BLAUGI Blog of Autodesk User Group International

Sites are Back on Line

The AUGI sites are back online.  According to our service provider, the disk controller was failing not the hard drive.  The problem has been resolved. All AUGI web properties are back on the Net.

AUGI Website Maintenance Completed

Our web provider has completed the required maintenance.  No further downtime is expected.

Again - we are sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.

AUGI Website Down for Maintenance

We were just informed by our web provider that our web site server has a failing hard drive and that the site has to go down for replacement of the hardware and restoration of the data.  The forums should still be up for viewing, but members may not be able to log in or post. 

The site should be up again tomorrow.

We are sorry for the inconvenience.

AUGI Status Report - January 2009

There has been a lot of change and progress being made within AUGI.  2009 promises to be a year of dynamic advancement, but also a year of stability in the programs you have come to know and love. So lets have a go at listing the things that will not be changing and mention a few new things that are coming soon.

HotNews – AUGI is continuing publication in 2009 with no interruption in services. We have the full stable of writers working to provide the consistent high level articles that you have come to depend upon. We will be unifying the separate issues into one global issue packed with every article for all industries.

Forums – The robust interaction that has always provided you with the timely, search-able, native language knowledge base that allows our members to interact directly with each other and with industry experts is expanding every day. We hope to add new forums as you suggest new ways to exchange thoughts, ideas and answers.

AUGI CAD Camp – We are entering contract negotiations with a provider to develop the spring season of CAD Camp in North America. We have new ideas for enhanced training and networking that we are thinking through. Look for a roll-out of dates soon. We also want to continue expanding CAD Camp style events internationally.

AUGI Local Chapters – We have multiple Local Chapters in process right now. They are expanding our interactions with user groups across the globe.

AUGI Country Chapters – We are expanding our membership through the efforts of our international leaders. We have additional Country Chapters in the works and will soon be expanding our reach in many areas.

AUGI World – We are reviewing the process of publishing AUGI World to see if there are ways to improve distribution and increase page count. In the publishing business, page count for hard copy publishing is based on advertisers. So this is currently under review. I need your feedback on what you would like to see done.

Now for some new stuff...

A New Management Team – We are in contract negotiations with a firm to replace our previous provider. Our future team is accredited by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), the advocate for the nonprofit sector. The ASAE is dedicated to advancing the value of voluntary associations to society and supporting the professionalism of the individuals who lead them. They are also accredited by the AMC Institute. The AMC Institute serves as an information resource for associations, their volunteer leaders, media and others interested in association management companies. Association Management Companies (AMCs) are professional service firms that provide services to associations and groups like AUGI. The new firm is based in the state of Virginia, USA.

Our international connection will be stronger as our new management team is associated with a leading European Corporate Affairs Consultancy, specializing in public affairs led corporate communications and association management. Headquartered in Brussels, they operate through offices and partners across Europe and internationally. They are a fully owned subsidiary of a UK based Marketing and Communications Group.

A New publication - AUGI AEC Edge – We are still dedicated to hard copy publishing because we are pursuing a new publication for the AEC Industry. It is dedicated to those that work in Architecture, Engineering, Civil and Construction industries as they work in the facilities and built environment. Look for more information on this as the publication date grows near.  We are looking at possibly March 2009.

Web Updates - We are looking at expanding our web interactions with many of the tools that make online communities robust.

So 2009 is promising to be a continuation of our best and a year of expansion.

Mark W. Kiker
AUGI President

AUGI Web Properties

Announcement

You may have noticed some “outages” in our websites over the last few weeks. There are concerns by the AUGI Board that the AUGI web properties may go offline because the current provider is not transferring data, access and control of the site content to the Board as part of the transition in services that is taking place. The services that are being provided are available to continue upon payment, but the surrounding access, control and ownership of content is not being transferred to AUGI. Payment to “keep the lights on” will only extend this difficult time. Without payment, the provider is threatening to shut our AUGI sites off. The Board feels that it is not in the best interest of the members to allow this standoff to continue. In the unlikely event that this website service is interrupted, please bear with us as we move to restore services.

As AUGI entered into the transition period after the resignation of Solidvapor, our former management and services firm, we worked constantly to secure the members interests, programs, services and web properties. Much cooperative progress was made as evidenced by the continued services during and after the transition period.

One outstanding issue is access, control and ownership of the contents of this website and forums. It is AUGI’s stance that all of the content is owned by the organization. All of the content is provided by our members and we share in the benefits of this pooled resource under the direction of the Board.

Please understand that the Board has the member’s best interests in mind at all times. We have exhausted every means possible to avoid this eventuality. We continue to stand ready to discuss this to a proper resolution if more options become available. Our desire is to keep the websites active, but not to trade short term availability for long term troubles.

If you have questions you can post them in this thread.

If any websites go down – you can return to BLAUGI for status updates.

Mark W. Kiker
AUGI President
on behalf of the AUGI Board of Directors