= Unique + Special

QMUG/LA is unique and special because...

We are:  1. The only gay Mac group  2. 1 of only 2 gay PC groups  3. The only “QMUG”

And we have:  4. Awesome officers  5. Awesome presenters  6. Awesome members

7. Awesome meetings  8. Awesome intersection  9. Awesome involvement, + an 10. Awesome website

1 - 5

1. The only gay Mac group  QMUG/LA is the only active, officially Apple-registered and recognized gay Macintosh user group in the world.  GLAMOUR, the Gay & Lesbian Apple Macintosh Owner/User Resource in Toronto, Canada, is no longer active.  GMUG, the Gay Macintosh Users Group in San Francisco had its first meeting in 1988 and, 13 years later, its last in 2001.  HOMO, the Honorable Order of Macintosh Operators, only exists in comics, apparently.  Planet MUG’s LGB SIG (formerly the Berkeley MUG’s LGB SIG) only meets in an online conference.     2. 1 of only 2 gay PC groups  QMUG/LA is one of only two gay computer user groups active in the world today.  Apple Lambda, Apple’s gay and lesbian employee organization, is not open to the general public.  Digital Queers sprang forth in 1992, then ebbed into GLAAD, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, in 1999.  GLITCH, the Gay & Lesbian Information Technologists of Washington DC, began in 1999 and has met regularly since.  High Tech Gays opened its doors in 1984 and then, 13 years later, closed them in 1997.  (up to 3)

3. The only “QMUG”  QMUG/LA is the only “QMUG” in the world, compared to 23 SMUGs, 13 CMUGs, 11 TMUGs, 11 AMUGs, etc.  SMUG could be Savannah, Sequoia, Sierra, Somerton, Spartanburg, Stanford, Sumter, Syracuse, etc.  CMUG could be Caracas, Christian, Citrus, Coastal, Columbia, Corning, Corvallis, Cowtown, etc.  QMUG, the Queensland Macromedia User Group in Australia, is no longer active.  QMUGS, the Quinte Macintosh Users Group Society in Ontario, Canada, recently formed in 2001.     4. Awesome officers  13 awesome officers have volunteered their time and broad and diverse talents over the years, from such companies as the Apple Presales Center, Ceiva, Disney, Earthlink, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Kinko’s, and many others.     5. Awesome presenters  45 awesome presenters have shared their knowledge w/ QMUG/LA members so far, from such companies as the Apple User Group Program, Dr. Rawstock, GayRaver, MacTherapist.com, Samy’s Camera, Tech-Pal, and many others, and many have enjoyed presenting for us so much they have come back to do so again and again.

6 - 10

6. Awesome members  Over 240 awesome members attend QMUG/LA meetings off and on, who are actors, graphic designers, landscape architects, musicians, photographers, rock climbers, SCUBA divers, teachers, webmasters, and more. 20-25 show up at any given monthly meeting.    7. Awesome meetings  120 awesome meetings have covered such topics as Absolutely Fabulous Gay Software, Be Your Own Mac-chanic, Cruising w/ Your Mac, Digital Cameras, Gay MacJeopardy, How to Buy a Mac, Job-Hunting w/ Your Mac, Protecting Your Privacy, Speech Technology, Web Authoring, and many others, and many w/ awesome handouts.     8. Awesome intersection  QMUG/LA has and is the awesome intersection of three communities — the lesbian, gay and bisexual communities, the Mac world, and the entire Los Angeles area — communities we can draw from, showcase, connect and ultimately benefit.     9. Awesome involvement  QMUG/LA has awesome MUG community involvement. In the past two years, QMUG has organized two L.A. area MUG events, and for them created and then updated a Map and Calendar of the MUGs and their meetings.  Aug 2002, the L.A. area MUG Leaders Forum at the 3rd & Fairfax Farmers Market brought together 40 leaders from 20 groups to meet the Apple User Group Program Manager who came down from Cupertino.  Jan 2003, the L.A. area MUG Booth at Macworld Expo/San Francisco brought together nine leaders from seven groups to staff four shifts for a day. And  Jan 2004, “Plan Your Meeting Topics Up to a Year in Advance” at User Group University in San Francisco helped over 60 Mac user group leaders from all over the country do just that.  (up to 10)

10. Awesome website  QMUG/LA has an awesome website w/ a consistent Mac OS X interface — menubar, Dock, listviews, etc. — and our contact info at the bottom of each page, and is organized into ten sections:  About this website... lists our website’s FAQs, revision history, and hit stats summaries (annually, quarterly, monthly, and weekly) which include browser and platform breakdowns.  Every week, our site for our 200+ members has 150+ hits to its main page, 600+ hits to the entire site, and sends out over 10 MB of text and images. And in  Jan 2000, our site received honors from the User Group Academy.  Welcome! displays when, what and where our next meeting will be, and lists and links to current special offers and upcoming events of interest.  FAQs answers the top ten Frequently Asked Questions about QMUG/LA.  Qalendar lists our current year’s schedule of meeting dates, topics and presenters; links to all of our archived main pages; and logs our organizational milestones.  Quarry lists and links to our top ten Mac OS X sites and software.  Qonnections lists and links to the ten MUGs closest to downtown L.A.  QORE lists our current, past and future officers and their responsibilities.  Qudos lists the recipients of our annual Certificates of Appreciation. And  Documents contains our archives of over 72 handouts from past meetings, like our Current Macs matrix, Holiday Gift Guide, Macworld Expo Reviews, Pledge of Allegiance (to the Mac), our “Think Different” Tribute, and many more.     *  Awesome reasons  All of these awesome reasons make QMUG/LA unique and special, especially when compared to other gay, Mac or L.A. groups and their websites (unique and special in their own ways).