Sitting here in my chair I have watched the discuss list change in nature since Jan 2000 to today. When the list first began it was a mainly used as a forum for those of us who were just starting out sharing ideas on how to implement the OpenSRS client and how to market our services to the world. There was not a Sourceforge version, there were not any vendors in the marketplace with pre fab packages to make the client an e commerce package. We mainly shared ideas, posted code snipppets that we had tried, and helped each other as best we could.
For the most part OpenSRS staff lurked (except for the guys who developed the client code). The list then evolved and OpenSRS began using it as a method to post messages to the reseller base. It has always been understood that the staff there watch this list, but to my knowledge it has never been the recommended method of communicating with OpenSRS. Somehow the list has evolved into what some users believe is the optimal method of communicating with OpenSRS. I do not wish to pass judgement on whether this is a good thing or a bad thing. But we as a user group need to define how we wish to use this list, and we as a user group need to let OpenSRS know how they should view the posts to this list. In all fairness to the OpenSRS staff, to ask them to watch this list and respond each time to all the concerns and issues that are brought up here would beakin to ask them to take a drink of water from a fire hydrant. There is just too much here and too many voices. The idea of polls has been broached, and that is a good idea to allow us let OpenSRS know if the majority of those here have certian concerns. In addition Eliot Noss recently posted an invitation to join OpenSRS in a meeting during the ICANN Montreal Meeting this coming June. I think that as many of us as possible should attend that meeting. There are issues of significant concern to members of this channel, issues that should be addressed by OpenSRS. But in order to present these issues to OpenSRS we need to have a unified and organized voice. I posted to this list asking if anyone here would be interested in forming an organized users group about a month ago. I think it is time to revisit that issue. It is long past time that we established a formalized method of communication between the reseller channel and OpenSRS. This would be to the benefit to most resellers and to OpenSRS. Please not I say most resellers since the largest resellers are not likely to want this organization. They enjoy a competitive advantage in the marketplace and more direct access to OpenSRS. (Yes that is simply the nature of business). As a group the small resellers likely surpass the individual large resellers and we can make our voice heard. I for one believe that OpenSRS wants to hear our voice, and it would be to the mutual benefit of the resellers and OpenSRS if we were able to reach a concensus and communicate that with OpenSRS. It would allow them to be responsive to the issues that we as a reseller channel feel are most urgent and allow us to recieve the support from OpenSRS that we feel we deserve. I look forward to the reply of the channel to this post. Michael [EMAIL PROTECTED] btw.. It is nice to see posts from Rick and Denzil on this list again.. :)
