Please take this conversation to the Reddit page ( http://www.reddit.com/r/NCSU_LUG/comments/ayyef/lug_server_discussion/ ) where it can be more effectively discussed in a non-linear format.

-Brian

On Tue, Feb 9, 2010 at 10:08 PM, Daniel Marcus < danielm.nc @ gmail.com > wrote:

I feel that it is important to make a statement about the use of LUG funds, so I will. Honestly, though, I don't know what I can say to make a difference.

I feel that it is fiscally irresponsible to even consider spending money on a server when we have not even tried to see what we can do with the resources we can first gather as a group. Between what we could get from the NCSU surplus sale, and what our members have lying around, I am sure we can put together a machine capable of doing a large number of things.

I am wholly opposed, however, to spending any extra money for a machine powerful enough to have the main purpose of a plaything for a few of our more vocal members to crash because they don't want to do it on their own computer.

If you want a computer to overload with random computations, or you feel you have a serious need of a powerful tool to help you with your school work, go buy it yourself. I think it is immature to want a club to buy such a thing for you just because the club is not yet particularly large.

I would rather see the money go to things that would help us grow. I would like to see a LUG t-shirt that I can afford (Read: less than $6). I would like to see us being able to hand out some CD's when we have publicity events. I would like to be able to provide food once a semester at an interest meeting. I would like to be able to reward people when they do something particularly good for the club.

I choose what to spend my money on. I've spent money on food for the LUG, at both the CCC and some snacks I brought to a meeting. I spend money when I go with the LUG to dinner.

I felt a serious need for a computer to run as a server. I worked. I saved money. I bought one.

There are members of the LUG who want us to spend money on a server, and are much more capable than I am of earning enough money to get a cheap desktop with a nice quad-core processor. If you really want one, work for it.

Just because we are currently small, does not mean that we should be so egocentric so as to think that we can or should spend this money on ourselves for our personal use, and let's face it, when you're talking about "let's set up virtual machines for people..." that's exactly what you want to do.

Positively,
Daniel S. Marcus
Omni Impact Small Business Services
Phone: (XXX) 926 9624
Business: daniel@omniimpact.[redacted]
Personal: daniel@d-site.[redacted]
Website: http://omniimpact.com