If I had to select a few words to describe August, my list would include the words "hot," "frantic" and stressful." August brings us within a few weeks of the end of most of our fiscal years. We are either struggling to finish projects before the end of the year or wondering how our dwindling budgets will carry us through to the end. If there is anything we don’t need, it’s a security event or breach to add to the stress.

You are all aware of the recent security incident that targeted many of our own agencies. I think the discussion on our listserv that covered this incident was as productive as it could be, given some of the restrictions we had placed upon us. Having said that, I think this is a good opportunity to discuss the listserv guidelines, and how they relate to the events of August.

• The listserv is closed to anyone that is not an agency member of TAGITM. This means that our affiliate members (vendors) may not participate. We would never be able to enjoy the freedom of open and honest discussion that we currently have if the listserv was open to others. 
• Our ability to share information and help each other is the core function of the listserv.
• All the listserv discussion should remain professional. I have never seen anything otherwise in my days as a member, other than some borderline futile attempts at IT humor. Sometimes we just can’t help ourselves!

At times, our discussions involve vendors and our successes and failures with those vendors we use in our own shops. These vendor discussions should remain courteous, professional and restricted to the listserv.  Sharing vendor experiences is something from which we all receive benefit. As it relates to the events of August, several of our members, me included, were instructed to not disclose or discuss the name of the company at the center of the issue. As I read the countless emails from our membership, the frustration we shared was overwhelmingly obvious. It seemed like we felt like our hands were tied because of possible repercussions of disclosing details. This seems to go against the very purpose of what we do as an association, and yet I can see both sides of the argument. 

While I don’t claim to have the answer to the question “Should I share this or not?”, one thing sticks in my mind: whether the listserv is closed or not, when we type something into an email and send it, we lose complete control of what happens to it after that. 

And with that, I hope you all have a great September.

 - Scott Joyce, TAGITM President