The Military Postal History Society (MPHS) maintains a website with extensive content. Parts of that website are restricted to members of the Society only. There is a current single password, changed every quarter, that allows this access beyond what the general public can view.
Over the years, some members have requested that each member of the Society be assigned a username/password that is permanent. Such a system is in use throughout the Internet universe (although there is a movement afoot to require "passkeys" to log in, a considerably more complex, but hopefully more secure, technology).
In order to more fully understand the reasons behind the current password system for MPHS, please view Background Section of this page.
The Society could assign required username/password pairs for each member who has internet access.
At the very first step, in order to achieve this goal, a volunteer must come forward who can manage all of these username/passwords, make corrections as needed, handle problems such as 'I forgot my password', and so on.
In addition, this volunteer will be in charge of changing over the system from the current single quarterly password, to the use of multiple username/passwords.
Historical experience has demonstrated that managing such a sytem will be a full-time job for the person who volunteers to perform this task. There are currently about 260 email addresses that will require this management. (Note that just maintaining a member Roster with this many entries is a major task, requiring regular clean-up and correction; all that without the added burden of managing user passwords.)
Please contact the Society Webmaster, if you can help: webmaster@militaryphs.org.
When the above option is discussed, invariably a number of Society members reject it. Their reason is that they "have too many passwords to remember" as it is. They are frankly sick and tired of the profusion of logins needed to interact with the "modern" internet. Many people sympathize with their point of view.
If a major effort is made by the Society to implement a one-per-user login, and that effort is rejected by many existing users, it appears likely that the Society will have to maintain two different login systems for members-only material. Obviously, allowing for both individual login, and the current once-per-quarter will be necessary. Also obviously, the workload on the person maintaining this database of username/passwords will also increase.
Some existing members have threatened to leave the Society, based on the lack of a single per-user login. We fear that more may leave the Society if they are forced to use a per-user login system. This level of conflict should not be present, if it can be avoided.
The decision to use a single password that changes every quarter was the result of extensive debate and discussion among the Board of Directors of the MPHS around 2014. At the same time, the President deemed it necessary to provide the newsletter (Bulletin) in electronic format, while maintaining a release in paper format.
During the Board discussions, it was quickly discovered that several members of the Board were familiar with the challenges of using individual username/passwords for smaller collecting Societies.
One example that may be familiar to many is the "PHPBB" bulletin-board system. That system is used extensively on the internet, and only allows "members" to post and answer discussion messages. We are not experts in using this product, but it does appear that certain files can be provided in PHPBB, when, and only when, a user is logged into the product. (The issue remains as to whether it would be useful to use any other features of PHPBB on the MPHS website.)
However, please keep in mind that adding this product to the MPHS website requires much additional work, and has a high maintenance requirement. That maintenance level is associated with running any online discussion group, not just PHPBB.
WordPress is a major web system used by millions of websites. It is currently used to provide a "public face" of the MPHS website.
One of the powerful features of WordPress is the mass of "plugins" available to perform special features beyond just dynamic webpage creation. Several of these plugins allow creation, maintenance, and enforcement of password-protected file access.
Note that WordPress has plugins that handle payment, allowing the product to be used as a fully-functional E-Commerce site.
For a while the Society considered giving a free e-mail box to each member, since our ISP was offering them at no extra charge. However, that system has the same weakness, such as people forgetting their passwords. In such situations, someone has to intervene to restore their account; not to mention the labor involved in setting up the accounts in the first place. The "problem" solution described here is no longer an issue, as the ISP has ceased offering free email boxes with our account.
It should be kept in mind, that the MPHS website is already complex, and uses both "normal" static web content, as well as dynamic content provided through WordPress. Given this complexity, adding yet another product (for instance PHPBB) just adds to the complexity. It also does not make life any easier for members, if they are forced to accept single-user passwords.
In 2014, the Board agreed that the intellectual property (IP) of the MPHS should be protected. The issues that had to be resolved included the time period necessary for protection vs. allowing the general public to view MPHS documents beyond a certain age. (A 5-year "window" was finally adopted, based on common practice of organizations such as the APRL.) It was also agreed that there will always be a conflict between ease of access and IP protection.
All of the Board members with experiences in operating other philatelic societies agreed in 2014, that individual username/passwords would swamp the Society with extra work, work that must be performed by volunteers who have other commitments in their lives.
While the quarterly single-login system can be a bit cumbersome, it is much easier to manage from the Society's viewpoint.
Note that, more recently, it was decided to make the latest Journal available on a "cloud" storage system. The idea was to create a single URL from which the Journal could be downloaded. Current statistics show that at least 100 of the Society members use this download link each quarter. (It expires 7 days after being divulged to members by email.)
Note that the single password used now, is good for the entire quarter, not just during the period of new Journal announcement. Thus, members have to deal with only 4 password changes per year. (Some organizations require password changes much more often.)
Now that MPHS has started presenting non-newsletter content to members, the available products that are behind the "password wall" has increased. The products available to members only now include:
In the years since 2014, new players have arrived on the internet scene, making it easier to publish IP without requiring setting up and managing a website, as we do.
One example is SubStack. This product is rapidly growing, providing the internet with an easy way to publish content. The creator is the "manager", and SubStack supplies the necessary infrastructure needed for such publishing. It costs nothing to publish there, but when money changes hands, they take a percentage. Because they handle the money, the typical "dues" system used by this Society no longer applies. In addition, a creator can set up "levels" or "tiers" of membership, each offering more product for increasing prices. The creation of material for the web is eased by an online WYSIWYG system provided by SubStack. The management of the creator's work is eased by an online "control panel".
Note that any amount of material may be provided by the creator free to the general public, if they wish. Since money does not change hands, there is no cost to creator or user.
Some examples of postal history and philatelic SubStack users include:
Creating a "newsletter" using a product such as SubStack, could be a viable solution to the "password issues" discussed on this page. However such use would change the entire model associated with the structure of the MPHS, and how it would interact with its members. So far, no one is supporting that model, and things are becoming increasingly challenging by the decreasing member base, combined with decreasing labor to create and manage the Intellectual Property we have.
Currently MPHS uses an "email newsletter" system called BeeHiiv. It is used solely to send bulk email message to the membership. One such message is the quarterly announcement of the new Journal issue.
However, BeeHiiv offers more. The "email newsletter" model is very popular, and can be both free or monetized, depending on the "tier" of the user. There are people using BeeHiiv to send out newsletters to 10's of thousands of people, some of whom pay extra for more "exclusive" content. The payoff for the creator can easily reach 6 figures. Of course, we are looking for a slightly smaller member base.
The Society could publish regular free content to help build membership, and charge customers for the types of IP we currently restrict to members-only.
Regardless of all issues discussed on this page, any solution to the system can only work if a volunteer steps forward to take on the task. Please keep in mind that all labor for the MPHS is provided by volunteers.
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Updated: 25 March 2026