Hi Steve, Thanks for your very detailed comments. I want my voice to be heard and I want my professionalism to be recognised. But, as yet, I see no evidence that the BCS is the place to do that. I'll make two very broad points. Firstly, the BCS isn't promoting itself very well. I heard nothing from them during the Digital Economy Act débâcle - perhaps one of the most serious issues of last year. Indeed, the BCS's response to the DEAct is both hiding behind the proverbial "beware of the leopard" poster and so wishy-washy I'm not sure why they bothered. On Network Neutrality - the BCS appears to be silent. Secondly, the BCS isn't promoting itself very well. Now I realise that technically speaking that's only one flaw but I thought that it was such a big one that it was worth mentioning twice. I'm happy to put the effort in to an organisation - but I see no evidence that the BCS is the place to put that effort. Where is the BCS presence in every computing news story? Where is the "10 Reasons you should join"? All I see on the "About Us" page you linked to is a page of links which link off to another page of links which link off to some PDFs. Hardly inspiring, is it? I really don't mean to rag on you or your organisation. The BCS London branch put on a spectacular event - but given that it was free, I'm not sure what advantage it would be to me to join. Are there "member only" events? Are they any good? What can I add to that event as a member? No one has been able to tell me what one can get from the BCS that can't be got elsewhere. Training is hardly unique. Networking can be done through countless organisations. Events and lectures happen every day without the BCS. Campaigning is being done by the Open Rights Group, No2ID, and countless other organisations. I'm a professional in IT and I'm struggling to see why I should put my efforts into the BCS when other organisations perform a similar role and - to be frank - with more success. None of them cost £95 per year. Perhaps the solution is for the BCS to work more closely with ORG and similar campaigning groups? If it doesn't see itself as a campaigning organisation - the BCS needs to be a member of the W3C. In fact - why isn't it? Surely that's exactly where the BCS should be applying its knowledge. I'm sorry this is a bit of a rant. I realise the futility of pissing into the tent - but when the party is happening outside the tent, why would I want to come inside? Terence