[UK-TUG] Discussion of motion DS1

[Paul Stanley QC]

In the thicket of motions, this is the one I back. My reasons are essentially these:

1. The original model of a "user's group" may well have gone the way of the fanzine and correspondence chess. That does not mean that *some* way of collecting small amounts of cash to support useful initiatives is pointless. But there are ways of doing that on a small scale which do not involve the sort of baggage we carry. I think such initiatives will be better built on ground that has been entirely cleared of the current debris.

2. The near-constant bickering on both sides has become frankly tiresome.

3. I think it is unfair to the existing committee members to expect them to take any decision which would invite or permit *any* controversy, or to administer any process more complex than closing an account and writing a couple of cheques. I have no confidence that a more elaborate process would not lead to a renewed round of recrimination and counter-recrimination. Indeed, I have every expectation that it would do so. Pointlessly, since the money would not justify a trip to the small-claims court, and counter-productively since any such trip would soon exhaust it.

4. The amount at stake is not large in worldly terms. Dante and TUG are worthy recipients with objects which no rational person could doubt are "similar to" those of UK-TUG. No "agreement" is required to make a donation, and no strings need be attached to it.

In short: time for a decree absolute, and better a clean break and some brief tears than a long goodbye. I think this motion achieves that. I hope those who have the energy and vision to build fresh to do so. I think their time and talent would be better spent on that than on this.

Paul Stanley