The Organizational Structure of dc.sage

The organizational structure of dc.sage ... well, we are like an extremely democratic anarchy. Any interesting decisions are made only after consulting with the membership at large for their opinion on the matter. If there is serious disagreement, we have a discussion, and then a vote. While there is nobody really "in charge," we manage to keep everything is under control. From a legal standpoint, dc.sage is not incorporated or organized as an entity (i.e., non-profit corporation). That would involve a lot of paperwork, by-laws, tax forms, accounting, and ultimately, collecting money from members to pay for all that nasty stuff. Until we really have to go that route, or until the membership decides that is what they want, we won't.

So who is running the mail server, pruning the mailing lists, updating these web pages, and so on? How do silly things like announcements and speakers and such happen? There are three acronyms that you'll hear bantered about in dc.sage circles: RGGDS, POC, and UMI.

RGGDS - Random Guys and Gals Doing Stuff

Most minor day-to-day decisions are made by the loose consensus of an unofficial steering committee called RGGDS (Random Guys and Gals Doing Stuff). These people are the folks who happen to maintain the computers, mailing lists, web pages, etc. The POC, and the UMI are always members of RGGDS, as are many of the original founders of dc.sage, no matter where they might be living today. People don't choose to join RGGDS ... they generally come up with a good idea, then volunteer to make it happen, and before they know it ... they are involved.

You may send your questions, comments, and other electronic tidbits to the RGGDS via this form.

POC - Point of Contact

dc.sage has one elected official, our POC (Point of Contact). The POC is elected by an electronic vote of the dc.sage membership. The POC is elected for one year with an extension of up to one-year offered barring any complaints from the membership. The elections are conducted in May, or when the current POC decides to resign from the position.

The POC is the authoritative interface between dc.sage, USENIX/SAGE and the outside world. The POC is the de-facto Voice of dc.sage when it is necessary that the voice come from one contact person. Naturally, the POC is expected to represent the membership and not his/her own opinions.

The current POC is Carolyn Sienkiewicz. You may send your questions, comments, and other electronic tidbits to the POC via this form.

UMI - Unofficial Meeting Instigator

Another named role within dc.sage is that of our UMI (Unofficial Meeting Instigator). The UMI is responsible for planning and announcing upcoming meetings, ensuring that we have an agenda, keeping the meeting in order (or trying to), and documenting past meetings (as time allows).

The UMI is not expected to do everything by himself/herself. The UMI is responsible to make sure that someone is making the right things happen at the right time. In order for the meetings to remain interesting, each member of dc.sage is responsible for periodically telling the UMI what technical topics they would like to learn about at the meetings. Equally important is that members of dc.sage make presentations to share with the rest of the group, or arrange for other members of the technical community to provide those presentations. If you have a topic in systems administration that you would like to present to the group, please contact the UMI.

Our current UMI is Geoff Weiss. You may send your questions, comments, and other electronic tidbits to the UMI via this form.

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Last Revised: $Date: 2001/01/22 03:43:31 $ $Revision: 1.10 $
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