[governance] New membership database: choose your own username

[Jeremy Malcolm]

This is long, but important, so please read it.

Before the next poll or election is called, anyone who wishes to participate will have to have an account in the new database that I have created to record IGC membership.  All those who voted in the last election will also be entered into this database.

We are doing this because, until now, there has been no proper IGC membership list, other than the list of subscribers to the governance mailing list (which contains many non-member lurkers, duplicate subscriptions and some defunct accounts).

The advantages of a maintaining a centralised database is that we can use a single list of members (and potential members) for purposes including:

mailing list subscription
editing content on the IGC Web site
determining eligibility to vote for coordination elections and charter amendments

Also, we will finally be able to associate names and (optionally) organisations with email addresses.  Our inability to do this in the past has been a problem for the coordinators.

I will be entering existing members into this database shortly, but I am first giving everyone the opportunity to create their own database entry so that they can choose their own username.  If you don't choose your own username, you will end up with a username like "john.doe".  The username won't be used on the mailing list, but will be associated with any content you may create on our Web site, and possibly for other purposes in the future.  

To create your own entry in the IGC membership database please visit this new page of our Web site:

http://www.igcaucus.org/user/register

When registering, please use the same email address with which you are subscribed to the governance list.  This is important because it will enable me to flag you as an official IGC member (ie. one who voted in the last coordinator elections), if indeed you are one.  (If not, please register anyway - especially if you intend to vote at the next coordinator elections.)

Visiting the page above is also the way, from now on, to subscribe to or unsubscribe from the governance mailing list.  (Unfortunately due to software limitations, your password for the mailing list Web site won't be automatically set to the one you choose when creating your database entry - you'll need to set it again when logging in there, or use any password you may have had there before.)

Existing subscribers to the governance mailing list who have not voted in the list election will not automatically be added to the database.  So, if you did not vote but are nonetheless an active participant, you should register yourself using the link above.  If you don't, your mailing list subscription won't be touched, but you won't have access to participate in polls or to add content to our Web site.

Thanks, and please let me know if you have any questions.  You have one month from now to create your own database entry if you wish, before I will create entries for all the missing members.

PS. Since this email is long enough already, I'll be writing separately about some of the other "phase 2" improvements to our Web site.

-- 
Jeremy Malcolm
Project Coordinator
Consumers International
Kuala Lumpur Office for Asia Pacific and the Middle East
Lot 5-1 Wisma WIM, 7 Jalan Abang Haji Openg, TTDI, 60000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: +60 3 7726 1599

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