wrote:
Hey guys:

Do you think the SSA newsletter could\should be made available to the
soaring public? Most other newsletters by soaring groups\clubs are
available. I am currently living in Germany (and paying dues to the
German national Gliding association).

Bob

Hi Bob:
You don't mention if you are an American citizen, possibly residing in
Germany temporarily, or if you are permanently there.

The question you raise is important, and one that more broadly affects
the SSA and its entire web site. In years past, all of the SSA website
was open to anyone. When the current "redone" site went live last
August, a member logon was instituted for the first time. This caused a
flurry of extremely nasty emails and phone calls to the SSA office from
folks who demanded that the entire site be open to all. Nearly all
those calls were from people who had never belonged to the SSA. The
only answer they could give when asked why the SSA should continue to
give everything it does (online) away for free was: "It always has, and
we liked it that way." And there's the rub. Entitlement.

An interesting analogy: Should the SSA give away free magazine
subscriptions to anyone who asks (I am not talking about a free issue
once in a while to interested people, as marketing - we do that all the
time in many venues)? Of course we cannot do that.

SSA is in no position to give everything away, and doing so (online) in
the past (among other things) nearly ran it into the ground.

THe SSA site has two main functions. It is supposed to serve its
members, and to hopefully entice new people into the sport. In many
senses, these are two completely different, schizophrenic goals. Some
compromises were made after the new site went live. Contest results
were moved in front of the logon. But Charlie's reports stayed behind
it. We continue to listen to suggestions from people, but we are no
longer "giving away the farm" to everyone who walks in the electronic door.

In fact, many of us now involved in SSA electronic communications (it is
my responsibility at the ExComm level) are striving to make our website
the most important and frequently used service the society offers. But
if we reach our goal, at least the membership portion of the site cannot
be given away. A real issue is deciding which portions of the site can
be useful in recruitment, and leave them open to all.

Now, regarding the newsletter: I created it specifically out of a need
I saw to inform SSA membership about the weekly workings of its society,
in near-real time. SOARING magazine cannot do this, due to the 3 month
lag time for publication. But the content of the newsletter is
specifically based on the workings of the society, and not about soaring
in general. For instance, over the course of a few months, the
newsletter has detailed roof leaks and office damage in Hobbs, and this
week the success of our new roof, all with photos.

So in that sense, I don't think the newsletter would be of any interest
to a non SSA member. Why would anyone else care about what is going on
in the SSA office? The newsletter draws from two weekly reports from
E.D. Dennis Wright and First Vice Chair Dianne Black-Nixon. These
reports only discuss the workings of the society at the board/excomm and
office levels - and mention those people who are doing the work.

Since what is gleaned from reading the SSA enewsletter is an
appreciation of exactly what it takes to run the society, and an
understanding of its ups and downs, I think only members of the SSA
should see it.

Regards,
Jim Skydell