In all our work, Organizers' Collaborative tries to represent our actions openly and honestly. To this end, we describe below the limitations and advantages of our database software, Organizers Database (ODB). To see our Truth in Advertising for the 0.9 version of ODB, click here.

Platform, Dependencies, and Source Code

• ODB is built using Visual Basic and the Microsoft "Jet" drivers. It can be built to save data in either the Microsoft Access 97 or Microsoft Access 2000 database format. You are not required to own Access or any other software besides Windows to use ODB. ODB may be linked to Access using a special reporting module provided with version 1.0 of ODB. ODB database tables may be accessed by third party applications through an ODBC interface, through Access, or through Open Office Base.
• ODB is free to download and the source code is licensed under the GNU GPL. Source code for all versions and complete release notes are archived at http://sourceforge.net/projects/organizersdb. Changing the code requires a Microsoft VB 5.0/6.0 development environment, and may affect your ability to upgrade your version of ODB. As of 2006, the cost to obtain this development environment, on eBay, is about $50 for VB5 and $300 for VB6 (enterprise edition).
• Upgrades and bug fixes to ODB are always free. OC notifies users of releases by email. (Users must maintain a subscription to the odbhelp email list.) Small enhancements may be added between releases; if this is done, the details and dates of these changes will be posted in the blog at the ODB site.
• Currently ODB is available for Windows. It works on Mac or Linux only via emulator, "Parallels", or "remote control" software such as Window Terminal Services or VNC. OC is hoping to port ODB to RealBasic in 2008 so that it will run on Mac and Linux. Please note that the ODB data file CAN be stored on a Samba (Linux) server, provided the folder containing the data file is writable by users using ODB.

Time Investment

• Learning ODB's basic features for managing a mailing list takes 30-60 minutes. To take full advantage of all the customization features of ODB, learning on your own from the documentation, takes 10-30 hours. OC's "customization assistance" service can reduce the time needed to do this for the features you need to just 3-5 hours.
• If you have a complex older database with thousands of records, be advised that data conversion may require 10-20 hours of work by a professional.
• In any database implementation, the staff and volunteers of an organization are likely to need some training once the database is all set up, in order to use the software most effectively.
• Familiarity with Access does not make you an ODB expert. Manipulating ODB data using Access can create problems. We recommend that you use ODB's support service even if you know Access.
• OC has developed a free 1-click upgrade utility to prepare your version 0.9 or 1.0RC5 ODB databases for use with newer versions of 1.1.

Feature Limitations

• ODB is not intended for organizations that need lots of custom fields to associate data with each record. It is assumed that your contacts can be described using the standard ODB fields which include lots of checkboxes, comments, date of birth, fax number, title, suffix, type code, and one or two "custom" fields. It is possible to change the name of ODB fields that appear on the screen using the customization screen. For human services client management, where additional fields or security settings may be needed, other software programs besides ODB may be more appropriate.
• Should you decide after using ODB for a while to move to another system, you must copy any SRC codes to the Activity/Issue/Constituency/VID codes area if you want to export them from within ODB.
• The 'check for new version' and 'download zip code file' features currently require that your system allow a 'port 21 connection' - known as FTP. Some internet providers, and some administrators, block this connection. We can give you workarounds; eventually, ODB will stop using port 21 altogether. In general, Internet connectivity is not necessary to use ODB.
• ODB does not include an email-generation engine, so sending merged emails requires third party software such as Fletmail (free) or WorldMerge ($70 for the version that includes SMTP authentication). It may also be possible to generate merged email with MS-Office, Open Office, or a web service like DemocracyInAction or Constant Contact.
• While ODB is useful to small to medium sized nonprofits and grassroots organizations, it may not be appropriate for larger organizations with three or more development staff and budgets over $2,000,000. ODB does not currently include complex reports on fundraising appeals out of the box. ODB does not provide a standard method to provide multiple addresses for a contact, although there are ways to work around this limitation.
• ODB is not a substitute for your accounting package.
• ODB works well with fewer than 100,000 records. You may find it sluggish or a bit cumbersome if it contains 100,000-200,000 records. We do not recommend ODB to be used on databases with more than 200,000 records. ODB does have a facility to connect the database to a large voter file (which could contain a million or more records).

Services

• OC provides user community forums on the on the organizersdb.org web site. Also, OC provides an informational email newsletter, called odbhelp. Everyone who downloads ODB will receive an invitation to receive this newsletter.
• OC also provides paid telephone support, where response time is usually immediate or within 3-5 hours.

Updates, Data Protection and Security

• As with commercial software, open source software will occasionally have bugs. OC staff and the community of users prioritize fixes to the bugs using an online system (see mantis).
• Security features of ODB are designed for only one level with password protection to lock down several features (there are no role-based permissions or multiple levels of access to data). ODB was designed with the assumption that you trust the people who have access to the computer which stores the database not to misuse the data. It is not difficult for a Windows administrator to limit access to the file share containing your ODB data, and to also prevent client machines from making local backups. ODB can be configured to make use of the password feature of MS Access but this may be more trouble than it is worth, due to the wide availability of software to crack Access passwords.
• ODB's automatic back-up feature saves your data file to your hard drive. It will prompt the user to save the file to a removable disk, flash drive, or zip drive, but will not save it there automatically.
• As with any application, you must properly maintain the computer or server on which the data are stored. ODB will not take care of disk fragmentation, spyware, or virus protection issues for you. If these core maintenance issues are taken care of, we find that ODB operates very reliably, even when the database is shared over a peer-to-peer network or other passive file sharing system.
• ODB uses the same database drivers used by Access (Jet 3.5 or Jet 4.0). To reduce the chance of corruption occasionally associated with Access, ODB will automatically compact your database monthly.

Future Enhancements

• We are now examining the feasibility of a port from MS Visual Basic 5.0 to Real Basic (for Windows, Mac, and Linux). If this port can be accomplished it will allow provide remote access using Mysql, Unicode capability in addition to the ability to run on non-Windows computers.
• ODB 1.1 provides only limited ability to link people and groups, thus we recommend that you put most of your data in the "people" area.