Tim, Thanks for confirming this. Much appreciated. Kerie Sent from my iPhone On 7 Apr 2014, at 08:29 a.m., Tim Culhane <tim.j.culhane@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: Hi Gerry, Just in response to a couple of your points: 8. In my reading of the constitution, you have to contact members at least 3 weeks previous to any meeting. Besides putting a notice on the mailing list, Did the committee or you email all the members of vicsireland individually to ensure that they are aware of the meeting? All members are subscribed to the list, so there is no need to contact every person individually to make them aware of the EGM. I do believe that this has always been the way that members have been made aware of meetings. As the list moderator I can verify that 97 people are currently subscribed to the list. A person has to be a fully paid up member before they can be subscribed to the list. 12. So, If I nominate and get a seconder for someone who might not be there on the day Will it be accepted? Not sure what you mean by the above. There are no elections to the committee to be held at the EGM, so why would anybody be nominated? Of course, if a position needs to be filled on the committee then, of course, a person can be nominated and seconded and does not need to be present as long as they have given written consent in advance for the nomination. Tim *From:* vicsireland-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [ mailto:vicsireland-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <vicsireland-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>] *On Behalf Of *GERARD SHANAHAN *Sent:* 06 April 2014 20:23 *To:* vicsireland@xxxxxxxxxxxxx *Subject:* [vicsireland] debate on vics and E.G.M Hi All, Back again to try and whet your appetites for a debate on the topics of having the meeting online and the future of vicsireland website and list. 1. Regarding the meeting, Kerie, I hear what you are saying but I strongly request that you consider my suggestion. I don't know the numbers of members but I'm sure that if you review the membership, you will note that there are a large contingent of people who have or do not attend regularly, on the basis that they feel the effort involved in making the meeting i.e. trains, taxis a few hours in Dublin would be too great an effort. This is no reflection on you or any committee members just that they have no aspirations to be on committees but would be willing to work with the committee on projects on an email basis.I'd paraphrase this in saying that varying levels of vision and mobility either enhance or hinder individuals - People please don't be insulted as this is an observation. 2. I mentioned the website, and Cearbhall explained that it was an experiment by a sub committee. O.K. but isn't it a basic task of the committee to keep such tasks updated as part of housekeeping if the capability is available to it? 3. As a matter of point to the mailing list, Most queries are answered by other members but I did notice a request for information on windows 8 and menus on webpages recently which didn't receiveany response. I was tempted to reply giving my thoughts which were unexperienced due to only experiencing win 8 by chance and being an X.P. user myself.Shouldn't there be some mechanism by which the knowledgable members of the committee would intervene and provide info. 4. You stated that you emailed the list at the beginning of the year for ideas but nothing came out of it. Shouldn't there be some kind of consensis among the committee at the beginning of the year on areas to be covered or projects to develop during the year. There is a diverse range of abilities among the list members whom I'm sure would work with committee inspired projects, if they were approached. 5. Is the basis of the computer society eroded so much that it is easier to such the web for answers than to develop what we have. Simple answer Yes, so what is the point, such an attitude could have been taken years ago. success comes with effort. 6. Observing the responses to date, I believe that the numbers involved have reduced in the society. A committee has to consider where to canvas for new sources of members, did the committee consider this point? 7. What relationships or association has the society built up with other groups, industry user groups ovr the years and what is the position presently. 8. In my reading of the constitution, you have to contact members at least 3 weeks previous to any meeting. Besides putting a notice on the mailing list, Did the committee or you email all the members of vicsireland individually to ensure that they are aware of the meeting? 9. I've read the constitution and it covers a great deal. My original observation in that I believe that a committee should be the driving force rather than leaving it to the general membership is endorsed by the wording of the constitution: 2 AIMS & OBJECTIVES list of 6 items 1. To meet the needs of visually impaired people in the area of general computer access. 2. To provide support to those who are new to computers. 3. To encourage employers to hire visually impaired employees enabled by new technology. 4. To promote and where possible, assist in the development of adaptive technology, and to encourage developers of new software and hardware to ensure accessibility. 5. To act in an advisory capacity to bodies seeking to provide access to electronic data. 6. To advise on, and promote the development of fully accessible websites. There is plenty of topics that would keep any committee busy. Can you provide any updates on recent developments under any of the headings? 9. The constitution states that: 2. Nominations may be made for persons not present at the meeting, on receipt of written approval from the nominee. This in itself opens the door to having a meeting on line as if a person is nominated and accepted while not being there, they are being confirmed as part of the working group i.e. committee 10. Cearbhall suggest a project in developing the open source software i.e. programs like Open office, mozilla, linox, N.V.D.A. This is a very interesting idea. personally I wouldn't be great with the ligistics involved, we could develop such a package on the basis that it could be applied to the lower cost tablets for assisting individuals getting accustomed to technology. 11. What would people's attitude be to paid advertising on the website to create a finance stream. The funds created could be used to finance accessibility awards for design competitions for accessible software or rewarding companies who make their websites accessible. School competitions to develop accessible apps for USE BY BLIND PEOPLE OR BLIND USERS TO DEVELOP APPS. This thought comes from the recent email from Ronan 12. So, If I nominate and get a seconder for someone who might not be there on the day Will it be accepted? 13. Damien suggested to Kerie that he would help with an agendafor the meetingAlas Kerie says that there is only 1 item to be discussed: there are twelve items above to be considered. 14. Martin pointed out to me that in the event of voting a separate email would have to be used for all the votes. I think this would be fine, once the motion is in the header people can reply to the motion with yes or no. Alternatively, an email containing the motions can be forwarded to the individuals on the list and they can put their preferred option in quotes beside it. ------------------------------ I am using the Free version of SPAMfighter <http://www.spamfighter.com/len>. SPAMfighter has removed 559 of my spam emails to date. Do you have a slow PC? <http://www.spamfighter.com/SLOW-PCfighter?cid=sigen>Try a free scan!