The offending email: Thanks Tom -- you are a good, sound voice for reason.  I agree that the logic of the three-tier system is good and would support asking our membership to select which list, perhaps among several, they'd like to be on.  However, that's not how it is done now.  Unfortunately the devil is in the details: 1) Fred's latest email stated that he is no longer adding new members to HartfordAudubon since Maggie sent out emails that were not just the CREST.  Fred disagrees with anything but the CREST being emailed and so won't add more people to that list. This is a new change.  I strongly believe that there are times when we want to contact all the members.  I strongly believe that when someone joins an organization it is not just to get two newsletters a year.  For example, info on the Annual Meeting, on Bylaws changes/votes, on program cancelations due to weather are all appropriate emails to send to every membe...

Subject: Hartford Audubon notes introduction Date: Sat, 04 Aug 2007 13:34:27 -0400 From: Hartford Audubon notes <hasnotes@gmail.com> To: Fred Nowak <FredNowak@comcast.net> HAS birders, From time to time Hartford Audubon has a need to quickly get out a message. The most likely need is for the status of a trip but we have also canceled meetings because of snow. Sometimes there is an event to publicize. I am establishing an e-mail list to be of help. Members, especially trip leaders, can send me an e-mail and I will forward it to the HAS notes distribution. My role is simply to provide a central e-mail account with a distribution list and to forward messages. I will not be editing the e-mails I receive. The HAS notes distri...

Maggie Peretto has asked Tom Robben to investigate the creation of a new computer system for HAS. Tom prepared the diagram above and is currently working the yellow box. The plan is to consider resources when Tom’s investigation is finished. This top down approach can work but there is, in my opinion, a substantial risk that HAS will not have the resources to implement the resulting system design. The people resources in question are the "Elephant in the Room" for HAS. There is no great long term harm from a failure to implement this system. The cost would be the delay before work could start on a new system and possibly a reduction in enthusiasm for a new system. I believe that HAS would be better served by what might be much quicker bottoms up approach that begins with understanding the elephant. This is even more important if the elephant turns out to be a mammoth.