Best Laid Plans
Commodore B. J. Turk, 13 December 2003

You already know what I'm going to write. Don't you?

For months now, I've been saying how I would have the member module finished by such a time, then the stores module done by such a time, and it just hasn't worked out. It's not for lack of trying, believe me.

At present, I am working a more-than-full-time job, putting in 45-55 hours per week. Making things somewhat worse is that I work evenings, which takes away from development time, and my children take even more time from what I might otherwise have available. I am not going to apologize for giving time to my family.



Even so, I recognize that I have created expectations by my own statements, and have failed to meet those expectations. Again, it's not for lack of trying. Still, for that, I suppose I should apologize for my own optimism, but is being optimistic such a bad thing?

After all, optimism is essential to unfortunate and beginning sailors if they are ever to reduce their degree of misfortune and increase their skills. It is that belief that things will get better, even in the face of evidence to the contrary, that makes getting better a possibility at all. We can make nothing positive happen for ourselves if we don't believe that something positive can happen.



As for the status of the various modules, I have nearly completed the stores. I just have some details to work out with PayPal's Instant Payment Notification and develop some kind of order- and inventory-tracking system and it'll be all set. I'm not all that concerned about inventory tracking right now because, other than memberships, all that will be available initially will be boats, sold on behalf of an existing dealer (to whom the inventory headaches will belong).

And the member module is slowly making some progress. There is still much to be done, but things are slowly starting to come together. As I work on it, new features are coming to light that will enhance things, and I've actually started documenting the different features and puzzling out how they will work on paper so I can keep track of them all. As I've mentioned before, coolness is important. If the Acme Yacht Club isn't the best yacht club site on the Internet, I want it to be the coolest at a minimum.



Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself, but I'm also working out incentives for members to help the club gain privileges from physical clubs. I haven't quite got the details worked out (gee, imagine that), but I am certainly open to suggestions in this area. Let me know what ideas you may have.

Last, I am retooling the membership structure from what I had originally envisioned. The membership model that I had developed initially has made it clear that I cannot create a sustainable club with a model that includes virtually-unlimited non-paying members, even at a much lower level of privileges. More than anything, I want the club to be sustainable, and to do that, it has to meet expenses as well as to minimize those expenses. This will be impossible if non-paying members in any significant numbers are draining the club's resources. The dues will still be cheap, but giveaways may adversely affect the club's survivability, so I'm taking a very hard look at those.

I'm going to get back to the grind, and I appreciate your patience. The stores may be up and running by the end of the year (God willing), but it is clear to me the member module will not be.



Other Commodore's Log entries:

      Thankful (13 November 2005)
      Shorter Days, Longer Nights (13 October 2005)
      Summer's End (13 August 2005)
      Summer Sailing (13 July 2005)
      3rd Friday the 13th Status Report (13 May 2005)
      Ode to Spring (13 April 2005)
      The Misfortune Continues... (13 March 2005)

      Commodore's Log Archive (old stuff)


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