Dear list members I write to inform you that, as from July 1, AoIR will be handling membership in a slightly different way than previously. These changes will assist us in more efficiently managing memberships, more effectively retaining and recruiting members and thus materially aid the financial security of your Association. The changes have been thoroughly debated by the Executive over several months and have been agreed as the best way forward for the Association. I would especially thank Monica Murero, our Treasurer, for all her hard work in getting this new approach together, as well as Alex Halavais, Systems Administrator, for his technical systems work. Both have been assisted by Secretary Irene Berkowitz. There are two key features to the new approach. 1) Membership will now be based on an annual renewal date. In other words, a year's full membership will commence on 1 October each year, and end on 30 September each year. A member's 'annual renewal date' will, therefore, be 30 September every year, regardless of when they join. Every year in October members will be able to renew their membership for another year. New members who join from 1 July 2006 to 31 May 2007 will have an expiry date of 30 September 2007; 1 June 2007 to 31 May 2008 will expire at 30 September 2008 and so on. 2) Membership will now also be included with every AoIR conference registration. If a conference registrant is not a member, they will become one up until 30 September of the following year. If a conference registrant is already a member, they will receive an extension on their current expiry date. People who are not attending the conference will, of course, continue to be able to join or renew their membership in the normal manner through direct payment to AoIR of the relevant membership fee. In the next 2-3 months, leading up to the conference, we will be reviewing and developing our membership benefits. We will also be finalising the automated system by which payments for membership will generate immediate access to the AoIR website for members. I look forward to providing further information about the benefits of AoIR membership (and the benefits that members provide to the Association) at a later date. Yours Matthew Allen President of AoIR Dr Matthew Allen Associate Professor Internet Studies Curtin University of Technology, CRICOS 00301J Australia m.allen@curtin.edu.au http://smi.curtin.edu.au/netstudies/allen.htm <https://email.curtin.edu.au/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://smi.curtin.edu.au/netstudies/allen.htm> +61 8 92663511 (v) +61 8 9266 3166 (f) President, Association of Internet Researchers http://www.aoir.org <https://email.curtin.edu.au/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.aoir.org/>