I have been chatting privately to Greg on his posting - here is my first response to Greg.
Hi Greg,
In many ways the 'problem' about the role and the future of the IAS outside of=C2=A0the continental USA has always existed. Until the advent of the internet, with no better means of communication the originally monthly (later quarterly) Newsletters and quarterly (later yearly) arrival of Aroideana functioned well enough to create a cohesive society and concomitant feeling of belonging. The emergence of Aroid-in some ways sounded the death-knell of the IAS as a membership-based Society since it was possible to 'join' Aroid-L without being a member. The advent of FB (which bought about the demise of Aroid-L, and the never-really-off-the-ground IAS Forum) served to bring into focus the role (in some peoples views dare I say need - compare IAS membership the IAS FB Group membership) of a fee-demanding Society to 'connect' aroid enthusiasts and provide a means to disseminate information in the form of Newsletters and journal
I do wonder is there is indeed a problem with 'overseas' members feeling that the IAS is little more than a=C2=A0provincial society with a small percentage of overseas membership - I don't have the membership figures to hand (I will=C2=A0ask Albert to get a break-down on membership by country) although I am pretty be certain that membership is 75% US-based - in short what can the IAS do to persuade the almost 2500 members of the FB IAS public group to part with a few dollars per annum - and for that matter=C2=A0is it that these non-member participants to the FB forum don't see the point of joining - for example how many are lapsed members - how many have never been members?
Greg, can I turn your question around - what do you want to see happen that would go some way to reducing your frustration?
Pete