1. 2011 Board Statement

I have been an HCoop member since its inception. I am not a heavy user of its services. I have kept tabs on the sysadmin list and I have attended most IRC-based board meetings. See the bio below this section for my current commitments.

Here are key things that I would like to see changed/improved at HCoop:

• Member recruitment needs to be active rather than passive. But a balance must be had to prevent melt-down of current systems. A good goal, one year from now, is 150 members from our current ~100. There are many power users out there and they should be targeted; e.g., at universities and other tech hubs.
• Infrastructure improvements may be needed to recruit those that cannot use a shell; improvements should be explored
• Current systems must be kept up to date; security breaches are not acceptable!
• I advocate stricter security controls (e.g., firewalls where there may not be any) but I realize these can cause more problems than benefits
• Prevent new hardware, bought with co-op member funds, from waiting too long for completed setup. This is difficult since we have only volunteer admins. They do a terrific job, but there are limits to what can be done in a timely fashion without proper compensation. I do endorse the idea of a payed administrator, perhaps on a limited contract for large projects. However, our user-base must increase to support competitive payment of highly skilled labor. There are likely logistical and legal requirements that may make this difficult.

2. Bio

After spending time studying at Butte Community College, near Chico, CA, I transferred to UC Davis.

I am a geology major but I have a heavy interest in GIS. I have one more quarter left at UC Davis. I will be in the field during a handful of weekends. I'm graduating in June, 2011.

In addition to editing and creating some content on this wiki, I have been one of the primary creators of Chico Wiki.

Personal Website: http://www.distortions.net Personal Blog: http://geo.distortions.net