One of the key features of Pianola for clubs that are affiliated with the EBU is that we can help keep your data in sync with theirs. This article explains the scope of this facility.
Background
The EBU gives each of their members the ability to control whether clubs can:
- view their membership details
- edit their membership details
By default, many (if not most) people who were members of the EBU before the introduction of pay-to-play will have their records set so that clubs can see only minimal information about them:
- name
- EBU number
- city
(See ebu.co.uk for more information about this.)
How Pianola syncs with the EBU
Pianola is connected in real-time to the EBU's database. This means that we can read and write to and from their records.
When you first set up your Pianola account, we check that each member of your club has a valid EBU number that matches with the EBU's records. We'll offer you the opportunity to correct any mistakes and add in to your Pianola record any missing EBU numbers.
Later, whenever you add a new member to your Pianola records you can do one of three things:
- Simultaneously create a brand new EBU membership
- Add an existing EBU member
- Add a player to Pianola only
When you create a brand new EBU member, you will automatically have full view and edit rights over this member's details until such time as they login to ebu.co.uk and change their settings.
When you add an existing EBU member to your club, we will only be able to retrieve from the EBU their:
- name
- EBU number; and
- city (if known)
It is unlikely that you will be able to edit any of these details on the EBU's records as the member's record will be set to not allow your club to view or edit.
What Pianola can change
The EBU's view is that clubs should not routinely edit their members' records - address, etc. (See this article on their website for more information.)
To an extent, we agree with this position, as a player may choose to give different address details to the EBU than they give to their bridge club(s). This might be, for example, if they have two homes and prefer to receive their copy of English Bridge at one of their homes. Therefore, we do not sync any changes you make to a member's address, email or phone number.
However, we do sync any changes you make to a member's name - if the member has given your club edit rights over their record.
When you are in the edit screen for one of your member's records, you'll see a question mark next to their name details. Hover over this icon to see information about whether or not you have edit rights. If you do, we will update the EBU with any changes you make to their name.
If you do not have edit rights, we will not allow you to edit the member's name. This is because it would cause your P2P uploads to fail if there is an inconsistency between your records and the EBU's. In order for P2P uploads to work, the surname and EBU number must match the EBU's records.
Summary
Pianola can sync limited data with the EBU. Primarily, we will ensure that a member's name and EBU number match the EBU's records.
We cannot retrieve detailed contact information about members and we will not update changes you make to a player's address, email or phone numbers.
We will only let you edit a member's name on Pianola if you have edit rights on the EBU for this member.