Author: Bruce Moreland
Date: 10:53:26 05/26/00
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On May 26, 2000 at 13:21:24, Ernst A. Heinz wrote: >Dear Fellow Computer-Chess Enthusiasts, > >I have just read Don Beal's latest report about the current >financial and membership situation of the "International >Computer-Chess Association" (ICCA). > >The alarmingly low number of members and, in particular, its >steady demise over the years aroused my attention. > >Given the fact that the numbers of computer-chess lovers and >especially programmers here on CCC rather seems to _grow_ >every day, I am somewhat confused about the ever declining >ICCA membership. > >Hence, I sincerely like to urge you all to _visit_ the WWW >pages of the ICCA at http://www.dcs.qmw.ac.uk/~icca/, _sign_ >up as new members as quickly as possible, and _order_ all >back issues of the ICCA Journal immediately !!! > >ICCA membership and the back issues of the ICCA Journal are >definitely worth the money for any serious computer-chess fan. > >Please do not hesitate and sign up as an ICCA member today! > >Cheers, > >=Ernst= > >P.S. >My sincere thanks and appreciation to all individuals who >do voluntary work and/or have contributed to the well-being >of the ICCA in other ways since its inauguration. The ICCA needs to establish a presence within the internet computer chess community. They need to have someone here, answering questions, discussing events, posting abstracts of articles, bringing up topics for possible submissions, and generally interacting socially. As of now there is a wall between the internet community and the ICCA. Their journal is not really online, and you won't find out what is in it unless you have a subscription. None of the ICCA officers posts here. The articles are rarely discussed. The tournaments are rarely announced by ICCA board members. The ICCA does not solicit ideas or opinions from us about anything. The internet revolution has been completely ignored by the ICCA, they can't even get the games at their tournaments on-line, and it's always a struggle simply to send email from an ICCA event. This place is an obvious breeding ground for new ICCA members, but it is completely ignored by the ICCA, as apparently is the usenet group. All of this would have been excusable in 1994, but in the year 2000 any organization that doesn't take minimal steps to plug in, and be perceived as plugged in, is going to suffer diminished relevence, as all the communication channels bypass it like a river changing its course. You can't even pay for your subscription on-line, you have to send a check international mail to the UK. They should at least have a big banner page about accepting payments via PayPal or something like that. The first line of your message says it all: "Dear Fellow Computer-Chess Enthusiasts". We are computer-chess enthusiasts here. We are enthusiastic. But where is the ICCA? Are they not enthusiastic? Why aren't they here? Do they really have so little time or interest that they contribute near to zero topics in this forum over the past several years? If this is so, and it can't be fixed via infusion of new board members, the organization is going to continue to decline. In the past some ICCA officers have tried to participate in usenet, and have attracted attention from people who have personal grievances against the ICCA, or who seem to be generally in favor of maximizing entropy everywhere. Things have changed, so I'd like to invite the ICCA to try again. The people who were causing trouble don't seem to be around here much, and can be taken care of if they get out of hand. Also, these troubles can be endured for the good of the organization. I am especially disappointed that Martin Zentner doesn't participate here, since he is our programmer representative on the board, and he is new blood in the ICCA, and would be expected to be naturally more energetic. Speaking of Martin, he isn't even listed on the ICCA web page as being a member of the board. Please feel free to forward this to ICCA board members as appropriate, since they don't seem to be here. bruce
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