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Date: 07 Jun 2008 02:09:12
From: samsloan
Subject: Disaster Coming: Here is the new dues structure as proposed in a
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Disaster Coming: Here is the new dues structure as proposed in a
motion by Bill Goichberg.
Please read this carefully. Please note that Regular Members NO LONGER
RECEIVE CHESS LIFE MAGAZINE. LIFE MEMBERS NO LONGER RECEIVE CHESS LIFE
UNLESS THEY SPECIFICALLY REQUEST IT.
Also, NO MORE LIFE MEMBERSHIPS WILL BE SOLD.
The USCF, as we know it, will not survive these changes:
ADM by Executive Board
1) The Young Adult membership category for up to age 25 at expiration
and the Youth category for up to age 16 at expiration are merged,
resulting in a Youth category for up to age 25 at expiration.
2) USCF shall originate a bimonthly bulletin so that we can offer a
reduced dues option for Regular and Youth members while maintaining
regular contact with these members. This will be a low cost
publication, probably with TLAs and a few annotated games and costing
USCF about $2 per year. It will be intended largely to remind members
about chess and the availability of their online publication.
3) Likewise, USCF shall originate a bulletin published every four
months for Scholastic members, at a cost of about $1 per year.
4) The Regular, Youth and Scholastic categories shall each offer two
dues options, one with lower dues and a bulletin and online magazine,
the other with higher dues and a hard copy magazine.
5) Regular categories are Regular ($29 online, $36 by mail or phone)
and Premium ($42 online, $49 by mail or phone).
6) Youth categories are Youth ($22 direct, $19 through affiliates) and
Premium Youth ($32 direct, $29 through affiliates).
7) Scholastic categories are Scholastic ($16 direct, $13 through
affiliates) and Premium Scholastic ($23 direct, $20 through
affiliates).
8) Multiyear memberships are as follows, each with a $3 affiliate
commission.
Regular: 2 years $52, 3 years $74.
Premium: 2 years $78, 3 years $113.
Youth: 2 years $39, 3 years $55.
Premium Youth: 2 years $59, 3 years $85.
Scholastic: 2 years $28, 3 years $39.
Premium Scholastic: 2 years $42, 3 years $60.
9) Senior membership with hard copy Chess Life, if paid online, is 1
year $36, 2 years $65, 3 years $93. If paid by mail or phone, all are
$7 more. There is no affiliate commission.
10) Family type 1 dues are $70 for 1 year.
11) Family type 2 dues are $44 for 1 year.
12) Prison and Blind dues are $18 for 1 year.
13) The sale of new Life, Sustaining, Senior Life and Blind Life
memberships is discontinued effective Dec 1, 2008.
14) Trial (6 month) membership is discontinued effective Dec 1, 2008.
15) The categories with a bulletin shall be available as soon as
possible after the approval of this motion, but with no bulletin
promised before December 2008.
16) The dues changes for the categories with a hard copy magazine will
go into effect December 1, 2008.
17) The USCF office shall send a letter to life members receiving the
magazine, asking them to choose between Regular and Premium membership
for a minimum of the next two years, with no charge for Premium.
Those who do not respond will be assigned Regular membership.
18) Will spell out here how the bylaws should read to implement the
above changes after I receive a text copy of the current bylaws or
return home to a different computer. Am on the road for the next few
days and my computer won't download the full bylaws in either pdf or
html.
Bill Goichberg
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Date: 07 Jun 2008 06:23:15
From: help bot
Subject: Re: Disaster Coming: Here is the new dues structure as proposed in a
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On Jun 7, 8:34 am, samsloan <[email protected] > wrote:
> Right now, a Life Membership costs $1000 and a regular membership
> costs $41.
>
> If we just invest that $1000 at 4% interest, we have enough to cover
> the cost of maintaining the membership plus we keep the principal
> forever.
Wrong. You have missed the fact that there is
rampant inflation, which reduces your paltry 4%
interest to nothing more than a poor investment
idea.
> More than that, it has been the Life Memberships that have kept the
> USCF alive. Since 1999 the USCF has consistently lost about $300,000
> per year. Well over $2 million has been lost. The USCF has stayed in
> business in spite of these horrific losses because of constantly
> dipping into the LMA or "Life Membership Assets" account.
Then it is run according to generally accepted
accounting principles-- as exemplified by the
U.S. government, which operates in much the
same way.
> This year, the LMA Committee has informed the board and the office
> that it will not allow any more LMA Funds to be used to finance the
> operations deficit.
Why didn't they take a stand when Sam Sloan
was on the board?
> The purpose of the LMA Committee in drawing the line here is to force
> the office to stop mismanagement and to stop wasteful spending, and to
> force economies such as by cutting unnecessary staff and expenses.
>
> Instead of cutting unnecessary staff and expenses, the office has
> responded by proposing to eliminate Chess Life 4 Kids magazine. Now,
> Bill Goichberg proposes to stop selling Life Memberships altogether so
> that we will no longer be squandering these funds.
Bill Goichberg is a ruthless dictator who always
gets his way; if this is what he wants, just accept it.
Could they stop Julius Caesar? And were they
able to stop Adolf Hitler? So then, they will not be
able to stop BG, either.
> In other words, Goichberg's way of stopping the office from throwing
> away money is to deprive the office of getting that money in the first
> place.
Why are you complaining about money, again?
You told us you were only interested in /women/.
> However, that is the wrong approach. What needs to be done instead is
> we need to get competent and experienced business management,
> something we do not now have.
What if the checkers federation were to launch
a hostile takeover? Or the backgammon people?
This decoupling of the magazine from "regular"
membership leads me to imagine a slow, silent
death may be forthcoming for the USCF; not with
a bang, but with a whimper... .
-- help bot
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Date: 07 Jun 2008 05:34:20
From: samsloan
Subject: Re: Disaster Coming: Here is the new dues structure as proposed in a
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On Jun 7, 4:57 am, [email protected] wrote:
> samsloan wrote:
> > Disaster Coming: Here is the new dues structure as proposed in a
> > motion by Bill Goichberg.
>
> > Please read this carefully. Please note that Regular Members NO LONGER
> > RECEIVE CHESS LIFE MAGAZINE. LIFE MEMBERS NO LONGER RECEIVE CHESS LIFE
> > UNLESS THEY SPECIFICALLY REQUEST IT.
>
> > Also, NO MORE LIFE MEMBERSHIPS WILL BE SOLD.
>
> > The USCF, as we know it, will not survive these changes:
>
> > ADM by Executive Board
>
> > 1) The Young Adult membership category for up to age 25 at expiration
> > and the Youth category for up to age 16 at expiration are merged,
> > resulting in a Youth category for up to age 25 at expiration.
>
> > 2) USCF shall originate a bimonthly bulletin so that we can offer a
> > reduced dues option for Regular and Youth members while maintaining
> > regular contact with these members. This will be a low cost
> > publication, probably with TLAs and a few annotated games and costing
> > USCF about $2 per year. It will be intended largely to remind members
> > about chess and the availability of their online publication.
>
> > 3) Likewise, USCF shall originate a bulletin published every four
> > months for Scholastic members, at a cost of about $1 per year.
>
> > 4) The Regular, Youth and Scholastic categories shall each offer two
> > dues options, one with lower dues and a bulletin and online magazine,
> > the other with higher dues and a hard copy magazine.
>
> > 5) Regular categories are Regular ($29 online, $36 by mail or phone)
> > and Premium ($42 online, $49 by mail or phone).
>
> > 6) Youth categories are Youth ($22 direct, $19 through affiliates) and
> > Premium Youth ($32 direct, $29 through affiliates).
>
> > 7) Scholastic categories are Scholastic ($16 direct, $13 through
> > affiliates) and Premium Scholastic ($23 direct, $20 through
> > affiliates).
>
> > 8) Multiyear memberships are as follows, each with a $3 affiliate
> > commission.
> > Regular: 2 years $52, 3 years $74.
> > Premium: 2 years $78, 3 years $113.
> > Youth: 2 years $39, 3 years $55.
> > Premium Youth: 2 years $59, 3 years $85.
> > Scholastic: 2 years $28, 3 years $39.
> > Premium Scholastic: 2 years $42, 3 years $60.
>
> > 9) Senior membership with hard copy Chess Life, if paid online, is 1
> > year $36, 2 years $65, 3 years $93. If paid by mail or phone, all are
> > $7 more. There is no affiliate commission.
>
> > 10) Family type 1 dues are $70 for 1 year.
>
> > 11) Family type 2 dues are $44 for 1 year.
>
> > 12) Prison and Blind dues are $18 for 1 year.
>
> > 13) The sale of new Life, Sustaining, Senior Life and Blind Life
> > memberships is discontinued effective Dec 1, 2008.
>
> > 14) Trial (6 month) membership is discontinued effective Dec 1, 2008.
>
> > 15) The categories with a bulletin shall be available as soon as
> > possible after the approval of this motion, but with no bulletin
> > promised before December 2008.
>
> > 16) The dues changes for the categories with a hard copy magazine will
> > go into effect December 1, 2008.
>
> > 17) The USCF office shall send a letter to life members receiving the
> > magazine, asking them to choose between Regular and Premium membership
> > for a minimum of the next two years, with no charge for Premium.
> > Those who do not respond will be assigned Regular membership.
>
> > 18) Will spell out here how the bylaws should read to implement the
> > above changes after I receive a text copy of the current bylaws or
> > return home to a different computer. Am on the road for the next few
> > days and my computer won't download the full bylaws in either pdf or
> > html.
>
> > Bill Goichberg
>
> Question: Would it satisfy you if the proposal renamed the "Premium"
> memberships "Regular," and "Regular" something like "Economy"? You
> keep making a big deal about "Regular members" no longer getting a
> printed CL, even though the USCF would still be offering the same
> thing under a different name.
>
> As for your other complaints, it's not at all clear that selling life
> memberships is a good deal for the USCF. And asking current life
> members to confirm they still want CL hardly seems onerous. I think
> there are legitimate reasons to question the proposal (for example,
> it's not at all clear what is meant by an "online magazine" or how
> practical it would be to implement), but this kind of "sky is
> falling" hysteria will only discourage more rational criticism.
Life Memberships are obviously a good deal for the USCF.
Right now, a Life Membership costs $1000 and a regular membership
costs $41.
If we just invest that $1000 at 4% interest, we have enough to cover
the cost of maintaining the membership plus we keep the principal
forever.
More than that, it has been the Life Memberships that have kept the
USCF alive. Since 1999 the USCF has consistently lost about $300,000
per year. Well over $2 million has been lost. The USCF has stayed in
business in spite of these horrific losses because of constantly
dipping into the LMA or "Life Membership Assets" account.
This year, the LMA Committee has informed the board and the office
that it will not allow any more LMA Funds to be used to finance the
operations deficit.
The purpose of the LMA Committee in drawing the line here is to force
the office to stop mismanagement and to stop wasteful spending, and to
force economies such as by cutting unnecessary staff and expenses.
Instead of cutting unnecessary staff and expenses, the office has
responded by proposing to eliminate Chess Life 4 Kids magazine. Now,
Bill Goichberg proposes to stop selling Life Memberships altogether so
that we will no longer be squandering these funds.
In other words, Goichberg's way of stopping the office from throwing
away money is to deprive the office of getting that money in the first
place.
However, that is the wrong approach. What needs to be done instead is
we need to get competent and experienced business management,
something we do not now have.
Sam Sloan
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Date: 07 Jun 2008 02:57:49
From:
Subject: Re: Disaster Coming: Here is the new dues structure as proposed in a
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samsloan wrote:
> Disaster Coming: Here is the new dues structure as proposed in a
> motion by Bill Goichberg.
>
> Please read this carefully. Please note that Regular Members NO LONGER
> RECEIVE CHESS LIFE MAGAZINE. LIFE MEMBERS NO LONGER RECEIVE CHESS LIFE
> UNLESS THEY SPECIFICALLY REQUEST IT.
>
> Also, NO MORE LIFE MEMBERSHIPS WILL BE SOLD.
>
> The USCF, as we know it, will not survive these changes:
>
> ADM by Executive Board
>
> 1) The Young Adult membership category for up to age 25 at expiration
> and the Youth category for up to age 16 at expiration are merged,
> resulting in a Youth category for up to age 25 at expiration.
>
> 2) USCF shall originate a bimonthly bulletin so that we can offer a
> reduced dues option for Regular and Youth members while maintaining
> regular contact with these members. This will be a low cost
> publication, probably with TLAs and a few annotated games and costing
> USCF about $2 per year. It will be intended largely to remind members
> about chess and the availability of their online publication.
>
> 3) Likewise, USCF shall originate a bulletin published every four
> months for Scholastic members, at a cost of about $1 per year.
>
> 4) The Regular, Youth and Scholastic categories shall each offer two
> dues options, one with lower dues and a bulletin and online magazine,
> the other with higher dues and a hard copy magazine.
>
> 5) Regular categories are Regular ($29 online, $36 by mail or phone)
> and Premium ($42 online, $49 by mail or phone).
>
> 6) Youth categories are Youth ($22 direct, $19 through affiliates) and
> Premium Youth ($32 direct, $29 through affiliates).
>
> 7) Scholastic categories are Scholastic ($16 direct, $13 through
> affiliates) and Premium Scholastic ($23 direct, $20 through
> affiliates).
>
> 8) Multiyear memberships are as follows, each with a $3 affiliate
> commission.
> Regular: 2 years $52, 3 years $74.
> Premium: 2 years $78, 3 years $113.
> Youth: 2 years $39, 3 years $55.
> Premium Youth: 2 years $59, 3 years $85.
> Scholastic: 2 years $28, 3 years $39.
> Premium Scholastic: 2 years $42, 3 years $60.
>
> 9) Senior membership with hard copy Chess Life, if paid online, is 1
> year $36, 2 years $65, 3 years $93. If paid by mail or phone, all are
> $7 more. There is no affiliate commission.
>
> 10) Family type 1 dues are $70 for 1 year.
>
> 11) Family type 2 dues are $44 for 1 year.
>
> 12) Prison and Blind dues are $18 for 1 year.
>
> 13) The sale of new Life, Sustaining, Senior Life and Blind Life
> memberships is discontinued effective Dec 1, 2008.
>
> 14) Trial (6 month) membership is discontinued effective Dec 1, 2008.
>
> 15) The categories with a bulletin shall be available as soon as
> possible after the approval of this motion, but with no bulletin
> promised before December 2008.
>
> 16) The dues changes for the categories with a hard copy magazine will
> go into effect December 1, 2008.
>
> 17) The USCF office shall send a letter to life members receiving the
> magazine, asking them to choose between Regular and Premium membership
> for a minimum of the next two years, with no charge for Premium.
> Those who do not respond will be assigned Regular membership.
>
> 18) Will spell out here how the bylaws should read to implement the
> above changes after I receive a text copy of the current bylaws or
> return home to a different computer. Am on the road for the next few
> days and my computer won't download the full bylaws in either pdf or
> html.
>
> Bill Goichberg
Question: Would it satisfy you if the proposal renamed the "Premium"
memberships "Regular," and "Regular" something like "Economy"? You
keep making a big deal about "Regular members" no longer getting a
printed CL, even though the USCF would still be offering the same
thing under a different name.
As for your other complaints, it's not at all clear that selling life
memberships is a good deal for the USCF. And asking current life
members to confirm they still want CL hardly seems onerous. I think
there are legitimate reasons to question the proposal (for example,
it's not at all clear what is meant by an "online magazine" or how
practical it would be to implement), but this kind of "sky is
falling" hysteria will only discourage more rational criticism.
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