Most designers I know are great at finding flaws and kind of enjoy complaining so this was bound to happen; the idea of IDSA was bound to evolve and be improved by its members. As I see it most of the purposes the organization originally filled are now being better met in other ways. There was a time when the IDSA was the only real way to meet and engage with designers of different levels of experience and backgrounds and now there are much easier, more dynamic and more affordable methods.
I cancelled my membership after 20+ years because I found myself going to the conferences to see friends but skipping all of the lectures. For me it seemed like the same group of people talking about the same thing over and over again and then giving each other awards over and over again. None of it had much to do with the type of work we do at my firm every day. And, at times it seemed to be so far astray that I felt it was an altogether different profession. At various times I thought “why isn’t anyone talking about designing and engineering products?” Are those mimes? Is that a Fight Club renactment? Is that a pinewood derby?
But a lot of members seemed to really love it so I concluded that it must be that this is just not the right organization for me. I think that if the IDSA concentrated on maximizing the value they provide to that smaller segment of designers they might find more satisfaction in be smaller in size but more potent.