Compsoc Exec Minnits

25th January, 2001

Attended

• Chris Salmon
• Chris Smith
• Jake Staines
• Barry Boden
• Phil Ross

Contents

• Server
• Chris’ Incompetence
• CS Sprays
• Gaming
• LAN
• Switch
• Java Tutorials
• Talks
• Kuru
• CS Ladder
• Computer Console Society
• Stuff
• AGM
• Next Meeting

1. Server

We went – as a whole, with Tom Worley in tow – to a meeting with Ian Brown, who is with the Onion. Essentially, he had nothing against the idea of us having a server in The Onion, but only if it was running NT – for which the university could give us a very good deal at only three hundred pounds. Three hundred pounds. Ian Brown didn’t want a server running Linux in his office since he didn’t know enough to be able to administer it himself in the event of an emergency.
We then emailed Tim Clark of ITS, who was very enthusiastic about Linux, but had no idea where we could put the box… He is currently “investigatin’” and will be back to us on Friday.
To those not already /in the know/, ‘Linux’ is pronounced as if it were spelt ‘Leinnucks’. Roughly. /Not/ as if it were spelt ‘Line-Ucks’. That would be wrong. So very wrong.

2. Chris’ Incompetence

Chris ‘Kilgore’ Salmon managed to turn up late to the Java Tutorial he was supposed to be hosting.
Chris ‘Jimmie’ Smith, however, asked me last week to send him the minnits for last week’s meeting. He asked me this in a reply to a mail message to which I’d attached the minnits for last week’s meeting.

3. CS Sprays

We need to make the CS Sprays we have been sent available to our members on Friday nights. Chris Salmon to organise.

4. Gaming

Chris isn’t going to Saturday gaming. Neither is Chris. Jake might, but he’ll talk to Toaster to ask if he doesn’t mind covering in the event of Jake not turning up.

5. LAN

Jake to mail an update to the whole LAN situation.

6. Switch

We have a switch! Aha! Now we have about £300 left in our account, this has to cover a Laminator and pouches, possibly a HDD, and then anything else we want this term. Probably better do next year’s booklets and cards on that, too.

7. Java Tutorials

Chris apologises for missing the Java tutorials. The Antichris to put some stuff on the website about it and actually turn up on time next week.

8. Talks

Once the Java tutorials are over, we should really do more talks along other subjects. Kilgore to do a quick poll at the end of the next talk to see what sort of things people would like to know about.

9. Kuru

We have a report that Kuru maliciously vandalised a Java Tutorial poster. If he does not submit a complete formal apology to the exec within two weeks, he /will/ fail AI. If he’s /really/ lucky, we won’t cut his balls off.

10. Science Ball

/“This is going to be a big flop, isn’t it.”/ – Chris Smith
It transpires that due to a variety of downright eeeviil reasons, ranging from not owning the prerequisite clothing or not being able to eat anything on the menu to not being free or being completely out of money, very few – if any – of the exec will be able to get to the Science Ball. We apologise profusely to the organisers, and still recommend it as a great night out for all our members.

11. CS Ladder

Two responses have been emailed to the CS Ladder request. Jake to mail both Mat and McCarthy, telling them to get together and submit a proposal on how they will run the ladder to the exec.

12. Computer Console Society

Jimmie spoke to Ann Jarvis – she has recieved both forms and is passing them on to Pete Cuff.

13. Stuff

In the event of the Society obtaining a Server, Tom Worley is hereby appointed Server Administrator, even if he doesn’t want to be.
No, /especially/ if he doesn’t want to be.

14. AGM

We are holding our AGM on the Saturday of Wk15, at the beginning of the allnighter. Nominations to be in by the end of Monday, Wk15. 8pm start to give us time to get all the computers in and set up – although they /will/ be switched off while the AGM is in progress. At the AGM we will be holding our elections. The positions that are available are as follows.
The first three positions are mandatory – we must have seperate people to fill these slots or we cease to exist as a society.
* President: The president is nominally in charge of the society, and as such chairs exec meetings. The president has the highest authority in the exec, and as such the highest responsibility.
* Secretary: The secretary is in charge of the flow of information – into and out of the society. By preference, the secretary will be the one to write to any external contacts, as well as keeping the minutes for each meeting.
* Treasurer: The treasurer is in charge of society finance, and handles the budget, the Compsoc account and memberships, and is the one to talk to the Union when we want to make purchases for the society.
The other slots, below, do not need to be filled by seperate people – if necessay, these can be doubled up with any of the other positions. However, it would be of obvious benefit to the society if we could have someone to fill each of the important roles below:
* Vice President: The vice president acts as a deputy for the president, taking over the president’s duties when necessary.
* Equal Opportunities Officer: The EquiOpps is a mandatory role that can be doubled up with any other. The EquiOpps’ role is to ensure that the society’s actions and opportunities are equally avilable to all it’s members.
* Technical Officer: The Technical officer’s job is to maintain all the hardware that the society owns, as well as administering the network at LANs and performing any other minor technical duties.
* Webmaster: The webmaster’s role is to maintain the Computing Society website. At the moment – due to the sterling work of our current webmaster – the Compsoc website is by far the best society website in the university. This role would be most suited for someone with prior knowledge of ASPs and SQL, since both are extensively used within the website.
* Socials Secretary: The socials secretary’s job is to organise and execute Compsoc socials, which currently range from Bowling and Laserquest to CSV Gaming. The socials secretary would be repsonsible for timetabling the events and booking the rooms through the Union and/or the University.

There are many advantages to being on the Compsoc exec – not least being easy entry onto socials signup lists, and the learning of new and important skills. Being on the executive of a student society like the Compsoc will look more impressive that your degree to some employers.
Baz points out that the future exec should be careful to check rhosts at the beginning of next year and edit it appropriately.

14. Next Meeting

1. pm, Thursday, Bitchtank, Next Week.

Compsoc Exec Minnits

18th January, 2001

Attended

• Jake Staines
• Chris Salmon
• Phil Ross
• Ryan Cullen
• Barry Boden
• Chris Smith

Contents

• Switch
• Java
• LAN
• Allnighter
• Ann Jarvis
• Science Ball
• PC Format
• Frisbee Contests
• Computers
• Bowling
• I7
• New Computer Room
• Next Meeting

1. Switch

The order for the switch has actually really been faxed now. We wait, but we don’t panic. Yet. Since Scan do next-day delivery, we should have our largely-unworthy hands on this wonderful piece of equipment fairly soon. Unless the Onion interceeds again.

2. Java

/“I could extend it to more weeks, or do another slot in the week – I don’t mind”/ – Chris ‘Kilgore’ Salmon
Posters have been duped and stuck up all over campus. Kilgore is still writing the scripts. Chris, Chris and Jake to turn up in case any help is needed of a strictly administrative non-Java-orientated nature.

3. LAN

/“No no, that would be Wrong.”/ – Chris Smith
Still, of course, awaiting confirmation of the LAN party room booking. Jake to mail members suggesting preliminary times of 10am to 8pm, since we /think/ those are the times we asked for. Phil to set the limit on the website to 40 people.

4. Allnighter

Likewise. Times 7pm ‘till 10am, Jake to ask Richard Colfer if he minds handling the gaming, as he did last term.

5. Ann Jarvis

We have had no response from any of our probing questions. Chris ‘I volunteer for /everything/’ Smith to ‘talk’ and ‘investigate’ and not ‘hurt’ or ‘scare’ at all.

6. Science Ball

/“All those who don’t know about the free beer – have a sweet”/ – Baz ‘Grin’ Boden
Tickets go on sale Monday. Everything is shaping up quite nicely, apparently. Ryan /still/ does too much /stuff/.

7. PC Format

Spoke to Post Room – they say that all mail will either have been forwarded (which is hasn’t), sent to departments (which it hasn’t) or returned to sender. Damnation. Ryan has mailed Future asking them to change our mailing address to ‘Computing Society c/o Students Union, <insert uni address here>’.

8. Frisbee Contests

The exec notes that Goodfella’s polystyrene pizza trays make excellent frisbees, and incidentally, the lipped frisbee design makes a pretty good pizza plate.

9. Computers

(AKA ‘Servers’)
Chris (Smith) asked Tom (Worley), who asked Chris (*). The cheapest deal appears to be £1,300 for 3 years. Can we recoup that much moola? It is the ertswhile opinion of this exec that we probably couldn’t /quite/ make it. Unless we get a budget request of £1,300 approved by the Onion next year…
Internally, Chris (Smith) did nothing at all – mainly due to the fact that his name only appeared due to a slight clerical error, and in fact, Chris (*) was supposed to be asking DCS, ITS and the Onion. Which he promises to do soon.
In other news, there was some suggestion that Tom Worley had volunteerd the services of his machine, which a permanent connection to the University Network. Assuming this message of goodwill hasn’t got scrambled somehow, the Exec thanks him, but will try and squeeze the proverbial blood out of the clingfilm-wrapped vacuum-packed pastic-coated stone that it DCS, ITS, or the Onion first – they can spare it a lot easier.

10. Bowling

Bowling is OK for next tuesday. No need to book – just everybody turn up.

11. I7

Henry has been appointed the Official Mass External LAN Party Liason Officer, Working On Behalf Of The Compsoc Exec. If anyone wants any information on I7, a mass 3 day (or something) LAN held somewhereorother sometime soon, (we /think/ it’s the Easter Holidays), contact Henry.

12. New Computer Room

Seeing as there is now – or soon is to be – a new computer room in DCS, we need to know what the Computing Society will refer to it as [1]. Suggestions put forward included:
* Bondage Suite – on the grounds that there are chains all over the place and the room is a symbol of warwick being strapped to a bed by IBM and whipped.
* Penguin (Pit/Pool/Pond) – on the grounds that the machines show every indication of running Linux, and there are pictures of penguins on the walls.
* Monkey Barrel – on the grounds that Chris (*) though it sounded funny at the time. That boy’s been playing too much Monkey Island.

13. Next Meeting

I guess it’ll probably be at 2pm on Thursday the 25th in the Bitchtank. I can’t be sure, since nobody bothered to raise the subject…

• [1]* Some elder students at DCS have expressed rather extreminst seniority views over the naming of Computer Rooms. These people are, to use a much overly-used phrase, living in the past. Their views have been completely ignored by the Computing Society exec, for the very simple reason that they are wrong. Some of These people will tell you that the UNIX Bunker in ITS is called ‘The Morgue’, despite the fact that the computers with body part names that this room was named after have since disappeared off to the skip outside Physics, presumably The Graveyard or The Pathologist’s Office. Others of these people will tell you that The Bitchtank doesn’t exist, simply because the name was thought up by someone younger than them. They may be disparate, but will undoubtedly refute any name associated with the new room in DCS on similar grounds – so it seems worth pointing this out: The name given is the name we will call it. We do not presume to name the room officially, DCS has already done that. It’s called Terminal Room 001. We just consider this name a tad boring and will use an alternative alias. Now shut up.

Compsoc Exec Minnits

11th January, 2001

Attended

• Jake Staines
• Chris Salmon
• Phil Ross
• Ryan Cullen
• Barry Boden
• Chris Smith

Contents

• Refresher’s Fayre
• Java Courses
• Peter Molyneux
• Switch
• PC Format
• Consolesoc
• Gaming
• Vinegar
• Chris’ Incompetence
• OpenSauce Project
• Allnighter
• Bowling
• Science Ball
• Misc. Stuff
• Next Meeting

1. Refresher’s Fayre

At the Refresher’s Fayre last Tuesday, we managed to sign up 5 new members – but also spent £10 on a backboard for the event. Which was blue, but not /Compsoc/ blue¹. Whether this should be deemed as a success or a loss (or both) is left as an exercise to the reader, However, high spirits ensued for the day with the exec, due to the penning of a new Balloon Policy, by which the society executive shall be governed in the prescence of uninflated balloons.

2. Java Courses

Chris ‘I Have More Nicknames Than Lucifer Himself’ Salmon /still/ to write scripts and notes for Java Courses. Chris ‘My Name Is Feared Across All Three Computer Rooms’ Salmon to book rooms. Ryan ‘Treasurer’ Cullen to announce in 2nd Yr. ISE lecture, and Chris ‘I Have To See A Man About A Monkey’ Salmon to accounce in 1st COA lecture. Chris ‘Senor Spielbergo-burgulo’ Salmon to contact course-running-people in DCS to inform them and ask for hints to be dropped. The first course/tutorial/workshop/insult-hurling session will be held in The North Onion, in Meeting Rooms 4 and 5, bewteen the hours of 4 and 5 on Tuesday of week 3. Further meetings will be held on the Tuesdays of weeks 4 and 5, between the hours of 4 and 5 in – and here’s the tricky part – meeting rooms 4 and 5 and 2 respectively. That’s 4 and 5 in week 4 and 2 in week 5, if all those conjunctions were getting on top of you.
Jake, in the meantime, will be hurriedly making posters to advertise the event, to be plastered over DCS from Thursday (18th) onwards. With any luck. Also to note in Newsletter. D’oh.

3. Peter Molyneux

This topic on the agenda has been sneakily inserted after the fact to cover for an unscheduled discussion of The Man and His works, held between Jake and Chris ‘I Have No Amusing Nickname That I Am Aware Of’ Smith, to avoid Chris ‘Torquemada’ Salmon’s draconian meeting policy.

4. Switch

No news! Is this a suprise? No. Baz to mail Scan – for it was them from whence we ordered – as to the status of our order, if indeed there is an order and the Onion hasn’t just screwed it all up. Good money, so I am told, is on the latter.

5. PC Format

/“OK – Jake to arrange for S.Q.W.A.T. team…”/ – The AntiChris gets carried away with his acronyms, upon the discussion of the storming of the mail room to recover lost back issues fo PC Format.
As it was with the PC Format subscription, so it shall be for all time. It appears that we’re not allowed to spend any money. It’s one of those universe law things. We buy a subscription to PC Format, after one issue they dissapear. We order a switch, and it looks as though the same thing’s happening. We’re cursed! Anyhow, since we /still/ haven’t seen PC Format, Ryan is to be curt and potentially – gasp – even /rude/ to the Mailroom staff since we highly suspect that this is where our lost back issues reside. If not, we may have to hire famed archaeologist Indiana Java to dig them out for us.

6. Consolesoc

Since we haven’t heard from them either of the three times we emailed them, Chris ‘Workhorse’ Salmon to talk to the Onion and list our demands:
* That the society formerly known as The Nintendo Society, currently known as Computer Console Society, change their name immediately if not sooner to ‘BallsSoc’ or some other name that likewise doesn’t interfere with ours.
* That the aforementioned heathens do not perform any society-endorsed home-computer based activities, since this would be incursing upon our teritory. And we have a big black hairy dog with sixteen gazillion very sharp teeth, who bites trespassers in the arse.

7. Gaming

Gaming, like the ThunderCats, is Go. Oh, hang on a minute, that was the Thunderbirds. Gaming is Ho! Jake to do the GUI installer thing he promised, and to reiterate the food-and- drink-gets-you-kicked-in-the-gonads-and-suspended-from-signup policy.

8. Vinegar

See item #3.

9. Chris’ Incompetence

It was agreed by the Compsoc Exec that Chris was incompetent and had to go. However, it was later argued by Chris ‘Fish’ Salmon’s defence lawyers that there was no way to tell in the vote held whether or not Chris ‘Engineering Student’ Smith or Chris ‘Murray’ Salmon was actually being referred to, any at any rate, the earliest a departure could be affected was coincidentally similar to the time that his term as President ran out and the newly-elected exec took over. No decision has been reached, so business shall continue (or not) as normal.

10. OpenSauce Project

Chris ‘Not Jesus’ Salmon has booked a room for this week – Jake has booked /all/ the others, thus showing that he is eight times as useful. Jake to give out any remaining CDs, and note that anyone else who wants one only has to ask. Jake to give stuff to Chris ‘Still Not Jesus’ Salmon to type up.

11. Allnighter

Chris ‘The AntiChris’ Salmon to book room for weekend of week 5. Jake to note and to remind people with laptops that they are just as welcome.

12. Bowling

Tuesday of week 3 – Meet in Rootes Reception at 6:30. £1.60 return on the bus, £2 a game, £1 for shoe hire. Most of evening. Ryan Cullen to actually meet us on campus to ensure that we don’t get horribly, horribly lost.

13. Science Ball

Arthur Andersen sponsored the Science Ball to the tune of £500 pounds, and the event is going ahead. Rumours of ice sculptures, fire breathers and casinos, however, unfornately turned out to be slightly spurious. Tickets will become available soon, and not going is a floggable offence – unless you have a really, really good excuse. Or a note from your mother.

14. Misc. Stuff

Find out who to talk to about a server, for the possibility of hosting etc. Chris ‘Still No Amusing Nickname’ Smith to do all this, plus look around for options outside of the university.
Chris ‘Damn, I have to find myself one of these nickname thingies’ Smith to look at Laminator-Buying options, how we might go about it, and how to do so before the start of next year, so we can do people up nice laminated membership cards at the fresher’s fayre.

15. Next Meeting

1. pm in The Bitchtank. /“Any Objections from Mike to be noted and ignored”/ – Chris ‘Nickname hunt unsuccessful’ Smith

¹ #006699