This post originated from an RSS feed registered with .NET Buzz by Paschal. Original Post: ASP Insiders - Does the community need that ? Feed Title: help.net Feed URL: http://www.asp.net/err404.htm?aspxerrorpath=/pleloup/Rss.aspx Feed Description: .Net for mankind ! Latest .NET Buzz Posts Latest .NET Buzz Posts by Paschal Latest Posts From help.net

A lot of interesting comments are coming on the ASP Insiders story.

I think Rob Howard gave a good idea about what is it. So I am still not convinced , like Frans Bouma, Scott Galloway  and others.

But this morning, G Andrew Duthie (also member of ASP Insider and person I respect a lot by the way) come back, and strangely with a different approach than Rob Howard (also memeber of the cult) !!?

I inserted my own modest comments in the comment:

OK, as a board member of the ASPInsiders, let me see if I can address some of the concerns expressed here.

The short answer to the question "ASP Insiders - Do we need that ?" is that ASPInsiders wasn't founded to serve the community directly, but rather to serve the community indirectly by providing feedback to the ASP.NET team on upcoming versions of their software.

What is the point to create a hierarchy in the community ? Does it mean that if we want to talk to god, we need to address the apostles.
If I want to mention a bug or feature to be included in Whidbey, I will certainly not going to ASP Insiders, but rather blog to any ASP.Net member I can found now in the blogsphere. We have to move on, and not ging backward. For me, a pyramid of thoughts is the worst that could happen to .Net community.
And you prove there that this group is not independant from Microsoft. How are you going to explain to MVPs that now they have another official voice ?

ASPInsiders is NOT meant as "another MVP program" or anything like it. The criteria by which we select members does include community activity, but what we primarily look for is people who would be good candidates to provide feedback to the ASP.NET team (and potentially other vendors) on their products. Most of the people who formed the current board and membership are people who have been involved in the Whidbey alpha programs and have provided valuable feedback to the ASP.NET team on the early builds.

To give feedback to the vendors, we have now a plethoria of good websites, like 123aspx, to test and review their products.OK here we go again with the elite. How this group formed ? I am sure from a Microsoft ground.

And with all due respect to Rob, I disagree that the ASPInsiders isn't exclusive. Of necessity it is exclusive to some degree. Not everyone can be a member, as we simply cannot open membership to just anyone and have the group perform its function(s) efficiently. Members are selected based on nominations from current members who recommend people with solid expertise in ASP/ASP.NET and who have a good track record of activity of some kind within the community. Once a candidate has received a specified number of nominations, they are presented to the board for a vote. If passed, they are invited to become members. It's as simple as that. Nothing sinister or secretive about it. s whe

This is where goes the confusion. Your are not able to have a clear shared thought with your own fellow members. So for Rob, it's not an elite, for you it is. LOL. And the members who recommend others, sounds like masonry for me, or worst kind of satanic cult.

I can sympathize with your questions about whether another "community group" is necessary, but I hope that understanding the purpose of the group will make it clearer why the ASPInsiders group exists. And I'll be honest with you that we are still, as a group, trying to work out how to present the group to the public in such a way as to minimize confusion about where we fit, or why we're here. Hopefully my comments will reduce, rather than increase, any confusion.

Sorry but nothing in your post has changed my mind. On the contrary, more confusion and uselessness are the words I can think for now. And the word 'public' sounds for me like the minions.
Yes I welcome any community group but not built on top of each other, like a giant tasteless pancake.

Please note that while I am a board member of the ASPInsiders, my statements here are my own, and not necessarily the official position of the ASPInsiders or its board.

Well the last line sounds like a disclaimer that we already found from Microsoft.

So my point is still valid, and a lot of developers are surely agree that we don't need this at all. Anyway I will certainly continue to use the voice that blogging give to me, and continue to help the community.

And , as Scott suggested, if we want, we can start an ASP Outsiders group from now ;-)