Stuff related to attracting new members, etc.

[updated by Karl B, 18aug06]

Table of contents

Membership committee ideas and status
Completed projects
Rejected ideas
Existing benefits
Benefits to the greater TeX community supported via membership in TUG
Old list of eight reasons for joining TUG

Send items that should be on the list to membership@tug.org

Membership committee ideas and status

  1. Lance's idea about $35 fee and decoupling TUGboat
  2. Implemented
  3. Dave idea to make TPJ be for members only (at least articles, perhaps columns): there was some exchange of ideas about this among the board around 11/11/05. Several people were mildly or strongly for this, one was against it, and Lance suggested making only a whole-issue-PDF version of the journal be for members-only.
  4. idea of creating a computer-based programmed learning system for TeX/LaTeX to sell as a TUG product or a member-only product
  5. Steve's idea of a Best of TUGboat volume: Steve, Karl, and Dave have reviewed several volumes for plausible candidate papers, in botb.txt.
  6. Implemented
  7. Implemented
  8. Trial membership
  9. Introductory slide show that Dave promised to have done by July 15: a fairly complete first draft now exists (12/5/05); see slideshow
  10. Implemented
  11. Karl is working on a list of error message, but needs help from someone to make it publishable; see http://tug.org/errors.html
  12. contacting other groups, e.g., UNIX groups: Robin (and others?) is working on this.
    From Klaus on this subject: Robin reported about her visit to the O'Reilly Open Source Conventionand she found out a lot of people know TeX, use TeX or sympathize with TeX. These people we have to attract. They have to learn about TUG, what TUG does and the fees are spent for good things. We have to show TUG's face. Dante was able to convince some magazines to care about TeX (and also found some authors supplying articles), e.g. LinuxMagazine, LinuxUser, and c't , the most relevant German computer magazine. I already mentioned the DANTE edition published at Lehmanns (both the PSTricks book as the KOMA-Script book were sold more than 1000 times), info pages about DANTE in books (Franzis), booth at LinuxTag and so on. People see such efforts, and they appreciate them, and then they don't really care if the membership is $10 more or less.
  13. Implemented
  14. Steve suggests a comparison of TUG's benefits and fees with the Society of Typographic Aficionados: http://www.typesociety.org/memlevels.html
  15. Doesn't work -- see "rejected category"
  16. Implemented
  17. in the context of the discussion of the gold membership, Steve suggests a fund raising drive to let people know about ways to donate
  18. eliminate early bird discount: part of some board discussions
  19. TUG roll of honor: this has been "assigned" to a committee of Phil and Barbara, no forward motion as of 4jun06.
  20. Knuth Scholarship: http://tug.org/knuthsch.html -- it has not been updated or awarded for some years. There is some sentiment for changing it to be open to anyone, not just non-technical people. Phil expressed interest in this being addressed. No forward motion as of 4jun06.
  21. Will Robertson suggests: If TUG could somehow procure the rights to a decent enough typeface, they could offer it gratis to all (possibly new?) members of TUG as an incentive to join. Karl responds: We could make it be a "gold" benefit, and make it for a "commercial" typeface, i.e., one that would never be freely available anyway. That way it is a real benefit of joining TUG. This could actually be quite an incentive.
  22. Discount for first-year members: being discussed a bit
  23. CTAN CD cost recovery and new-member rate: Karl suggests trying this in summer, after the usual renewals and new memberships have fallen off.
  24. (karl) another publication idea: all the core latex documents (leaving off sources).
  25. (karl) came up at practex06 at rutgers: make a nice typographical+tug poster for members (available electronically? but page size ...), maybe sell on the side.

Completed projects

2. Auto-renewal and electronic discount were approved by the board.
6. Idea of adding a table of contents to TUGboat sorted from introductory to advanced (see last two issues) [Steve suggests including a better title]
7. Electronic billing was probably another name for autorenewal; see point 2 above.
10. Member-only access to on-line copy of TUGboat during first year after publication
13. Interview project: is well established and on-going; see www.tug.org/interviews
16. Auto-renewal was on the list yet another time; see point 2 above.

Rejected ideas

  • gold membership with no significant added benefits but perhaps a certificate and/or trinket: motion withdrawn in the middle of voting 15. have joint memberships with other TeX user groups where the money comes first to TUG and then gets sub-distributed: the experts say it probably doesn't work

    Existing benefits (no claim of value is made)

    1. intangible benefits, e.g., be part of the TeX community, support TUG supporting TeX, be more visible for being recruited to work on TUG projects, etc.
    2. TUGboat hard copy and on-line access a year before non-members get on-line access
    3. TeXLive and ProTeXt DVD and CD on request
    4. WinEdt registration discount
    5. Free OzTeX registration
    6. discounts at TUG store
    7. discount on TUG conference fees
    8. get announcements to the membership
    9. ...

    Benefits to the greater TeX community supported via membership in TUG

    1. texhax list and texhax archive search
    2. lots of links on TUG web site
    3. home pages and web sites on TUG server for various TeX sub-communities, e.g., tex live, teTeX, protext, web2c, pstricks, pdftex, hyperref, tex4ht, fontinst, eplain, tds, historic archives
    4. collaboration with other TeX users groups on activities such as CTAN, TeXLive, etc.
    6. ...

    Old list of eight reasons for joining TUG

    1. Publications: All members receive 4 copies of TUGboat, 4 copies of TeX and TUG NEWS, and a membership directory. One of the four TUGboat issues contains the proceedings of the annual meeting, so if you can't make the meeting, you can still keep up to date with the latest developments. As well, TUG publishes special single-topic items in its TeXniques series; some are guides and summaries of TeX and LaTeX; others offer descriptions of major software packages (e.g., PiCTeX, EDMAC).
    2. Books and Software: A "one-stop shop," TUG carries most TeX macro packages as well as TeX publications and products. The Radel collection of public domain TeX software for microcomputers is now available through TUG, too. Members benefit from a 10% discount on all items available from TUG.
    3. Membership Networks: TUG maintains and distributes a complete membership directory annually. Members are listed alphabetically, geographically and by institution. These lists facilitate easy member-to-member communication within TUG's worldwide network.
    4. Information Referrals: TUG can connect you with site coordinators -- specialists in implementations of TeX on various computer architectures -- as well as other resource volunteers. These experts are available to answer your questions about TeX, TeX-related software and other technical matters.
    5. Annual Meetings: TUG's Annual Meetings bring TeX users together to learn the latest in TeX applications and innovations through seminars, talks and informal gatherings. They offer an opportunity to connect with other TeX users at every level. Each conference is informative, but always informal and friendly -- the perfect forum for valuable interaction and exchange of ideas on TeX.
    6. TeX Worldwide: When you belong to TUG you connect with other TeX user associations around the world. Information about their activities is published regularly in TTN; reciprocal membership arrangements are available with some of the European groups.
    7. Training: Each year TUG offers seminars and classes for beginner, intermediate and advanced TeX users throughout North America and Europe. TUG will customize on-site courses to meet your company's specific needs.
    8. Discounts: Discounted Annual Meeting fees, Student rates for membership (50% off individual rates!), Discounts on the purchase of selected TUG\ publications, Discounts on TUG-sponsored courses