Minutes of Meeting - February 6, 2009

Minutes of the February 6, 2009 meeting of the Sioux Falls Seniors Computer Club:

In the absence of President Norm Knox, Vice President Bill Goebel called the meeting to order in room 204. The minutes of the January business meeting were read and approved. After the reading and approval of the previous minutes, the club members discussed the issues of privacy and the need for information about fellow club members. The secretary moved to reconsider the second motion of the December meeting which called for no general distribution within the club of information about the club members. This motion to reconsider did not receive a second. Mildred Hottman Roesch moved to have the membership list, with names and e-mail addresses only, distributed at club meetings on paper. This motion was carried on a show of hands. (Please see the question for members at the bottom of these minutes.)

Before moving to the computer classroom, the club discussed some computer questions in room 204. Mildred Hottman Roesch asked about the meaning of "webinar". Mary Myklebust, having been in one, explained it as a class with discussion among participants conducted via the Web. Sanford Hospital's Web site has a page that will accept a patient's list of medications for a medical professional to look at later. Such a list can also be prepared on paper on a PC. In the classroom, Bill Goebel introduced the free genealogical Website http://www.tribalpages.com/. Club members with experience in genealogy also mentioned other genealogical PC software and Web resources. Joran Olson reported that she was able to copy data from Family Tree Maker into http://www.tribalpages.com/ by making a GED (GEDCOM) file using the Save As command in Family Tree Maker. Cathy Walker warned that information stored at http://www.ancestry.com/ becomes their property and they can sell it. The Sioux Falls Seniors Computer Club welcomes new member Cathy Walker.

Respectfully submitted by Garth Peterson, Secretary

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Here is a question for club members.

The complete Rules and Procedures of the club are quoted with the minutes of the January meeting, but rule number 14 states: "A club member designated by the President shall maintain a list of e-mail addresses for sending announcements to Computer Club members. Any member may ask to opt out of this list if they so choose. "Do you prefer that your name and e-mail address *not* appear in the printed list that will be given to attendees at the March meeting?Please let me know if you wish to opt out of this list. If there are any members who prefer to be omitted from the printed list but do want to get e-mails of the minutes and meeting announcements, I will make a note of their preference on the membership spreadsheet. This is easy to do on a spreadsheet. Garth Peterson

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FURNISHED LATER


The Sioux Falls Seniors Computer Club will meet in room 204 on Friday, March 6, at 10 o'clock. Our speaker will be Charlotte Jaeschke, Tax Aide Coordinator for Sioux Falls for IRS and AARP. Her topic will be Income Taxes and the Computer. If you have computer questions, you can e-mail them to Bill Goebel or bring them to the meeting.

AN UNPLEASANT DISCOVERY: Last week I used Yahoo webmail to send out the minutes and to ask whether any members wanted to be left off the printed list of member names and e-mail addresses that will be distributed at the next meeting. This morning I discovered that the e-mail message went out with a useless reply address. If any members used the Reply button in e-mail to answer the message, I did not get their responses. Why Yahoo does this to us is a puzzle, but the account is free, so what can we do. For newer members, I should explain that at one time I tried to send out club notices from my own e-mail address and got rejected byMidco, which treated them as spam. If you do *not* want to be on the the list of members and e-mail addresses that will be handed out on paper at the next meeting, please let me know by e-mail, or call me to make sure I get the word.

Garth Peterson

Minutes of Meeting - January 2, 2009

Minutes of the January 2, 2008 meeting of the Sioux Falls Seniors Computer Club:

President Norm Knox called the meeting to order in room 204. The minutes of the December business meeting were read and approved. Under the heading of old business, the club took up the matter of distribution of the membership list. The President brought the following resolution to the meeting as a proposed change to the Rules and Procedures of the club.

Resolved: A current membership list containing names, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses shall be maintained by the club Secretary. A printed copy of this list will be provided by the club Secretary to any current member upon their request for such list. The membership list will not be posted on the internet by any club member.

After extensive discussion, the matter was tabled for further discussion later.

Our speaker for January 2 was Asella Crum and her topic was Introduction to Genealogy. The club moved to the computer classroomfor her talk. Our speaker began studying genealogy in 1958, after her first child was born. She wanted her children to know their family history. Asella polled the club members on their use of genealogical software. About half of those present have such software. Most use Family Tree Maker, which Asella herself has used for a number of years. Some club members do use other genealogical software, however. Taking a class in genealogy helps people with an interest in genealogy to get started right. Classes here in genealogy are based on Family Tree Maker, using manuals from SeniorNet. Family Tree Maker may be available for a discounted amount. It pays to shop for the best price. Moving data from one kind of genealogical software to another kind is a problem that can be handled by saving data in a GED file. This is a file format with the extension GED.Besides discussing genealogy, Asella pointed out that members of the Center who are interested in particular topics for computer classes should tell the front desk what classes they would like to take and when they can take them.The LDS Family History Center has a yearly seminar in October. The LDS Family History Center and the Courthouse Genealogical Library are both worthwhile places to visit. DNA testing can show relationships by identifying common male and female lines. However, it does cost money. $175 was mentioned as a possible amount.

Respectfully submitted by Garth Peterson, Secretary.

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The current rules and procedures of the club are shown below. They also appear in the attached file Rules.doc, which is better for making a printed copy.

Rules and Procedures of the Sioux Falls Seniors Computer Club

1. The name of the organization is the Sioux Falls Seniors Computer Club.

2. The purpose is to create a self-help group to expand the individual's computer knowledge.

3. An adult person shall become eligible for membership in the Club upon (a) completion of the Club's application form and (b) having attended and completed one SeniorNet computer class.

4. A regular meeting of the Club shall be held on the first Friday of each month unless the Club President orders otherwise in advance. Meetings start at 10:00 a.m.

5. The regular monthly meeting in May shall be shall known as the Annual Meeting and shall be for the purpose of electing officers and conducting other business that may arise.

6. A special meeting or workshop may be held upon the call of the President.

7. The officers of the club shall be the President, Vice President and Secretary.

8. The President shall be responsible for the overall activities ofthe Club, shall preside over all meetings and shall appoint standing committees necessary to accomplish the purposes and objectives of the Club.

9. The Vice President, in the absence of the President, shall preside over the meetings and shall carry out all such duties as the President may assign.

10. The Secretary shall have the responsibility of keeping the minutes, sending notices of meetings, and other duties generally pertaining to the office.

11. Individual members are encouraged to attend the monthly meetings and participate in discussion related to the computer-based questions of interest.

12. Members are encouraged to submit computer-related questions prior to the monthly meeting to a designated Computer Club member so they may be addressed at that meeting.

13. The Secretary shall see to the timely submittal of information about the next monthly meeting topic or agenda to the Center for Active Generations' person responsible for the CFAG monthly newsletter.

14. A club member designated by the President shall maintain a list of e-mail addresses for sending announcements to Computer Club members. Any member may ask to opt out of this list if they so choose.