March 22nd 2007

From PHP London wiki

Contents 1 Executive committee meeting on 22/03/2007 2 Where and when 3 Who will be there 4 Apologies for absence 5 Agenda 6 Minutes 6.1 PHP London server 6.2 Domain transfer 6.3 Website 6.4 Mail 6.5 Job postings 6.6 Venue 6.7 Accounts 6.8 Constitutional review 6.9 Conference 6.10 Elections 6.11 Other 6.12 Notices 6.13 Next meeting 7 Actions

Executive committee meeting on 22/03/2007

Note: This isn't our monthly pub meeting for user group members. If you're looking for that, it's at the top of the current events page.

Where and when

Winchester Club from 19:15 to 21:30

Who will be there

• Demian Turner
• Matt Raines
• Andrew Larssen
• Dave Nattriss
• Richard George
• Sadiq Datoo
• Marcus Baker

Apologies for absence

Agenda

1. Welcome, apologies, and matters arising.
2. Immediate objectives. (50 minutes)
   1. Website.
      1. choice of wiki;
      2. additional content;
      3. migration to new server;
      4. spam reduction in meantime;
      5. guidelines for posting jobs;
      6. links with other sites.
   2. Mailing lists and email addresses.
      1. number and content of lists;
      2. integration with website;
      3. migration to new server;
      4. guidelines for posting;
      5. required email addresses.
   3. New server.
      1. who is in charge of SA aside from website and mail?
   4. Change of venue.
      1. objectives for move;
      2. potential venues;
      3. cost/sponsorship.
3. Year 1 accounts. (10 minutes)
4. Future direction of PHP London. (1 hour)
   1. Regular executive meetings.
      1. will people attend;
      2. how frequently;
      3. where?
   2. 2008 UK PHP Conference.
      1. is there anything needing doing at this stage?
   3. Constitutional review.
      1. membership;
      2. election process;
      3. executive makeup;
      4. decision making;
      5. quoracy at meetings.
5. Any other business.
6. Review of 2007 UK PHP Conference. (1 hour)
   1. Review.
      1. delegate feedback forms;
      2. income and expenditure;
      3. organisation.
   2. Remaining matters.
      1. Video editing.
      2. Payment and ticket refunds for organisers and helpers.
   3. Other conference business.

Minutes

PHP London server

• The server is a Bytemark virtual machine running Debian stable and PHP 5, registered to AL.
• DN and RG will jointly administer the server.
• AL to ensure DN and RG have root access to the server.

Domain transfer

• The current domain ownership is as follows: phplondon.org registered to MB; phpconference.co.uk to Jon Ramsey.
• AL to register the domains and liaise with DN, RG, and MB to organise transfer.

Website

• The website is to be migrated to the PHP London server. It was agreed DN to install MediaWiki unless automated migration from Wakka is not possible in which case he will choose an alternative Wiki platform.
• MB to provide an archive and database dump of the existing website to DN.
• Additional static content will be provided as locked pages on the Wiki.
• DN to solicit the design of a logo from the members at his discretion.
• Until the migration is complete DN to regularly check the existing Wiki and remove spam. It is also possible to blacklist IP addresses.
• There is to be a page on the website linking to other user groups and listings sites.
• DN to promote the meetings on meetup.com and upcoming.org. There is a charge of US$72 per 6-months for listing on meetup.com.

Mail

• RG to migrate the mailing lists to the PHP London server.
• The existing lists and policies will be maintained: "announce" is free to signup, only RG and MR can post messages; "discuss" is free to signup, any registered user can post messages; "exec" is closed to new members, any registered user can post. Only "exec" permits attachments; all except "exec" have online archives.
• A spam filter is in place and will be retained on the new server.
• It was agreed to continue using mailman and mailscanner.
• A subdomain "lists.phplondon.org" will be used for the mailing lists.
• RG to edit the footers on the lists to include up-to-date links to meetup.com.
• RG to configure email accounts for the following addresses at phplondon.org: "president", "secretary", "treasurer", "auditor", "webmaster", "mailmaster", and "conference.organiser".
• RG to configure personal email accounts for the following addresses at phplondon.org: "demian.turner", "matt.raines", "andrew.larssen", "david.stevens", "dave.nattriss", "richard.george", and "sadiq.datoo".

Job postings

• There is to be an initial charge of £50 per posting to post a job advert on the website and mailing list, once the website is migrated.
• MR to combine the rules for posting jobs to the mailing list with the website rules: jobs must be within the M25; there is a maximum of 2 postings per person per month; an expiry date must be included.
• It was agreed to continue posting jobs to the "discuss" mailing list rather than create a separate list.

Venue

• It was agreed that a new venue should be found before the end of June 2007 to cater for larger groups.
• It was agreed the new venue should be located ideally in Fitzrovia, and at least in Zone 1 within walking distance of the Central Line.
• The new venue will have a licensed bar, ideally a public bar with the meetings taking place in a separate private room.
• The new venue should ideally provide free wireless Internet access, projection equipment, and food.
• The event will continue to be held on the first Thursday of every month.
• It was agreed to accept an offer of up to £150 a month sponsorship from Allegis Group.
• Including additional PHP London money, there is a budget of £200 a month for the room hire.
• DT and SD have visited two venues suggested by Allegis, neither of which are appropriate, because of their location.
• A venue offered by Skills Matter, an Open Source and agile training company, was discussed and discounted because of its location.
• DT and SD suggested the Winchester Club, Great Titchfield Street, which is being refurbished, as a possible venue.
• MB to provide photographs he has taken of many venues within a mile radius of the existing pub to MR to distribute.
• DN to create a page on the Wiki with the venue requirements and look for venue suggestions from the members.

Accounts

• AL summarised the accounts for year 1.
• Aside from the £35 per month room fee and the conference, major expenses comprised a projector (≈£500) and accompanying screen (≈£150).
• The balance including the 2006 UK Conference was ≈£5000.
• The current balance including the 2007 UK Conference, for which some expenses have not yet been paid, is ≈£9000.
• It was agreed to cease requesting donations for room hire from the members.
• AL to provide a complete balance sheet for year 1 to the executive mailing list.
• AL to liaise with David Stevens (auditor) and determine what auditing is necessary.
• AL to liaise with an accountant and determine the organisation's current tax requirements.

Constitutional review

• The existing constitution was created in order to apply for a bank account and does not meet the needs of the organisation.
• AL to scan and send MR a copy of the existing constitution.
• MR to post the text of the existing constitution to the executive mailing list for review.
• MR to draft a new constitution in consultation with other executive members on the mailing list.

Conference

• It was agreed there will continue to be one annual conference, held in February.
• It was agreed work should start earlier on conference organisation in future.
• AL provided a balance sheet for the 2007 Conference showing a ≈£6500 profit. This includes estimates for expenses, staffing costs, and video editing. AL to provide an updated conference balance sheet at the next executive meeting.
• The delegate feedback forms were divided among those present, to be typed into an Excel pro forma to be provided by SD.
• SD to collate and aggregate the conference feedback and provide a summary to the executive mailing list.
• AL to collect a list of helpers and organisers who paid for conference tickets and refund their payments.
• It was agreed claims for payment for hours of work done should be made to AL. AL to divide the conference profit, after deducting £600 to cover this year's venue cost and a kickstart fund for the 2008 UK Conference, capped at £25 per person per hour.
• MB to organise editing of the video footage at Video-In, Northampton.
• SD to provide MB with sponsor logo slides for the videos.
• MB to publish and promote the videos and collect statistics to assist with sponsorship demands for the 2008 conference.
• SD to create MP3 audio versions of the talk recordings.
• DT to draft top and tails for each talk's audio recording and post them to the executive mailing list for discussion prior to recording.
• SD to publish a list of links to blog content about the 2007 Conference on the website.

Elections

• The positions of Mailmaster and Conference Organiser will be elected at the next PHP London meeting at 8pm on 5 April 2007, at the Hope pub, Whitfield Street. Nominations are requested to MR or the meeting page on the Wiki.

Other

• MR and DN are subscribed to PHP Groups, a mailing list for discussion amongst PHP User Group organisers. MR to summarise interesting discussions at executive meetings or on the mailing list.
• MB to provide MR with a number of contacts who are chasing him for actions. In particular Zend UK have several ideas for member participation.

Notices

• Congratulations to Sadiq who is getting married on July 15th 2007.
• The executive extends its thanks to Marcus Baker for all the work he has put in to the organisation over the last three years.

Next meeting

• It was agreed executive meetings will be held quarterly, in the evening of the third Tuesday of February, May, August, and November.
• The next meeting will be held at 7pm on May 15th 2007. The venue is to be determined.
• The next agenda will focus on the future direction of the organisation and the 2008 UK Conference.

Actions

• Andrew Larssen
  • to ensure DN and RG have root access to the server.
  • to register the domains and liaise with DN, RG, and MB to organise transfer.
  • to provide a complete balance sheet for year 1 to the executive mailing list.
  • to liaise with David Stevens (auditor) and determine what auditing is necessary.
  • to liaise with an accountant and determine the organisation's current tax requirements.
  • to scan and send MR a copy of the existing constitution.
  • to provide an updated conference balance sheet at the next executive meeting.
  • to collect a list of helpers and organisers who paid for conference tickets and refund their payments.
  • to divide the conference profit, after deducting £600 to cover this year's venue cost and a kickstart fund for the 2008 UK Conference, capped at £25 per person per hour.
• Dave Nattriss
  • to install MediaWiki unless automated migration from Wakka is not possible in which case he will choose an alternative Wiki platform.
  • to solicit the design of a logo from the members at his discretion.
  • to regularly check the existing Wiki and remove spam.
  • to promote the meetings on meetup.com and upcoming.org.
  • to create a page on the Wiki with the venue requirements and look for venue suggestions from the members.
• Demian Turner
  • to draft top and tails for each talk's audio recording and post them to the executive mailing list for discussion prior to recording.
• Marcus Baker
  • to provide an archive and database dump of the existing website to DN.
  • to provide photographs he has taken of many venues within a mile radius of the existing pub to MR to distribute.
  • to organise editing of the video footage at Video-In, Northampton.
  • to publish and promote the videos and collect statistics to assist with sponsorship demands for the 2008 conference.
  • to provide MR with a number of contacts who are chasing him for actions.
• Matt Raines
  • to combine the rules for posting jobs to the mailing list with the website rules: jobs must be within the M25; there is a maximum of 2 postings per person per month; an expiry date must be included.
  • to post the text of the existing constitution to the executive mailing list for review.
  • to draft a new constitution in consultation with other executive members on the mailing list.
  • to summarise interesting discussions at executive meetings or on the mailing list
• Richard George
  • to migrate the mailing lists to the PHP London server.
  • to edit the footers on the lists to include up-to-date links to meetup.com.
  • to configure email accounts for the following addresses at phplondon.org: "president", "secretary", "treasurer", "auditor", "webmaster", "mailmaster", and "conference.organiser".
  • to configure personal email accounts for the following addresses at phplondon.org: "demian.turner", "matt.raines", "andrew.larssen", "david.stevens", "dave.nattriss", "richard.george", and "sadiq.datoo".
• Sadiq Datoo
  • to collate and aggregate the conference feedback and provide a summary to the executive mailing list.
  • to provide MB with sponsor logo slides for the videos.
  • to create MP3 audio versions of the talk recordings.
  • to publish a list of links to blog content about the 2007 Conference on the website.