> As you ask, I work at PayGlobal and am on this forum. (I assume by 'forum' > you mean this email list?) > Paul Ritchie.
Yep -- the Canterbury Software forum is intended to help connect the local software community, whether you're a member of CSI or not. So, Paul, do please pass the congrats on to Don and the others (I was hoping a PayGlobal person would be on the csforum list and be able to do so :-). Your question raises a point we've been debating on and off at the CSI committe level. One of the points which may come under discussion at the CSI AGM (next Friday, Cii, 4pm) is whether the cluster should consider expanding the membership types. At the moment, membership is personal and involves the individual, because we figured that "success through connections" is done at a personal level. So I'm a member, rather than SPIS; Keith Cowan is a member, rather than Jade. The question is, would companies like/want to be members? It would make some things easier -- if a company is a member, it's clear their employees would all be eligible for membership benefits (discounts to the workshops, being able to present at the Elevator Cafe etc). Companies currently get value from having someone join CSI in any case (eg extended company listings in the CSI Directory, company profiling on the Home Page). For those of us who are smaller, there's often relatively little distinction between the two (for all intents and purposes, I *am* SPIS, though Peter has a say in things too and we have half a dozen staff with their own ideas :-); but there can be a significant difference in cases where one person is a member out of a 200-person company. CSI would have to put in a separate membership structure for companies -- $50 is a reasonable fee for an individual, but it wouldn't be right to charge a company the same. And then you get the difference between the one- man show and the large corporates -- just one company membership fee, or one based on number of employees, or on revenue or what? So what would people think would be a reasonable approach? Anyone seen any good models in action? It's not something CSI would look to implement any time soon (would require constitutional changes for one thing, which would have to be careully thought out before the 2004 AGM). Worth thinking about though, especially if it makes it easier or more useful for people and companies to join! And then there's the folk who are support people to the IT industry but not actually IT people per se, like lawyers and accountants and PR folk. Do we have an Associate membership for them? Is it worth making a distinction? Any feedback would be most welcome, whether you're a current member or not, Vicki Hyde ====================================================== SPIS Ltd, Box 19-760, Christchurch, NZ http://spis.co.nz * FREE TurboNote+ sticky note trial: http://TurboNote.com --> via Canterbury Software email forum: Success through Connections Email your messages to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Searchable list archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] Leave or rejoin the list: http://canterburysoftware.org.nz/forum.htm
