Chris, The front page mentions git repositories. But I have many repositories which relate to low vision and Linux, especially the Raspberry Pi. It would be silly for code to exist in two or more places. So will I be able to highlight my github repos on the list/site? I currently have repos for: * General tts projects * Ansible Raspberry Pi config * Raspberry Pi Arch image creation * Raspberry Pi image file creation and manipulation Great idea, especially to encourage funding and development for *nix other than Linux. Glenn, it would be possible to build yasr and other Open Source screen readers that use the tty to provide console speech on other flavours of *nix. Mike On 19/02/2021 20:40, Chris Brannon wrote: > Hi folks, > This is a vision I've had for many years, and now I'm slowly starting to > realize it. More information is at https://blvuug.org but I will paste > the markdown source for the homepage inline. It is readable plaintext > and I don't have to repeat myself. > > I'm sorry if anyone is annoyed by the self-promotion, but I suspect most > people on this list might be interested. Please feel free to spread > this around. > > # Blind and Low-Vision Unix Users Group > > Welcome to BLVUUG, the Blind and Low-Vision Unix Users Group. > We are a not-for-profit association of people working to improve and promote > greater accessibility of free Unix operating systems for the visually disabled. > The group is founded on the principles of mutual aid and cooperating to advance the > social good. There isn't much here yet. The rest of the page is an > informal charter. If all of this sounds exciting to you, please subscribe > to the mailing list: [discuss+subscribe@xxxxxxxxxx](mailto:discuss+subscribe@xxxxxxxxxx). > > ## Abstract Goals > > * To promote communication among blind and low vision Unix users and to connect them with potential sighted allies. > * To foster collaboration among people working on Unix-based adaptive technology for people with visual disabilities. > * Eventually, to serve as a vehicle for funding development of said technologies. > * To enable community members to promote products or services generally useful to the blind Unix community. > > ## Concrete Goals > > We'll be adding a code forge (a la github and other code hosting sites) > to be a home for accessibility related projects. We promise that it will > be something that is usable from a text mode web browser and with command-line > tools. In other words, it will be aggressively interoperable and fluff-free. > > We will also add a forum for communication among the community. Again, > the promise of aggressive interoperability is made for the forum. It > should be usable from email, web, and hopefully NNTP. > > We will have a "classified ads" section on the site or as part of the forum. Out of principle, > we will *never* accept paid advertising. The purpose of the classifieds > is to connect and enable, rather than foster mindless consumerism or > profiteering. > > ## Legalese > > In the US state of Oregon, where BLVUUG's founder resides, this group > is considered a "not for profit association" under Oregon law. Here's a little blurb cribbed from > [Nonprofit Association of Oregon](https://nonprofitoregon.org/helpline_resources/tools_information/faqs/starting_a_nonprofit), > discussing what this means and comparing nonprofit associations and nonprofit corporations. > >> Oregon nonprofits can be either unincorporated associations or corporations. >> If you do not file Articles of Incorporation with the Secretary of State, >> your organization will be an unincorporated association by default. >> An unincorporated association is defined as a group of people who come together >> for some purpose other than to do business, such as book clubs, >> small hobby groups, etc. >> >> The positive aspects of associations are: >> >> * There are no registration or reporting requirements to the Oregon Secretary of State or DOJ >> * There is greater flexibility in how the organization is run >> * Change in membership doesn’t impact the existence of the organization >> >> The negative aspects of associations are: >> >> * There is no protection for the members. Everyone involved is equally and personally liable for the debts and lawsuits >> * It is not possible to open a bank account because the association cannot obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN). Anyone in the association can open a personal bank account on behalf of the association, but this can blur the line between personal and association assets >> >> Unincorporated associations are often most appropriate for groups with smaller >> budgets. They are a poor choice if your organization will be engaging in any >> activities with potential financial risk or that might result in physical or >> emotional injuries. Corporations, on the other hand, >> provide a much higher degree of legal protection for the individuals involved. >> They are also subject to more reporting requirements and to ORS 65. >> The legal liability protection is often enough reason to choose this structure. > > At some point, especially if we start connecting projects with funding, it > might be advisable to incorporate. That's a problem for another day. > -- Michael A. Ray Analyst/Programmer Witley, Surrey, South-east UK "Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." -- A. de Saint-Exupery https://cromarty.github.io/ http://eyesfreelinux.ninja/ http://www.raspberryvi.org/
