Denise tells me that there is a strong possibility that the FFF is going to limit access to the Loop to certified instructors only. This would
mean that anybody who is studying to become a CI would not have access to it. You might want to let SL members know so they can
download copies before it goes away.
You may want to make this known to CCI study groups.
The issue is that section 2.5.d of the CICP bylaws states:
The CBOG will enhance the growth of fly casting instructors by:
5. A newsletter (The Loop) for certified casting instructors.
Which indicates that the Loop is intended for certified instructors only. That may or may not be what the people who wrote the bylaws intended but changing the bylaws requires a concensus of the CBOG.
I like the fact that (I)FFF has large areas of the website which are unrestricted, and that there is so much information available to all (unlike the UK instructor associations: I'm in the UK).
I can see that may have been an oversight, but it certainly helped me prepare for my CI test
There's no doubt that there is a lot of good information on the (I)FFF site. I think the issue is more about the change from FFF to (I)FFF and understanding what it means.
Bernd wrote:open loops to everyone who wants them!
Cool slogan
Other than that, leave it open, no point in closing it unless someone update all the wrong information and use it as bait to bring in new members. As it is now, people have to think for themselves, close it and say it's information for certified instructors and someone might just use it straight of without thinking about it... Yes some people do believe everything they read on the net :p
For quite some time I thought The Loop was one of the few perks we CCI's got for the work we put in and the fee's we've paid to become certified casting instructors. I had no idea The Loop was open to all until I started seeing snippets of it appear on other boards by non-certified types who use and reprint the articles free of charge and without going through the pains we CCI's have in getting and remaining CCI's. It somehow just doesn't seem right.
I got certified 7-8 years ago through much practice but also, and to a big degree, by reading and rereading the huge sources of casting material on the FFF website which did not I believe at the time include access to The Loop unless already certified. Unless all of that good 'non-Loop' information has been removed from the FFF site, why not just throw us CCI's a bone and keep The Loop exclusive to certified instructors as it once was? Before it was recently reworded I'm sure the FFF website said The Loop was a publication FOR CCI's.
I don't think they'll be taking votes on it. It's more about how the bylaws are interpreted and who is doing the interpreting.
Knowledge should be there for everyone (even if half of it is wrong :p).
Does that mean you think half of it is right? I would say that is pretty generous given that it has been around since 1995. I'll bet more than half of the stuff in pre 2000 Sexyloops is questionable. Except for maybe the potency of your socks...
:sick: