[comp.org.acm] Membership services and fees

theo.bbs@shark.cs.fau.edu (Theo Heavey) (05/06/91)

Hi everybody ---

I have a couple of questions and I would love to see an informal 
poll:

1) Membership dues:
        student $21/year (with discount on membership 1st yr out of 
school)
        regular member $75

        Are these dues too high and why?

2) Services:
        a. students: what do you want and what do you think you get?
        b. regular people: same as above?

3) Do you attend conferences? Why or why not?

I am just a student member that has been affiliated with a student
chapter and am interested --- I know that HQ is revamping membership 
services provided so this could be our collective $.02.

Theo Heavey
Florida Atlantic University

theo.bbs@shark.cs.fau.edu (Theo Heavey) (05/06/91)

Okay I'll go first...
> 1) Membership dues:
>         student $21/year (with discount on membership 1st yr out of 
> school)
> 
>         Are these dues too high and why?
As a student the rate seems okay. I really do not need the Computing 
Surveys and would prefer a subscription to a SIG (of my choice instead).
The CACM is getting more topical just harder to read --- I think we all 
agree to that ;-)

> 

> 2) Services:
>         a. students: what do you want and what do you think you get?
Right now I know that I am entitled to:
        free CACM
        free National Student Magazine (as soon as it starts in '92 [I 
think])
        free Graduate Assistantship Directory (if I write for one) --- BTW
I did --- it is a nice resource in choosing a graduate program if you are 
concerned about the money [fits me to a tee]
        Resume Data bank participation [but need to know how to do that}
        Group Insurance (if I lived in another state)
        Credit card (if I make enough money --- fat chance)
        reduced rates on SIGs and conferences [saved me a lot of money at 
the Computer Science Conference in San Antonio]
        reduced rates on ACM Press/Addison Wesley publications

> 
> 3) Do you attend conferences? Why or why not?
I have attended 1 conference ..... CSC and SIGCSE in San Antonio. I was 
interested in listening to the additional lectures (I never got there) 
after I finished my chapter business/workshops. Unfortunately, mid-term 
exams prohibited my participation on the full level desired ---- I am 
looking forward to being a much more active participant in Kansas City in 
1992.

There is much to do for the professional and academic ---- our chapter
was flying around to catch as much as possible both in the business
meetings and the lectures/discussions. We figured that at conference
ACM stood for "A Confused Member" since we had difficulty occasionally
on how to divide up to cover the most events on our abbreviated stay.

EVERYONE should try this once --- these conferences are addicting.

jmason@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca (Jamie Mason) (05/10/91)

>1) Membership dues:
>        student $21/year (with discount on membership 1st yr out of 
>school)
>        regular member $75
>
>        Are these dues too high and why?

	I am a student.  I find $21 fine.

>2) Services:
>        a. students: what do you want and what do you think you get?
>        b. regular people: same as above?

	I want Programming Pearls back in CACM.

>3) Do you attend conferences? Why or why not?

	I would like to attend conferences, but I can't afford to travel
to them.  If there is one on a topic of interest to me, and it is being
helt in/near Toronto, then I would certainly attend.

Jamie  ...  Segmentation fault (core dumped)
Written On  Thursday, May 9, 1991  at  02:09:04pm EDT