Canberra Online Users Special Interest Group
Dissolution of COLUGAt the start of this year, all COLUG members were asked to vote on whether they wished the Group to:
Those who voted for either of the first two options were also asked to indicate their willingness to stand for a committee position. Notification of the vote was
Sadly, only 22 responses were received, representing 18% of the 'official' - ie, ALIA - membership; however, as two replies were from apparent non-members (COLUG-L is not a closed list), the member response rate was actually 16.5%. Of those responding, only three (14%) wished to see COLUG continue in its present form and, of those three, only one indicated willingness to take a committee position. The merge option had slightly better support with eight 'yes' votes (36%) and a variety of suggested amalgamations - OPALS, ISD, ACT Specials, FLIN, UCLRS (ISD had the most supporters, but still less than half the total suggestions). However, by far the most popular choice - 12 responses, or 55% - was to wind the group up. While the mandate for action was thus somewhat mixed, the clearest indication was that continuation without change was not viable. The 'merge' vote, while representing the views of more than one third of respondents, was diffused by the variety of suggested partners and fatally undermined by the lack of potential office-bearers. The majority-preferred option - winding up - was therefore the strongest alternative and, reluctantly, the interim committee decided that COLUG should cease to exist on 30 June 2001. ALIA will be formally advised of the decision this week. Members desiring to maintain a professional interest in areas previously covered by COLUG may wish to consider joining one (or more) of the new ALIA Inc. groups. Peter Sinfield, secretary (pro tem), COLUG 9 July 2001 |
