What the future holds for ASA

I don't see why your participation in this group can't yield the same results. ASA has (over the years) garnered a large group of readers. The past is the past. The group has seen some real improvement over the last two years. I don't think a private forum will be of any particular benefit. Just my opinion.

I don't see why your participation in this group can't yield the same results. ASA has (over the years) garnered a large group of readers. The past is the past. The group has seen some real improvement over the last two years. I don't think a private forum will be of any particular benefit. Just my opinion.

Ummmm ..... I think he already tried that and the obvious conclusion is ...... if someone wants to completely disrupt the essance and higher ideals of the group ....... they can. Even if the majority of the particpants object to that disruption, there's absolutely nothing that can be done about it execept perpetuate the disruption.

On the other hand ..... (unless I'm missing something) ..... in any other forum, the venue is the epitiome of dictatorship.

Choose your poison.

You should know that:

1. I have been participating for the past 22 years, just not publicly for the last ten or so to avoid the attacks and other BS occurring in the group.
2. That the forum is not a replacement for the newsgroup, there are links to both on the FaceBook page.
3. The forum WILL be a controlled atmosphere where people do not have to endure personal attacks or other situations and most of the "newer Internet Users" will feel more comfortable.
4. The forum does require registration but it does not ask for your real name, etc... you just have to validate the email address to show that you are a real person. We'll be working on FB integration so that the extra registration for the forum won't be necessary if you are logged into FB already.

Basically you can sit in the cafe and have a civilized discussion (forum) or you can go to the bar next door (newsgroup) and risk the un- civility there. You'll find people to answer your questions either place, which you use is up to you.

-- Steve Ryckman

Visit the new FaceBook Alt.Security.Alarms launchpad at

The only private forum I've seen success with is Rory's cctvforum.com

If I wanted to participate in a private forum, it would ideally be one that only allows verified security professions as members. That way we could discuss dealer pricing and programs, potential weakness in systems, and use industry terms without a newbie going 'huh'?

Such a forum would also allow us to share software that is not available to end-users.

Maybe Mr. Ryckman will consider adding a "Pro's Only" sub-forum?

Not right away because the verification process would need to be decided. Does providing an email address or web URL with a company related page qualify? Do they have to be a licensed company in their home state? What about technicians of a company, do we call for employment verification? Who does this verification process?

As for the forum, if anyone doesn't want to participate in the forum then don't. Everyone knows that what this world needs is more people who are glad to cut down ideas rather than try to promote our industry in a more civilized manner.

Since you're using social media, how about one's connections on LinkedIn? Owners can be verified by County Clerks and Secretary of States, and technicians can prove their employment by disclosing personal info. Of course, that would take any anonymity away.

I'm not cutting down your idea, I was just putting in my 2¢.

To me, it's obviously to complicated to be managed properly. It seems (from this vantage point .... now) that even if managing it was successful initially, that eventually it would become to unwieldy. It would be reason to cause conflict between the veified and the non- verified. There would be people who change jobs and people with an ax of some sort to grind starting false rumors and acusations of who is telling the truth and who's not, would no doubt abound.

Steve is this new "group" being moderated (?) and if so .... by who?

You'll have to excuse me. I've avoided this whole Facebook thing for want of better things to do with my life. I don't know if I will participate or not but I would like to see what becomes of it. I'm trying to sign up for it now. Back when I first came to ASA, I was looking for something a lot different than what happend here so I would be interested in participating if it came close to what I first envisioned. If it doesn't ...... well ...... ASA just might have to do. It is better now than it was here and as long as there are participants I'll hang out.

I'm curious about how control of this phenomena will be accomplished.

Steve IS the moderator...

"The forum is under the exclusive control of Steve Ryckman, a long term member of the security industry. I can tell you to leave my house at any time and I can tell you to leave this forum at any time, end of story."

I don't think it gets any clearer than this, Jim.

RHC: I see no real worth in such things as Facebook and Twitter; frankly, I don't want to know what other people had for breakfast. Nor do I want to connect with strangers other than my customers locally. People coming in to a Facebook security forum are going to be the types that are strictly DIY types, or of the simple minded mind set that believe companies such as Alarmforce (for one) are great services. Dialoguing with them is a waste of time and energy generally. Over the years this forum has been a great place to dialogue with other professionals in the industry even though we have at times disagreed on some things vehemently. Even though it has become somewhat "sparse" of late, it's still worth being here. I see little redeeming value in opening up a forum that will not involve security professionals as it CORE participants.

I personally plan to stay in this forum and ignore moderated groups entirely. Just my vote for what it's worth......

I am of the same mind ...... regarding the "what I had for breakfast" thing .... but ..... I would like to at least give it a view .... to see where it might go. If it's moderated maybe some of the "bad" things you are presuming about it may be controllable. I don't know anything about Facebook or moderated groups ..... so ... taking a look is ...... ummm ... taking a look :-) Could be alright

I just have to freekin figure out how to get in to look at the damn thing.......

Try this:

it IS moderated s= o there ARE "Controls" set in place to maintain a professional atmosphere, = however, it IS intended for PROFESSIONALS ONLY. It's just getting off the g= round so a lot of work has been done but a lot more to go in order for it t= o be successful.

Jim, First, yes. I am (was) a regular here in years past. Bass is the reason I l= eft. I simply created the new forum on a whim one day last week, I think it was,= and that made me remember this place. I stopped by to see how things were = in here and read about the past attempts to start an "Exclusive" group, so = I posted on it thinking it may interest some. No agenda other than to let i= t be known it was there if anyone wanted to try it out. I guess I didn't re= ad back in the archives far enough or I would have seen how bad the fightin= g amongst everyone had progressed. I mean, ONE simple post and already I ha= ve come under attack by Graham and he's already posting personal informatio= n and trying to show how great a stalker he can be. So, let me say this to = hopefully answer your questions, and then...I think I'm done with this grou= p again (possibly after replying to Graham, I haven't actually decided yet)= .

The intent of

upon creation= , was simply to provide a PROFESSIONAL atmosphere for Security Industry per= sonnel to exchange conversations & Ideas, help one another, same as here bu= t with enough control to simply keep the conversations professional and kee= p the name calling and personal attacks and posting of personal info, trade= secrets, user codes, etc. to an absolute minimum. There are NO requirement= s other than a valid e-mail address simply to e-mail you your user info. an= d have you validate that it is an actual working e-mail and not a SPAMBOT (= nearly all web based Message Forums use this method now). There is NO other verification process of any kind and no plans for it.=20 The expectation is to allow anyone to join who believes they belong to such= a group, although to protect sensitive information from being viewed publi= cly, there may be a need to create Private Forums within the main site for = such a thing. Even still, there is no expectation to make people reveal the= mselves to enter these rooms. I expect that permission could be given based= on how well trusted that individual is to be an actual person in the indus= try and a regular user of the forums. In any event, I don't expect people t= o give up their anonymity. This however is NOT a place for DIY'ers or RESID= ENTIAL alarm discussions. Although discussions of Panels that may be used i= n both Resi AND commercial use is acceptable, as long as it pertains to a c= ommercial application. If the moderators feel it is inappropriate for a COM= MERCIAL Based Forum than yes, it may be deleted. Your username and password= are created by YOU and no personal info. is revealed in any way (not even = your e-mail, unless you enable it) to anyone but the Administrator (me) whi= ch, I already see that as a problem for you and I fully understand. It's a = trust thing, you either trust me or you don't. I get that. At this time, th= e only Moderators (who CANNOT see your personal info) are actually personal= friends and/or co-workers of mine that I know in REAL LIFE and ARE in this= industry. If this is acceptable to you (or anyone else here) then by all m= eans come register. If not, no hard feelings. Have a Happy New Year!

That is where Dynamark Security is or was based so I am told.