Re: Online Membership

[bobplankmail@aol.com]

John raises a valid issue. We do need a written Privacy Policy (and a Liability Disclaimer Policy) covering the Internets.
 
I quote below from "Guidebook for Directors of Nonprofit Corporations," second edition, published by the American Bar Association (2002). 
 
"Confidential Information.  The nonprofit corporation should also exercise care to protect its confidential and proprietary information.  Employees, volunteers, and others may have access to trade secrets or confidential information such as donor or member lists, personnel information, medical records, patient or client information or other data or materials that must be kept confidential.  The nonprofit corporation should adopt a confidentially policy and should take reasonable precautions (such as passwords, limited distribution, stamping materials 'CONFIDENTIAL' to protect against unauthorized dissemination of the organization's confidential information."  Page 159-160; Emphasis added.
 
Privacy is a hot button issue with many.  The laws vary from state to state and are not static.  That's not to say that a member list, without addresses, is "confidential information."  So far as I have determined, such a list presently by law is not "material that must be kept confidential."  
 
I'm inclined to agree with John Jones, favoring the "simple unprotected approach just like the SJI does," because I do not view widespread dissemination to be a commercial practicality because of the high costs that would be involved in matching my name with an address. I would object (mildly) if it turns out that there is an inexpensive high tech way to do so, and as a result I got a flood of Invitations to Join from the orchid, rose, hosta, daylily, cactus, and gourd societies.   
 
Since the law does not appear to be determinative of the matter, it should be decided on other grounds, such as (a) whether rank and file members would strongly object on privacy grounds to their names, without addresses, being available on the AIS web site; and if so (b) whether overcoming such possible objections are outweighed by the complications of password protecting the data; or (c) whether just to continue providing the lists to the RVPs by mail or fax on hardcopy, and to continue relying on the members' own resources, or the RVPs, to remind them of the need to renew.
 
Bob Plank

-----Original Message-----
From: jijones@usjoneses.com
To: aisdiscuss@aisboard.org
Sent: Thu, 18 Jan 2007 12:35 PM
Subject: [AISdiscuss] Online Membership


I am investigating what it will take to have the ability for a member to check their membership expiration date online and for RVPs to get a list of the Region members and expiration dates. (The database would have ONLY name, expiration date, and region number). 
 
My question is this: 
 
The easiest implementation would allow anyone to get the region list (or for that matter look up the expiration date of any individual) 
 
There is no other personal information in the database. I don't think having the names/expiration date of everyone in the region is of value to anyone except the RVPs checking membership. 
 
To put a password protected front end on the database would involve more programming and an administrative burden managing passwords. Having a single PW/ID published in the bulletin only keeps out people that don't have access to a bulletin (and of course requires that people remember where to find the PW) 
 
Personally I favor the simple unprotected approach just like the SJI does. See: 
 
http://www.gixxergirl.org/sji/sji_search.html 
 
(BTW the person that programmed the SJI lookup does not have the time to do the same for AIS, so I have to look for other solutions) 
 
So your thoughts please (I'd like to hear from everyone please) 
 
Thx 
 
John | "There be dragons here" 
  | Annotation used by ancient cartographers 
  | to indicate the edge of the known world. 
 
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