[Chapter-delegates] Membership System

[Gene Gaines]

On Tuesday, January 31, 2006, 4:12:06 AM, Vansnick wrote:

> Dear Rosa,

> Perhaps it would be good to ask the previous list of chapters who participated
> in the testing phase. We made alrready different remarks, comments and
> suggestions. I'm willing to elaborate, as I did with Nelson before, some
> extentions which could be used at chapters level. Just let me know.

> Best regards,

> Rudi Vansnick

Rudi, all,

I was one of the chapter people who volunteered to participate
in testing the new membership system.

I'm afraid that I spent some time with the system and judged the
program to be fatally flawed. I then was embarrassed to see that
the company developing the system already was advertising ISOC
as a satisfied customer, before the system was accepted by ISOC.
That is not the kind of company I wish to deal with, and I
withdrew from participating in the testing.

This is a simple application, as we say in America, not rocket
science.  The kind of application that students can write for
beer money.

The failures of the new system are harming ISOC and harming its
chapters and membership.  (I could add that I believe the ISOC
Board to be largely blind to such issues, but that would be
unkind.)

I do not see why a basic system could not have specs circulated
2 weeks, agreed to in 4 weeks, then written, tested, and placed
in beta operation within 3 months. I would not care it the work
was done in Iceland, Norway, Moldavia, France, India, Japan, or
SOPAC, etc., for example, perhaps even the U.S. or England if
they could be shaken away from their language blind spot.

Emails in the past week show the frustration of chapter officers
with the membership system. That is very harmful to ISOC as a
membership organization. To say that this needs to be addressed
at a Board meeting seems a bit silly to me.

Just fix the problem.

Gene Gaines
gene.gaines at gainesgroup.com
Sterling, Virginia, USA




> |-----Original Message-----
> |From: chapter-delegates-bounces at elists.isoc.org 
> |[mailto:chapter-delegates-bounces at elists.isoc.org] On Behalf 
> |Of Rosa Delgado 
> |Sent: Tuesday, January 31, 2006 9:15 AM
> |To: 'W. Majewski'
> |Cc: chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org; 'Luc Faubert'; 'Vint Cerf'
> |Subject: Re: [Chapter-delegates] Membership System
> |
> |
> |Thanks for your input. 
> |
> |We have already a good issues list to transmit to the board. One thing
> |is sure we cannot continue complaining about the same points for ever
> |so, I wonder if to form a WG (ISOC, chapters) to discuss each of the
> |points at once will be effective. This WG could perhaps seek to these
> |and other issues.
> |
> |Regards/Rosa
> |
> |-----Original Message-----
> |From: W. Majewski [mailto:wladek at isoc.org.pl] 
> |Sent: Sunday, 29 January 2006 23:02
> |To: Rosa Delgado
> |Cc: 'Franck Martin'; 'Luc Faubert';
> chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org;
> |'Vint Cerf'
> |Subject: Re: [Chapter-delegates] Membership System
> |
> |
> |Rosa,
> |
|>> I think Wladek had this sort of list in the past, if so can 
> |we have an
|>> updated list we will try to coordinate the problem at once
> |
> |Let me start with "Carthago delenda ext!"
> |
> |Current membership system is broken beyond repair options. No basic
> |functionality works up to reasonable expectations. It would be cheaper
> |and faster to specify and implement a new one.
> |
> |Specific problems:
> |
> |(showstopper) Non-ASCII scripts (including right-to-left ones) 
> |inputable
> |
> |into ALL fields. This is a fundamental reason for necessity to dump
> |current system.
> |
> |**** chapter's membership data import / database synchronisation.
> |Chapters have own membership systems, usually much better than ISOC's
> |one. We need a distributed database instead of universal forms.
> |
> |**** Possibility to integrate membership forms into chapter's webpage
> |
> |**** Get rid of cumbersome "shopping procedure" with $0 value for
> |"chapter membership".
> |
> |**** Membership reneval policy should be customizable for chapters
> |
> |
> |Rgds
> |
> |Wladek
> |
> |
> |_______________________________________________
> |Chapter-delegates mailing list
> |Chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org
> |http://elists.isoc.org/mailman/listinfo/chapter-delegates
> |



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