QMUG/LA’s FAQs!

Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about QMUG/LA. 

Questions: 

 1. What is a Macintosh user group?
 2. What is QMUG/LA?
 3. What do you do?
 4. Why a “gay” Macintosh group?
 5. Do I have to be Lesbian, Gay or Bisexual to attend?
      Do I have to be a Mac user to attend?
 6. When and where do you meet?
 7. What can I expect?
 8. How much does it cost?
 9. How do I contact you?
10. How do I get involved? 

 

Answers: 

> 1. What is a Macintosh user group? 

Macintosh user groups are groups of people who already own or use a Macintosh, oftentimes more than one, and who love their Mac(s) so much they have formed a group to help other people with theirs.  They usually have a meeting once a month w/ a scheduled topic or presentation, time for questions and answers, and maybe even a raffle at the end.  User groups are great places to learn more about what you can do w/ your Mac, so get involved, get connected — get smart! 

 

> 2. What is QMUG/LA? 

QMUG/LA is “the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Macintosh User’s Group for all of Los Angeles,” now the only active officially Apple-registered and recognized gay Macintosh user group in the world, that has been having fun and helping people since June 1994.  (And as a point of information, while the word “Queer” certainly begins with the letter “Q,” it isn’t what the “Q” in QMUG/LA stands for;  the “Q” in QMUG/LA is short and sweet for “Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual.”) 

QMUG/LA exists to allow Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Mac users in L.A. to: 

1. Get together and have some fun 

2. Stay up-to-date w/ what’s happening in the Mac world and in the L.A. area 

3. Meet people we might not otherwise get to meet 

4. Help each other get answers to questions about our Macs 

5. Learn something we might not otherwise get to know 

6. Encourage each other to use our Macs creatively, and to provide a forum for us to show off what we’ve done,  and most importantly, to 

7. Get together and have some fun 

 

> 3. What do you do? 

QMUG/LA hosts one general meeting every month.  QMUG/LA also encourages its members to attend Macworld Expo/SF every January. 

 

> 4. Why a “gay” Macintosh group? 

This is a legitimate question, and actually very easy to answer:  because we wanted one, we wanted to have one, we wanted to be one — we exist because we want to. 

 

> 5. Do I have to be Lesbian, Gay or Bisexual to attend?
>       Do I have to be a Mac user to attend? 

Certainly not!  Just as Macintoshes are very friendly to non-Mac identified people, floppy disks, files, printers, displays, etc., we at QMUG/LA are very friendly to non-gay and non-Mac identified people. 

 

> 6. When and where do you meet? 

QMUG/LA meets the second Monday of each month at 7pm.  As of January 2004, we do not have a regular meeting space, so if you have any ideas, let us know! 

 

> 7. What can I expect? 

You can expect ~25 friendly people, a generally informative handout, and a fairly organized meeting.  We’re a “small” group that encourages you to ask your specific questions. 

 7:00pm  Welcome! and Announcements — to find out what’s going on and coming up.
~7:05pm  Introductions — to find out who’s here and what we do w/ our Macs.
~7:35pm  Technical Q&A — to get answers, or at least pointed in the right direction.
~7:45pm  Presentation — to find out something new about our Macs.
~8:45pm  Close & Clean-up — to put away chairs, turn off lights, etc. 

 

> 8. How much does it cost? 

Nothing.  Nada.  Not one red cent.  In all of QMUG/LA’s years so far, we have not had to charge any kind of membership dues or fees.  QMUG/LA does have some recurring expenses — QMUGLA@aol.com, and www.qmug.org registration and hosting — but these are covered by tickets sales at our awesome anniversary raffle.  So how does *that* sound? 

 

> 9. How do I contact you? 

You can contact QMUG/LA in a number of ways. 

www ...: http://www.qmug.org e-mail.: QMUGLA@aol.com fax ...: (323) 860-7346 phone .: (323) 860-8842 US mail: QMUG/LA          1125 N McCadden          Los Angeles, CA  90038	(duh, as if you weren’t  here already! <hehehe>) (you can continue to  send us mail here)
vCard .:	(for your Address Book)

 

>10. How do I get involved? 

Get involved by attending our general meetings regularly, identifying a future QORE member position, project or task that really interests you, and then volunteering yourself!  Let’s make QMUG/LA even better!