Dear James,

The Village Hall Trustees had a meeting this evening and I passed on to them your email offer of plumbworld computer equipment for the village
hall IT room.

They have asked me to respond by thanking you for your kind offer, but at this time we have no need of further computers for the village hall.
If the position changes, we will contact you again.

Regards,
Anna Mackison
Chairman

I think the reality is that in 1989/90 came the great wave of enthusiasm for IT, and every Tom, Dick and Harry bought a PC. The vaillage hall became part of this.

It seems to me that we have an IT room containing equipment which is eight years old and possibly obsolescent (OED: “becoming obsolete” NOT “obsolete”.).

I think this equipment is rarely used.

I think it is a matter for the village hall committee.

If I am wrong, I stand to be corrected!

Brian

Email sent to the Chairman of the Village Hall Trustees today:

“Hi Anna,

From the comment on Elmley Castle Community website:

http://www.elmleycastle.com/index.php/2008/02/02/free-it-equipment-for-village-hall/#comments

I was surprised to discover that the existing IT equipment in the Village Hall is so old. In our business we retire IT equipment when it reaches its third birthday !

Far be it for me to try and force a gift on an unwilling recipient but…

It seems rather strange that the Trustees would not want to replace such old equipment with faster, more powerful, more up to date equipment that costs them nothing ?

Given the stated age of the existing equipment the trustees decision seems to defy logic:

1) Is the comment incorrect about the age of the existing IT equipment? Has it been replaced in the last couple of years ?

2) Is it the trustees intention to discourage IT use in the village hall by allowing the equipment to gradually become obsolete ?
(if IT use in the hall is not part of the strategic plan to maximize the value of the Hall to the community then that would make sense, but surely it would be more reasonable to say this to the community, rather than just let the IT resources become worthless over time)

3) Is it that the trustees are not familiar with the rate of obsolescence of IT equipment and did not understand the benefits of replacing such old equipment with newer products ? (Perhaps mistakenly thinking that there is no room for additional computers, not realising the existing equipment would be removed)

When decisions are made that, on the surface at least, seem illogical, it provides the conspiracy theorists and cynics with ammunition to create reasons of their own, e.g.

“It’s a case of political correctness gone mad. I bet they think old computer equipment funded by public money is better than new equipment funded by a gift from an evil capitalist!”

“It’s all about Anna’s public image! She doesn’t want to deny her voters the opportunity of saying: ‘Anna got the IT equipment for the Village Hall’!”

Perhaps you could let me know the actual reasons for the trustees decision, so that we can ensure the village cynics are silenced and the correct reasoning is made clear to the wider community.

Kind Regards,

James”

The problem with IT equipment in the village hall has not been quality, but demand. It was used for some classes and by some individuals in the first two years – but all those attending the classes then went out and bought their own computers, never to return! Making use of the IT room was discussed further with local PC trainers /fixers, but those who want or need to get online seem to have their own equipment.

I guess that, when the grants were being allocated in 1999, any forecasts of computers becoming as affordable as they have, were not taken seriously. I thought my household might be exceptional in having three PCs in use every day, but it’s increasingly looking like the norm. As a result, the village hall committee (which I am on) has been looking at alternative ways of making good use of the IT room and hope to make an announcement soon as, for too long, it has been essentially dormant.

Mike Taite
(In a personal capacity, not representing the village hall trustees)