There has been some discussion recently about changing the name of the local Mac Users’ Group.
According to the history page, the name was changed in order to enable the group to qualify for tax exempt status. I was not actively involved with the group at the time (serving as ambassador, newsletter editor, DTP Sig leader, Midi Sig co-leader, and Educational Sig founder and leader had left me with a case of burn out), however, talk at the Lunch Sig (a girl’s gotta eat) associated the name change with the misappropriation of group funds. MUGOO didn’t “die” it was killed and these members were angry. They felt as if their group had been stolen out from under them.
Though years have passed and some of these loyal Mac users have joined FLMUG or at least attended some meetings, time has not healed all wounds. Stanch Lunch Sig members are quick to tell visitors that the Lunch Sig is a MUGOO meeting, and still bristle at the mention of FLMUG.
So what’s a user group to do? Should we tell these wounded members to “go buy a PC”, or should we consider extending an olive branch? Why not bring MUGOO back to life? Since the group is no longer tax exempt, there’s no legal need to keep FLMUG. Sure we’d have to print new business cards, but what’s a few bucks compared to unifying the user group? And since the group is looking into domain names and other marketing ideas, wouldn’t it be a good idea to decide now so we don’t have to pay for things twice?
Besides the name MUGOO has some advantages. First of all, it tells everyone where we are—Macintosh Users’ Group of Orlando. FLMUG…well we know it’s in Florida, could be any where from Key West to Two Egg. Secondly, MUGOO is easy to say. It flows off the tongue as opposed to flmug (kind of sounds like phlegm) or F L Mug. Nobody seems quite sure of the correct pronunciation.
But one thing we can all agree on is the Mac is BEST computer ever. We love our Macs and wouldn’t want to use anything else. We all know what PC stands for. So let’s treat our members and former member like the Macs we love and not like PCs.
If it will help bring more members, change it. As long as we update all current users and communicate it out via all the channels available such as this website, Meetup and anything else, it sounds like a good idea to me.
Some bits to think about:
We would probably have to do some amount of paperwork with the State to change our registration. I don’t know what that involves or if it requires a fee.
Both MUGOO.org and MUGOO.com have been registered by other people in other places. Mugoo.com is in use by the Macintosh Users Group of Ottawa (Canada) and Mugoo.org is in use by person in Colorado who is using it for a WordPress powered blog. The last entry is late 2009, so perhaps they’ve lost interest and can be talked out of it or bought out. Both are hosted on GoDaddy, just like ours.