Dear members 

Two topics: (1) The AGM and progress and (2) Boingo solicitation.

1) The AGM and progress
The AGM was a washout - as nobody (well only 3 people) turned up.
As this was too few to make any decisions, the meeting was closed.

I have since received apologies for absence from many members.
It seems that I should have sent out the reminder a few days earlier
as (by necessity) the original notice of AGM was sent out a month 
earlier and many people had forgotten about the meeting.

However while we were there we got some advice from Jubeda Kuddus
of Voluntary Action Luton about our statutory documents and are going
to release them in their current form. The latest copies will be put on the
website for you to read.  This will allow us to continue with setting up a bank
account and applying for grants, etc.

Other activities we are progressing include:

(a) Seeing if there is a role for our group in the (about to) re-open Artezium.
- a meeting about this (with other interested parties) will be arranged by Luton
Borough Council. We could make good use of the facilities for meetings,
media activities - making videos and presentations (e.g. talks by visiting 
networkers, locally made film shows, prize giving for competitions, etc.). Also
the high town centre roof would be a good place for an antenna.

(b) Bid to make a documentary film for Screen East under the New Voices 
scheme to be shown on Anglia TV (This is a personal commitment, not a
club one - but helpers would be welcome).

(c) We have fixed a date for judging the entries to the "Digital Media Arts
Competition 2001". Any non-competitor who turns up may judge!
Judging details and criteria will be explained before judging starts.
So to judge for yourself, go to 33 Arts at 33 Guildford Street, Luton on 
Wednesday 6th February between 2pm and 4.30pm.
There may be too many entries for judging to be completed in one session
so other similar sessions may need to be arranged.

(d) We plan to apply for a grant under the "Awards for All" scheme.


2) Boingo solicitation
You may have received an e-mail from Boingo, an amercan company
who offer WiFi services for which they charge, requesting that your node 
(details) be included in their database. They request a yes/no reply. 

My advice is to reply NO.

This is based on my own views and the majority of views expressed on
the Consume mailing list where dozens of other people in the UK have 
commented on this topic.
Your node is aleady in the Consume database (mostly covering the UK but 
not limited to this) which will form the basis for node identification (IP addressing) 
so being in the Boingo database is unnecessary duplication.

Remember that it is a condition of our UK licence that the network is not used
as a commercial service. (The law is different in the USA).
One comment from the consume mailing list states:
"If a UK node makes themselves available to Boingo users, they are
probably breaking the law ..."

Best wishes
 
From Paul Clarke
 
Email: wlan@freeuk.com                       For L&D Community Network
Website: http://www.wlan.freeuk.com