PERMANENT meeting?

[Rhyshaelkan]

To Mark and Sam:

When we say PERMANENT. Who all are we talking about? I consider myself part of PERMANENT now. And I am sure many others do too.

I was wondering if we could find a chat room somewhere. Or add one to the forum. If you register at this (http://www.animeb.com/index.php) forum. Then enter the forum, you will see an example of a chatbox within vBulletin. I am not sure what that will do in terms of bandwidth. However when it comes to that I could donate $60 right now to defer server costs for the next year.

Were we to find a chat-room or add one to this forum. We could set up a meeting time each month conducive to everyone's(or close) schedules. I would like a real-time chat with everyone that feels they have a voice in PERMANENT. So that we can discuss our game-plan. Once we have a game-plan. Then we can put it in writing. And then follow those plans to showcase it to others. Whether that might mean a couple people travel to conferences or trekkie conventions:P and pass out pamphlets.

But to have a pamphlet and business plan we need to discuss facts and achievable goals.

[Sam Fraser]

Hi Rhys,

This is a good idea. We have to get PERMANENT moving forward on several fronts. For this, we first need a game plan. Different short-term goals can be specified and achieved step-by-step. For example, while I'm recoding the website, another volunteer has already registered us as a non-profit 503(c)(3). He's also arranging a merchant account so we can accept donations online by credit card. Beyond these preliminary efforts, I think we need a forum like you suggest such as a chat room to put our heads together for the next stage. Let me get back to you about this after Mark has had a chance to mull this over (just incredibly busy the last week for us both).

[joertexas]

Hi Rhys,

This is a good idea. We have to get PERMANENT moving forward on several fronts. For this, we first need a game plan. Different short-term goals can be specified and achieved step-by-step. For example, while I'm recoding the website, another volunteer has already registered us as a non-profit 503(c)(3). He's also arranging a merchant account so we can accept donations online by credit card. Beyond these preliminary efforts, I think we need a forum like you suggest such as a chat room to put our heads together for the next stage. Let me get back to you about this after Mark has had a chance to mull this over (just incredibly busy the last week for us both).

I'm neither a rocket scientist nor a programmer, but I'm trying to put together the parameters for the mission I've posted elsewhere. In my opinion, we need a definite, hard-numbers plan to present. I know that everyone has their own opinion, and there are probably dozens of mission plans out there, but I'd like to develop this one anyway.

JR

[Mark Prado]

It's good when things move forward without me, and initiative is most appreciated.

Regarding "Projects" -- JR's mission plans -- these are of highest interest. Please note where it has been posted. This is also the kind of link we will be putting into the next version of PERMANENT.

Regarding the group chat, please don't wait for me on this, do get started! If this vBulletin will support chat, then someone please volunteer to set it up. If it doesn't support chat, then what is the solution?

If there's a scheduled time for a group chat, then I will try to watch it, but I will not be setting the time for it, especially since I'm 12 time zones opposite US Eastern Standard Time so the majority should make it convenient for yourselves, not me.

My schedule changes almost constantly and I'm working practically 7 days a week this month, long days. Indeed, I got this moment online just because of a last minute shift in my schedule, and thanks to an email from Sam with a link to this thread as a priority.

Notably, I don't do chat and have no Yahoo nor MSN nor any other kind of chat. I see it's popular with my staff who use it both professionally and personally, and it has a lot of benefits. Chat works for staff but not the CEO, at least not me. I've used it briefly at times for some projects, but generally I avoid interruptions and must use my time as efficiently as possible. My assistant screens my calls, handles a lot of my emails, helps manage my queue of priorities and ToDo items, and so forth... and I rely heavily on people forwarding to me news links and other interesting tidbits, references, analyses, etc., which can now go into the News forum.

However, I know that a lot of groups get moving forward on realtime chat.

As noted on the website, a web forum can lead to a most productive in-person conference someday. For starters, we would probably find another conference somewhere and just plan to attend, as many of us as possible, whereby we could set up a PERMANENT roundtable on the side. Before we even think about doing that, we need to develop a good picture of what we intend to accomplish, get some commitments, and raise some funds (or else we meet around a Starbucks or restaurant table or something like that).

See, for example, the Space Resources Roundtable. They postponed their normal annual event this year but instead sponsored a side session at another meeting. See here: http://www.isruinfo.com/index.php

All submissions published on their website undergo a peer review process. The majority of the Space Resources Roundtable people tend to be scientists and academics, not from a business background.

Before their first SRR meeting in 1999, they held meetings in meeting rooms in the same hotel facilities as other conferences, such as the Space Operations conference in Albuquerque in 1998 which I attended (and spoke at and was invited to a panel...). And before that, I got to know some people over considerable time ... some, going back to the 1980s.

It's nice to see on the SRR website that over time they've moved from Abstracts to full papers downloadable on-line.

The community still needs more artwork to paint the vision if we're ever going to raise much outside money. And/or CAD / 3D designers ...

Anyway, so much of this will start with website fishing hooks, a forum like this one, and emails. And maybe some chat.