For the last two and a half years, Kirsten Wheatley has worked part time for the ISUG and part-time for Database Publishing Systems Ltd. Lately, her responsibilities at DPSL have increased and so we decided to bring in a new part-time administrator for the Group.
I am pleased to announce that Yvonne Vine has recently started as our new Administrator. Yvonne comes with lots of experience in company administration for local companies. She joined us on 2 February and is now handling all requests, invoicing, and other ISUG administrative tasks. Please feel free to contact Yvonne if you require any assistance regarding your ISUG membership or if you would like to order anything from the bookstore. Yvonne can be reached by email at info@isgmlug.org or yvonne.vine@dpsl.co.uk.
Many thanks to those of you who have returned a completed survey. We were pleased by the early responses back. However, we have not received back that many. At a recent meeting of the UK Chapter, SGML UK, the feedback was that the form was difficult to understand and that there were many questions that people preferred not to answer. Because of that they decided not to return the form.
I can understand reticence in answering all of the questions. We would be pleased to have incomplete forms returned as each question will be averaged on the number of responses for that question. However, please note that it is not necessary to give identifying information, therefore, there can be anonymity if the forms are returned by post with no return address, or if your fax machine can suppress its own number.
As for the complexity of the form, please feel free to contact either Yvonne or me (pam.gennusa@dpsl.co.uk) with any questions you might have. We would appreciate input as well on which questions you are most interested in and which are minimal interest. Such feedback could help us develop a simpler form in the future. I hope that many of you will reconsider and send in an anonymous response so that we can return the most interesting set of information to our members as possible. We will have the first set of results in the July issue of interChange.
We are coming around to the time for our Annual General Meeting. It will be held on Tuesday, 19 May 1998 from 17.30-18.30 at the Sofitel Hotel Forum Rive Gauche in Paris in conjunction with the SGML/XML Europe '98 Conference. If you are planning on attending this conference, please set aside that hour and join us.
Over the past few weeks, I have been approached by a number of regional chapters on a common topic. Chapters are considering a name change (or have already done one) and they want to know what the plans are for the ISUG in this regard. The one group that I know of that has changed its name is the Rocky Mountain SGML Users' Group (RMSUG); they are now the Rocky Mountain XML Users' Group (RMXUG). As noted in the newsletter, SGML Open has recently changed its name to OASIS (Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards). This move had been contemplated for much of the previous year and was prompted by a number of factors. One major factor was to broaden their remit. As OASIS, it is possible for them to become a home to both SGML and XML enthusiasts. Further, informally constituted groups such as CGM Open might also find a home within OASIS. The current interest in the XML family of standards and the movement of other organizations to widen their appeal are prompting this discussion. Thus, it may be time for the ISUG to begin talking about broadening its remit and changing its name.
At the same time, I am also being approached about the need for a Users' Group. When the standard was young and relatively unknown, the need for a Users' Group was great. "Is this still the case?" is one of the questions we can ask ourselves. Over the years, many have used the ISUG as a source of information and mutual support from colleagues. With the advent of the Web, many members are able to get the information they need more easily and can converse with other users worldwide. In the US, chapters tend to be less successful than in Europe for some reason. Because users around the entire globe are at different levels of expertise, it would seem there is still a need for a Users' Group, at least in some areas. However, because a classic users' group may not be needed everywhere, it begs the question "What should be the mission of the Group?".
This question has always exercised my mind and that of the other officers, the members of the Executive Council, our Technical Consultant, our Editor, and our Web Manager. In thinking about this, we have looked at the market place and can see that there are organizations out there providing services to corporations, such as the Graphic Communications Association (GCA) and OASIS. Neither of these organizations accepts individual members. The ISUG and its chapter members, on the other hand, have a membership more geared to the individual. We do take corporate members, but there are two named individuals on these memberships. The benefits are tied to these named individuals and not afforded to the entire organization. A possible repositioning of the ISUG might be a move from being a "users' group" to being a "professional society". This might make it easier to focus our mission on the professional advancement of our members.
Professional societies come in all shapes and sizes. Is such a move right for the ISUG, and if so, which model of a professional society would best suit the ISUG? How would the ISUG effect such a transition? These questions will take time and discussion to determine. This year's AGM is the forum for the start of this discussion. I hope you all will make every effort to come to this meeting from 17.30 to 18.30 on Tuesday, 19 May. For the full agenda, please see the newsletter article.
I look forward to seeing many of you at the AGM.
Pam Gennusa
April 1998
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