<html> <head> <style></style> </head> <body class='hmmessage'><div dir='ltr'> Yup, it's me. I pulled myself out of lurking mode to respond to what I felt was an example of the reality of what lies just beneath the veneer of civility - that attitude of entitlement and elitism that kept me away from the PTG for years.  I finally joined because of this list - back when it was hosted by BYU - even before Andy Rudoff hosted.  The lure of an "open source" discussion; where learning and teaching was valued by many of the technicians I'd get a chance to meet. Associate and non-member bashing really doesn't reflect well on the brand of RPT.  I read almost everything on this list, but don't respond too much anymore.  It was instructive to go back into the archives to find out that this list began to be hosted by the PTG in the fall of 2002.  Even after the move the list claimed: (from the "more info on this list") The "pianotech" list, provided as a community service by the Piano Technicians Guild, is a forum for piano technicians. The list resides on the PTG server and is maintained by the PTG, but the PTG does not control the content in any way. The "pianotech" list is an open list, allowing anyone to subscribe or submit posts. Contrast that with the new list: (which runs too slow for me to use in a meaningful way) "This site is provided as a service for the members of The Piano Technicians Guild." Perhaps this could be a reason for the push to the new software?  I'm troubled by this shift, perhaps as much as I am troubled by my (and your) dues money now being used for radio ads in our local community that are at best a conflict of interest, and at worst a departure from the truth.  From what I understand, membership in the PTG accounts for about a third of the working technicians in the states. Of those members, about a half are RPTs.  I've got to wonder about my commitment of time and money to an organization that advertises against half of the membership... Ron Koval </div></body> </html>