IMSMA Newsletter and Website - Reply from Alan Arnold (2)
Reply to My follow up (1) by Alan Arnold, GICHD
Sorry I missed the newsletter. Again it is not a case of no interest on our part, but rather the response from the field. You are the first person to even mention this idea to us in a very long time. This does not mean that others might not be interested, but it does indicate a certain lack of demand for the idea in the field. In addition we will be making more extensive and frequent updates to our web site in the future which we hope will meet your needs. Look for regular updates to start right after the summer vacation period ends.
As far as V3 is concerned I understand your concern with regard to future support efforts. As you know the developer password has never been made available to anyone outside the IMSMA development team. There are many reasons for this decision. Among these is the fact that we have always felt that in order to maintain support for the system a base configuration was required. The fact that we will begin to phase out development and updates for V3 does not mean that you will need to begin making internal code changes to the software in order to continue using it. As you know it is very possible to maintain, customize and use the system very effectively without making any internal changes to the code.
I strongly advise against any attempt to change the IMSMA internals. At the very least this would make it more difficult to complete a transition to the new IMSMA when it is ready. I am afraid that I would not like to think about the worst possible outcomes. We will continue to work with you to support MACA and meet the needs of larger programmes. MACA has already done a lot with IMSMA and as you know there is still a lot to explore in the system without making any changes.
The fact that ETHZ is no longer going to be part of the team does not mean that we have lost all of our expertise or our ability to respond to the needs of the field. Our regional support team has a long experience with IMSMA and we will soon begin work with a new team of highly professional and experienced developers. While IMSMA V3 is a complex system it is not that complex. The technology used is common to a number of data base applications and can be easily understood. Your request for the password shows that you think it would not be that difficult to get inside the system and understand it. Rather than start on a new path let's work together to make what we have the best it can be. The GICHD will continue to provide support with a very compotent team whether ETHZ or you or I are here or not. Change is about the only constant in life and it is not always or even that often bad.
