topic Goodbye ... (maybe ...) in Welcome

Goodbye ... (maybe ...)

rslade — Sun, 30 Jun 2019 22:35:53 GMT

I guess it all goes back to the killing of the forum. The original forum, even if it was on Yahoo. It still had 6,000 mostly pretty vocal members, mostly pretty passionate about infosec. Also pretty passionate about ISC2, especially when ISC2 made a mistake.

So, ISC2 killed it.

And, in it's place they gave us the "community," this grand playpen, open for all the world to see, and open for anyone with the slightest interest in getting a CISSP or related certificate to post endless repeats of "how do I pass the exam?" I'm not really keen on the social media aspects of it, but I do try to help newcomers to our profession.

(Meanwhile, we few, we unhappy few, we band of brothers and sisters, started a replacement forum, which we have been unable to get more than 250 people to join. [Sigh.])

But I probably would have been happy giving increasingly snarky suggestions to read "Security Engineering" and get some experience had it not been for the AMF debacle. Every year, of course, I have been asking myself why I'm paying U$85 to ISC2, particularly since, other than the teaching I did for ISC2, I've never actually needed a CISSP for any of the work I've done or jobs I've held. And then suddenly, with no increase in any tangible benefits, I had to justify U$125, and, on top of that, because of the switch from arrears to advance billing, pay twice over.

(No, I don't consider giving PDI ten million bucks for those "courses" a tangible benefit.)

(Just as I'm seeing my way clear to retiring, too.)

At the same time, the revamping of all ISC2 systems seems to have come to completion. Like the killing of the forum and it's replacement with the "community," this seems an endless procession of taking something that worked, and replacing it with something that doesn't.

(In a moment of rather heavy irony, this week it is the AMF system's turn. Apparently it is going to take four whole days to get it replaced and up and running again.) (If it ever does ...)

Also, the past fifteen years have seen a steady slide from the volunteer organization that, even if it had bugs in it, I loved, to a full on corporate enterprise that not even a mother could love.

I could, of course, pay the new AMFs for another year, and then pay a one-time fee of U$100 to become a "Retired CISSP." What for? What earthly benefit does that give me? (What heavenly benefit, come to that?)

OK, I can't vote for the Board. Well, over 20 years, it's become clear that ISC2 has a heavy commitment to recycling in terms of Board members, so that doesn't sound like too much of a loss.

This weekend is the deadline to pay my AMFs. I'm not going to. There simply isn't any point: there doesn't even seem to be an organization left to support. Just a company, going after every cash grab it can.

Now, as soon as I go into default, I'm sure the new membership system will flag everything associated (through the new federated sign-on system), and my access to the "community" will end. (Well, fairly sure. At least, that's what I assume it is intended should happen. Whether it actually works might be open to question ...) (ISC2 certainly seems to think this will happen, since they sent me a fairly ominous letter stating "If you do not align your account with the new AMF policy by June 30, 2019, your certification or associate status will be suspended. If suspended, you will not be able to claim that your (ISC)Â² certification or associate status is valid, and access to your (ISC)Â² account, member benefits and digital badge will be restricted.") Of course, since access is almost completely open, I'll still be able to read everything that goes on in the "community." But I might not be able to post. (I'm not sure how that might be justified, since you don't actually have to have any certifications at all to have an account on the community, so ...)

In any case, for any of you who care, if I suddenly disappear, this is goodbye from me ...

Re: Goodbye ... (maybe ...)

dcontesti — Sat, 29 Jun 2019 20:12:17 GMT

Rob,

I for one, hope that you do not disappear. You have brought some very interesting topics to the Community and have given me a smile from time to time.

As I understand it, the Community is supposed to be a public forum, not just one for members as we have seen from some of the posts on here (folks, wanting to know about experience requirements, etc.).

I decided to keep my CISSP however, when I got the bill for $770, I had to choose which certs to let go.....

Again, look forward to seeing you post on July 2nd (the 1st is a holiday for Canada..it's our birthday).

Best

Re: Goodbye ... (maybe ...)

Steve-Wilme — Mon, 01 Jul 2019 07:47:07 GMT

Always a difficult decision to not take the easy route of paying up for another year. I went through the same thing with ISACA. I honestly couldn't see what I got for my money, other than the journal and access to some online materials. Over the year resources that used to be included in the membership became chargeable. You know the pattern, when a membership organisation starts to think of itself in more and more commercial terms and stops listening.

Re: Goodbye ... (maybe ...)

rslade — Mon, 01 Jul 2019 18:41:16 GMT

Hmmmm.

So far, so ... good?

I still seem to be here. I've made a post, I've made a "reply via email," and I even created a post in the CISSP Group (which should be kind of an acid test).

Mind you, this could all be down to the fact that the AMF system is down right now.

I checked out my cert status on the verification sites (both old and new), and I still show as holding the CISSP, although it does show my expiration date as yesterday ...

Re: Goodbye ... (maybe ...)

denbesten — Mon, 01 Jul 2019 21:47:39 GMT

Does "yesterday" correspond to your normal 3 year cycle, or is it clearly a result of your not paying the piper?

Re: Goodbye ... (maybe ...)

CraginS — Tue, 02 Jul 2019 15:04:53 GMT

@rslade wrote:
Hmmmm.

So far, so ... good?

I still seem to be here. I've made a post, I've made a "reply via email," and I even created a post in the CISSP Group (which should be kind of an acid test).

Mind you, this could all be down to the fact that the AMF system is down right now.

I checked out my cert status on the verification sites (both old and new), and I still show as holding the CISSP, although it does show my expiration date as yesterday ...

Given that it seems to be taking approaching two years to straighten out the CPE tracking parts of the isc2.org web site, the automata may not kick you out of the community for a year or more after you let your membership lapse.

Re: Goodbye ... (maybe ...)

rslade — Tue, 02 Jul 2019 23:01:39 GMT

> CraginS (Advocate I) posted a new reply in Welcome on 07-02-2019 11:04 AM in the

> Given that it seems to be taking approaching two years to straighten out the CPE
> tracking parts of the isc2.org web site, the automata may not kick you out of
> the community for a year or more after you let your membership lapse.

Well, I'll let you know. (Or not, and then you'll know ...)

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Re: Goodbye ... (maybe ...)

rslade — Tue, 02 Jul 2019 23:56:15 GMT

> denbesten (Community Champion) posted a new reply in Welcome on 07-01-2019 05:47

> Does "yesterday" correspond to your normal 3 year cycle, or is it clearly a
> result of your not paying the piper?

It seems to correspond to the yearly cycle, and it's the date mentioned in the various email threats and the one actual piece of snail mail I received ...

Re: Goodbye ... (maybe ...)

AppDefects — Wed, 03 Jul 2019 19:12:05 GMT

@rslade wrote:

In any case, for any of you who care, if I suddenly disappear, this is goodbye from me ...

I think I'm going to cry 😞 I will miss your humor. Your objectivity. Your unfiltered opinions. I will miss the truth.

Re: Goodbye ... (maybe ...)

AlecTrevelyan — Thu, 04 Jul 2019 20:29:19 GMT

Goodbye my friend
I know you're gone, you said you're gone
But I can still feel you here
It's not the end
Gotta keep it strong
Before the pain turns into fear
So glad we made it
Time will never change it, no no no
No no no no

+++

You don't need to be a member to post here - you don't even need to be human!

You'll just lose access to the restricted sections of the forum, but no great loss there!

Re: Goodbye ... (maybe ...)

rslade — Thu, 04 Jul 2019 22:51:39 GMT

> AlecTrevelyan (Advocate I) posted a new reply in Welcome on 07-04-2019 04:29 PM

> Goodbye my friend I know you're gone, you said you're gone

Anticlimactic, isn't it?

> But I can still
> feel you here

Heck, I can still read me here ...

> You'll just lose access to the restricted sections of the forum

Well, apparently I still have access to the CISSP Group, so ...

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Re: Goodbye ... (maybe ...)

AlecTrevelyan — Fri, 05 Jul 2019 07:39:17 GMT

@rslade

You might have not seen the youtube link through your email setup, or recognised the lyrics so...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbDNolLUQrw&feature=youtu.be&t=69

Looks like I might be getting cut before you even though I paid my fees!

https://community.isc2.org/t5/Member-Support/Erroneous-Member-Profile-Warning/m-p/24627#M4769

Re: Goodbye ... (maybe ...)

rslade — Fri, 05 Jul 2019 19:14:43 GMT

> AlecTrevelyan (Advocate I) mentioned you in a post! Join the conversation below:

> @rslade You might have not seen the youtube link through your email setup, or
> recognised the lyrics so...

Yup. You're right: the links don't come through on the email message, but I figured that's what you were doing. (Bit busy right now, so I haven't had time to listen to the songs, but ...)

> Looks like I
> might be getting cut before you even though I paid my fees!
> https://community.isc2.org/t5/Member-Support/Erroneous-Member-Profile-Warning/m-
> p/24627#M4769

Yeah. Weird and slightly ironic. However, we both seem to be still posting ...

Re: Goodbye ... (maybe ...)

rslade — Fri, 25 Oct 2019 18:36:39 GMT

These days, I am just firing up a browser window, getting to the "community," and I'm already logged in. (Whatever "cookie" is keeping me logged in is pretty persistent: it's survived for months over quite a number of system reboots and upgrades and updates on the browser.)

Tried to make a posting from another device yesterday, and my login no longer works. So, whenever this cookie runs out, I'm definitely gone ...

(Rather bizarre, in view of the fact that absolutely anyone can create an account on the "community" ...)

Re: Goodbye ... (maybe ...)

dcontesti — Fri, 25 Oct 2019 18:38:39 GMT

So I am working from my phone so hopefully this works.

I thought the Community was open to all and that you did not need to be a member to belong

Hmmmmm

Sent from my iPhone

Re: Goodbye ... (maybe ...)

rslade — Fri, 25 Oct 2019 19:11:39 GMT

> dcontesti (Community Champion) posted a new reply in Welcome on 10-25-2019 02:38

> So I am working from my phone so hopefully this works.

Seemed to.

> I thought the Community
> was open to all and that you did not need to be a member to belong Hmmmmm

Well, it's still open "read only." Anyone can see almost anything on the
"community" (and, as I've pointed out, it's often easier to use Google and
"site:community.isc2.org" to find things on the "community") they just can't
contribute.

And, anyone can create an account. If/when my "cookie" access disappears, I
could create another account, but, of course, it would have no connection to the
existing account. And the existing account seems to be semi-dead. As I say, I can
still open a window and "be" logged on, but I can't use my account, anymore, to
log in from any other browser or device.

If/when the "cookie" access disappears, it will be interesting to see if this "reply
via email" access works for a while.

So many wonderful access control inconsistencies in the "community"!

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