jsaker@zeus.unomaha.edu (Jamie Saker -- Vice President, UNO ACE) (05/29/91)
Welcome to the ACM Member Role Playing Game, where you are given a real-life situation and get to decide the outcome! Pull up a chair and read on! No extra parts/batteries/900 numbers/etc. are required! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Situation: You're a Joe C. Student, a MIS major and nice guy. You joined ACM about a year ago and received all but one of your Communications of the ACM magazines, which are neatly lining the shelf above your computer. You also joined Computing Surveys and SIGCAS, thinking they might be interesting SIGs. During the course of the year, you got most of your Communications, but when it came to the SIGs, Computing Surveys only sent you their March 1991 issue (Vol. 23), and SIGCAS... well, maybe they had a nice dinner for the execs, or maybe they all went to Disneyland. You'll never know, because they never sent you anything!!! You just received a notice in the mail, reading: YOUR NOMINAL DUES INCREASE IS ATTRIBUTABLE TO INFLATIONARY FACTORS. CORPORATE MATCHING CONTRIBUTIONS FOR PUBLIC TV'S "THE INFORMATION AGE" ARE WELCOME. THANK YOU. DUES INCLUDING COMMUNICATIONS: $22.00 103 COMP SURVEYS $10.00 007 SIGCAS $ 6.00 SUBTOTAL $38.00 CONTRIBUTION $ 5.00 TOTAL AMOUNT WITH CONTRIBUTION -> $43.00 Decision: What will you do? Will you send the check in for the full amount? Or will you scratch out the contribution? What about the SIGs that never did anything? Or will you say "This organization is a disaster. I'll join ASM or something that does more than bill its members, and since it thinks it's so darn good, it figures in a tip as well." The decision is yours... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- I'll keep a tally of those responding/following up - yes, your vote counts!!! Heck, it'll certainly be more fun than SIGCAS was:-) (Personally, I think it's like receiving horrible service at a resturaunt, where the breadsticks came cold and hard, and instead of a full basket of them, you got just one. And the wine you ordered never came, but showed up on the bill. And then, the waiter figures in his tip of 13% and hands you the bill. But then, that's just IMHO). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jamie Saker jsaker@zeus.unomaha.edu (Internet). Vice President jsaker@unoma1 (BITNET). Director, Information Services . UNO Association of Collegiate Entrepreneurs . . CBA 503, UNO "No Red Beads until further notice. Failure . Omaha, NE 68182 to comply will result in immediate termination." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
quairoli@cs.widener.edu (Patrick Quairoli) (05/29/91)
IMHO i'd raise hell. -- ______________________________________________________________________________ patrick j. quairoli | "Different eyes see different things; widener!quairoli | Differnet hearts beat on different strings." quairoli@cs.widener.edu | -Rush PW 'Different Strings'
craig@sics.se (Craig Partridge) (05/29/91)
In <15450.28425cce@zeus.unomaha.edu> jsaker@zeus.unomaha.edu (Jamie Saker -- Vice President, UNO ACE) writes: >During the course of the year, you got most of your Communications, but when >it came to the SIGs, Computing Surveys only sent you their March 1991 >issue (Vol. 23), and SIGCAS... well, maybe they had a nice dinner for >the execs, or maybe they all went to Disneyland. You'll never know, because >they never sent you anything!!! I can't speak for CAS's particular situtation, but it is true that some SIGs publish only sporadically (I've seen the publication schedules). And some ACM journals are almost as bad (publishing journals months after their official date). But there are some SIGs which are working extremely hard to serve their members well by publishing regular SIG publications and holding first class conferences. Some that come to mind are SIGOPS, SIGMETRICS, SIGPLAN and SIGCOMM (apologies to notable SIGs I've left out). It makes sense to look around a bit. And if your SIG doesn't provide services you find useful, run for SIG office or volunteer (many SIGs would love an activist newsletter editor). ACM Headquarters itself has been working harder and harder to be responsive to member needs. Both our last president and our current president feel strongly about member services. What I'm trying to say here is that yes, ACM has its bad spots, but at its best, ACM is a first class organization. Furthermore, the trend is toward building on its good work, rather than slipping towards its bad. Craig Partridge Editor, ACM SIGCOMM Computer Communication Review
spaf@cs.purdue.EDU (Gene Spafford) (05/29/91)
Jamie Saker complains about not receiving publications. Let me suggest what I would do....pick up the phone and call ACM member services. Maybe the SIG didn't print many newsletters this year. But maybe Jamie's mail isn't getting to him the way it should, either. In the past, I've had problems with getting some of my publications, especially after a move. A short note to headquarters, or a phone call, has always resulted in a prompt shipment of replacement copies. Investing in a stamp or a long-distance phone call is *always* better than assuming something and grumbling about the treatment you've received. ACM has to deal with the mailing of 100s of thousands of items a month, and there is undoubtedly some lossage involved. -- Gene Spafford NSF/Purdue/U of Florida Software Engineering Research Center, Dept. of Computer Sciences, Purdue University, W. Lafayette IN 47907-1398 Internet: spaf@cs.purdue.edu phone: (317) 494-7825
pfps@allegra.att.com (Peter F. Patel-Schneider) (05/29/91)
In article <1991May29.073751.10790@sics.se> craig@sics.se (Craig Partridge) writes: > > What I'm trying to say here is that yes, ACM has its bad spots, but at its > best, ACM is a first class organization. Furthermore, the trend is toward > building on its good work, rather than slipping towards its bad. > > Craig Partridge > Editor, ACM SIGCOMM Computer Communication Review Unfortunately, I haven't seen ACM at its best for several years now. What I have seen is advertising in official-looking envelopes, a steady degradation of CACM from respectability to unreadability, and sneaky tactics to get members to contribute to WGBH. The only good parts of ACM seem to be its SIGs, which is why I now only belong to SIGART, and wish that SIGART didn't belong to ACM. Peter F. Patel-Schneider
jsaker@zeus.unomaha.edu (Jamie Saker -- Vice President, UNO ACE) (05/30/91)
In article <1991May29.073751.10790@sics.se>, craig@sics.se (Craig Partridge) writes: > But there are some SIGs which are working extremely hard to serve their > members well by publishing regular SIG publications and holding first > class conferences. Some that come to mind are SIGOPS, SIGMETRICS, SIGPLAN > and SIGCOMM (apologies to notable SIGs I've left out). Thanks for the info! I've marked a little "+" next to those ones on my ACM SIG listing sheet:-) I've also heard MANY positive things about SIGGRAPH. Would you happen to know about SIGMOD, SIGBDP, SIGCHI, SIGDOC and SIGLINK? Much appreciated... > Editor, ACM SIGCOMM Computer Communication Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jamie Saker jsaker@zeus.unomaha.edu (Internet). Vice President jsaker@unoma1 (BITNET). Director, Information Services . UNO Association of Collegiate Entrepreneurs . . CBA 503, UNO "No Red Beads until further notice. Failure . Omaha, NE 68182 to comply will result in immediate termination." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
gdtltr@brahms.udel.edu (gdtltr@limbo.org (The Befuddled One)) (05/30/91)
In article <15476.284397a6@zeus.unomaha.edu> jsaker@zeus.unomaha.edu (Jamie Saker -- Vice President, UNO ACE) writes: => =>Would you happen to know about SIGMOD, SIGBDP, SIGCHI, SIGDOC and SIGLINK? =>Much appreciated... => I don't know about these, but TOCS is apparently way behind in publication. I have had good experiences with SIGOPS and (formerly) SIGCOMM. Gary Duzan Time Lord Third Regeneration -- gdtltr@brahms.udel.edu _o_ ---------------------- _o_ [|o o|] To be is to be networked. [|o o|] |_o_| Disclaimer: I have no idea what I am talking about. |_o_|
bwalker@marlin.NOSC.MIL (Beth Walker) (05/30/91)
I have had good luck with SIGSOFT so far..I am a new member as of this year. However, I also subscribed to TOSEM, and have yet to see any pubs...anybody know if they have started this one? It was supposed to be new this year.
COUNCIL@NORTHEASTERN.EDU (Edward Council) (05/30/91)
Hi: I have had good success with several SIGs, and like other who have already responded, have seen other SIGs that don't quite cut it. One thing to keep in mind is that many of the SIGs might not publish regularly but they DO send their members copies of conference proceeding that they have sponsored. Given the price (member or non-member) of that proceeding from ACM Press or some other publisher, membership in that SIG is a very cheap way to get a proceeding that might be of interest. You also get it automatically without you having to take any time to order it. Also, as I understand it, all the editorial work on a SIG newsletter is done by volunteers. So if you don't like something, you can change it by helping out. Regarding the status of some SIGs, I have received timely information from both SIGSOFT and SIGCHI. Both of there newsletters are wonderful. In the SIGSOFT newsletter, the regular column "Risk to the Public" is a wonderful summary of hardware and software that might not have worked quite as designed. SIGGRRAPH publishes good stuff but is somewhat late. As I understand it, that is currently changing so you might want to give it a chance. But, a significant reason to belong to SIGGRAPH is to be able to attend their annual confernece at member's rate. Also, TOSEM and SIGLINK publications have either just been printed or will be shortly. When I call ACM HQ about them about six weeks ago, I was told that the journals will be out about a month (from then). I hope this helps. Ed Council council@northeastern.edu
weh@sei.cmu.edu (Bill Hefley) (05/30/91)
Your recent message asked if anyone knew about other SIGS and what they are doing for their members. I know a little about what SIGCHI is doing and has done in the past year or so. SIGCHI continues to publish the SIGCHI Bulletin, an approximately 100 page quarterly publication, which is provided to all members. In addition to the Bulletin, SIGCHI sponsors the annual ACM/SIGCHI Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI) conferences. Our most recent conference was just at the beginning of this month in New Orleans and was attended by about 2100 people, with about 300 of those coming from outside North America. SIGCHI members have recently been mailed the proceedings from that conference, as an additional membership benefit. SIGCHI has also sent its members the CSCW90 and UIST90 proceedings as an additional benefit. CSCW, UIST and the Hypertext conferences, as well as the Document Processing conference, were all sponsored in part by SIGCHI. SIGCHI has also sponsored a number of smaller workshops over time, such as the 1988 Workshop on Architerctures for Intelligent Interfaces (ACM Press has just released the book from this workshop!) The annual CHI conference will be held in Monterey, CA, next year, with the INTERCHI conference (a joint CHI and IFIP Interact conference) planned for 1993 in Amsterdam. Hope this fills you in a bit on the activities of SIGCHI! Bill Hefley Editor SIGCHI Bulletin