Six Reasons to Switch Your Proprietary Software and LOVE the Open Source with Tendenci AMS

Tendenci is a gift to the world. And during this month of love, we want to share with you six reasons why you should switch your proprietary software and LOVE the open source with Tendenci AMS.

Open Source wins over closed proprietary softwares. Check out our list of closed source alternatives to Tendenci.

Adobe Stock Image File:279876642
Love Open Source Software with Tendenci AMS
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You have a lot of options when choosing an MMS or AMS. But if you need to scale to support hundreds of thousands of members, have recurring individual and corporate level memberships, and need the full features of a seasoned large scale enterprise AMS, it’s possible you might hit some limits with the new kids on the block.

Proprietary vendors are companies first and communities second. Tendenci is a community first, and though there is a small company behind it, with the support of the Open Source community, Tendenci software has grown far bigger than we ever expected. And given it started in 2001, when you switch from a proprietary solution, it’s an upgrade!

Open Source is the voice of the people – a shared language that brings everyone together.

Think Free In Terms of Freedom with Tendenci AMS

  1. Free Software, Free Society – In the selected essays of Richard M. Stallman Second Edition ‘Four Freedoms’ he wrote “A program is ‘free software’ if the program’s users have the four essential freedoms:
  • The freedom to run the program as you wish, for any purpose.
  • The freedom to study how the program works, and change it so it does your computing as you wish. Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
  • The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor.
  • The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to others. By doing this you can give the whole community a chance to benefit from your changes. Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
  1. Tendenci Software Means Greater Functionality and Usability on a Global Scale – Tendenci is a very large project with robust functionality. But it’s still a great low-cost AMS solution for small Associations too! You can easily disable modules you don’t need and keep it simple. Functionality will be there as YOUR small association needs to expand in the future! Freedom is actually pretty cool. Pay less with Tendenci and get greater functionality. 

Note: Tendenci AMS, as measured by an independent third party ranking firm, is the only top 5 AMS on the market that is Open Source on a global scale. We are people who understand the power of associations. And the importance of freedom from centralized platforms and the tyranny of regimes limiting access for all. 

  1. Tendenci Is Community First – Open-source is in line with our core values at Tendenci. Our mission is to Connect and Organize the World’s People. Do good. We are change makers who understand the power of associations, which is why we built a software to help NPOs anywhere with any budget to further their cause both nationally and internationally.
  1. Freedom to Choose With Tendenci AMS – Looking to make real changes in the world? Host your site and your data on your own server if needed. We dig that! Tendenci, however, is not just for hosting websites. Tendenci is an investment that results in a financial gain to our clients. And while you can certainly host with us, you don’t have to. It’s okay to support local open source developers in your own country and community as well. Or even get started with our Tendenci AMI and grow!  
  1. Freedom to Customize Tendenci To YOUR Associations Needs – You have innumerable ways to customize Tendenci. Association Management Software is complex because associations are complex! So if you are looking to make some minor changes, do it! Looking to write an entire app specific to your organization that integrates with Tendenci? We love it!

Tendenci scales  to support large national and international organizations with multiple chapters, who may also benefit from a custom server configuration. 

Need even further customization for your organization’s unique needs? You can fork Tendenci AMS on GitHub at https://github.com/tendenci/tendenci/. Every Tendenci site lets you pull down and customize existing templates as well. You can try that out on our free Demo site.

  1. Tendenci Is Accessible To The World – Languages, languages, languages! Translation and localization of your AMS is possible because the community uses the amazing Django Project web framework and thanks to the people at Transifex who support open source. The world is anxious for growth and because your organization needs to communicate with different constituents in the language of their choice, Tendenci  allows each individual user to specify the language of their choice. 
Disruptive Technology Adobe Stock Image File#242937992 
Love Open Source Software with Tendenci AMS
https://stock.adobe.com/images/disruptive-technology/242937992?prev_url=detailDisruptive Technology and Science Engineering in Robotics

Lastly, our CEO Ed Schipul has attended enough board meetings to understand your organization is likely made up of volunteers and the rules for nonprofits are different. Tendenci – The Open Source AMS software is a relationship marketing application that fully meets the needs of large organizations. Have any doubts and concerns? Contact us today. We are here to serve you. Join us

We want to say THANK YOU to all of the developers out there who are contributing, translating, updating and maintaining a very complex piece of software. Tendenci AMS software is inclusive of other languages and cultures, and run by a team that believes in security and privacy. We love and very much dearly appreciate you all. Let’s continue to do good today, and tomorrow even more, together. 

Remember, all of the code is on githubdocumentation is on readthedocs, and translation is crowd-sourced on Transifex. Self-host or host with us – your choice, your data, your association.

Give us a call, let’s talk at (281) 497-6567 or visit us at www.tendenci.com 

Much open love always,

Team Tendenci
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Tendenci Puppy Logo
www.tendenci.com/open-source

Tendenci AMS Software Market Projection Continues to Thrive Worldwide

It is great to see yet again HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited – an independent third party rank Association Management Software from a global perspective! As a part of the Tendenci AMS Community, we will let the summary from HTF on market growth and Tendenci’s Global Share speak for itself. 

Tendenci – The Open Source AMS continues to grow globally, we believe, because it is a community much more than anything else. Open Source is the voice of the people – a shared language that brings us together. 

Source: http://www.marketjournal.co.uk/association-management-software-market-to-see-huge-growth-by-2025-personify360-tops-professional-raklet/99646/

View here the comparison from prior months growth

THANK YOU to all of the developers out there who are contributing, translating, updating and maintaining a very complex piece of software. AMS software that is inclusive of other languages and cultures, and a team that believes in security and privacy. Lets continue to do good today, and tommorrow even more, together. 

All of the code is on github, documentation on readthedocs, and translation is crowd-sourced on Transifex. Self host or host with us, your choice, your data, your association. 

The freedom in the Tendenci open source software

Let’s take it again to RICHARD STALLMAN, “FOUR FREEDOMS

A program is “free software” if the program’s users have the four essential freedoms:

  1. The freedom to run the program as you wish, for any purpose.
  2. The freedom to study how the program works, and change it so it does your computing as you wish. Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
  3. The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor.
  4. The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to others. By doing this you can give the whole community a chance to benefit from your changes. Access to the source code is a precondition for this.

If software is licensed in a way that does not provide these 4 freedoms, then it is categorized as nonfree or proprietary.

Tendenci – The Open Source AMS joins new Stripe Partner Program to bring more commerce online and increase the GDP of the Internet

Tendenci – The Open Source AMS,​ an international Open Source provider of Association Management Software‘ to global organizations (languages),​ today announced that it has joined the Stripe Partner Program as a Verified AMS Open Source Stripe Payment Partner. With only 3% of GDP online, Stripe’s goal of the program is to increase internet commerce by helping NGOs and companies start, run, and scale their businesses.

Read More

“We’re thrilled to be one of the first to join Stripe’s Partner Program,” said ​Ed Schipul, Founder and CEO a​t Tendenci​ – The Open Source AMS.

The Industry Steering Committee of Wellbore Survey Accuracy becomes a Major Resource for the Industry

We are proud to announce that The Industry Steering Committee of Wellbore Survey Accuracy (ISCWSA) is now the place of resource for industry professionals!

The new website design features a marvelous Resource Library where everyone interested in science, engineering, oil & gas, etc., is welcome to seamlessly search and explore the repository of documents.

Continue Reading

Image Graphic for ISCWSA
The primary aim of The Industry Steering Committee on Wellbore Survey Accuracy group is to produce and maintain standards for the industry relating to wellbore survey accuracy. ISCWSA sets standards for terminology and accuracy specifications, and establishes a standard framework for modelling and validation of tool performance by raising awareness and understanding of wellbore survey accuracy issues across the industry.


Tendenci – The Open Source AMS Market Projection is Thriving WorldWide

 

It is great to see again an independent third party rank Association Management Software from a global perspective. As a part of the Tendenci AMS Community, we will let the summary from HTF on market growth and Tendenci’s Global Share speak for itself. 

Tendenci – The Open Source AMS continues to grow globally, we believe, because it is a community much more than anything else. Open Source is the voice of the people – a shared language that brings us together. 

Click here for full story.

BY WILLIAM ANDERSON ON OCTOBER 30, 2019 – HTF

Tendenci | Global Association Management Software Market 2019

Tendenci – The Open Source Association Management System – amongst other AMS systems – is the leading open source software. OUR MISSION IS TO CONNECT AND ORGANIZE THE WORLD’S PEOPLE. DO GOOD.

Check out the new study released by HTF MI on Global Association Management Software Market, which covers key business segments and wide scope geographies to get deep dive analyzed market data -and a historical data from 2013 to 2018 forecasted till 2025.

Cheers to the Open Source Community!

Tendenci Transparency Report – Why isn’t Wild Apricot Posting One?

red bird

Yup, AMS transparency reporting is critically important. And perhaps also equally a bit boring. After all, you are looking for what is MISSING.

In Tendenci – the Open Source AMS’ latest transparency report, yup, nothing has changed. Yea!

And given Tendenci AMS is fully open source and still building for the future , well, it’s pretty clear what our position is. We believe in open source and transparency.

What other MAJOR AMS can you self deploy on the servers of your choice? In the data center of your choice? In the country of your choice? With the encryption and firewall restrictions of YOUR CHOICE. That’s the beauty of open source.

And the price starts at zero. It. Is. Fully. Open. Source.

What is Wild Apricot’s transparency report? After all, they are recently touted as the new kid on the block. Welcome! Yet what is their position on transparency?

Disclaimer in defense of Wild Apricot – in all fairness, AMS systems take a solid 10 years to write. They really are doing a great job catching up, I’m only addressing transparency in this post.  Plus at Tendenci, we love a good strong new competitor adding value for NPOs/NGOs and Associations. We love that they are leveling up. All we’re saying is, let’s see their transparency reports? Why not be open source?

And yes, that is a challenge. Step up people!

Regarding Open Source – hey, why not support local: Tendenci pricing starts at ZERO ($0.00). Many people host in the Tendenci Cloud at AWS because we’re a good fit. Yet, our hosting pricing might not work for you in your country, right?

If so, then why not support a local developer in your community? Help build your home country’s tech sector by supporting your local developers!

Back to the business stuff – we have updated our latest transparency report. No changes. (check mark in the “no changes=good” column folks!)
https://www.tendenci.com/transparencyreporting/

Even though the competition is (mostly) NOT truly free and open source, that doesn’t mean they can’t be responsible and tell you if they have turned over your data. It does mean that any proprietary vendor offering free services is selling your data.

Is your AMS handing over, or monitoring, all of your data? Perhaps to the highest bidder or to the country of origin? You have a right to know.

Seriously, if any sector in the world needs responsible disclosure, it’s the association and non-profit/NGO sector.

Truly AMS (association management systems) / association management software in our opinion. Thus, the small team, and the large community at Tendenci, challenge our competitors to be transparent!

Yes, we understand that warrant canaries aren’t completely cut and dried. But at least a good faith effort? Why are other AMS systems not posting transparency reports?

If the FBI stated that NGOs/NPOs/Associations were the first target of the Russian propaganda campaign to influence the US elections, then I personally take issue with this.

NOTE: Propaganda and motives of foreign countries does NOT mean collusion. Collusion, and hopefully there wasn’t any, is not a topic we are addressing at all. (That’s for the politicians and the courts to figure out. We’re just programmers trying to do good.)

Thus the CHALLENGE to other AMS SaaS providers: Post your Transparency Reports!

Really, we call on all of the alternatives to Tendenci to adopt a transparency reporting policy.

Why not? Even proprietary companies can be transparent, right?

Why hide anything from your clients, open source or not? We don’t get it. End users don’t have to, and shouldn’t, tolerate hidden data disclosure.

Transparency reporting is just one more reason we’re passionate about helping associations and non-profits with their causes! We try to take the high road. Yet now, it’s not just about data collection, data mining, cross site tracking, Russian to popular AMS systems, it’s about just having integrity to tell people what is going on.

Associations, and therefore association management software, is important in every country. That’s why Tendenci is Open Source and currently supports 75 languages!

Yes, stay with your trusted local developer. Just please fast check them and demand access to your code, access to all of your data, demand access to your rights. And yes, demand transparency.

That’s how we roll at Tendenci – brutally open and honest, full access, association management. You know, kind of like WordPress is for blogs and CMS. Open!

At Tendenci, we recognize the value of the work you do. And we believe you deserve OPEN. In fact, we think open is baseline.

We hope you do too. Because Associations matter. You matter. #rockon #demandTransparency #ams #associationmanagement #asae #associationchat

ctop – measure container cpu utilization like htop

Developers and programmers are frequently (ok, almost always) asked to accomplish the impossible yesterday. So this post is for the Tendenci developers and anyone else who uses docker containers, cgroups, jailed name spaces or similar.

Situation: You have a server that is spiking when it previously did not.

Let’s just assume you already have something like OSSEC and the ElasticSearch Stack  (ELK Stack) installed and are using a WAF/IDS/IPS endpoint. You are on top of your game. You see the errors from writing to the file system in dockers using the overlayfs file system (please no aufs, just don’t.) How to diagnose it:

“htop” is very good at showing you the issue. It (htop) is also frequently replaced by malware so double check yourself with “ctop” which most variants of common malware omit. Regardless, in this case, we can clearly see we have a stuck process. Enter “ctop” (open source like Tendenci at https://ctop.sh/ and on github at https://github.com/bcicen/ctop .

Running ctop you can quickly identify the container that is using the resources and then enter that container for further trouble shooting. “ctop” look like this:

The solution to a container over utilizing its resources is up to you and your developers. ctop is however a great way to zero in on at least which container is the problem.

In our case, a quick stop/start of the container removed the load and allowed us to do more debugging to figure out the cause. Tendenci is a mature and large codebase for association management (AMS Software) so it’s an iterative process to zero in on issues. And it can be done with the right tools.

Happy Container Utilization

This is what one of the Tendenci Cloud docker servers looked like after  debugging and killing the process causing the problem. “Yes” of course there is no replacement for “grep”. But with containers the debugging is a new art even for experienced programmers.

Hopefully this is helpful for all of the open source self-hosted Tendenci – the Open Source AMS self install developers using an AMS with 75+ languages out there.

And if you are a Python/Django developer – fork Tendenci open ams on github!

#peace

What a DDoS attack to an Association Looks Like

The following graphs show what a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack on an association looks like. The names, rates and volume of the association have been blurred for security reasons. We are thankful to AWS for their own defenses in front of ours, which  help us mitigate these issues.

responding to ddos attacks as best we can
active response to mitigate attacks

Note: The  graphic above, is filtered for a 24 hour span for one client. The infrastructure is in place, and highly redundant, so we can monitor and keep our clients safe. For clients in the US or hosted in other countries (we have multiple Tendenci clouds as needed.)

Note 2: Make no mistake – If a bad-actor has the budget – they can and will purchase enough bots to take a site down. This is well documented. Even our resources at AWS are limited in what they can handle. Budget (yes BUDGET) accordingly.