Fujiology Archive/fujiology_archive_v1_0.iso/!MAGS/WOSAUG/ISSUE7.ZIP/ISSUE7.TXT

Text File | 1996-07-17 | 36KB | 848 lines

WEST OF SCOTLAND ATARI USER GROUP
(Affiliated to The Association of Atari User groups)


Issue number SEVEN, August 1996


 The future ?

We only have one more meeting and one more newsletter before the
September Annual General Meeting. As a result of discussions I've had
with various people both in our group and elsewhere I have included
with this newsletter a series of detailed, and perhaps controversial
proposals.

Next months newsletter will have the AGM Agenda so if you have any
other proposals you wish placed on the Agenda then please get in touch
ASAP.

I think that this meeting will be even more important than our
inaugural one in February and I would urge everyone to make the effort
to attend. Of course there will be those that for geographical and
other reasons will not be able to attend your voice and opinions still
needs to be heard, so PLEASE get in touch with your thoughts and
ideas.

The first 6 months

The WeST of Scotland Group has been more successful than I dared hope,
but the rising numbers have brought there own problems. At the moment
the Railway Inn can just about cope with the numbers attending, and
the amount of hardware that is at the meetings. With the very wide
spread of geographical locations that members come from it will always
be impossible to satisfy everyone with a location. I would suggest
that unless anyone comes up with a better  alternative, that the Group
nights remain there at present.

Financially, the groups situation is somewhat artificial at the
moment. We have been very lucky that several issues of the newsletter
have been copied on a photocopier, free of charge. This is a situation
which cannot continue and the Newsletter must be self financing from
now on.

Due to the ever increasing circulation printing the entire newsletter
out on a home printer is no longer feasible either.

The financial future

There is no way round the problem that something has to change in the
way the newsletter is produced for it to remain a viable proposition
after the September AGM. As a group we need to maximise our income and
reduce our costs.

All the following figures are for the WSAUG as it stands now with the
current membership. If STAG goes ahead as proposed, then there will be
no additional costs. Each member will be contributing to the financing
of the newsletter.

I have costed getting the newsletter photocopied at The Erskine
Hospital Print Shop (which is the cheapest I could find) and using
them to photocopy the WSAUG newsletter  as it now stands I will still
be able to produce a 10 page, 4 weekly printed Newsletter, in a
similar format to the present. To allow this the subscription rates
will have to be raised slightly as follows.

An adult or family ( ie An adult and any number of Under 18's)
membership subscription would be increased to £14 per annum Under 18
members who have no adult member in their family would now pay £7 per
annum.

This rise will have to occur whether or not STAG comes to fruition if
the newsletter is to continue. Therefore it will be my suggestion and
recommendation that no matter what other action we decide to take in
light of my other proposals for the groups future that, as of
September 1996 we alter the subscription ruling to the above format.

Having just waded through 3 columns of heavy reading I don't want you
to think I'm in any way downbeat about the newsletter or the WSAUG or
Atari User Groups.

The Atari User Group Community is expanding throughout the UK at an
amazing rate. As well as the Scottish Groups that have been mentioned
in recent Newsletters there are new Groups that we have established
contact with in Wessex, Manchester, Yorkshire Wales and Coventry, as
well as internationally in New Zealand and Nova Scotia. Via the
internet we are in constant touch with most of the prominent Atari
users throughout the world, and have access to the latest shareware as
soon as it becomes available. So it's time to expand and provide a
support Group for all Scotland's Atari Users as well as any Atari
Users from outwith Scotland who wish to get involved.

Introducing


STAG
Scotland's TOS/Atari Group



Al Goold
(Chairman - WSAUG)
15 July 1996


STOP PRESS !!

ST FORMAT CLOSES

In the last couple of days word has leaked that ST Format is to close
it's doors after the next issue (Issue 86 ?) This news is brand new
and not yet officially confirmed, but take it from me. it's closing.

Where this leaves the ST Format sponsored shows in September, and our
plans to run a mini-bus to them is anybodys guess. As I type this on
the 15th July Mike Goodman who is organising the shows is still on
holiday and doesn't know about the closure yet.

This closure makes it even more important that Newsletters like this
keep going to keep the off line Atari community aware if what is going
on. That and supporting any new magazine that may appear (see Mike
Kerslake's Letter in this issue.


Stationary
The WSAUG now has an account with a mail order Stationary supplier who
can supply things like paper, printer ribbons and inkjet cartridges at
excellent prices. All orders over £30 are delivered free. So if you
think you'll need a ribbon or a cartridge or anything else in the
stationary line give me a call. The intention would be to add a very
small surcharge to each order that would go straight into the groups
funds.An example is an HP500 Black cartridge at £18.50(appx) That is a
saving of several pounds on most places, and would put £1 into club
funds. They also have an excellent but limited offer on white A4 paper
at the moment, so get in touch quickly.

IN THIS MONTHS ISSUE....

Financial report
There was going to be a preliminary financial report in this months
issue to back up the editorial position. However due to the urgent
news about ST Format and the Atari Shows and the Stationary offer, I
have had to leave it out for reasons of space.

Suffice to say that we have enough to have this and the next issue of
the newsletter produced via the Erskine Hospital Print shop. A full
financial breakdown will be available at the AGM.

Other Atari User groups
News of the unfortunate demise of one group, while another in England
is going from Strength to strength. Due to the demise of  his TOS
User's Group, Paul has kindly agreed to devote some of his efforts to
writing for us, so in this issue we have the first in an occasional
series of articles, this one  on "The Perfect TOS set up"  as well as
a couple of software reviews.

A New ATARI Mag ??

As one door closes....

An interesting letter from Mike Kerslake, please reply to Mike if you
can help. (Especially in light of STF's closure, the more letters of
support he gets the better.) Mike Kerslake has a track record in
publishing, so this idea is not `pie in the sky'.

ED's JUKEBOX
Due to space restrictions This will be missing again this month (sorry
folks). I am aiming to keep the newsletter to a maximum of 10 pages.
As you'll see I have reduced the spacing between the lines to try to
get more in though. Hopefully this won't make it too hard to read.

The last couple of pages include the proposals, and the last page can
be removed and used for your replies.I really do need people to get in
touch regarding this. The decision to go ahead will have to be taken
at the AGM and we will have to start collecting subscriptions then to
fund the next newsletter.



======================================
NEWS FROM OTHER ATARI GROUPS/CLUBS
======================================

As of the August meeting we will also have the entire Interactive and
CyberSTrider collections available on Group nights. If you supply your
own disk, we will fill it with PD for you for 50p. We are considering
branching out, and buying Blank Floppy disks so that you can buy a
disk and PD from us. If you are looking for any PD software please see
Sandy or me at the meeting.

TOS User Group

Hello all :)

I'm afraid I have to inform you all that my TOS User Group project is
no more :'-(

Various factors have led me to the decision to end it all and I'm
going to put my efforts into other things such as conferencing on
42BBS and on CIX as well as writing articles for magazines and
newsletters. (some of Paul's work appears in this newsletter - AG)

Thanks to all those who helped and although it's the end of TUG - it
sure ain't the end of PW !!!  :-))

Sláinte Mhath,
Paul Walsh ==========
Wessex Atari Group

(*OB*http://www.compulink.co.uk/~mrgs/wag/welcome.htm*OB*)Another new
Atari User Group is born. The South of England is now catered for with
this new group. Who said The Atari was dead?

Getting Started

This is a new Atari User Group started in May 1996 by four Atarians in
the South of England. Mick Lock, Roy Goring, Chris Good, Alan Baker.

The four got together, and on-line to 42BBS chatted with the Sysop
Colin Fisher-McAllum, they decided they would try and start the group,
eventually opting for the temporary name of WAG, other offers had been
put forward (ah Roy) but were pooh- poohed by the others because of
the abbreviated form of the name.

Help from 42BBS

Colin opened an area on 42, and WAG was launched.

(*OB*WAG on the Web, as seen by CAB*OB*)Lots of messaging ensued on
42, with Alasdair Goold (your beloved Chair :-) being roped in as
'Special Advisor', and Colin as [fx French accent] 'Patron'. Several
other people joined, at this time it was free, some from the Midlands
who were unlikely to attend the meetings.

First Meeting

The first meeting was held in June, unfortunately only eight turned
up, but a lot was discussed and the main aims of the group were
formed.

Aims

These are to promote communication and support to all Atari Users on
whatever platform they use. This prompted the theme for the second
meeting which is to be an 8-Bit demonstration by off-liner Brenden
O'Neil who has a 1Mb 130XE with 4 built in operating systems, and a
load of other 8-Bit stuff.

Newsletter

It is hoped that a Newsletter will be produced in the near future,
this will be in HTML format so will require CAB to read it. The
newsletter will be incorporated into WAG on the Web (see below).

WAG on the Web

At the meeting in June the first copy of the 'WAG on the Web' pages
were on view. These were designed by Chris Good. The new logo by Mick
Lock was also seen for the first time. The pages were very impressive
and everyone was pleased that WAG would have a presence on the Web.

For those with internet access the URL is:-


http://www.compulink.co.uk/~mrgs/wag/welcome.htm

or follow the link from WSAUG pages on

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/magicka/homepage.htm

For those who do not have internet access or who are off-line and want
a copy, they can be obtained via 42BBS or Cix as WAG????.LZH (???? =
date in mmyy) or by sending two disks and return postage to Roy
Goring.

Tumblevane PDL

On the WAG pages you will also find an advert for Tumblevane PD
Library. They are assisting WAG in publicizing their presence to
off-liners by putting a flyer in all orders that go out.

"Your intrepid reporter Dan Sarf"

WAG Contact:-
Roy Goring
Goring Grange
Brockhampton Road
Havant
PO9 1NT
(Do you have to put England?)
Tel & Fax:- 01705-611847
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
New Atari Mag (A letter from Mike
Kerslake)

Dear all Atari-users

I am starting to canvass support for a new printed Atari magazine.

Firstly, my idea of doing another printed Atari magazine came about
because of the failed rescue attempts regarding Atari World, plus the
decline in ST Format, along with the failure of ST Applications to try
and fill the gap (something which has amazed and depressed me!). I
also heard that certain people who were interested in doing another
magazine have decided not to. The only other English-language Atari
magazines originate from North America, and due to the high postal
costs, are very expensive.

Considering that the Atari is still having shareware and commercial
products released for it, there must still be some sort of market for
a decent magazine, although admittedly this market is small, and will
get smaller as time goes on.

Anyway, I am prepared to put up some money, plus some time to try and
get a magazine off the ground. But, I need help, both editorially, and
financially. I have contacted a couple of the well-known Atari faces,
and there was some interest shown by them, but I really need some more
offers of help before they will really commit themselves.

To give an idea of what amounts of money are involved, here's a few
figures:

To print 500 copies (initially) of a 60 page A4 magazine, with a
glossy cover, would cost in the region of GBP 2.00 per copy, to
distribute this by post would cost approx another 50p per copy.
Therefore, to break even, each copy would have to have a cover price
of GBP 2.50. If the circulation figure went up, then there would be a
slight reduction in per unit cost. Obviously the hope would be that we
could attract some paid advertising which would help balance the
books.

Now the question is how many people would be prepared to buy this
magazine at GBP 2.50?  There's no margin for error in our costings, so
basically we would need to sell all 500 copies to break even. That's
the stumbling block really, and putting up the cover price would
probably deter many potential readers.

Getting the money together for the first issue is also a major
problem. I'm prepared to put up some seed money, but I'm looking for 5
or 6 other partners prepared to put up a similar amount, and who must
be prepared to lose at least some of this money, if things didn't work
out. Hopefully any loss would be minor, but this seed money would
probably not be paid back for quite some time. Therefore it's a
gamble, and not for the fainthearted!

There is no intention of running this magazine as a profit-making
machine, as that is not really possible, all we can hope and strive
for is to cover our costs and have sufficient in the kitty to produce
future issues.

What is absolutely vital is that anyone at all interested in Atari
computers would buy a copy, otherwise it simply will not survive. The
cover price would remain as low as is possible, and the quantity of
editorial to advertising would remain extremely high. You wouldn't
feel as though you had really just bought a mag full of plugs for
other titles, as is the case with one well-known ST magazine!

In conclusion, although I have probably sounded a bit negative, that
is only to make any potential investors aware of the risks involved,
but by spreading the risk, then at least any loss would be small. But
on the positive side, there is a very loyal Atari-using bunch of
people who would be prepared to buy such a magazine, and I personally
think, given a bit of time and effort, a new decent Atari magazine
could certainly exist for some time yet.

If anyone wants to talk seriously with me about the magazine, then
please do feel free to email me at: [e-mail] or write
to me at 42 Larch Hill, Handsworth, Sheffield, S9 4AJ. I am
contactable by phone/fax on 0114 261 8940, but PLEASE call within
office hours Monday - Saturday.

Any ideas for the editorial side of things are also very welcome,
after all, I'm not being cynical when I say it is your magazine!

An indication of how many people would be prepared to buy the magazine
would also be very helpful, so even if you can't offer financial or
editorial help, then please just let me know if you would buy a copy
at GBP 2.50.

I guess that is all for now, and I await with great interest, any
comments or suggestions!

All The Best, Mike Kerslake


The Perfect TOS Set-up ?

The 'minimum standard' TOS set-up consists of a computer (obviously),
a floppy disk drive (usually built-in) and a TV for display. This is
by no means ideal but, due to the design of TOS based computers, is
extremely workable.

Taking into account your personal budget, you should aim for a few
additions and improvements to your set-up. There are three components
of your system that you should consider the main parts and give
priority to when it comes to upgrade time.  These are: your display;
your disk drive(s) and your printer.

Depending on what you use your machine for you will want to attain a
degree of professionalism in some parts of your system while 'making
do' in others.

Let's begin with the display, for the moment assuming you use only the
three basic ST resolutions.

To begin with many people use a TV for display and indeed many still
do.  If you use you computer mainly for games or other leisure
graphics based applications then a TV is all you will probably need.
Using a dedicated computer monitor will give a better display but may
be an unnecessary expense in your case.  If you use mainly games but
often find yourself using text based applications such as word
processors or databases also, then you may consider a medium
resolution monitor that can display both of the STs colour modes.

If you mainly use business applications like word processors,
databases or DTP packages then you should certainly consider
purchasing a high resolution monitor.  The display of a TV is not very
sharp for text and can lead to a certain amount of strain on the eyes.
 A medium resolution monitor will give a sharper image but will not
allow access to the full 640 by 400 pixel display of high resolution.
The two drawbacks of using a dedicated high resolution monitor are the
lack of colour and the inability to display low/med resolution.  It
isn't a great deal of hassle though to use a TV for the occasional
game but a high resolution. monitor for serious work.

If you want to use every ST resolution there are three options: The
cheapest and also least effective option is to use a colour display
(tv or monitor) and a monochrome emulator for 'monochrome only'
programs.  The problem is of course you still do not have the clarity
of a true hi-resolution monochrome display as the fake hi-resolution
display is usually rather fuzzy. Some monochrome emulators use a
scrolling screen to show all of the information on two medium
resolution screens one atop the other.  There are also colour mode
emulators for the monochrome monitors but these are very often
incompatible and  don't show actual colour.

The most obvious option is to have two monitors - one for low and
medium resolutions and one for high resolution.  The drawbacks here
are of course the cost of buying two monitors instead of one and also
having to swap monitors around.  A monitor switch-box can be used to
make life a little easier by allowing both monitors to be connected at
once.

The third option is to buy a monitor that is capable of displaying all
three resolutions - a multisync monitor. These monitors are more
expensive, you can expect to pay three times the cost of a high
resolution monitor, but they offer great versatility of display modes
and only take up one spot on your desk.  A multisync is also more
future-proof as you can take full advantage of TT, Falcon and graphics
card modes without having to upgrade your monitor too.

Next time I'll move on to disk drives and other storage media.

Paul Walsh

GEM Trek by Jürgen and Uwe Holtkamp

A freeware game that runs on all TOS (and compatible) systems in
ST-High and above.

As the authors themselves admit - this is not a very original game
idea.  Basically it's battleships with graphics and sound that make
you think of a well known science-fiction series from the USA.  That
said, it is a very good implementation of the classic and is worth
having in your collection.

The game is lovingly encased in an excellent GEM interface with neat
graphics and cool digitised sounds.

When a 'hit' is scored there is the sound of a klaxon as well as
'explosions' and other effects.  The graphics are of high quality -
drawings of the starships from Trek.  The game play flows well with
the only interruption being an alert box when an entire ship is
destroyed, perhaps a visual signal on the board would be less
obtrusive?

The game is played in a window with it's own menu bar (for use under a
multi-tasking system or as a desk accessory - yes it runs as a DA
too!) but installs a standard menu if it is started as an application.

The game is played in the main window with the two players' boards
side by side, one for the computer and one for you.  A two player
option might have been nice but it is no great loss that there isn't
one.  When starting a new game the ships are placed on the board by
choosing from another window, shift-click-hold is used to rotate and
choose - I think this may be a little cumbersome if you don't have a
click & hold button on your mouse or trackball but as I can't think of
a better way to do it, I'll just shut up!

Overall, a very good GEM implementation of a classic game.  Apart from
the few minor niggles I have mentioned it's a game worth getting -
don't forget - if you like it you can show your appreciation to the
author via the InterActive software support scheme (Joe Connor's
stable - I mean his scheme - I'm not a psychiatrist :-).

GEM Trek is Freeware, donations are accepted and this is supported in
the UK by InterActive.

Paul Walsh

RELEASE OF "BIRD OF PREY" CD ROM  (Picked up from online)

It takes real Falcon enthusiasts to create a Falcon-only CD, and no
doubt about it, Matt Norcross and Scott McConnell are the ultimate
Falcon enthusiasts. They use every aspect of the Falcon, from its MIDI
and digital recording capabilities using Cubase Audio to its graphics
and animation features using Apex Media. These two are uniquely
qualified to give you a complete and comprehensive collection, and
this is exactly what they have done in "Bird of Prey," their first
CD-ROM for the Falcon030.

Matt and Scott, who front the band "Any Questions?" and are owners of
the industrial-music oriented Floating Fish Studios (which, in
character as Ttam Troll and MC2P4, they will proudly tell you stands
in the shadow of Three Mile Island's cooling towers), have spent the
last six months collecting, collating, and sorting Falcon software
from diverse sources. And being observant of what has already been
done in terms of Falcon-only CD's (All Things Falcon, Transmission),
they felt it was particularly important to put together a disc that
was up to date, avoided duplication of others' efforts, and was
application-heavy and light on filler, like graphics files and MOD's.

Files come from diverse sources, but particularly from GEnie, their
own BBS, and other files they have hand collected from sources around
the world. They didn't see any point in creating yet another disc that
includes a copy of the Umich/Merit Falcon archive, so files from this
source have been kept to a minimum.

Again, the focus was really to provide a wide variety of files (some
of which are very hard to find) that can help someone really get to
know and use their Falcon030 to its fullest -- much the way Matt and
Scott have tried to do themselves.

This limited-edition disc includes professionally produced full-color
printing (in jewel case) and a two color silkscreen. At just $29.95,
it's truly the best disc for getting the most out of your Falcon030.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

From the liner tray of "Bird of Prey":

This CD ROM contains what we at Floating Fish Studios consider to be
the very best public domain and shareware software available for the
Atari (and C-LAB) Falcon030 today.  You have at your fingertips, "the
ultimate Falcon collection!"  These files have been collected from
around the world and are now assembled, for you, on this one CD ROM.
In addition, you will find pictures, films, and information regarding
Floating Fish Studios and the band "Any Questions?".  We hope the
software and examples on this disc will be helpful in the exploration
of your Falcon030 and your own creativity.


"The Floating Fish Studios 'Bird of Prey' CD ROM is the ultimate
Falcon collection.

This disc is filled with software that no Falcon user should be
without. Over 649MB of pure excitement waiting to be unleashed!  Over
21,000 files!"

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Triple Yahoo by Stuart Denman

A shareware dice game for all TOS (and compatible) systems

Triple Yahoo is based on the dice game, Triple Yahtzee a variation on
the popular original. Those of you who enjoy the original version or
poker dice (which the commercial dice game is based on) will no doubt
feel at home with this excellent GEM implementation.

For the uninitiated here is how the basic game works: you are given 5
dice, you roll the dice up to three times, retaining those dice that
help towards a scoring combination similar to draw poker.  Most of the
combinations are based on poker with combinations such as straights or
full houses.  The scorecard is divided into two sections: the upper
section for all multiples of each number (all ones/all twos etc.) and
the lower section where the more elaborate combinations like the
straights or full houses are noted.  Each column of scores is
totalled, one for the top section and one for the bottom - if you
score over a certain amount in the top section an additional bonus is
awarded.  The two scores are added to produce a grand total.  If you
are playing with other players then the aim is to be the highest
scorer over a number of rounds, the game is equally enjoyable when
played solo, aiming for a high score.  In Triple Yahoo there is,
unfortunately, no option for competition play but there is a high
score table so it is easy to keep track of the best scorers and the
triple version of the game takes about as long as three rounds of the
original anyway.

In the Triple version, the game is varied further by playing over
three score boards, the second and third having a multiplier to the
final score.  Each point on board two is doubled for the final tally
and tripled for board three.  This leads to a need for great tactical
play and as the author says there is a lot more to the game than just
the luck of the dice!

The presentation of the game is excellent.  The dice, scoreboards and
high score table are each shown in separate windows and some clever
programming prevents you from having to select a window before
clicking in it.  The game should run on any TOS system including
graphics cards and 030 machines.  If your machine is DMA sound capable
(STe upwards) then you get some very amusing sampled sound effects to
accompany your game, including comments when you get either a very
good or very bad score. My favourite is the 'Dragnet - Dah dah dum
dum' noise when you score a zero. (Which, of course, I never hear!)
The graphics are reasonable as far as they go with varying levels of
animation for the dice. The program is fully aware of newer AES's
which means that you get 3D objects if your system (AES 4+/GENEVA
etc.) can cope.

This kind of GEM based game has a real future in the TOS world and
more software authors should take note of the positive aspects of this
approach.

Triple Yahoo originates from the USA and is shareware supported in the
UK by CyberSTrider.

Paul Walsh


SOFTWARE PIRACY

The WeST of Scotland Atari User Group does not condone software piracy
and will not allow the group meetings be used to copy commercial
software.

1996 MEETINGS

All meetings will take place within the upstairs lounge of The Railway
Inn, Main Street, Howwood. The doors will be open from 7pm . The
formal opening of each meeting will take place at 7:30pm. The proposed
dates for the meetings to be held in 1996 are as follows.

All dates are provisional at the moment and will depend on both the
response to the groups as a whole, and the suitability of the Railway
Inn.

1996    MEETINGS

6  AUGUST
3  SEPTEMBER - AGM
1  OCTOBER
29 OCTOBER
26 NOVEMBER
24 DECEMBER - NO MEETING

Next Month............

The full agenda for the WSAUG AGM and any replies or queries about the
proposals that have been added on to the end of this newsletter. Also
further news about the closure of STF.

The last 2 pages of this newsletter are devoted to the proposals for
the "merger" of the various Scottish Groups. If this proposal is
accepted it will at one stroke nearly double the readership, and thus
the possible contributors, of the newsletter.

ATARI Shows.
We are seriously looking at running a mini-bus down to the 2 Atari
Shows. The hire of the minibus would probably be free, although we
would be responsible for fuel. Probably 2 nights B&B would be
involved. If you are SERIOUSLY interested get in touch with either
Sandy or me ASAP. seating will be at a premium, and several have been
taken up already. Basically if there are 12 seat, the 1st 12 to
respond will get them.


CREDITS
This Newsletter was prepared using Papyrus Gold with N.V.D.I.4  and
printed at 300 dpi on a Hewlett Packard Deskjet 500C. Thereafter
photocopied by the Erskine Hospital Printing Department  (Tel No. 0141
812 1100)

Editor: Al Goold
15 July 1996
(© WSAUG, 1996)


STAG
Scotland's TOS/Atari Group

For some time I have been concerned with the sudden explosion of user
groups and the apparent dilution and duplication of effort in their
operation, particularly given the geographical proximity of the
existing groups within Scotland. In that context I believe there is a
strong argument for a national Scottish Atari group.

I propose this would take the form of an "umbrella" organisation and
would collate all memberships under a single heading and subscription.
The group would be affiliated to the UKAAUG and would be known as STAG
(Scotland's TOS/Atari Group). STAG's members would be made up,
initially, of the component parts of WSAUG, the Central Scotland Atari
User Group (CSAUG), the TOS Users' Group (TUG) and the Atari User
Group of Scotland (AUGS). In addition we will actively seek new
members - the combined membership of the existing groups is currently
around 100.

I have already spoken to the organisers of all the above mentioned
groups, who agree in principle to the proposal. Each area could retain
a local group and, for example, the 4-weekly meetings that WSAUG have
at the moment would be continued under the heading STAG(WeST).
However, other meetings could be established by more distant members
as the group hopefully expands. There are already moves to have
STAG(EaST) meetings arranged on the opposite fortnight to STAG(WeST).

The main difference to the situation we have now would be a centrally
produced and funded newsletter, with a single subscription for all
members. I would see each group existing in its own right, making use
of a central resource for information & advice, the newsletter and
other services.  I also expect smaller groups could form, in the likes
of Inverness and Aberdeen and further afield, that take the newsletter
as a way of keeping themselves up to date with general news and
utilising the resources of the greater group - also, offering articles
or reviews back to the newsletter and making themselves known outside
their local area.  Isolated individuals could even subscribe without
feeling that they were a distant part of a far away organisation like
WSAUG - I feel that the name 'WeST of Scotland Atari User Group' has
inhibited some potential members from joining because of the
geographical implications. The new group would allow people from all
over Scotland, as well as elswhere in the country, to participate.

The proposed steering committee of STAG would form along these lines:

Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Newsletter Editor, Junior
Representative, Web-master, and representatives from STAG West, STAG
East, STAG Central, and STAG Northern.

It would be possible for one person to hold 2 posts on the committee,
but that person would only have one vote. Any posts not filled at the
AGM could be filled by a committee vote at a later stage should it
become necessary. Any other posts that were deemed appropriate could
also be established later.

I have taken soundings from various interested parties, all of whom
have been supportive of the proposal. I have various realistic ideas,
in addition to subscriptions, for helping to finance the newsletter
which would remain in the same basic format as the WSAUG one, and
would be 10/12 pages long every 4 weeks. It would have an extended
Classified Ads section due to the links with Fraser Blacklaws and
AUGS. The biggest difference to the present WSAUG newsletter would be
a different cover and perhaps articles from more diverse sources. I
have no intention or desire to launch a disk magazine to attempt to
rival Atariphile. I would, in fact, hope that STAG will maintain and
strengthen it's existing links with 42BBS/FFF, the Wessex Atari Group
(WAG) and UKAAUG.

We should also seek ways in which to promote STAG and bring it to the
widest possible audience both in Scotland and elsewhere. My intention
is to open a STAG topic within the existing atari.user.gps conference
on CiX, and Colin Fisher-McAllum has said he will continue to support
Scottish User groups via 42BBS with both message and file areas. The
WSAUG WWW page will be updated to reflect the change to STAG and may
be used to advertise various Atari related companies. I feel that the
various on-line activities outlined here, along with the paper based
newsletter is the best way to keep us all in contact with each other.

An adult or family (ie an adult and any number of under-18's)
membership subscription would be £14 per annum under-18 members who
have no adult member in their family would pay £7 per annum.

Alasdair Goold
Chairman - WSAUG
16th July 1996
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



NAME:

Member No:


I would urge you to complete the attached form and return it to me as
soon as possible. Use the form as a guide only, feel free to bring up
any relevant points you wish. If you feel that you could play an
active part in the group via the committee or in any other way, let me
know. The postal votes for the committee will be organised via the
next newsletter. There will be only 1 vote per subscription. ie family
subscriptions attain 1 vote as do under 18 members. If any under 18
member of such a family wished an independent vote they would have to
subscribe as an unattached under 18 member. Honorary members do not
have a vote.



I agree/disagree with the formation of STAG as outlined (Give reasons
if you disagree)









I agree/disagree with the choice of the name STAG (Give another option
if you disagree)









I agree/disagree with the subscription rates as outlined in respect of
the newsletter (Give reasons if you disagree)









I would/would not like to be more involved in the organisation of STAG
(Describe what you would like to do ie Committee, write articles etc)









Any other ideas you have regarding the formation of STAG











I agree to pay my subscription of £14/£7 for Family/Junior membership
of STAG

Signed

(parent/guardian if under 18)