Hello,
At the August 2008 PSUBS Convention, the subject of membership was raised
and a consensus of attendees indicated that they were in favor of creating
a PSUBS membership program with certain features and benefits targeted
only to the membership. Of primary interest were targeted mailing lists
for specific discussions, active monitoring and moderating of topics, a
stated commitment to safety, and discounts from industry partners that
might be available to us.
Although not yet complete, we are ready to accommodate any "early birds"
who wish to start their membership at this time with limited benefits.
Available immediately are six targeted mailing lists for members-only, and
members may suggest others that may be appropriate:
1) "MEMBER-FORUM" for general topics and discussions
2) "1ATM" for discussions specific to 1ATM submersibles
3) "AMBIENT" for discussions specific to ambient submersibles
4) "EXPERIMENTAL" for non-traditional submersible design/construction
topics
5) "ROV" for discussions specific to ROV and AUV vehicles.
6) "SAFETY" for topics specific to safety, standards, and guidelines
As a condition of PSUBS membership, you must indicate that you have read
and accept the "PSUBS Membership Agreement" which is available at
http://www.psubs.org/membership/PSUBSMembershipAgreement.pdf This is an
important legal document in which you give up certain legal rights, so
please read it carefully.
You can pay for membership online via PayPal or send us a check or money
order. All instructions are at http://www.psubs.org/membership
Details of "planned" membership features are listed at
http://www.psubs.org/membership and include:
- Official membership card with unique ID number
- Official PSUBS Lapel Pin and Bumper Sticker
- Access to member-only discussion lists
- Member BIO page and web-publishing your project photos
- Discounts on PSUBS sponsored conventions and meetings
- Discounts on products from our industry partners
- Discounts on various items from the PSUBS online store
At the 2008 convention, it was specifically requested that a PSUBS coffee
cup be distributed with every paid membership. Unfortunately, it turns
out that custom logo coffee cups are relatively expensive. The cheapest
price I could find was $10 (not including shipping). Although the price
goes down when buying bulk, it isn't reduced all that much (about $8 each
I think). Since we have no way of knowing how many people are actually
interested in becoming a member, purchasing 100 coffee cups in bulk just
won't work since we don't have $800 to spend on a bulk order. I even
looked into purchasing our own thermal transfer printer for coffee cups,
but they are quite expensive as well, at between $600 and $1200 (not
including coffee cup blanks) which we also cannot afford. Therefore, we
have settled upon providing a PSUBS lapel pin and bumper sticker free with
your paid membership. For those that still want a coffee mug, clock, or
something else, we will set up an account with cafe express or similar
provider and let you order your own item at whatever the actual cost is.
I expect numerous questions regarding membership. I have anticipated some
below. Please try to ask any other questions on this discussion list so
that everyone else can view the answer. If you have a question you want
to ask privately, reply to my psubs email address and I will address your
concerns.
QUESTIONS / ANSWERS
Q) What is the cost of PSUBS membership?
A) $35.00 per year
Q) What do I get with my membership?
A) Tangible items include a membership card, lapel pin, and bumper
sticker. In terms of services you receive, access to members-only
discussion forums, discounts for various products and services as we
negotiate them, discounts from the PSUBS online store, and anything else
that we add. Got a suggestion for something else you want? Let me know
and we'll try it.
Q) When will *all* the membership features be available?
A) We are working diligently to finish up the BIO and Project Area
features. However, work on such is done part-time (usually evenings)
after our "day" jobs are complete and time permits. I cannot provide a
specific date of completion, but our target is now June 2009.
Q) Is PSUBS.ORG only going to be available to members now?
A) No, the vast majority of the website will remain public. However,
expect some features to become members-only, such as providing web-space
for project areas.
Q) What happens to the publicly available mailing list
(personal_submersibles@psubs.org) ?
A) Nothing, except possibly a change to the name of the forum. This
mailing list will remain in place and non-members will still have access
to it. It's possible that the name may change to "questions" or
"public-forum", but that has not been decided at this point. In any
event, unless you remove yourself from this list, you will continue to
receive mail from it and be able to participate in discussions associated
with it. Furthermore, we expect that members will continue to monitor and
participate in this list so that they can share their expertise with the
general public as appropriate. One of the things we need to do, is to
make sure our members with advanced knowledge help spread accurate
information when questions from newcomers are sent to the public email
forum. In general, "psubbers" should always attempt to help newcomers
come up to speed. We all started with no knowledge and we all benefit
when knowledge is delivered to others. However, we also expect that the
bulk of advanced topics will occur within member-only forums because of
the more targeted environment it provides. If the membership program is
successful, you should expect that the public mailing list will become an
entry point for general questions by newcomers. Newcomers are certainly
welcome to hold detailed discussions, but we anticipate that most of the
"expertise" for advanced topics will occur within member-only forums.
Q) You say things will mostly stay the same. Yeah, maybe now, but what
about the future?
A) We have always had a commitment to sharing knowledge, not hoarding it.
Especially when it comes to issues regarding safety and helping newcomers
"learn the ropes". Ray and I share the same desire, to make as much
information available to the public as possible. This has been the goal
of PSUBS from day one, and we are not likely to change our philosophy
after all this time.
Q) What about existing photos and project space on the website?
A) We still need to finish up the "photo" section that use to exist and is
now under reconstruction. Anyone is welcome to submit a photo of their
submersible and have it published on the web site, and all photos we
currently have will eventually be published again. This is just a matter
of time. Relative to project space, the current plan is that eventually
only members will be able to obtain such project space on PSUBS.ORG and
have photo-journals that document their work. Non-members will still be
able to view member projects, but non-members who want to display their
own projects will need to secure free web space with other providers such
as frapper.
Q) What about video?
A) No changes here. We do not have the resources or bandwidth to feed
video from PSUBS.ORG. Our video policy for everyone is the same. Find a
provider where you can upload your video for free (youtube.com for
example) and then send us a link to it. We will gladly publish a link to
your submersible video whether you are a member or not.
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