The NED database is derived from the Kenosha database. It is that simple. And that complicated. By definition, that makes the NED files stale, which means that they trail the Kenosha site for accuracy. They can only be as accurate as Kenosha allows. Periodically I go to the Kenosha site to see if there is a new download available. If so, I download and import the information. I generate the printed NED Directory from this every January. That used to be the ONLY directory available to anybody in the district. When it was the only directory, we were happy with the fact that it could by nature be updated only once per year, since it was so costly to issue the directory. Expectations have now changed in the electronic era. I can generate new PDF files upon download. So you can either download the PDF file periodically (the dates of update appear on the front cover) or you can rely on the dynamic pages generated by the scripts on the site.

I also use the NED database to check if you are eligible for the Member-only area of the NED site. I could use the Kenosha script, once my server is equipped with what it needs.  However, by staying local, I can generate information NOT available through the Kenosha script; this includes your address information, which can be then used in the forms that you can get to.

• Once inside of the member-only site, for example, if you click on COTS registration, your personal information will already be filled in.
• The same goes for Harmony College registration. When you click on THAT, you are brought to the HCNE form, with your personal information already filled in.

By maintaining the database, I can also generate lots of pages dynamically. This includes

• The Chapter officer listings
• The quartet listings, etc.
• NED Men on the NET

I can let you into this information from a variety of angles - by selecting from a map, selecting a state, etc. I can also provide a shield. The SAME script can be used for non-members! Chapter Officer listings are in fact available in two different ways:

1. from the Main Menu, with no Member Login
2. from the Member only area

When you click on any of the Directory type options (the upper three options on the right, from the main page, and the Lists) there will be a script to derive the required information from the NED files. You can detect this by hovering the mouse over the link and checking the lower left corner of the screen. If it links to an ASP page, it is likely that the page you will get is the result of a query to the NED database. As a result, to "change that page" all I need to do is update the database. Therefore a single change in the database could result in four or five different pages being served to you when you visit. The key is to remember that I do NOT type all that address information; it is generated by a script from the database. Over the years, however, I have noted that to make things WORK, when you change your EMail address, you must change it on the Kenosha site and inform me of the change since I have never written a script to allow you to change it in the NED data. Why? Suppose you change it at Kenosha and don't inform me. Then it will be incorrect on the NED site until such time as I can get new files from Kenosha. Also, in the interim, you may not get email from NED, and on the NED Men on the Net page, your email address will be incorrect. Some men actually use that! Worse still, some people will go to that page and they will SAVE it on their computer so that they can view it offline. Then when they want the information, the do not come back to the NED site - they simply load the file that they saved on their computer, perpetuating the wrong information.

When you look at the information as a Non-Member, Name/Address/Phone information is available ONLY IF THE MEMBER HAS FILED A PERMISSION SLIP. When you look at the information from INSIDE of the member-only site, all officers will be listed. I cannot get this kind of flexibility from the Kenosha site options. Also, Chapter directories are available to you inside the member-only site. These directories include all members, so they are not available to non-chapter members.

Do you need to maintain a database for your website? Currently, you have to ask, "is it worth it?" What is the payback? Are you going to get any extra benefit from it? Members can now get chapter rosters from the Kenosha site and from the NED site. DO you need to maintain it for the sake of a member login? The answer is not easy - it depends on your skills and your resources. Do you need to maintain it to generate your own printed Member Directory? Not really.

Currently, Kenosha offers a script (somewhere) that will check membership in a chapter or district and returns to you a variety of options. Your script can take action based on what is returned. The script that is available from the  NED site is designed to return the user to one page if the login succeeded and a different page if the user login failed.