Dear members and committee, I had decided to resign just before the notification about moderation of the private list arrived: that notification is irrelevant to my decision.
Most members, and probably the whole committee, loathe me. I can't see that I'll have anything positive to contribute now, since the membership register fiasco has soured things. To be frank, I find I have to severely ration my WMF online time as it is, and chapter activities – I mean real stuff, not just going around in circles on the mailing list – have always been a much lower priority for me. So I want to leave on a positive note, which is to repeat what I've said before: in a country as sprawled out as Australia, forget meetups and get online to achieve the aims. Personal relationships with cultural institutions are the key: that can lead to real benefits for WMF sites. Well done John Vandenberg and Whiteghost, and a few others who've started good work on that count. I'd make those relationships a central aim, identifying the members who are best suited to forging them, and supporting them with small member teams. Probably you need to attract in more professionals from cultural institutions as ... associate/guest members, even "fellowships", even if on a temporary basis: librarians, archivists, broadcasters, museum people, academics who have contacts – but only if they're prepared to work on temporary projects like persuading pre-targeted institutions to release cultural products under free licences. Now you can rejoice and be nasty about me behind my back for (another) five minutes, then forget. I hope your election goes well. Tony ___________________ Tony Souter *Fixed-line phone: +612 42633401 *Mobile: 0450 717627 (+61450 717627), but usually not switched on *Skype: tonysouter *Street address: 1/29 Tarrant Ave, Kiama Downs 2533, Australia
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