At the Marseille part of the KohaCon, the consensus was to have regional user groups. I remember this specifically because I initially wanted a worldwide one as well. One argument that was made was that some companies (I think BibLibre was one?) noted that it can be easier to go after grant money, etc. if the nonprofit asking for it has been formed in the country you are going after the money in-- in other words, a US-based international nonprofit would not be as effective in going after French grants as a French nonprofit. They weren't the only ones who felt that way.
But perhaps I'm misrecollecting... Henri? Paul? Chris?
It's now 2009, KohaLA has been formed in France for more than a year
(and soon its treasurer may tell me how I can pay my membership fee
from the UK ;-) ), but we don't appear to be much closer to having
anything in the US, let alone the worldwide hub organisation.
We aren't any closer because the US companies/users had no idea that a worldwide hub organisation was wanted. One person's actions-- who was never a user to begin with-- helped to spread this incorrect notion that KUDOS was intended to be some worldwide group. The user group in the US (KUDOS) is in fact making some headway and has held several meetings-- John Brice could update the community on where things stand. If an international user group were formed now, it is probably not too late to bring KUDOS in.... (maybe?)
I remain of the belief that we need to organise internationally to
make it harder for people to divide and conquer our Koha community.
We could still maybe have regional chapters, but forming and running
KohaLA, KUDOS, KSF, TTLLP (yes, we are open to new members, but are
developer-only and not Koha-specific, so it's not automatic and we
probably have to exist anyway for other reasons) and other distinct
groups in each area is wasting our supporters' time and money in
needless administration.Theoretically, I'm not opposed to a worldwide 'hub' user group that has regional chapters. This would give the community much more control in a variety of ways and would provide a 'structure'. Perhaps it is time to discuss this anew.
I suggest that KohaLA is given money to become the internationalised
hub because it exists and can represent all sectors. However, this is
a minority view for reasons I don't fully understand.I don't know the history behind this.
Regards,
--