Ambassadors/SteeringCommittee/Meetings/2006-05-01

= FAmSCo Meeting Minutes: 2006-05-01 =

Attending

 * : MaxSpevack
 * : ThomasChung
 * : RobertWhetsel

Regrets

 * : AlexMaier

= Meeting Summary =
 * See  Meetings  page for current agenda

Schwag

 * mspevack reports
 * so we've been shipping DVDs all over the world the last month or two
 * and it's *incredibly* expensive and not a very good method of spending our money
 * an idea that has been kicking around:
 * FAMSCO continues to subsidize events with money, but we allow the local organizers of events to be more self-sufficient by permitting them (at their discretion) to sell things like tshirts, DVDs, etc at their events
 * what FAMSCO provides is:
 * the resources necessary for people to get DVDs, tshirts, banners, etc made locally to their show
 * and a "MSRP" so to speak, that we insist product be sold at or below
 * let me lay out a scenario:
 * LinuxTag is a great example
 * we started off by approving a budget of $300 or something like that
 * and then they keep coming back to us with "but what about DVDs", and we need this, and we need that
 * and so all of a sudden, we're stuck spending a *huge* amount of money to ship DVDs to europe.
 * instead, imagine this scenario:
 * Some people in Italy come to us and say "there's a big show, we want to organize Fedora presence there, it'll cost about $3000 US"
 * we say "ok, well FAMSCO is able to provide you with $1000, and also with the resources needed for you to create DVDs, shirts, banners, etc. all in Italy"
 * you can resell the DVDs for anywhere beteween 0-2 Euro, and shirts for X euro, etc
 * and recoup costs that way
 * so we help out, and we give them the resources/blessings to make even more happen themselves
 * *THEN* you can get a situation where people could put on a self-sufficient Fedora event without needing to come to FAMSCO at all
 * The costs of Global Distribution of Physical Items is just so high, it destroys our budget
 * rwhetsel comments
 * This gives a local lug the ability to take control
 * and be self sufficient with the blessing of Fedora
 * I like
 * mspevack continues
 * and it still allows us to increase the budget that we give to any event
 * but it just lets the event in general do more than they could otherwise
 * and everything is up to the organizers
 * they don't have to do anything differently than they do today
 * but they can if they want to
 * as long as they don't exceed the "allowed price"
 * which is basically whatever it costs to produce the item
 * tchung asks
 * Have you considered using local Red Hat offices for Fedora Stuff?
 * *producing* and distributing Fedora Stuff to local Ambassadors.
 * mspevack comments
 * well, i think that's definitely an option depending on where the events are and what kind of offices we have
 * I like the idea -- basically it just lets Red Hat folks be the point of contact in certain areas where it's possible
 * probably makes transfer of funds easier, etc.
 * we should always harness local Red Hat folks when we can
 * tchung suggests
 * I would suggest you (mspevack) put together a proposal for FAMSCO to read. :)
 * rwhetsel: +1
 * mspevack: alrighty, that's what i'll do
 * rwhetsel comments
 * I think that this will prevent problems like we had with Brazil - FISL
 * mspevack: yeah, it would definitely prevent those kinds of logistics problems any out of country
 * rwhetsel: big up on that idea
 * mspevack: ok, so I'll write up a proposal

Budget

 * mspevack reports
 * Budget group -- we're spending too much money and not getting enough for it. See above discussion (in Schwag) for a solution :-)

Member Services

 * tchung reports
 * Since last report, we have 6 more new members
 * See http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Projects/WeeklyReports/2006-04-24
 * As of 2006-04-30, we have 65 approved members now
 * See http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Ambassadors/MembershipService/Approved

Schwag/Events

 * GregDeKoenigsberg not present

LinuxTag

 * GregDeKoenigsberg not present

OSCON

 * BobJensen not present

Next Meeting

 * 2006-05-09 03:00 UTC (Monday in US)
 * channel: #fedora-famsco (this is an invitation-only private channel)