TUG Aims

A summary of the general aims of the TUG organization (complete bylaws):

1. To encourage and expand the use of TeX, LaTeX, Metafont and related systems.
2. To ensure the integrity and portability of TeX, LaTeX, Metafont and related systems.
3. To foster innovation in high-quality electronic document preparation.

The most important reason to join TUG is to support these goals. Thus, by joining TUG you will help to maintain and improve the services supported by TUG that all (La)TeX users implicitly rely on, and that are necessary to provide a satisfying experience to all members of the community. Your membership fee will be used to support CTAN, TeX distributions, projects and programs, and other endeavors that benefit the community and are essential to maintain the usability of the system.

The major projects related to these goals are listed below. A summary of current TUG activities is also available.

All TUG memberships are for a calendar year. Thus, it does not matter when you join or renew during the year: all benefits are shipped physically or available electronically to all members for a given calendar year. Physical benefits from previous years are also available.

TUG benefits

When you join, you receive these benefits, all of which are member-supported:

1. TUGboat: A calendar year subscription to the journal TUGboat, The Communications of the TeX Users Group, containing tutorials, announcements, and plenty of articles. Beginning with the 2003 membership year, there will be three issues of TUGboat (or comparable publications) per year. Back issues are available through the TUG store. Technical articles in the current issue are accessible online to members only.

2. TeX software: ready-to-run TeX systems for most Unix variants, macOS, Windows, and an extensive set of fonts and macros. Software DVDs are available on a volunteer basis, or you can burn your own from the distributed images. This includes:
   • TeX Live for all major platforms and many Unix architectures,
   • MacTeX for MacOSX (based on TeX Live),
   • MiKTeX for Windows and other major systems,
   • CTAN snapshot (see next item).

3. CTAN: the Comprehensive TeX Archive Network, the central repository for TeX packages and programs. TeX user groups help sponsor the primary nodes of CTAN, which accept uploads, distribute the contents to the many mirrors, and generally manage the archive.

4. TeX worldwide: When you belong to TUG you connect with other TeX user associations around the world. Reciprocal membership arrangements are currently available with many other user groups; see the membership information page for the list. Join the group of your choice and select their option for joint membership with TUG.

5. Books: TUG has published three books. Members get a discounted price on the physical books when buying from TUG (they are also available in most online bookstores); and the full-text electronic PDF for the latter two is available at no cost to members.
   • Glisterings: LaTeX and Other Oddments (July 2020), a collection of TUGboat columns by Peter Wilson, corrected and augmented.
   • TeX's 2⁵ Anniversary: A Commemorative Collection (June 2010), published on the occasion of the TUG 2010 conference.
   • TeX People: Interviews from the world of TeX (July 2009), collected from the TUG Interview Corner.
6. Discounts:
   • TUG is a tax-exempt charitable organization in the United States, so donations and some membership dues are tax deductible.
   • Discounted conference (see below) fees for all members.
   • Discounted membership rates for students, seniors, and citizens of countries with modest economies. (More info.)
   • Discounted membership rates for institutional members, which may name up to eight individual members.
   • Discounts on the purchase of Lucida fonts, TUG publications, and other items from the TUG store.
   • Discounts on books from many publishers (and bookplates).
   • Discounts on WinEdt registration.

   One other discount is available to anyone, not just TUG members: when buying books published by Addison-Wesley (or other Pearson imprints) through our TeX books page, you get a 30% discount and free shipping (within the USA).

The software distributions are produced entirely by volunteers, so the exact contents and timing of releases can and do vary from year to year.

Additional TUG activities

Members also support these TUG activities and initiatives:

1. TeXnical conferences: TUG's annual conference, and other sponsored conferences, bring TeX users together in a friendly setting to learn practical techniques, helpful hints, and the latest news in the TeX world through workshops, talks and informal gatherings. They offer an opportunity to connect with other TeX users at every level.
2. Mailing lists: TUG hosts many electronic mailing lists on a wide variety of topics, including a general TeX help list, for the benefit of the TeX community.
3. Project donations: administrative support for: the TUG Bursary Fund - CTAN - TeX Development Fund - GUST e-foundry - LaTeX Project - LuaTeX - LyX - MacTeX - PDF Accessibility Fund. TUG does not charge any overhead to handle these donations.
4. TeXnical working groups: support for working groups on education, MacTeX, PDF Accessibility, and more.
5. TeX Consultants: listing of TeX consultants and companies, for TeX users seeking professional service.
6. Local Area Gatherings: listing and encouragement of smaller, more informal groups of TeX users wherever possible.

Ideas for additional benefits and initiatives TUG might undertake would be very welcome. Just contact us. Thanks for your support.