WEST OF SCOTLAND ATARI USER GROUP
(Affiliated to The Association of Atari User groups)


Issue number SEVEN, August 1996

 
 The future ?

We only have one more meeting and one more newsletter before the 
September Annual General Meeting. As a result of discussions I've had 
with various people both in our group and elsewhere I have included 
with this newsletter a series of detailed, and perhaps controversial 
proposals.

Next months newsletter will have the AGM Agenda so if you have any 
other proposals you wish placed on the Agenda then please get in touch 
ASAP.

I think that this meeting will be even more important than our 
inaugural one in February and I would urge everyone to make the effort 
to attend. Of course there will be those that for geographical and 
other reasons will not be able to attend your voice and opinions still 
needs to be heard, so PLEASE get in touch with your thoughts and 
ideas.

The first 6 months

The WeST of Scotland Group has been more successful than I dared hope, 
but the rising numbers have brought there own problems. At the moment 
the Railway Inn can just about cope with the numbers attending, and 
the amount of hardware that is at the meetings. With the very wide 
spread of geographical locations that members come from it will always 
be impossible to satisfy everyone with a location. I would suggest 
that unless anyone comes up with a better  alternative, that the Group 
nights remain there at present.

Financially, the groups situation is somewhat artificial at the 
moment. We have been very lucky that several issues of the newsletter 
have been copied on a photocopier, free of charge. This is a situation 
which cannot continue and the Newsletter must be self financing from 
now on.

Due to the ever increasing circulation printing the entire newsletter 
out on a home printer is no longer feasible either.

The financial future

There is no way round the problem that something has to change in the 
way the newsletter is produced for it to remain a viable proposition 
after the September AGM. As a group we need to maximise our income and 
reduce our costs.

All the following figures are for the WSAUG as it stands now with the 
current membership. If STAG goes ahead as proposed, then there will be 
no additional costs. Each member will be contributing to the financing 
of the newsletter.

I have costed getting the newsletter photocopied at The Erskine 
Hospital Print Shop (which is the cheapest I could find) and using 
them to photocopy the WSAUG newsletter  as it now stands I will still 
be able to produce a 10 page, 4 weekly printed Newsletter, in a 
similar format to the present. To allow this the subscription rates 
will have to be raised slightly as follows.

An adult or family ( ie An adult and any number of Under 18's) 
membership subscription would be increased to 14 per annum Under 18 
members who have no adult member in their family would now pay 7 per 
annum.

This rise will have to occur whether or not STAG comes to fruition if 
the newsletter is to continue. Therefore it will be my suggestion and 
recommendation that no matter what other action we decide to take in 
light of my other proposals for the groups future that, as of 
September 1996 we alter the subscription ruling to the above format.

Having just waded through 3 columns of heavy reading I don't want you 
to think I'm in any way downbeat about the newsletter or the WSAUG or 
Atari User Groups.

The Atari User Group Community is expanding throughout the UK at an 
amazing rate. As well as the Scottish Groups that have been mentioned 
in recent Newsletters there are new Groups that we have established 
contact with in Wessex, Manchester, Yorkshire Wales and Coventry, as 
well as internationally in New Zealand and Nova Scotia. Via the 
internet we are in constant touch with most of the prominent Atari 
users throughout the world, and have access to the latest shareware as 
soon as it becomes available. So it's time to expand and provide a 
support Group for all Scotland's Atari Users as well as any Atari 
Users from outwith Scotland who wish to get involved.

Introducing


STAG
Scotland's TOS/Atari Group



Al Goold
(Chairman - WSAUG)
15 July 1996


STOP PRESS !!

ST FORMAT CLOSES

In the last couple of days word has leaked that ST Format is to close 
it's doors after the next issue (Issue 86 ?) This news is brand new 
and not yet officially confirmed, but take it from me. it's closing.

Where this leaves the ST Format sponsored shows in September, and our 
plans to run a mini-bus to them is anybodys guess. As I type this on 
the 15th July Mike Goodman who is organising the shows is still on 
holiday and doesn't know about the closure yet.

This closure makes it even more important that Newsletters like this 
keep going to keep the off line Atari community aware if what is going 
on. That and supporting any new magazine that may appear (see Mike 
Kerslake's Letter in this issue.


Stationary
The WSAUG now has an account with a mail order Stationary supplier who 
can supply things like paper, printer ribbons and inkjet cartridges at 
excellent prices. All orders over 30 are delivered free. So if you 
think you'll need a ribbon or a cartridge or anything else in the 
stationary line give me a call. The intention would be to add a very 
small surcharge to each order that would go straight into the groups 
funds.An example is an HP500 Black cartridge at 18.50(appx) That is a 
saving of several pounds on most places, and would put 1 into club 
funds. They also have an excellent but limited offer on white A4 paper 
at the moment, so get in touch quickly.

IN THIS MONTHS ISSUE....

Financial report
There was going to be a preliminary financial report in this months 
issue to back up the editorial position. However due to the urgent 
news about ST Format and the Atari Shows and the Stationary offer, I 
have had to leave it out for reasons of space.

Suffice to say that we have enough to have this and the next issue of 
the newsletter produced via the Erskine Hospital Print shop. A full 
financial breakdown will be available at the AGM.

Other Atari User groups
News of the unfortunate demise of one group, while another in England 
is going from Strength to strength. Due to the demise of  his TOS 
User's Group, Paul has kindly agreed to devote some of his efforts to 
writing for us, so in this issue we have the first in an occasional 
series of articles, this one  on "The Perfect TOS set up"  as well as  
a couple of software reviews.

A New ATARI Mag ??

As one door closes....

An interesting letter from Mike Kerslake, please reply to Mike if you 
can help. (Especially in light of STF's closure, the more letters of 
support he gets the better.) Mike Kerslake has a track record in 
publishing, so this idea is not `pie in the sky'.

ED's JUKEBOX
Due to space restrictions This will be missing again this month (sorry 
folks). I am aiming to keep the newsletter to a maximum of 10 pages. 
As you'll see I have reduced the spacing between the lines to try to 
get more in though. Hopefully this won't make it too hard to read.

The last couple of pages include the proposals, and the last page can 
be removed and used for your replies.I really do need people to get in 
touch regarding this. The decision to go ahead will have to be taken 
at the AGM and we will have to start collecting subscriptions then to 
fund the next newsletter.



======================================
NEWS FROM OTHER ATARI GROUPS/CLUBS
======================================

As of the August meeting we will also have the entire Interactive and 
CyberSTrider collections available on Group nights. If you supply your 
own disk, we will fill it with PD for you for 50p. We are considering 
branching out, and buying Blank Floppy disks so that you can buy a 
disk and PD from us. If you are looking for any PD software please see 
Sandy or me at the meeting.

TOS User Group

Hello all :)

I'm afraid I have to inform you all that my TOS User Group project is 
no more :'-(

Various factors have led me to the decision to end it all and I'm 
going to put my efforts into other things such as conferencing on 
42BBS and on CIX as well as writing articles for magazines and 
newsletters. (some of Paul's work appears in this newsletter - AG)

Thanks to all those who helped and although it's the end of TUG - it 
sure ain't the end of PW !!!  :-))

Slinte Mhath,
Paul Walsh ==========
Wessex Atari Group

(*OB*http://www.compulink.co.uk/~mrgs/wag/welcome.htm*OB*)Another new 
Atari User Group is born. The South of England is now catered for with 
this new group. Who said The Atari was dead?

Getting Started

This is a new Atari User Group started in May 1996 by four Atarians in 
the South of England. Mick Lock, Roy Goring, Chris Good, Alan Baker.

The four got together, and on-line to 42BBS chatted with the Sysop 
Colin Fisher-McAllum, they decided they would try and start the group, 
eventually opting for the temporary name of WAG, other offers had been 
put forward (ah Roy) but were pooh- poohed by the others because of 
the abbreviated form of the name.

Help from 42BBS

Colin opened an area on 42, and WAG was launched.

(*OB*WAG on the Web, as seen by CAB*OB*)Lots of messaging ensued on 
42, with Alasdair Goold (your beloved Chair :-) being roped in as 
'Special Advisor', and Colin as [fx French accent] 'Patron'. Several 
other people joined, at this time it was free, some from the Midlands 
who were unlikely to attend the meetings.

First Meeting

The first meeting was held in June, unfortunately only eight turned 
up, but a lot was discussed and the main aims of the group were 
formed.

Aims

These are to promote communication and support to all Atari Users on 
whatever platform they use. This prompted the theme for the second 
meeting which is to be an 8-Bit demonstration by off-liner Brenden 
O'Neil who has a 1Mb 130XE with 4 built in operating systems, and a 
load of other 8-Bit stuff.

Newsletter

It is hoped that a Newsletter will be produced in the near future, 
this will be in HTML format so will require CAB to read it. The 
newsletter will be incorporated into WAG on the Web (see below).

WAG on the Web

At the meeting in June the first copy of the 'WAG on the Web' pages 
were on view. These were designed by Chris Good. The new logo by Mick 
Lock was also seen for the first time. The pages were very impressive 
and everyone was pleased that WAG would have a presence on the Web.

For those with internet access the URL is:-


http://www.compulink.co.uk/~mrgs/wag/welcome.htm

or follow the link from WSAUG pages on

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/magicka/homepage.htm

For those who do not have internet access or who are off-line and want 
a copy, they can be obtained via 42BBS or Cix as WAG????.LZH (???? = 
date in mmyy) or by sending two disks and return postage to Roy 
Goring.

Tumblevane PDL

On the WAG pages you will also find an advert for Tumblevane PD 
Library. They are assisting WAG in publicizing their presence to 
off-liners by putting a flyer in all orders that go out.

"Your intrepid reporter Dan Sarf"

WAG Contact:- 
Roy Goring
Goring Grange
Brockhampton Road
Havant
PO9 1NT
(Do you have to put England?)
Tel & Fax:- 01705-611847
roy@gorring.demon.co.uk
rgoring@cix.compulink.co.uk
New Atari Mag (A letter from Mike 
Kerslake)

Dear all Atari-users

I am starting to canvass support for a new printed Atari magazine.

Firstly, my idea of doing another printed Atari magazine came about 
because of the failed rescue attempts regarding Atari World, plus the 
decline in ST Format, along with the failure of ST Applications to try 
and fill the gap (something which has amazed and depressed me!). I 
also heard that certain people who were interested in doing another 
magazine have decided not to. The only other English-language Atari 
magazines originate from North America, and due to the high postal 
costs, are very expensive.

Considering that the Atari is still having shareware and commercial 
products released for it, there must still be some sort of market for 
a decent magazine, although admittedly this market is small, and will 
get smaller as time goes on.

Anyway, I am prepared to put up some money, plus some time to try and 
get a magazine off the ground. But, I need help, both editorially, and 
financially. I have contacted a couple of the well-known Atari faces, 
and there was some interest shown by them, but I really need some more 
offers of help before they will really commit themselves.

To give an idea of what amounts of money are involved, here's a few 
figures:

To print 500 copies (initially) of a 60 page A4 magazine, with a 
glossy cover, would cost in the region of GBP 2.00 per copy, to 
distribute this by post would cost approx another 50p per copy. 
Therefore, to break even, each copy would have to have a cover price 
of GBP 2.50. If the circulation figure went up, then there would be a 
slight reduction in per unit cost. Obviously the hope would be that we 
could attract some paid advertising which would help balance the 
books.

Now the question is how many people would be prepared to buy this 
magazine at GBP 2.50?  There's no margin for error in our costings, so 
basically we would need to sell all 500 copies to break even. That's 
the stumbling block really, and putting up the cover price would 
probably deter many potential readers.

Getting the money together for the first issue is also a major 
problem. I'm prepared to put up some seed money, but I'm looking for 5 
or 6 other partners prepared to put up a similar amount, and who must 
be prepared to lose at least some of this money, if things didn't work 
out. Hopefully any loss would be minor, but this seed money would 
probably not be paid back for quite some time. Therefore it's a 
gamble, and not for the fainthearted!

There is no intention of running this magazine as a profit-making 
machine, as that is not really possible, all we can hope and strive 
for is to cover our costs and have sufficient in the kitty to produce 
future issues.

What is absolutely vital is that anyone at all interested in Atari 
computers would buy a copy, otherwise it simply will not survive. The 
cover price would remain as low as is possible, and the quantity of 
editorial to advertising would remain extremely high. You wouldn't 
feel as though you had really just bought a mag full of plugs for 
other titles, as is the case with one well-known ST magazine!

In conclusion, although I have probably sounded a bit negative, that 
is only to make any potential investors aware of the risks involved, 
but by spreading the risk, then at least any loss would be small. But 
on the positive side, there is a very loyal Atari-using bunch of 
people who would be prepared to buy such a magazine, and I personally 
think, given a bit of time and effort, a new decent Atari magazine 
could certainly exist for some time yet.

If anyone wants to talk seriously with me about the magazine, then 
please do feel free to email me at: mike@coconut.demon.co.uk or write 
to me at 42 Larch Hill, Handsworth, Sheffield, S9 4AJ. I am 
contactable by phone/fax on 0114 261 8940, but PLEASE call within 
office hours Monday - Saturday.

Any ideas for the editorial side of things are also very welcome, 
after all, I'm not being cynical when I say it is your magazine!

An indication of how many people would be prepared to buy the magazine 
would also be very helpful, so even if you can't offer financial or 
editorial help, then please just let me know if you would buy a copy 
at GBP 2.50.

I guess that is all for now, and I await with great interest, any 
comments or suggestions!

All The Best, Mike Kerslake


The Perfect TOS Set-up ?

The 'minimum standard' TOS set-up consists of a computer (obviously), 
a floppy disk drive (usually built-in) and a TV for display. This is 
by no means ideal but, due to the design of TOS based computers, is 
extremely workable.

Taking into account your personal budget, you should aim for a few 
additions and improvements to your set-up. There are three components 
of your system that you should consider the main parts and give 
priority to when it comes to upgrade time.  These are: your display; 
your disk drive(s) and your printer.

Depending on what you use your machine for you will want to attain a 
degree of professionalism in some parts of your system while 'making 
do' in others.

Let's begin with the display, for the moment assuming you use only the 
three basic ST resolutions.

To begin with many people use a TV for display and indeed many still 
do.  If you use you computer mainly for games or other leisure 
graphics based applications then a TV is all you will probably need.  
Using a dedicated computer monitor will give a better display but may 
be an unnecessary expense in your case.  If you use mainly games but 
often find yourself using text based applications such as word 
processors or databases also, then you may consider a medium 
resolution monitor that can display both of the STs colour modes.

If you mainly use business applications like word processors, 
databases or DTP packages then you should certainly consider 
purchasing a high resolution monitor.  The display of a TV is not very 
sharp for text and can lead to a certain amount of strain on the eyes. 
 A medium resolution monitor will give a sharper image but will not 
allow access to the full 640 by 400 pixel display of high resolution.  
The two drawbacks of using a dedicated high resolution monitor are the 
lack of colour and the inability to display low/med resolution.  It 
isn't a great deal of hassle though to use a TV for the occasional 
game but a high resolution. monitor for serious work.

If you want to use every ST resolution there are three options: The 
cheapest and also least effective option is to use a colour display 
(tv or monitor) and a monochrome emulator for 'monochrome only' 
programs.  The problem is of course you still do not have the clarity 
of a true hi-resolution monochrome display as the fake hi-resolution 
display is usually rather fuzzy. Some monochrome emulators use a 
scrolling screen to show all of the information on two medium 
resolution screens one atop the other.  There are also colour mode 
emulators for the monochrome monitors but these are very often 
incompatible and  don't show actual colour.

The most obvious option is to have two monitors - one for low and 
medium resolutions and one for high resolution.  The drawbacks here 
are of course the cost of buying two monitors instead of one and also 
having to swap monitors around.  A monitor switch-box can be used to 
make life a little easier by allowing both monitors to be connected at 
once.

The third option is to buy a monitor that is capable of displaying all 
three resolutions - a multisync monitor. These monitors are more 
expensive, you can expect to pay three times the cost of a high 
resolution monitor, but they offer great versatility of display modes 
and only take up one spot on your desk.  A multisync is also more 
future-proof as you can take full advantage of TT, Falcon and graphics 
card modes without having to upgrade your monitor too.
 
Next time I'll move on to disk drives and other storage media.

Paul Walsh

GEM Trek by Jrgen and Uwe Holtkamp

A freeware game that runs on all TOS (and compatible) systems in 
ST-High and above.

As the authors themselves admit - this is not a very original game 
idea.  Basically it's battleships with graphics and sound that make 
you think of a well known science-fiction series from the USA.  That 
said, it is a very good implementation of the classic and is worth 
having in your collection.

The game is lovingly encased in an excellent GEM interface with neat 
graphics and cool digitised sounds.
 
When a 'hit' is scored there is the sound of a klaxon as well as 
'explosions' and other effects.  The graphics are of high quality - 
drawings of the starships from Trek.  The game play flows well with 
the only interruption being an alert box when an entire ship is 
destroyed, perhaps a visual signal on the board would be less 
obtrusive?

The game is played in a window with it's own menu bar (for use under a 
multi-tasking system or as a desk accessory - yes it runs as a DA 
too!) but installs a standard menu if it is started as an application. 

The game is played in the main window with the two players' boards 
side by side, one for the computer and one for you.  A two player 
option might have been nice but it is no great loss that there isn't 
one.  When starting a new game the ships are placed on the board by 
choosing from another window, shift-click-hold is used to rotate and 
choose - I think this may be a little cumbersome if you don't have a 
click & hold button on your mouse or trackball but as I can't think of 
a better way to do it, I'll just shut up!

Overall, a very good GEM implementation of a classic game.  Apart from 
the few minor niggles I have mentioned it's a game worth getting - 
don't forget - if you like it you can show your appreciation to the 
author via the InterActive software support scheme (Joe Connor's 
stable - I mean his scheme - I'm not a psychiatrist :-).

GEM Trek is Freeware, donations are accepted and this is supported in 
the UK by InterActive.

Paul Walsh
 
RELEASE OF "BIRD OF PREY" CD ROM  (Picked up from online)

It takes real Falcon enthusiasts to create a Falcon-only CD, and no 
doubt about it, Matt Norcross and Scott McConnell are the ultimate 
Falcon enthusiasts. They use every aspect of the Falcon, from its MIDI 
and digital recording capabilities using Cubase Audio to its graphics 
and animation features using Apex Media. These two are uniquely 
qualified to give you a complete and comprehensive collection, and 
this is exactly what they have done in "Bird of Prey," their first 
CD-ROM for the Falcon030.

Matt and Scott, who front the band "Any Questions?" and are owners of 
the industrial-music oriented Floating Fish Studios (which, in 
character as Ttam Troll and MC2P4, they will proudly tell you stands 
in the shadow of Three Mile Island's cooling towers), have spent the 
last six months collecting, collating, and sorting Falcon software 
from diverse sources. And being observant of what has already been 
done in terms of Falcon-only CD's (All Things Falcon, Transmission), 
they felt it was particularly important to put together a disc that 
was up to date, avoided duplication of others' efforts, and was 
application-heavy and light on filler, like graphics files and MOD's.

Files come from diverse sources, but particularly from GEnie, their 
own BBS, and other files they have hand collected from sources around 
the world. They didn't see any point in creating yet another disc that 
includes a copy of the Umich/Merit Falcon archive, so files from this 
source have been kept to a minimum.

Again, the focus was really to provide a wide variety of files (some 
of which are very hard to find) that can help someone really get to 
know and use their Falcon030 to its fullest -- much the way Matt and 
Scott have tried to do themselves.

This limited-edition disc includes professionally produced full-color 
printing (in jewel case) and a two color silkscreen. At just $29.95, 
it's truly the best disc for getting the most out of your Falcon030.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

From the liner tray of "Bird of Prey":

This CD ROM contains what we at Floating Fish Studios consider to be 
the very best public domain and shareware software available for the 
Atari (and C-LAB) Falcon030 today.  You have at your fingertips, "the 
ultimate Falcon collection!"  These files have been collected from 
around the world and are now assembled, for you, on this one CD ROM.  
In addition, you will find pictures, films, and information regarding 
Floating Fish Studios and the band "Any Questions?".  We hope the 
software and examples on this disc will be helpful in the exploration 
of your Falcon030 and your own creativity.


"The Floating Fish Studios 'Bird of Prey' CD ROM is the ultimate 
Falcon collection.

This disc is filled with software that no Falcon user should be 
without. Over 649MB of pure excitement waiting to be unleashed!  Over 
21,000 files!"

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Triple Yahoo by Stuart Denman

A shareware dice game for all TOS (and compatible) systems

Triple Yahoo is based on the dice game, Triple Yahtzee a variation on 
the popular original. Those of you who enjoy the original version or 
poker dice (which the commercial dice game is based on) will no doubt 
feel at home with this excellent GEM implementation.

For the uninitiated here is how the basic game works: you are given 5 
dice, you roll the dice up to three times, retaining those dice that 
help towards a scoring combination similar to draw poker.  Most of the 
combinations are based on poker with combinations such as straights or 
full houses.  The scorecard is divided into two sections: the upper 
section for all multiples of each number (all ones/all twos etc.) and 
the lower section where the more elaborate combinations like the 
straights or full houses are noted.  Each column of scores is 
totalled, one for the top section and one for the bottom - if you 
score over a certain amount in the top section an additional bonus is 
awarded.  The two scores are added to produce a grand total.  If you 
are playing with other players then the aim is to be the highest 
scorer over a number of rounds, the game is equally enjoyable when 
played solo, aiming for a high score.  In Triple Yahoo there is, 
unfortunately, no option for competition play but there is a high 
score table so it is easy to keep track of the best scorers and the 
triple version of the game takes about as long as three rounds of the 
original anyway.

In the Triple version, the game is varied further by playing over 
three score boards, the second and third having a multiplier to the 
final score.  Each point on board two is doubled for the final tally 
and tripled for board three.  This leads to a need for great tactical 
play and as the author says there is a lot more to the game than just 
the luck of the dice!

The presentation of the game is excellent.  The dice, scoreboards and 
high score table are each shown in separate windows and some clever 
programming prevents you from having to select a window before 
clicking in it.  The game should run on any TOS system including 
graphics cards and 030 machines.  If your machine is DMA sound capable 
(STe upwards) then you get some very amusing sampled sound effects to 
accompany your game, including comments when you get either a very 
good or very bad score. My favourite is the 'Dragnet - Dah dah dum 
dum' noise when you score a zero. (Which, of course, I never hear!)  
The graphics are reasonable as far as they go with varying levels of 
animation for the dice. The program is fully aware of newer AES's 
which means that you get 3D objects if your system (AES 4+/GENEVA 
etc.) can cope.

This kind of GEM based game has a real future in the TOS world and 
more software authors should take note of the positive aspects of this 
approach.

Triple Yahoo originates from the USA and is shareware supported in the 
UK by CyberSTrider.

Paul Walsh


SOFTWARE PIRACY

The WeST of Scotland Atari User Group does not condone software piracy 
and will not allow the group meetings be used to copy commercial 
software.

1996 MEETINGS

All meetings will take place within the upstairs lounge of The Railway 
Inn, Main Street, Howwood. The doors will be open from 7pm . The 
formal opening of each meeting will take place at 7:30pm. The proposed 
dates for the meetings to be held in 1996 are as follows.

All dates are provisional at the moment and will depend on both the 
response to the groups as a whole, and the suitability of the Railway 
Inn.
	
1996	MEETINGS
				
6  AUGUST 
3  SEPTEMBER - AGM 
1  OCTOBER 
29 OCTOBER 
26 NOVEMBER 
24 DECEMBER - NO MEETING

Next Month............

The full agenda for the WSAUG AGM and any replies or queries about the 
proposals that have been added on to the end of this newsletter. Also 
further news about the closure of STF.

The last 2 pages of this newsletter are devoted to the proposals for 
the "merger" of the various Scottish Groups. If this proposal is 
accepted it will at one stroke nearly double the readership, and thus 
the possible contributors, of the newsletter.

ATARI Shows.
We are seriously looking at running a mini-bus down to the 2 Atari 
Shows. The hire of the minibus would probably be free, although we 
would be responsible for fuel. Probably 2 nights B&B would be 
involved. If you are SERIOUSLY interested get in touch with either 
Sandy or me ASAP. seating will be at a premium, and several have been 
taken up already. Basically if there are 12 seat, the 1st 12 to 
respond will get them.

 
CREDITS
This Newsletter was prepared using Papyrus Gold with N.V.D.I.4  and 
printed at 300 dpi on a Hewlett Packard Deskjet 500C. Thereafter 
photocopied by the Erskine Hospital Printing Department  (Tel No. 0141 
812 1100)

Editor: Al Goold
15 July 1996
( WSAUG, 1996)


STAG
Scotland's TOS/Atari Group

For some time I have been concerned with the sudden explosion of user 
groups and the apparent dilution and duplication of effort in their 
operation, particularly given the geographical proximity of the 
existing groups within Scotland. In that context I believe there is a 
strong argument for a national Scottish Atari group.

I propose this would take the form of an "umbrella" organisation and 
would collate all memberships under a single heading and subscription. 
The group would be affiliated to the UKAAUG and would be known as STAG 
(Scotland's TOS/Atari Group). STAG's members would be made up, 
initially, of the component parts of WSAUG, the Central Scotland Atari 
User Group (CSAUG), the TOS Users' Group (TUG) and the Atari User 
Group of Scotland (AUGS). In addition we will actively seek new 
members - the combined membership of the existing groups is currently 
around 100.

I have already spoken to the organisers of all the above mentioned 
groups, who agree in principle to the proposal. Each area could retain 
a local group and, for example, the 4-weekly meetings that WSAUG have 
at the moment would be continued under the heading STAG(WeST). 
However, other meetings could be established by more distant members 
as the group hopefully expands. There are already moves to have 
STAG(EaST) meetings arranged on the opposite fortnight to STAG(WeST).

The main difference to the situation we have now would be a centrally 
produced and funded newsletter, with a single subscription for all 
members. I would see each group existing in its own right, making use 
of a central resource for information & advice, the newsletter and 
other services.  I also expect smaller groups could form, in the likes 
of Inverness and Aberdeen and further afield, that take the newsletter 
as a way of keeping themselves up to date with general news and 
utilising the resources of the greater group - also, offering articles 
or reviews back to the newsletter and making themselves known outside 
their local area.  Isolated individuals could even subscribe without 
feeling that they were a distant part of a far away organisation like 
WSAUG - I feel that the name 'WeST of Scotland Atari User Group' has 
inhibited some potential members from joining because of the 
geographical implications. The new group would allow people from all 
over Scotland, as well as elswhere in the country, to participate.

The proposed steering committee of STAG would form along these lines:

Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Newsletter Editor, Junior 
Representative, Web-master, and representatives from STAG West, STAG 
East, STAG Central, and STAG Northern.

It would be possible for one person to hold 2 posts on the committee, 
but that person would only have one vote. Any posts not filled at the 
AGM could be filled by a committee vote at a later stage should it 
become necessary. Any other posts that were deemed appropriate could 
also be established later.

I have taken soundings from various interested parties, all of whom 
have been supportive of the proposal. I have various realistic ideas, 
in addition to subscriptions, for helping to finance the newsletter 
which would remain in the same basic format as the WSAUG one, and 
would be 10/12 pages long every 4 weeks. It would have an extended 
Classified Ads section due to the links with Fraser Blacklaws and 
AUGS. The biggest difference to the present WSAUG newsletter would be 
a different cover and perhaps articles from more diverse sources. I 
have no intention or desire to launch a disk magazine to attempt to 
rival Atariphile. I would, in fact, hope that STAG will maintain and 
strengthen it's existing links with 42BBS/FFF, the Wessex Atari Group 
(WAG) and UKAAUG.

We should also seek ways in which to promote STAG and bring it to the 
widest possible audience both in Scotland and elsewhere. My intention 
is to open a STAG topic within the existing atari.user.gps conference 
on CiX, and Colin Fisher-McAllum has said he will continue to support 
Scottish User groups via 42BBS with both message and file areas. The 
WSAUG WWW page will be updated to reflect the change to STAG and may 
be used to advertise various Atari related companies. I feel that the 
various on-line activities outlined here, along with the paper based 
newsletter is the best way to keep us all in contact with each other.

An adult or family (ie an adult and any number of under-18's) 
membership subscription would be 14 per annum under-18 members who 
have no adult member in their family would pay 7 per annum.

Alasdair Goold
Chairman - WSAUG
16th July 1996
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



NAME:			                                               

Member No:


I would urge you to complete the attached form and return it to me as 
soon as possible. Use the form as a guide only, feel free to bring up 
any relevant points you wish. If you feel that you could play an 
active part in the group via the committee or in any other way, let me 
know. The postal votes for the committee will be organised via the 
next newsletter. There will be only 1 vote per subscription. ie family 
subscriptions attain 1 vote as do under 18 members. If any under 18 
member of such a family wished an independent vote they would have to 
subscribe as an unattached under 18 member. Honorary members do not 
have a vote.



I agree/disagree with the formation of STAG as outlined (Give reasons 
if you disagree)









I agree/disagree with the choice of the name STAG (Give another option 
if you disagree)









I agree/disagree with the subscription rates as outlined in respect of 
the newsletter (Give reasons if you disagree)









I would/would not like to be more involved in the organisation of STAG 
(Describe what you would like to do ie Committee, write articles etc)









Any other ideas you have regarding the formation of STAG











I agree to pay my subscription of 14/7 for Family/Junior membership 
of STAG

Signed 

(parent/guardian if under 18)
