July 27, 2015, 2:07 PM, corey986 <no_reply@yahoogroups.com <no_reply@yahoogroups.com>> wrote:* *To be technically correct...This online community MARCH does not change. It is not officially part of the 501c3 charity and technically not even legally part of the legacy MARCH corporation.Vintage Computer Federation is not actually doing business officially as MARCH. The legacy MARCH is still a separate legal entity. VCF will take over VCF East from MARCH as our primary fundraising event and will be accepting vintage computer donations as part of it's charter to educate and preserve computer history.Cheers,Corey"* On Tue, Oct 29, 2024 at 10:57 AM Jeff Salzman via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
That's all part of what's driving things like name changes, etc. I side with the idea that any (new) variation of name change involving the continued use of the letters 'V', 'C', and 'F' as part of the name will keep perpetuating the confusion. We already have the blessing of the VCF (official) Treasurer and occasional legal advisor that it's OK to use the former name MARCH as the acronym of Mid-Atlantic Retro Computing Hobbyists. MARCH is not a new name, as many of us older members are aware, but it is a recognizable name that we have the ability to use.
Really, why would we want to add a THIRD option (on top of VCF-MA or MARCH) to the history of this local chapter that can potentially cause even more confusion?
As to Ian's remarks, even this past weekend, several Steering Committee members in attendance at the Workshop were brainstorming additional event ideas that will operate at the local level, along with ways to promote outreach both for membership and the public. But it's a LOT easier as a separately defined entity to do so, especially when we start creating names for the events. Yes, we are still a part of the larger Vintage Computer Federation, but we still should have an easily identifiable, yet distinctive name.
Any of you parents can relate to this... when your child was born, I'll bet you didn't just jump into planning for its future and how you wanted to raise your child BEFORE you gave your child an easily identifiable name, correct? The same thought can be applied here. We finally want to name this baby and give it a good one to boot. However, naming ourselves with any variation containing VCF is like calling ourselves "VCF Jr.", and that's kind of what the current name depicts, and creates confusion.
This organization isn't looking to emancipate itself from the Vintage Computer Federation, but it can certainly be its own entity as a child of the parent organization.
Jeff Salzman
On Tue, Oct 29, 2024 at 10:13 AM Benjamin Krein via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
As a new-ish member who ends up lurking more than participating, I wholeheartedly agree with what Ian just said. It's hard to know how to be part of the VCF-MA/MARCH "club" & what that means. Other than Festivus or volunteering for support are there other "club" functions, meetings, gatherings, etc.?
Ben
On Tue, Oct 29, 2024 at 10:05 AM Ian Litchfield via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Regardless of what we call ourselves.
The elephant in the room here is still apparent, and this is my opinion (I am sure many have seen it as well.)
We have not really acted as a club in a long time.
Besides Festivus, when is the last time we did anything club like? People show up to the Swap and leave immediately after many ignoring our post event workshops. The same 5 or so people show up to workshops monthly, barring the one right before VCF East which always has a higher turnout. Very few newcomers appear to stick around, and if they do they just lurk. How many are registered in the list again?
Hell it took me about a year to figure out how to even “join” the club because no information was out about how to get involved. I was told to talk to someone and wait for a phone call, which took over 6 months to come in. From what I have gathered, we have always regarded it as “If you are on the list, you are in” but that is a terrible way, especially for an organization that has grown to our size, as people have put it to keep a member log.
We want to grow the local community here, do some outreach, fund fixing the warehouse to protect our artifacts, and eventually expand our museum and assist the other local groups on campus at InfoAge. All of which requires having an active and informed local membership.
We are not renaming the organization here, not even the list. Specifically it is proposed to rename and restructure the local chapter that handles the local events, local fund raising, local museum, local warehouse, local artifacts, local workshops, etc.. Did I mention Local?
-Ian L.
On Tue, Oct 29, 2024 at 09:04 Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
We are, or were created as one in 2015, an extension/chapter/whathaveyou of VCF National.
We don’t necessarily need to remain that, but that is what we are at the moment.
Tony Bogan
On Oct 29, 2024, at 8:39 AM, Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
<mime-attachment>
-- - Benjamin Krein
On Tue, Oct 29, 2024 at 11:39 AM David Gesswein via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Might be good to do the opposite and say what you would like thats not currently happening. There was one group visit to the National Cryptologic Museum many years ago. Have been some local get togethers for a meal and whatever that aren't really the group but group members. These are nice but need additional people to organize. Problem with any group is only a few people want to organize things and they get burned out.
All I know of is the workshops, fetivus year end party, and occasional calls for special help. Also docent for museum and VCF east help may be concidered part of club.
On Tue, Oct 29, 2024 at 10:13:19AM -0400, Benjamin Krein via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
As a new-ish member who ends up lurking more than participating, I wholeheartedly agree with what Ian just said. It's hard to know how to be part of the VCF-MA/MARCH "club" & what that means. Other than Festivus or volunteering for support are there other "club" functions, meetings, gatherings, etc.?
Ben
On Tue, Oct 29, 2024 at 10:05 AM Ian Litchfield via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Regardless of what we call ourselves.
The elephant in the room here is still apparent, and this is my opinion (I am sure many have seen it as well.)
We have not really acted as a club in a long time.
Besides Festivus, when is the last time we did anything club like? People show up to the Swap and leave immediately after many ignoring our post event workshops. The same 5 or so people show up to workshops monthly, barring the one right before VCF East which always has a higher turnout. Very few newcomers appear to stick around, and if they do they just lurk. How many are registered in the list again?
Hell it took me about a year to figure out how to even “join” the club because no information was out about how to get involved. I was told to talk to someone and wait for a phone call, which took over 6 months to come in. From what I have gathered, we have always regarded it as “If you are on the list, you are in” but that is a terrible way, especially for an organization that has grown to our size, as people have put it to keep a member log.
We want to grow the local community here, do some outreach, fund fixing the warehouse to protect our artifacts, and eventually expand our museum and assist the other local groups on campus at InfoAge. All of which requires having an active and informed local membership.
We are not renaming the organization here, not even the list. Specifically it is proposed to rename and restructure the local chapter that handles the local events, local fund raising, local museum, local warehouse, local artifacts, local workshops, etc.. Did I mention Local?
-Ian L.
On Tue, Oct 29, 2024 at 09:04 Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
We are, or were created as one in 2015, an extension/chapter/whathaveyou of VCF National.
We don’t necessarily need to remain that, but that is what we are at the moment.
Tony Bogan
On Oct 29, 2024, at 8:39 AM, Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
<mime-attachment>
-- - Benjamin Krein
I want to be a fly on the wall watching people explaining for the next 10 years why the "MARCH" VCFestival is held every year in April :) -andy PS- We should count up all the artifacts and whatever we have the most of, becomes our name. So I can cut to the chase- we'll be called "1541 Club" or "ImagewriterII Club" and I for one can't wait....
On Oct 29, 2024, at 11:46 AM, Dean Notarnicola via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
fret over reverting the local chapter's name to MARCH. We have always been MARCH in spirit and will continue to be. I think we can even leverage our
MARCH can still cover that option as: Mid-Atlantic Retro Computing Hoard Actuality, by any preferred definition, we could also use the word "Horde" instead of "Hoard" 🙂 https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/hoard-vs-horde-difference-usage#:~:t... . On Tue, Oct 29, 2024, 11:52 AM Andrew Diller <dillera@gmail.com> wrote: PS- We should count up all the artifacts and whatever we have the most of,
becomes our name. So I can cut to the chase- we'll be called "1541 Club" or "ImagewriterII Club" and I for one can't wait....
As mentioned in my first response, I’m fine with whatever the group wants, I don’t have any feelings either way. My goal was to point out the pertinent facts revolving around the discussion. Forgetting all the conversations I’ve had with people over the years, just the responses in this thread show me that the perceived “confusion” revolves far more around how information is disseminated to the public and how things are organized as opposed to what the group is called. Changing the name won’t fix that, but at the same time changing the name is not a problem or something I like or dislike. It is what it is. My vote is for MAACE (or MACE) Mid-Atlantic Apple Computer Enthusiasts ;-)
http://web.archive.org/web/20070617051307/http://www.midatlanticretro.org:80... Wayback has this covered... Also the Logo.
On Oct 29, 2024, at 11:46 AM, Dean Notarnicola via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
19. What is your web site?We're at www.midatlanticretro.org <http://www.midatlanticretro.org/>*" ***This domain has been squatted :-(
Some good points being raised, though I'd like to chime in regarding the museum/collection - for all intents and purposes, the museum/collection *functionally* belongs to MARCH/Mid-Atlantic. We pay for organizing rescues, we pay for maintenance of the warehouse, we pay for museum supplies and materials, etc. etc. etc. - all of these expenses come directly from the MARCH/Mid-Atlantic budget, VCF National does not pay for them. While we *can* receive funding from VCFed National to cover some of these expenses, our own local events and fundraisers - such as the warehouse surplus sales - put that money directly into MARCH's pocket. For a long time now, most of MARCH's money has been coming from National, but this was never intended to be how things worked - the chapters of the Federation should be largely self-sustaining, with money coming from the National board only for emergencies or large purchases. There's no reason why we can't generate enough of our own money through membership dues or fundraisers & events to cover our own day-to-day expenses - particularly regarding the museum and warehouse. And there are plenty of unexplored opportunities to do so - Jeff Salzman and I are thinking of hosting a retro hackathon-type event next year, for instance. We could also expand the 'official' scope of our monthly repair workshops into a more general club meeting - keep the workshop going, of course, but maybe also impromptu exhibits, software sharing, LAN parties/game sessions, discussions on operations, etc. This would likely require us to start using 9032A (the big exhibit hall) in addition to/instead of CDL - building up our own stock of tools/supplies could help this. Much of this is spitballing, of course. We're still in the process of figuring out the changes we'll be making to the operational structure of MARCH, mostly having to do with how the Steering Committee holds votes and provides oversight to the managers, but more specifically trying to define what the Steering Committee is actually responsible for. Many important tasks, when left to the Steering Committee to tackle, ended up going undone because, even if the Committee voted to take an action, nobody was certain whose job it was to actually make that action. In just my time on the committee alone, dozens of votes have been held to take action on various things that ultimately either went undone or were taken up pro-bono by someone else. We're looking to make the delegation of responsibility far more clear-cut, with more tasks being delegated to individual managers to handle largely at their own discretion, so things actually get done rather than wandering around in bureaucratic purgatory. What's the use in having 5 generals when there are no soldiers? The role of chairman is also being more clearly defined - technically, the Steering Committee has always been required by the bylaws to "Disseminate information to and elicit feedback from the VCF membership", but without any clarification on *who* was to do that dissemination and *how often*, we've ended up with the current situation, where the two hands have no idea what the other is doing - from here on out, the chairman is to be specifically delegated the task of informing the membership on what's going on on the ground, and doing so at *least* once a month, for now in the form of a Newsletter. Now, I've got a copy of QuarkXPress 3 for Macintosh, *and I'm not afraid to use it...* On Tue, Oct 29, 2024 at 11:47 AM Dean Notarnicola via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Out of nostalgia, I went spelunking through my old MARCH emails dating back to early 2014. It brought back some great memories and I found some interesting things relevant to this thread. If you read them, you'll see not much has fundamentally changed, save for our governance structure.
You can see the old emails below, but the TLDR version is that we need not fret over reverting the local chapter's name to MARCH. We have always been MARCH in spirit and will continue to be. I think we can even leverage our leaning back into using the name to create some positive publicity.
And I agree completely with Andy's points. As long as we do a good job of communicating, all of our activities are open to participation. You get out of our organization what you put into it, and I've seen evidence of that time and again over the years. Our mission is a good one, and it's gotten us to where we are now. Encouraging feedback and ideas from our visitors and membership will help us to continue along the right path.
"*On Sunday, November 9, 2014, 7:56 AM, midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com <midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com> wrote:*
*MARCH frequently asked questions -- updated Sept. 29, 20141. What is MARCH?MARCH is a user group for people who enjoy collecting, restoring, using, and exhibiting antique/vintage computers. Our name is an acronym for Mid-Atlantic Retro Computing Hobbyists. Our club's legal name has an "Inc." on the end because we're incorporated as a non-profit in New Jersey. However we do not yet have federal 501(c)3 tax status.2. Cool, I have some old-school Pentium IIs, and even a 486!Sorry, but that's not what we do. By "antique/vintage" we mean things that are far more historic. We start (with some exceptions) at the mid-1980s early GUI systems, go into early-1980s/late-1970s 8-bit microcomputers, back into mid-1970s homebrew kits and single-board computers, then find our way into 1970s/1960s minicomputers when "mini" meant as big as a desk or refrigerator. Finally, we're into mainframes of the 1950s and 1960s. Of course, we also focus on all sorts of books/magazines, cultural artifacts, I/O devices (teletypes, terminals) peripherals, software, storage hardware (keypunches, magnetic/paper tape, etc.), and everything from this realm. Not counting mathematical tools such as a slide rule, our oldest computer artifact is an IBM 082 punch card sorter, from 1948.3. I'm a nerd and live somewhere between Connecticut and Virginia, yet I never heard of you before.Andy Meyer reiterated his idea for a regional user group in the second half of 2004. Evan Koblentz started the Yahoo discussion group (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/midatlanticretro/ <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/midatlanticretro/>) in the beginning of 2005. MARCH became a legal entity later that year. Our expertise is technical, but we're not so good at marketing. Please help!4. So I have to live in the Mid-Atlantic part of the U.S. to join?Nope. That description just conveys where most of our members and activities are concentrated -- in the scalene triangle between Hartford, Pittsburgh, and D.C. -- but people from beyond these areas are certainly welcome to join us.5. What does MARCH actually do?In addition to the busy discussion list here in our Yahoo group, we also operate a bricks-and-mortar computer museum on the New Jersey shore. Currently our museum occupies almost 1,500 sq. ft. in a wing of the InfoAge Science Center, located in Wall Township, New Jersey. We also host various events throughout the year including the Vintage Computer Festival East (see question #11), technical repair workshops, and our legendary holiday party.6. InfoAge Science Center? What's that?7. InfoAge is a relatively new museum and 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Its construction began in the late 1990s and it opened in a "beta" mode in the mid-2000s. Its facility is a whole campus, not just one building. There is a very rich history here. The campus was built by the Marconi America Wireless Telegraphy Co. as a receiving station in 1912, was used as a communications laboratory by the U.S. Navy during WWI, and then was in private hands. It became a U.S. Army Signal Corps R&D lab just before WWII and remained so until the 1990s. Congress decided to close the lab and sell the land. Instead, local historians recognized its history and formed InfoAge. Now the campus is on the National Parks Service's National Register of Historic Places. InfoAge is also a Black History Site and had several other federal and state designations related to its service before, during, and after WWII. Public hours for our wing are Sunday from 1pm to 5pm. We're also open on many Wednesdays, and some Saturdays. You can also make an appointment. For more about the museum and campus history please visit www.infoage.org <http://www.infoage.org/>.8. Okay, so back to this computer museum of yours. What's there?Our museum has five exhibits: Mainframes, minicomputers, homebrew-era computers, business microcomputers, and consumer microcomputers. We have many ideas for more exhibits, and we plan to implement those ideas just as soon as we move from our current space on campus into a larger building next door. That could happen in another year or so.9. Do the computers just sit there or can I use them?We strive to restore our systems to operational condition. Some computers, especially the microcomputers, are relatively easy to restore and easy to replace if necessary. Others, such as our minicomputers, require a more serious effort. We make every effort to have these computers available for our members' use and to demonstrate them for visitors.10. Can I help restore the computers?Yes! Join our group, get to know us, and volunteer to help out.11. What else does MARCH do?Lots of fun stuff. In addition to our discussion list and our museum, we also host special events. Our flagship event is the Vintage Computer Festival East. "VCF East" is a multi-day celebration of computer history! It includes a hands-on exhibit hall, lectures, consignment room, book sale, food, prizes, museum tours, and more. Our first edition of this hobbyist convention was VCF East 3.0, in 2006, because the first two editions were run by a different organization. VCF East 4.0 was in June 2007; VCF East 5.0 was in Sept. 2008, VCF East 6.0 was in Sept. 2009, VCF East 7.0 was in May 2011, and VCF East 8.0 was in May 2012. We skipped 2010 and 2013. The next show, VCF East "9.1", is scheduled for April 4-6, 2014. Details are frequently updated at http://www.vintage.org/2012/east/ <http://www.vintage.org/2012/east/> and at http://wwww.facebook.com/vcfeast <http://wwww.facebook.com/vcfeast>,We also produce smaller exhibits at other events such HOPE (Hackers on Planet Earth conference), NJ Science & Engineering Festival, Philadelphia Science Carnival, Trenton Computer Festival, and World Maker Faire. In addition, we have social events, tech days, museum days, a winter party, etc.12. I still don't get it. Where can I learn more about what's antique/vintage?Many places. Pick up a copy of the book "Collectible Microcomputers" by Michael Nadeau. Or for non-micro aspects, go online. Heck, go online anyway. Check out the classiccmp.org <http://classiccmp.org/> mailing lists; vintage-computer.com/vcforum <http://vintage-computer.com/vcforum>, old-computers.com <http://old-computers.com/>; and many, many, many others. (If you're interested in specific machines, just post your question to our discussion list and we can refer you to the best sites.)13. What's behind the scenes of this wacky endeavor?We have some de facto officers; an official set of bylaws and all that boring stuff is being worked on... we're just so busy having fun that we keep procrastinating. The officers are (Evan Koblentz - prez), Jeffrey Brace and Corey Cohen (VPs), and Justin Jernigan (treasurer).14. Members? Is it like just you and two buddies?We're much bigger than that! We have dozens of members, and around 300 people in our Yahoo group. Our youngest member is in his teens; our oldest is in his 80s.15. What's it cost to join?Nothing. MARCH membership is free (as in beer).16. So how do you fund the club?Our primary fundraiser is the Vintage Computer Festival East, during which we sell tickets, exhibit space, and various items. We also have an annual donation drive. Sometimes we also rent artifacts for use at film/television props.17. Can I make a donation of artifacts or funds?Yes! Contact us first, and we'll make arrangements. Info is in the very next question of this FAQ.17. I have a question.Okay. Reach out to us! Do so by posting to our message boards. Ask us anything, we're not shy! (And moreover, unlike some computer clubs, we're not cliquey. All are welcome here!)18. What else should I know before diving into MARCH?If you're a nerd who thinks really old computers and their related technologies were cool, then give MARCH a chance. You'll be glad you did. Also, if you were wondering, we're NOT a bunch of old farts who sit around and whine about how much better things used to be. Quite the contrary: we're a bunch of young and mid-life farts who ... ooooh maybe we said too much. :)19. What is your web site?We're at www.midatlanticretro.org <http://www.midatlanticretro.org/>*" ***This domain has been squatted :-(
"*On Monday, July 27, 2015, 1:42 PM, Evan Koblentz evan@snarc.net <evan@snarc.net> [midatlanticretro] <midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com <midatlanticretro@yahoogroups.com>> wrote:*
*We heard back from Uncle Sam @ the IRS: MARCH is finally a federal501(c)3 non-profit charity.It took 9 years of prognosticating and 1 year of actual work. :)We needed to file using a different name than "Mid-Atlantic RetroComputing Hobbyists" so that's the other big piece of news here: Ourcharity's official name is:Wait for it ........."Vintage Computer Federation".We'll continue to do business as MARCH. The new name, which happens tohave the abbreviation "VCF" (get it?), allows us to potentially expandbeyond just a regional computer club. Stay tuned for more announcementsabout this.In the meantime, me / Jeff B. / Corey C. -- well, mostly Corey C. --have to finish some business stuff behind-the-scenes. Lots of details atthe bank, with insurance, and so on.*"
"*On Monday, July 27, 2015, 2:07 PM, corey986 <no_reply@yahoogroups.com <no_reply@yahoogroups.com>> wrote:*
*To be technically correct...This online community MARCH does not change. It is not officially part of the 501c3 charity and technically not even legally part of the legacy MARCH corporation.Vintage Computer Federation is not actually doing business officially as MARCH. The legacy MARCH is still a separate legal entity. VCF will take over VCF East from MARCH as our primary fundraising event and will be accepting vintage computer donations as part of it's charter to educate and preserve computer history.Cheers,Corey"*
On Tue, Oct 29, 2024 at 10:57 AM Jeff Salzman via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
That's all part of what's driving things like name changes, etc. I side with the idea that any (new) variation of name change involving the continued use of the letters 'V', 'C', and 'F' as part of the name will keep perpetuating the confusion. We already have the blessing of the VCF (official) Treasurer and occasional legal advisor that it's OK to use the former name MARCH as the acronym of Mid-Atlantic Retro Computing Hobbyists. MARCH is not a new name, as many of us older members are aware, but it is a recognizable name that we have the ability to use.
Really, why would we want to add a THIRD option (on top of VCF-MA or MARCH) to the history of this local chapter that can potentially cause even more confusion?
As to Ian's remarks, even this past weekend, several Steering Committee members in attendance at the Workshop were brainstorming additional event ideas that will operate at the local level, along with ways to promote outreach both for membership and the public. But it's a LOT easier as a separately defined entity to do so, especially when we start creating names for the events. Yes, we are still a part of the larger Vintage Computer Federation, but we still should have an easily identifiable, yet distinctive name.
Any of you parents can relate to this... when your child was born, I'll bet you didn't just jump into planning for its future and how you wanted to raise your child BEFORE you gave your child an easily identifiable name, correct? The same thought can be applied here. We finally want to name this baby and give it a good one to boot. However, naming ourselves with any variation containing VCF is like calling ourselves "VCF Jr.", and that's kind of what the current name depicts, and creates confusion.
This organization isn't looking to emancipate itself from the Vintage Computer Federation, but it can certainly be its own entity as a child of the parent organization.
Jeff Salzman
On Tue, Oct 29, 2024 at 10:13 AM Benjamin Krein via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
As a new-ish member who ends up lurking more than participating, I wholeheartedly agree with what Ian just said. It's hard to know how to be part of the VCF-MA/MARCH "club" & what that means. Other than Festivus or volunteering for support are there other "club" functions, meetings, gatherings, etc.?
Ben
On Tue, Oct 29, 2024 at 10:05 AM Ian Litchfield via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Regardless of what we call ourselves.
The elephant in the room here is still apparent, and this is my opinion (I am sure many have seen it as well.)
We have not really acted as a club in a long time.
Besides Festivus, when is the last time we did anything club like? People show up to the Swap and leave immediately after many ignoring our post event workshops. The same 5 or so people show up to workshops monthly, barring the one right before VCF East which always has a higher turnout. Very few newcomers appear to stick around, and if they do they just lurk. How many are registered in the list again?
Hell it took me about a year to figure out how to even “join” the club because no information was out about how to get involved. I was told to talk to someone and wait for a phone call, which took over 6 months to come in. From what I have gathered, we have always regarded it as “If you are on the list, you are in” but that is a terrible way, especially for an organization that has grown to our size, as people have put it to keep a member log.
We want to grow the local community here, do some outreach, fund fixing the warehouse to protect our artifacts, and eventually expand our museum and assist the other local groups on campus at InfoAge. All of which requires having an active and informed local membership.
We are not renaming the organization here, not even the list. Specifically it is proposed to rename and restructure the local chapter that handles the local events, local fund raising, local museum, local warehouse, local artifacts, local workshops, etc.. Did I mention Local?
-Ian L.
On Tue, Oct 29, 2024 at 09:04 Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
We are, or were created as one in 2015, an extension/chapter/whathaveyou of VCF National.
We don’t necessarily need to remain that, but that is what we are at the moment.
Tony Bogan
On Oct 29, 2024, at 8:39 AM, Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
<mime-attachment>
-- - Benjamin Krein
On Tue, Oct 29, 2024 at 11:39 AM David Gesswein via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Might be good to do the opposite and say what you would like thats not currently happening. There was one group visit to the National Cryptologic Museum many years ago. Have been some local get togethers for a meal and whatever that aren't really the group but group members. These are nice but need additional people to organize. Problem with any group is only a few people want to organize things and they get burned out.
All I know of is the workshops, fetivus year end party, and occasional calls for special help. Also docent for museum and VCF east help may be concidered part of club.
On Tue, Oct 29, 2024 at 10:13:19AM -0400, Benjamin Krein via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
As a new-ish member who ends up lurking more than participating, I wholeheartedly agree with what Ian just said. It's hard to know how to be part of the VCF-MA/MARCH "club" & what that means. Other than Festivus or volunteering for support are there other "club" functions, meetings, gatherings, etc.?
Ben
On Tue, Oct 29, 2024 at 10:05 AM Ian Litchfield via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Regardless of what we call ourselves.
The elephant in the room here is still apparent, and this is my opinion (I am sure many have seen it as well.)
We have not really acted as a club in a long time.
Besides Festivus, when is the last time we did anything club like? People show up to the Swap and leave immediately after many ignoring our post event workshops. The same 5 or so people show up to workshops monthly, barring the one right before VCF East which always has a higher turnout. Very few newcomers appear to stick around, and if they do they just lurk. How many are registered in the list again?
Hell it took me about a year to figure out how to even “join” the club because no information was out about how to get involved. I was told to talk to someone and wait for a phone call, which took over 6 months to come in. From what I have gathered, we have always regarded it as “If you are on the list, you are in” but that is a terrible way, especially for an organization that has grown to our size, as people have put it to keep a member log.
We want to grow the local community here, do some outreach, fund fixing the warehouse to protect our artifacts, and eventually expand our museum and assist the other local groups on campus at InfoAge. All of which requires having an active and informed local membership.
We are not renaming the organization here, not even the list. Specifically it is proposed to rename and restructure the local chapter that handles the local events, local fund raising, local museum, local warehouse, local artifacts, local workshops, etc.. Did I mention Local?
-Ian L.
On Tue, Oct 29, 2024 at 09:04 Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
We are, or were created as one in 2015, an extension/chapter/whathaveyou of VCF National.
We don’t necessarily need to remain that, but that is what we are at the moment.
Tony Bogan
On Oct 29, 2024, at 8:39 AM, Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
<mime-attachment>
-- - Benjamin Krein
If you functionally have access to the bank account, then you are good to go. If not, well it's just a name. -andy
On Oct 29, 2024, at 12:51 PM, Thomas G via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
museum/collection - for all intents and purposes, the museum/collection *functionally* belongs to MARCH/Mid-Atlantic. We pay for organizing rescues, we pay for maintenance of the warehouse, we pay for museum
I've never lived remotely close enough to feel "local". For many of the folks who come to the big time events like VCFE, distance is everything for regular enough physical participation for it to feel club-like. Then you've got the decreasingly smaller and more regular events: festivus, swap meets, monthly workshops, and weekend docent schedule work in the museum. Considering how many folks are outside of NJ who have been regular attendees of the big event that congealed us in the first place, the line in the sand of who feels part of the group is going to be a bit fuzzy. Crossing several states to get me to Infoage has *always* made attendance at the smaller events into a trip that must be planned for, and cannot be taken on a lark. I'm genuinely surprised at folks who are hauling 2.5-6 hours each way for a weekend workshop, that's not in the cards for so many of us. To those that can, I say kudos, and that the FOMO is real for the night-shift guy living +3.5 hours out who's worked weekends for the past 8+ years. The number of things occurring at System Source has helped fuel participation opportunities for folks orbiting Baltimore, but again, that's still a drive if you aren't within roughly a 60 minute radius. The recent push for Northern VA local meetups has been nice for folks like me, but again, these are not fixing the core issue: most folks live too far away for the more regular, smaller happenings that fuel the core participation that it sounds like you're asking for at Infoage. So, what does that mean? Do we all move closer? Obviously not, so that means working with the geographically available membership. Do you motivate more of the local user-base to show up and do more? Are you actively seeking to grow the membership to supplement this? Why aren't those local folks aren't already engaged to the threshold you ascribe to be club-like at present? And most importantly, what level of participation is the goal here? Thanks for listening, -Alexander 'Z' Pierson PS: Forgive the sidebar, but can we please *please* leave the AI summarizations off this list-serve? I'm here to talk to people, not listen to the hallucinations of an algorithm trying in vain to re-process nuance. On Tuesday, October 29, 2024 at 11:39:06 AM EDT, David Gesswein via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote: Might be good to do the opposite and say what you would like thats not currently happening. There was one group visit to the National Cryptologic Museum many years ago. Have been some local get togethers for a meal and whatever that aren't really the group but group members. These are nice but need additional people to organize. Problem with any group is only a few people want to organize things and they get burned out. All I know of is the workshops, fetivus year end party, and occasional calls for special help. Also docent for museum and VCF east help may be concidered part of club. On Tue, Oct 29, 2024 at 10:13:19AM -0400, Benjamin Krein via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
As a new-ish member who ends up lurking more than participating, I wholeheartedly agree with what Ian just said. It's hard to know how to be part of the VCF-MA/MARCH "club" & what that means. Other than Festivus or volunteering for support are there other "club" functions, meetings, gatherings, etc.?
Ben
On Tue, Oct 29, 2024 at 10:05 AM Ian Litchfield via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Regardless of what we call ourselves.
The elephant in the room here is still apparent, and this is my opinion (I am sure many have seen it as well.)
We have not really acted as a club in a long time.
Besides Festivus, when is the last time we did anything club like? People show up to the Swap and leave immediately after many ignoring our post event workshops. The same 5 or so people show up to workshops monthly, barring the one right before VCF East which always has a higher turnout. Very few newcomers appear to stick around, and if they do they just lurk. How many are registered in the list again?
Hell it took me about a year to figure out how to even “join” the club because no information was out about how to get involved. I was told to talk to someone and wait for a phone call, which took over 6 months to come in. From what I have gathered, we have always regarded it as “If you are on the list, you are in” but that is a terrible way, especially for an organization that has grown to our size, as people have put it to keep a member log.
We want to grow the local community here, do some outreach, fund fixing the warehouse to protect our artifacts, and eventually expand our museum and assist the other local groups on campus at InfoAge. All of which requires having an active and informed local membership.
We are not renaming the organization here, not even the list. Specifically it is proposed to rename and restructure the local chapter that handles the local events, local fund raising, local museum, local warehouse, local artifacts, local workshops, etc.. Did I mention Local?
-Ian L.
On Tue, Oct 29, 2024 at 09:04 Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
We are, or were created as one in 2015, an extension/chapter/whathaveyou of VCF National.
We don’t necessarily need to remain that, but that is what we are at the moment.
Tony Bogan
On Oct 29, 2024, at 8:39 AM, Tony Bogan via vcf-midatlantic < vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
<mime-attachment>
-- - Benjamin Krein
With all of this discussion, I'm concerned that I should not be on the list.. I joined many moons ago as this list seems to have good information on the VCF-E event and other related VCF events. But, I am not local, and I doubt I will ever be able to attend events outside of the VCF-E show. If I'm here erroneously, let me know. If not, I'd ask you keep in mind I am probably not the only non Mid-Atlantic person on-list. I'm not saying the discussions should deviate from Mid-Atlantic, or even NJ-focused, discussions, just wanted to remind folks that there's probably a small segment of subscribers who look in from afar. Jim
I don’t want to speak on the name as I have nostalgia for the time it was still MARCH. I liked MARCH, some others have more personal opinions. I won’t press on the name, but I do miss the times we had back then and the people who we haven’t seen in a while. As for the group. I can agree with Ian, the group stopped being a club and became an organization. It went from a small group of people who ran two small seasonal get togethers (Spring & Winter) and a computer show to a more structured organization with much bigger events. I don’t mean just VCF-East. The Swap Meet is pretty impressive. Also the monthly workshops while small are consistent. Let's also not forget the museum, the people going to System Source and the other volunteer events that members are part of. The organization does a lot. Also being an organization the focus has changed. These events require work and so they focus on the work to make these events happen. Just a note, None of this is to diminish the past. Without the original members and others, it would have not gotten this far. All I am saying is that this is more on an organization now and the organization does more than before. As for being a “club” I don’t know what more is wanted to make it more club-like. I know that a lot of us used to hang out and do things together aside from the official group events, such as exploring Camp Evans, having a memorial to Claude Kagen to Visiting Dan when he needed us. If there is a consensus to have more things like that. Then let's talk about it. Also to Jim. I agree with David Gesswein. On Tue, Oct 29, 2024 at 10:04 AM Ian Litchfield via vcf-midatlantic <vcf-midatlantic@lists.vcfed.org> wrote:
Regardless of what we call ourselves.
The elephant in the room here is still apparent, and this is my opinion (I am sure many have seen it as well.)
We have not really acted as a club in a long time.
participants (13)
-
Alexander Pierson -
Andrew Diller -
Benjamin Krein -
bob jeffway.com -
Christian Liendo -
David Gesswein -
Dean Notarnicola -
Ian Litchfield -
Jeff S -
Jeff Salzman -
RETRO Innovations -
Thomas G -
Tony Bogan