AF6AY wrote:
Lawrence Statton posted on Sat, Mar 21 2009 6:46 am

"Unca Pete" writes:
I'll join the ARRL the day I can choose QEX over the QST
forced subscription that comes with the membership.

Pete k1zjh
Have you ever thought of JOINING ARRL, and using your position as
a member to petition for this change?

Change is made by those who participate.

--N1GAK

CHANGE is made by those who cozy up to the Old Boys Network of the
League. The arch-conservatives there want only ONE thing: Preservation
of their rank/status/title and the ability to Rule. The rest is just
PR BS to convince members that They are 'for' members. As a voting
member of the ARRL (until end of March) for two years, I've gotten a
chance to 'vote' just once and then only for lower positions;
candidacy for Director was unopposed so the incumbent was
'automatically' elevated to another term. Some 'voting,' not.


[...]

Ok, understood, although the ARRL Handbook was "the" eye opener for me
as a kid.

But:


Len Anderson, AF6AY
Life Member, IEEE (a Professional Association)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


Full disclosu I am also an IEEE member. However, despite numerous
efforts by myself and others they could not even get the virtual
communities off the ground and with that dreaded web interface they
insist on keeping they never will. Now I haven't given up yet and one of
the forum admins is also pushing to at least provide a parallel
newsreader access. It certainly ain't rocket science. We'll see.

Then the "professional" side of their member benefits such as the
Financial Advantage Program or FAP. Yesterday I called for the umpteenth
time because a new client of mine wants to see professional liability
insurance. The answer: As usual they will decline to quote because part
of my job is to design medical devices. The topper was when they told me
that the IEEE plan does not cover any work for a company outside the US
(this one is) even if we'd exclude medical devices. Almost dropped my
water bottle. Is the earth still flat and at the end of the oceans we'd
fall off of it? And here I thought they had made it into the 21st
century ...

Oh, and when I asked for a homeowners insurance quote a while ago the
answer was "no plans available for the county where I live". To be
honest, all this doesn't convey too much professionalism.

--
73, Joerg