To: Region 3 Executive Committee From: Region 3 Communications Committee Subject: Communications Committee - Progress and Planning Report for January 2005 After the October Region 3 meeting in Atlanta, the Communications Committee has been concentrating on: 1) The January 2005 Newsletter is in printing and should be in your USPS mailbox soon. Thanks to everyone on the Communications Committee for pitching in and especially to Quang Tang (Newsletter Editor ) for pulling it together and Jim Howard for managing the publication (printing and distribution). It does take a "village" to publish a newsletter. 2) Developing new guidelines for e-mail usage between R3 members to A) effectively communicate ( both one to one and many to many) B) avoid triggering UCE filters The on-going development / discussion is located 3) Enhancing the use of a web based IRC client as another capability in the e-conferencing tool box. The Region 3 Comm Comm has tried to make the IRC as simple as possible. First there was our WebIRC page . This received very favorable responses from many of our members. It goes through firewalls in a single bound and requires no installation if you have a JavaScript enabled browser. However in using the WebIRC page, the beta testers got tired of typing in all the channel information and then receiving errors when they tried to log in without all the required information. So an enhancement entitled WebIRC Central, can be viewed at resulted in a better packaged interface. Choose your conference and then click away. Chairs can publish the URL of their WebIRC Channel pages, such as the ExCom at https://ewh.ieee.org/reg/3/e-conf/webirc/ieee3.html. The user can go directly to the correct WebIRC Channel page with a single click. All the meeting attendee needs to do is enter a Nickname, Realname and the Password. Handy explanations for each of these strings are provided right on the WebIRC Channel page. Logic has been added to prevent common data entry errors like an illegal nickname or forgetting a password. Abbreviated guidelines are provided for first time users at , which can be accessed in a popup window from each of the channel pages. We have also begun to develop a new version of the Guidelines at https://www.ewh.ieee.org/reg/3/e-conf/guidelines/ which acknowledge the availability of both the WebIRC server and WebIRC Central. As always feedback, is not only desired but necessary. So let us know at r3-comm@ieee.org if you have any more comments for improvement or new requirements. This valuable enhancement is primarily due to the collaborative efforts of Bill Clayton, Dave Green, Charles Lord and Mark Stokes... thanks! 4) Developing a "focused plan" that will drive the projects and activities for 2005 based on the Region 3 Strategic Plan 2005+. and the discussion area specifically designated for the development of the operating plans . In summary the Communications Committee intends to concentrate on the following areas in 2005. This definitely includes the support and enhancements to on-going capabilities. 1) Provide support to all R3 Committees: The following are implied directly as priorities in the R3 Strategic Plan 2005+ A)Assist SPC in promoting the Strategic Direction, strategic thinking/management and support training activities B) Assist MDC in recruiting senior industrial managers for membership C) Assist Conferences in communications requirements for ... hotel requirements, websupport, etc 2) Evaluate current communications capabilitiesConduct critical review of all communications capabilities currently available. The last 5 years have yielded significant change in our meetings and communications methodologies. 3) Increased support for Training (remote learning, web based, conventional,etc), R3 Meeting supporting services, Remote Meetings, e-conferencing , collaborative work groups, etc. The requirements from "Your Committee / Function" are critical and must be articulated if the Communications Committee is to provide the support you need. Please contact the Committee , attend regularly scheduled e-conferences and track our progress via the discussions and meeting logs . I am pleased to announce that Bill Clayton has agreed to continue as Vice Chair of the Communications Committee for 2005 and has been invaluable in facilitating the e-conferences for the past several months. Thanks, BillC! Respectfully Submitted: Region 3 Communications Committee =============================================================== 2005 will be another banner year if we continue to work together in a common direction. _ |_)0 |_)||_|_ William B. Ratcliff Region 3 Communications Committee Chair 2005 e-mail w.ratcliff@ieee.org