CFOG's PIP, April 1986, Volume 4 No. 6, Whole No. 42, page 6

Alphabet Soup -- Coming in out of the Fog

From time to time we mention FOG [First Osborne Group], which is not to be confused with CFOG [Chicago's First Osborne Group], or DEFOG [Detroit's etc.], or SMOG [Santa Monica ditto]. Some names have obviously been chosen for their effect: DOG [Denver], BOG [Boston], and my favorite, Lincoln Local Osborne Group or Lincoln LOG. Some have become less colorful than they used to be -- the Greatland Osborne Bunch from Alaska has changed its name so that it's no longer the GLOB.

For those who haven't the foggiest notion about what we're talking about when we get lost in the alphabet soup of FOG names, here's a short guide:

The "big", "international" Osborne users group is First Osborne Group, based in Daly City, California. That's called FOG. FOG publishes a monthly newsletter, too -- that's called the Foghorn. FOG has, we think, more than 11,000 members. We believe that it had more last year, but while the Foghorn says "Circulation 16,500" on the cover, we've been told that's the print run and the actual figure is lower. All the other OGs, OUGs, etc., are local groups, none of which has ever had as many as 600 members, so far as we know. With 11,000+ members and a monthly newsletter running 56 to 80 pages a month with lots of advertising, FOG has become a $400,000 a year organization, with a well paid full time Executive Director [Gale Rhoades], a paid office staff, and a paid technician.

FOG offers a special deal to members and groups that set up remote systems or RCPMs. FOG doesn't run them, though it does have one such system in its home office, but makes its public domain library available to the system operators of these systems, helps with the software, provides the Metal Message System, and helps pay the phone bill. The sysop has to provide the equipment and do the maintenance work.

FOG also offers a special deal to local user groups that "affiliate" with FOG. The local groups that pick up this connection with FOG are called Affiliated Member Organizations, or AMOs. From a local organization's point of view this is a good deal, as it means the local club get $6 from FOG for every member of the club that join's FOG, plus certain other benefits, and we have no obligations except that the President, Treasurer, and Disk Librarian have to be members of FOG. Since it gives a local group some benefits and costs it essentially nothing, many local groups have become AMOs of FOG.

The club which publishes this newsletter, PIP, is Chicago's First Osborne Group, or CFOG. It's an autonomous local club based in the Chicago area. We have about 300 members. Last year it was over 400. [The loss of membership seems universal -- Pasadena's "Osborne Komputer Owners' Klub", OKOK, has gone from over 200 to 93.] CFOG's newsletter runs generally 8 or 12 pages a month and has few ads. Its revenue for the year is obviously less than FOG's by a couple of orders of magnitude. We run two remote systems, both on equipment bought and paid for with our members dues. We have our own public domain library. CFOG has no paid executive director, no paid staff, no paid technician, and no office on which to pay rent, though last year we did establish a permanent mailing address by renting a post office box.

When we talk about CFOG, then, we're talking about this little local group, that holds meetings at Triton College and in the Loop. Dropping one letter and referring to FOG is something very different.

[Since this local group does get back $6 from FOG for every member of our group that joins FOG, we offer a special deal --the next year when you renew your local dues you will get a reduction of $6 on your local dues. A FOG membership application is in this issue. If you're not a member, consider joining.]