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I'm confused. I don't see the contradiction between what I wrote and
what you wrote. To the contrary, the caveats to every statement you made
support what I said or implied. I don't know what you thought I said or
why you felt "compelled" to write.
You seem to have gotten lost in the free dinner AND show. Let me
clarify. The free fine dinner and Broadway show-every month-were only
examples. They are things I find attractive, but you can substitute
whatever else you'd prefer or think "absolutely necessary". The point
is, you don't find STC meetings "absolutely necessary" or even otherwise
compelling enough to warrant a trip.
I never said that $25 was too costly in general. I suggested that people
are unwilling to spend even $25 if they think that $25 can bring a
better ROI elsewhere.
You said you would go to meetings-ONLY "IF" you find one will benefit
you. How does this contradict the idea that people don't attend meeting
because they don't offer a good enough ROI?
Leonard C. PoRRello
________________________________
From: Suzette Leeming [mailto:suzette -dot- leeming -at- gmail -dot- com]
Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2008 8:44 AM
To: Leonard C. Porrello
Cc: John Posada; Rick Stone; techwr-l List
Subject: Re: STC is broken?
I thought I'd said all I need to say on this issue, but I feel compelled
to respond to some of Mr. Porello's comments regarding the commute
time/cost to meetings, since this is frequently my situation. I don't
live in the city, but I would be more likely to commute to an STC
meeting than I would be to attend a "free" dinner or a show in the city.
I only go into the city when absolutely necessary. In my area, there are
many excellent restaurants and theatres outside of the city and closer
to home.
The $25 amount is neither here nor there. If I perceived more value, I
would willingly spend it.
I am keeping an eye on the various topics offered at my chapter's
meetings, and if I find one that I think will benefit me, then I will
make the effort to get to the meetings.
As someone else (sorry I forget who) previously stated, the publications
provided by my membership is my prime reason for joining/belonging.
Suzette Leeming
Ontario, Canada
On Tue, Apr 29, 2008 at 10:59 AM, Leonard C. Porrello
<Leonard -dot- Porrello -at- soleratec -dot- com> wrote:
Possible interpretations of John's comments:
"Conflict with work" = "There isn't enough value to convince my employer
to give me the time away from the office." If an employee could argue
cogently that going to the meetings will result in significantly
improved tech docs, I doubt many employers would object.
"Commute time to get to meeting from work or from meeting to home" =
"There isn't enough value to warrant the commute from my home." In other
words, the cost is greater than the value. I bet the same people would
have little or no problem with the commute time to a free dinner in a
fine restaurant and Broadway show once a month.
"Cannot get a mass transit connection" = "There isn't enough value to
make the trouble of getting there worth while." I bet the same people
would be able to find a way to get into the city for a free dinner in a
fine restaurant and Broadway show once a month.
"Takes away from family time" = "Because this is of little or no
professional benefit, it will in no way enable me to compensate my
family for the time it will take away from them."
"Subject doesn't interest me" = stet.
Regarding the financial side of things, it's arguable that people never
say "money" because they never think, "this is too expensive." Instead,
they think, "Hmmm, do I really want to spend $25 on an STC dinner? Maybe
I'll go to a movie with my spouse instead or take my kids for ice
cream."
Leonard C. Porrello
--
"What I like to drink most is wine that belongs to others." - Diogenes
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