[CR Elections] Part Two -Manifestos posted. Q&A time.

Thank you for your nominations, below are the people who have been selected by you for the CR election.

*** Nominated but not standing

ForceGhostOfCozmic (Chris)
suzijedi (Suzi)
spike_thmid (Chris)
timbolton (Tim)
VenHalcyon (Nathan)

If you are on the list and don't feel now you can do the job, say so now please, and we'll drop your name from nominees list. spike_thmid has already PM'd me his withdrawal, as has ForceGhostofCozmic.

Nominees "Manifesto" and member Q&A

Each nominee should write a "manifesto" about themselves, and explain why they should be CR. Examples of previous experience (from here or elsewhere) will be helpful. The North is in a far stronger position than it was last year, so the manifestos don't need to be the 1'000+ word novels they were in '06. Just a few paragraphs to explain where they see the North going and how they will take it even further forward will suffice.

Veering away from last year, all nominees must PM their manifestos to either halibut or myself. Manifestos will then be posted in this thread in two weeks time (or whenever the last manifesto is PM'd to us).

* Once we have all the manifestos, posters are free to ask the nominees questions about their manifesto or anything else to do with the FF-UK: North. Hopefully you'll get an idea about what the nominees are about, and who will be best to vote for. In previous years people from outside the North also posted, and there were some good questions asked. I'm happy to keep that going as long as the trend of good questions continues.

No more comments about other peoples' manifestos, their professionality etc. We're supposed to be setting an example to the other chapters, and so far we're failing miserably. If there's going to be any conversation, let it be about what you, the candidates, want for the North.

 

Tim has now dropped out of the race.

Which leaves Ven and Suzi.

 

This isnt going well Is it !

 

this is getting all a bit silly for my taste. i get the impression that people forget this is a volunteer position on a SW msg board which involves nothing much apart from alerting people to possible meets and events in the area. (yes, you get a blue name as well)

please don't get so hysterical over all of this, tis merely blown out of proportion over a ridiculous amount of having to display your true passion for the group. it's all fine and well we aren't looking for a lacklustre person, but this is getting to the point of exaggeration. are we now battling it out suzi against ven?

 

Carefull. Thats what I said about the position. Some ppl don't agree. I still have the scars

 

I can't hit a woman!!!





Oh, who am I kidding, where's my latex sword!?

 

Guys, let's drop the topic until a later date.

All I need is for Suzi to send me her manifesto and we'll be getting the ball rolling.

 

...are we nearly there yet please dad? Im busting for a wee....

 

Suzi has promised to send me her manifesto tomorrow night. I, unfortunately, will be at Legends@Newcastle with my mate's band, so I'll post both of them on Saturday afternoon

 

Or early in the morning...

 

ven, since you haven't posted social meets (to my knowledge) what would a good social meet look like to you?

 

To both people.

How could/would you work with other CRs to promote the FF-UK as a whole?

 

What do I think a good social meet would look like? A bunch of people getting together and having a good time - no one feeling left out, no one feeling isolated or apart from the group. The where, when, how is relatively academic, so long as its done within the local area of our chapter. Some people will always like different types of meet, it's no secret I like meets that general involving drinking, but to be fair it's mainly becuase I think the flow of alcohol can often promote people loosening up and chilling out a little. I know this answer kind of sounds like "Anything" - but then maybe I should have just put that: Anything which involves a group of us getting together and having fun.

I couldn't work with other CR's - i mean come on - people from the 'sarf!? Wales, Scotland?

A difficult question to answer this one - let me think about it though, i'm a bit tight for time right now and want to give it full justice!

 

I think the idea that alcohol can make the meet is a silly one and that drink shouldn't be the be all and end all of the FF.
People can have a good time without alchol, and here is my two questions to you Ven. How would you cater for young member and those who do not drink?

And what is your idea of fun?

 

yeah, i'm not so sure i'd travel so many miles just to hang out with people. some of you are good friends of mine but it seems that for most of our lot (including me) travelling is a bit too dear to be thrown at pubs and drinks. personally i enjoy wandering around various places mostly i guess because i'm newish to england and i haven't been to so many. and it's also been a pleasure to roam markets and arrange for a little something more while we are meeting anyway. i remember the maggy meet in march which after a day became a bit difficult because it got harder for us to come up with intersting things to do in manchester and we couldn't just drink and/or eat all the time. for that we are simply too much about being in public places rather than having parties in someone's house.

or something like that.

 

Okay - firstly, i quite clearly did not say that "Alcohol is the be all and end all" - what i said was that i feel that when people have a couple of drinks they tend to loosen up and by that I meant that they tend to be less restrained and more confident.

I do not think all events should absoloutely involve alcohol, but i'd certainly be in favour of popping to the pub for a few drinks and some food, or chilling out at someone's house with a few beers either as part of a larger event, or even as a stand alone event - i mean just hanging out with people i enjoy the company of is fun!

As for what is my idea of fun...erm pretty much anything involving Star Wars, Generally that applies to all Sci-fi except Doctor Who! I think I covered this when i described my hobbies in my manifesto, but in addition to thoe, I had a very good weekend just gone with an old friend, we just wandered around York for a bit, went and caught a movie, then went back to my place and played on my Wii till 2am...that was great fun just spending time with a friend, what we were doing was kind of academic, it was the company and conversation that I wanted and enjoyed.

I think I can relate in some respect to what ypu're saying from the times I habve been travelling to foreign parts and even other parts of the UK, I love exploring new cities and new places - several of you have access to my facebook account and can see the pics of several of my outings. I love wandering around cities, looking at the architecture of the old buildings compared with the new, learning a little about the cultural history of the city, visiting museums etc. When i went to new York I had a rigorous schedule that went something like: Up at 10am - go to Tube - get coffee and donut, wander round different part of the city till about 1 - go to McD's - Go to Museum around 1pm - head back to hostel at about 8pm - get Subway - Head to bar at around 10pm - Go to bed about 4am. It was awesome - i was mixing the exploration of a new city with viewing museums i'm only going to get a limited chance to see in my life with socialising with people i'd literally just met that day or evening in a hostel - it was fantastic! Would I have gone to New York to go drinking in a bar? No - so i can kind of relate to what you're saying. But would I travel around the UK to meet up with some friends to just hang out? Sure. I i can mix that with seeing something new - then that would have been great - i recently saw Wells (where a lot of the Hot Fuzz exteriors were filmed) for the first time in my life becuase some old uni friends had moved down near there - it was fab!

Going back to the question Hal asked earlier about how i'd work with other CR's - I think each of the CR's is naturally going to have their own ideas and some of them have more time than others with which to at on those ideas. I'm fortunate in

 

But you didn't answer my question on how would you deal with young members and those who don't drink?

Let's keep it to questions only, please

 

Well to put my 2p in and to somewhat defend Ven

I don't think Ven is saying "every meet must involve booze" and I know we must not alienate under 18's - though I thought there are rules on children attending meets ??

But some of the best meets I've attended have been the informal group of guys & gals getting together having a few laughs talking Star Wars grabbing something to eat and maybe the odd jar - a la the mini meets we used to have in Middlesbrough (where not everyone drank alcohol )

I want a CR who is going to allow the natural flow of FFUK:N where individual members can feel free to organise there own meets (with minimal regimental input from the CR) like under the previous regimen.

Personally I use this board as a function to organise meeting up with like minded people, whose company I enjoy - and sometimes that does involve sitting in a pub

ah, just noted Sie's edit of the above post (my post was being written during his edit) so I best make this in a question of face his wrath

will whoever wins the CR vote will they allow this to continue ??

 

I don?t have an issue with people drinking at meets, as whenever we?ve done so, it has always been in the appropriate place (i.e., restaurant/pub/persons house). Currently, all member of the North are over 18 and old enough to take responsibility for themselves, so I have no problem with that.

If we?re representing FF in a professional manner (i.e. during the day at an event) then I wouldn?t want drink to become involved, but I think we?re all sensible enough to not let that happen anyway.

I also don't have a problem with members suggesting/having their own meets, again which people do already, so I don't see why that should change.

(Hal- I will answer your question soon)

 

So I can't state my opinion or point of view on what I want out of a CR now?

 

Thanks Spike-T for your reply!

Coz - to answer that question explicitly, two things:

1> I absoloutely 100% will not condone any meeting with any FFUK member under the age of 16 unless said member is accompanied by a responsible related adult i.e. not just another member unless that member is directly related to them. People under the age of 16 should not be off meeting people they met on the internet. That is not to say they shouldbe discluded from the website or forums - it is merely a point to comply with common sense and the national law.

2> In regards to people legally not old enough to drink, i'd be hypocritical if i said i'd not flaunted that law repeatedly but I understand that as CR that should we have any members attending our meets who are not legally old enough to drink (in public) then I cannot actively paricipate them in breaking the law, but i'm not going to be a complete arse about it - if the risk is taken by them or by another member, then those are individual choices (as I made myself at Celebration Europe). To that end, 16 & 17 year olds are legally allowed to drink in resteraunts within reason if they are accompanied by one or more adults of responsible age. I'd have to check with someone who knows more, but I believe the consumption of alcohol on private premises is also not against the law under similar circumstances.

3> I think Spike_T reiterated what I was saying; none of my posts are suggesting every meet we do should involve alcohol and all of them have stated quite explicitly that I don't want anyone to feel excluded at meets, which means making every effort to find places to go, see, visit that meet the majority of people's wants. I'd hope that (as Suzi said) we are all mature enough, to be able to give each other a little give and take with our meets and to not attend a meet you know is not going to be to your tastes and then complain about it.

 

In the form of questions, yes. What you want out of a CR can be expressed in questions, without any statements or opinions of a specific candidate. Read what they answer, and form opinions and point of views from there.

The ultimate expression of your point of view about a CR's suitability for the role is in your vote. Not in public posts that are liable to cause more trouble than they're worth. Look at last year's CR elections. A lot of people complained at certain members' "It's a battle between the Spike's" posts. In the interests of not repeating that, I'm asking that you (not you specifically, but the voters in general) keep their opinions to themselves. If there is something you're not clear on, keep asking questions.

 

Just to clarify, Ven, the rules state "All official FanForce events need to be open to all ages, and family friendly.". The rules also state "Alcohol is allowed to be consumed and served at meetings, but all laws concerning alcohol consumption must be followed. If a chapter is found to have knowingly served alcohol to a minor, they may lose their status as a FanForce and legal action will be taken. "

I've confirmed with the FF admin, and how the chapter deals with underage members (adult accompaniment, parental permission etc) has to be decided and voted on by the chapter as a whole. Also, any "official" meets cannot be in a place with an age restriction. Going to a bar is fine for a social meet, but no club decisions/business should be discussed/agreed on at such meets.

There is no official FF policy for underage members (besides the fact that they are welcome), but it is down to the chapter to decide its own policy to cover their own backs.

Hope this helps

 

Can I just say A little bit Personly I dont use this site much these's days

This site is mostly about friendship and meeting new members over a drink or food and having a good time In the begining everyone was on here now some people have driffed off into costuming sites where they tend to spend most of there time, but come back here to say hi,

This site needs to move with the times and maybe allow other sci fi members to join in with our star wars group and socal meet ups (The costuming groups are seperate to here so theres no realy problem)

Meet up members tend to be people in there 20's and older where as some of the on-line members can be teenagers with different views (again we need to change) I am sounding a little off ?

The New Cr needs to work with other groups and bring new members on to here as well as work with the members to move forward with new freash ideas and events (like what ever happend to us having a camping event ? )

I wouldnt know who to vote for Ive never met Ven !
As we have two persons remining in the race wouldnt it be fare to say the winner becomes the cr and the runner up the new asst Cr (sorry coz) It sounds fare !

 

The Assistant CR position was created for organising local meets in the North West (or the North East should a North-Westerner ever be voted in as CR). Both Suzi and Ven are North-Easterners so that would be impossible