Tendenci – The Open Source AMS Blog
Community Blog for Open Source AMS Makers
Here at Tendenci – The Open Source AMS , we take security very seriously. Which is why you should remember two things:
OCT 2023 UPDATE: For information on accessing Tendenci data via API please see our GitHub discussion at https://github.com/tendenci/tendenci/issues/1023
For more on The Open Source AMS integration via API visit our AMS API Helpfile
Tendenci – the Open Source AMS is unique in that it is fully open source. However at times people would prefer to use an API to pull specific information. For that Django has several API integrations for your Association Management System such as:
django-tasty-pie is a REST based API to your AMS
https://github.com/django-tastypie/django-tastypie
The Django Rest Framework is also something the Tendenci community has been discussing switching to it as well.
http://www.django-rest-framework.org/
API’s aren’t mutually exclusive after all, right? You have options.
There are legitimate reasons to use an API. Examples include integration between a legacy mainframe system, ecommerce, or a development team that has chosen a different platform such as .NET or PHP.
Tendenci doesn’t meet all of the functional requirements for everyone by design. Instead we work with great technology like machine learning. The open AMS community isn’t focused on reinventing the wheel. It just doesn’t make economic sense for a non-profit, or even a for profit company, to reinvent Amazon.com or Ebay.com. This is particularly true if you are causes-based association or non-profit given the expense.
Does Tendenci AMS work with other providers? Absolutely. Any provider with an API or that supports SSO or RSS or has their own technology like google tag manager.
Non profits don’t have money to waste. Therefore we aligned our product to major industry supported technology.
Our technology stack as of 2018 is:
For more on The Open Source AMS integration via API visit our AMS API Helpfile or read up on everything Tendenci Works With. Or if you aren’t into open source, there are definitely alternatives to Tendenci.
If you do pick an alternative, we suggest you consider Security FIRST and go from there.
I’ve gotten a few more questions on upgrading from Tendenci 5 to Tendenci 7. It seems we have been overzealous in explaining the changes at https://tendenci.readthedocs.io/en/latest/ and here and here and very extensively here. Perhaps too much info and too technical.
Listening to a client I realized that maybe “geek speak” on my part was part of the challenge. Definitions:
To use a large open source project as an example, WordPress users (like me – my blog is on wordpress) sometimes need to pay to upgrade a premium theme when WordPress does a major release.
WordPress has a theme compatibility checker.
https://codex.wordpress.org/Themes/Theme_Compatibility/
As WordPress makes changes and improvements, sometimes these impact WordPress Themes and their underlying code and use of Template Tags. When a new version is announced, WordPress users are recommended to check the various WordPress Theme Compatibility lists to ensure their WordPress Theme is updated and ready for the new version.
Drupal, another major open source project, lists information on how to upgrade themes to work with each version here:
https://www.drupal.org/docs/8/theming-drupal-8/theming-differences-between-drupal-6-7-8
Tendenci, a much smaller but growing open source project, is doing the same thing for the same reasons. You want a unique brand (your theme) and new functionality (the software) and you’d like it to be as low cost as possible. Hence software updates are “usually” free, it’s just when a “game changer” happens that you need to update your theme.
If you are really curious what is in a theme, there is a great infographic on WordPress themes here.
For more on EOL support on Tendenci 5 you can read this really long blog post. And of course your site will still work if you don’t upgrade, it’s just the Django community has moved on so it’s best to move with them!
Please see this comprehensive blog post for more detail on the Tendenci 5x to 7x upgrade process.
Written specifically for the NPO/Association market, Tendenci has continued to grow and adapt to meet the specific needs of these groups. From building on an open source framework that allows complete freedom – to mobile responsive software design – to online forums and newsletter features that keep the community involved, Tendenci continues to invest in the NPO sector. And the NPO’s have responded!
We are pleased to continue our relationship with the following organizations that have recently released upgraded websites and extend a warm welcome to those that are new to the Tendenci community.
We love knowledge and knowledge sharing. And all of us read a lot – more and more on mobile readers. And yet the Tendenci software doesn’t support uploading epub files. First understand you have TONS of options to achieve your business goal and keep your site secure.
Free ebooks? We recommend you upload the epub to a resource like an Amazon S3 bucket or Dropbox and link to it from your site. That immediately solves the problem – you have a link to the resource on your site, just not “in” your site for safety and security.
Selling ebooks? Look at Amazon or Shopify or google it for tons of options. Even if the books are free, “selling them” on shopify will give you analytics and insight into consumers who are interested in your topic because they are being delivered to people next to other books!
As for the upload restrictions in Tendenci, here is why we are cautious:
While knowledge is great, security is more important. YES – TECHNICALLY YOU CAN PUT EPUB FILES ON YOUR TENDENCI SITE. But to do so your network administrator will need to do it for you for security reasons. The reason is that epub and mobi files can contain viruses or malware just like many other file formats (*cough* “Adobe flash” *cough*).
A book can have a code example. Depending on how your browser or e-reader “reads” that code example it may or may not execute the code. And that may or may not be malware. Typically the code itself would not be infected and would pass a virus scanner. Rather it would call another site and download a virus from that alternate location.
For more on the wonderful functionality that makes epubs more accessible, but also a security threat if not carefully vetted, visit http://epubzone.org/news/epub-3-and-interactivity
Two screen shots from the epubzone.org site are pasted below.
And examples:
To be sure I love learning sites that have code that I can use to learn with in my web browser. MOOCs are awesome. But Tendenci is not a MOOC. So our current system is not set up to allow uploads of epubs or mobi given the millions of people who log into hundreds of open source tendenci sites hosted or in the wild. We are just cautious.
And again – there are alternatives.
PS – One part of being a hacker is you are frequently accused of being an “Eeyore.” This is tiring. And incorrect. Caution online is really – well – the teamwork of Q and Bond. Aware of current reality. Curious. The ability to think perhaps a bit deviously. To know what is possible – both good and bad – to protect you.
Today’s Tendenci community knowledge share. Here are three very easy free or low cost methods of making a static copy a web site. Use with caution, just know you have the power.
On Windows you can use HTTrack https://www.httrack.com/
On a Mac computer you can use sitesucker ($5) http://ricks-apps.com/osx/sitesucker/index.html
On the go? You can also use sitesucker from the app store to download to your iphone or ipad for $2 http://ricks-apps.com/ios/sitesucker/index.html
Of course for structured data in Tendenci, there are TONS of ways to export including exporting a copy of your entire database. There are help files on common exports like How to export your membership . There are too many options to list them all, but I’d encourage you to visit the support center or just google “tendenci exports” for more.
If you are on version 5 and want to “kick the tires” on Tendenci version 7, use https://demo.tendenci.com – you can login here https://demo.tendenci.com/accounts/login/ using “admin/admin” or “user/user”. It does reset every hour or so because of spammers but you can still get a feel for it. A HUGE upgrade from version 5.
There is also a previous post on making a static copy of your site here that is a bit more technical as well.
Yes. Yes it does. BUT people rarely leave. Or if they do, they typically stay on Tendenci and self host. They’re still part of the Tendenci community which helps us all.
Another reason we promote exports and offsite backups is because we know the more freedom you have, realizing you have that freedom especially on the Tendenci open source platform, makes it less likely for clients to leave.
Think about it. Why would anyone who actually understands their product is open, does far more than other options, is lower cost, and they can self host if they want… why would that person make the decision to leave? It’s illogical.
I mean, who wants to be the President of an Association that takes it backwards in time to proprietary technology or an older open source software built on an unpopular programming language? That’s not in the best interests of the association long term.
Tendenci is written in Python and uses Java and Javascript libraries. This linked chart says it all.
Popular programming languages means more coders for open source projects written in that language. And more capable people to modify and customize your install if you choose.
One of our goals is FREEDOM from the tyranny of per-user-licensing, proprietary products that want to own YOUR DATA, long term contracts, sites that post your events on THEIR site so if you leave then the history of that event is gone in the blink of an eye. Companies don’t own your data and they shouldn’t trap you.
We think that is unethical and just wrong.
Membership Management Software should be Open Source, Accessible, Responsive, and Search Engine friendly by default. Tendenci does all of those things.
Further we believe that Open Source Membership Management Software should be written in a Modern Programming Language like Python (watch out for bunnies) and the software should documented and open source (free, as in beer.) Even the US Government likes Open Source!
Want to change something? Get involved! Post on the forums at https://ww.tendenci.com/forums or post an issue at https://github.com/tendenci/tendenci/issues . If you are a programmer or into documentation, submit a pull request.
We make it easy to leave because we hope you don’t. Hence Tendenci has an incredibly low churn rate. That creates stability you can count on.
#peace
As an Aggie I am particularly appreciative of earning a client back. Especially it’s my Aggies! (Whoooop! Class of ’90 myself.) From the press release:
Reveille Club Returns to the Tendenci Platform for Membership and Event Management
HOUSTON, February 3, 2016 –Tendenci (www.tendenci.com), the software development company spearheading the Tendenci Open Source platform for associations and other nonprofits (NPOs), is proud to release a dynamic membership website for the Reveille Club of Houston.
The website, http://www.reveille.org, promotes local networking events for Aggies and non-Aggies alike to build new business relationships in the Houston area.
Tendenci Open Source was released as an open source solution for associations and non-profits to give membership organizations greater freedom and control over their online presence.
The Reveille Club of Houston is focused on building a professional community
Source: https://www.tendenci.com/news/reveille-club-of-houston-launches-new-tendenci-website/
Note: This blog post is one of several of us playing a bit of catch-up on posting site releases to our blog as well. We are proud of the work our team and our partners do with Tendenci. Open Source is powerful stuff. It’s like Freedom – it’s a good thing.
Tendenci, the Open Source Membership Management Software, is written in in a programming language named Python. (Named after Monty Python of course!)
And Python is the most Popular Coding Language of 2015. A nice winning streak! This matters to people choosing membership software because open source means it can’t be taken away from you. Lots of options to export from Tendenci as well if a better solution for your particular needs comes up.
The more people who know a given programming language means you have lots of resources to support, extend, upgrade and hopefully also contribute to the tendenci software and get involved.
So let’s be honest, we all like playing on the winning team. We bet on Python very early. We used Python even on the windows platform in the early 2000s. Python has truly hit a critical-mass among developers.
Given the Django web framework behind Open Source Tendenci is written in Python, and all of Tendenci’s apps are written in Python, we feel pretty good about the future stability of our technology stack.
In other words, the future looks bright and we welcome more developers to join the Tendenci community!
(source: http://blog.codeeval.com/codeevalblog/2015#.VohU45MrLeQ= )
Let’s start 2016 off with some great news. NGOs are growing internationally and their role in our society is becoming more important. From the post:
https://www.ongood.ngo/portal/facts-and-stats-about-ngos-worldwide
#NGOfacts is an ongoing campaign that highlights statistical data about NGOs, nonprofits and charities worldwide. Committed to building a comprehensive list of facts and stats about the NGO sector, please check back regularly for updates.
1. There are an estimated 10 million (non-governmental organizations) NGOs worldwide.
Source: The Global Journal2. The number of people worldwide donating money to NGOs increased from 1.2 billion in 2011 to 1.4 billion in 2014. By 2030, the number is expected to grow to 2.5 billion.
Source: Charities Aid Foundation
(those are the first two points of 14 – go read the full post here!)
And yes, we are pretty happy to see greater adoption of Tendenci – an open source software solution for NGOs that is already multilingual. Join us!
RIP Ian Murdock,the founder of Debian Linux. Without Ian’s work in the Open Source Community there could be no Tendenci. This is a sad way to end 2015.
News links below:
#RIP