Re: Are you a newbie? Start here!

Merry Christmas!
 
I need to start by saying that I greatly appreciate everyone's help
over the month or so, since I've joined, and that I don't personally
know any of you.
 
That said, there are many ways to take this whole conversation that's
gone back and forth here.
 
The impression I've gotten is that like any business, program or
project, you need clear goals/objectives.  What is the purpose of the
iSociety site.  That purpose needs to be communicated to the visitors. 
Is it for content, for links/reference?
 
I think Joe's comments were intended as criticism.  As a new site, you
can't grow nor improve/evolve if you don't know what needs to change, or
what your objectives are.
 
For iSociety to bear any credence, I also think that IBM needs to give
input.  IBM also needs to get serious about their website, and provide
LINKS THAT DON'T END IN PAGE NOT FOUND.
 
... I also want to volunteer to help iSociety, if there is going to be
a clear objective to support the "I" we all love.

My .02,
Jeff
 
"I" comes before all "Others"
 

"Trevor Perry" <tperry@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> 12/22/2006 12:14:50

PM >>>

Alan,

Thank you for getting it. And I appreciate your support. This ~is~ the
part 
Joe misses. The fact that together, as a community, we can make a 
difference. Connecting the community is best done loosely - remember
how the 
tight connections of iSeriesNation have faded? Joe is also able to
connect 
his work with iSociety - he has a lot to contribute. Given his past
rants 
against other parts of our community, I do not expect him to take this
lying 
down.

It is my opinion that those people who wish to sit back and demean the

efforts of something that can make a huge difference in our future, are

obviously not evangelists, but zealots. We may not convince ALL the
zealots 
to become evangelists, but iSociety is our best chance to bring the 
community together.

And Joe, your unjustifiable personal vendetta against one website does
not 
help bring the community together.

Trevor

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Cassidy, Alan" <CassidyA@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Midrange Systems Technical Discussion rivendell.midrange.com" 
<midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, December 22, 2006 10:52 AM
Subject: RE: Are you a newbie? Start here!

Look, cut Trevor some slack, guys, and cut Common some slack, it's

more 

than many of us have been doing! I don't know if you folks know what

you 

potentially have here. And as to "__It's just a loose confederation

of 

other web sites.__" .....Well, then, ...midrange-L is "just a loose 
confederation of" i-geeks, well! :)

It might take a slow start, but as mind-share grows --among us

i-blessed 

:)--and as the guys doing the work at iSociety get good at it, this

thing 

is going to snowball down the hill and look out below.. The ones that

do 

the most might benefit the most, that's okay, it's supposed to work

okay, 

but everybody who has a way to benefit can also get into the mix it

looks 

like to me.

And even grunts like me have the benefit of getting to work another

day 

and on a decent computing machine if we can help the market know

about it.

One thing we can ALL do (if I understand this right) is to add our

own 

stories. I've been a missionary and one thing we learn is that nobody

can 

mess with your own personal story, what you've seen and done, and :)

from 

what I've seen of other systems (and software installs), we can do

the 

_world_ a _lot_ of good by taking IBM's own system and FORCING their

own 

Windows-weenies and their marketing departments to sit up and take

notice! 

Shame them into actually engaging helping! :-)

I saw a computer press article once where they guy expressed

amazement at 

the reaction of i-guys to slurs against their machine! Hah! Same as

the 

Oracle salesman I met at my daughter's wedding, awed at the stubborn

tenacity of the JDE World users who refused to give up their systems

for a 

chance at a Windows installation! Imagine that!

IBM has to be officially "ecumenical" about it :) but we don't! This

can 

be the marketing coup that IBM should have pulled...

System i and its loyal fans have hundreds and even thousands of web

pages 

spread all over the Internet, but now put them in one place, do the 
link-go-round (Web ring?) or whatnot, add your own stories.

Eventually the 

buzz begins.

--Alan


-----Original Message-----
On Behalf Of Joe Pluta
Sent: Friday, December 22, 2006 10:43 AM
Subject: RE: Are you a newbie? Start here!

From: albartell

THIS is the stuff that should be on the iSociety type pages.

I agree.  Trevor, you want input?  Here it is.  iSociety should

provide a

ton of links to THIS information.  If you're going to have 12 or 17

or 21

links (or whatever) to System i Portal, you ought to have at LEAST as

many

to IBM's information.

And don't say that System i Portal provides those links, because I

can't 

get
their IBM Docs search to work at all.

Joe

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