FF:WA The Outer Rim banner.

Somethings been bothering me for a little while now, and it wasn't until the colour scheme change that I put my finger on it.
We have an Outer Rim banner, with an OR logo on it, and a City Rep who is also Club President.
The way it's always been explained, to me at least, is that the forum and the club are 2 seperate entities.
Noone who posts here should feel they are obliged to be part of the club, and noone in the club should feel left out if they don't post here,Newsflash, not everyone who will be in the club will be computer owners, or be on the net.
My concern is that the lines have become well and truly blurred here, there have been, and still are, Perth people who post here, thinking they have to have a paid membership to do so.
Now while the club is a great idea and I want to see it flourish as much as anyone, can anyone really tell me the difference between the club setup and the board?
This is a great way to let people know whats coming up, an open forum to discuss ideas and what have you, but I feel we are, conciously or not, excluding others who would join simply because this forum is now viewed as an official club site, and to my knowledge and beliefs, this was never meant to be so.
Individual colour schemes are great and all, but I think this is becoming what we were so desperate to avoid early on.
Just food for thought, feel free to give me your thoughts, I insist.

 

I've asked for a line in the sand(so to speak)to be drawn before. As a non-member of the "official club" it can be hard to seperate this forum from the club, partly due to the same name used and club business is discussed here.

The problem however is that both need to live side by side, without one the other would not be able to maintain enough support, but keep in mind it does work both ways.

I'm not sure I can offer a solution other than everyone using this forum(I hesitate to use the words Core Group) needs to be aware that both are seperate and need to make sure that any new people are 100% aware of this.

 

My thoughts as requested!

There's will always been a crossover between the forum and the fanclub for several reasons. The club grew from the forum to start with and most people involved in the club are also regulars on the forum. I don't see that changing in a hurry since most club members communicate here. It's convenient. Also, most people who have gained an interest in the club did so by hearing about it here. There is a crossover and I don't think that can be avoided, nor would I want it to.
At the same time, I've always maintained that people can post here without being involved with the club and people can be in the club without posting here. I don't see a problem with that. If people do feel that way then it is definitely not the intention. I've posted lengthy messages about that before and I will again if people still don't see the distinction.
Now as for the banner. The name of the club is placed there. You weren't around when the forums began but right from the word go, when the forums began, each forum had the name of its local fanclub next to the name of the state (hyperspace, starwalking etc). We were the only exception as we had no club then. Fanforce forums have always been affiliated with local fanclubs in this way. If anyone really want, it would be easy to remove that and the logo but I don't think that's necessary. Just because a club name and logo is there I don't think that means that people should feel compelled to join the club if they post here. All it does is lets people know that there is a fanclub for western australians like there is for the people in the other forums. I expect other states will also make people aware of their clubs though their banners. I asked the admins about adding the logo before the banner went up and there was no problem.
The issue of me being city rep and club president has been raised before. The opportunity for people to object to either appointment has also been raised several times before. I don't mind doing both and I also don't mind someone else doing one/both if people prefer. I'm doing both because I was nominated and because I figure (as I hope others do ) that I can do a decent, if not perfect, job.
If we try too hard to separate the club and the forum I worry that both will fizzle. As I see it the club and the forum need each other.

 

The fact that Outer Rim is the name given to our boards is what we had planned all along. As far as I knew you could be a member, write on the boards or even do both. The way I see it is that although Outer Rim is used on these boards you don't have to be a member of the club to talk on here, far from it. How do the other states fair in these cases, after all they got there names from their clubs didn't they are?

I don't think it should matter, if you want to type on here and you enjoy the company of others then go ahead, Outer Rim is just another option people can follow, thats all.

 

Well thank you both for making my point, There is and should be an identifiable seperation between club activities and ppl who post on this board and maybe get together socially.
SK asks how otther states fair, I direct you to NSW as an example, if someone comes up with a social meet idea there, that person is then responsible for planning that meet, feeling free at all times to call on other ppl to help organise it.
An example of how that could have helped here recently, and I won't use names, is when someone wanted a meet, then got upset because noone was organising it for them.
As for OR inc. meets, then this should be handled by the club leadership, but as things stand there is a serious blurring of lines here.
Now we've heard from 2 ppl that I fully expected to whenever this sort of thing comes up, and as can be expected, they consider there opinion on the situation final, and the matter closed.
If anyone else has an opinion, lets hear it.
What do we want? an official fan club that requires membership and excludes those ppl who just come here casually, just a posting board where ppl from the club can post ideas and comments alongside the casual posters/lurkers, or both?
If noone has an opinion on this, I trust I can see an end to the PM's icq's emails and phone calls I recieve regarding this.
YOU have an opinion, YOU put it forward.

 

I don't know if it's my place to post here but anyway.
We started the SWNZ club and FanForce at pretty much the same time a year ago. Since then the majority of people at FanForce have not been members of the club and the majority of our members do not post at the FanForce.
We have yet to have problems distinguishing the club from FanForce. We made clear at the begining and still do now that the fanforce is purely for:
A) Hanging out
b) Organising events etc

We have had FF posters become members and members start to post and from what I gather no one seems to mind whether or not they are a member.
The issue I see ahead for us is when we orgainse meets that are purely for members and I hope that we never get to that stage because the last thing I want to do is turn people away from meets. What we have done is provided our members with extra luxeries such as merchadise deals, competitions, special news etc and tried to leave meets as open as possible as to not cause any friction.

I hope this makes sense and I apologise if i'm stepping on any toes.

Also there is no problem with having two CR's if people feel there are problems in that area but that's not really for me to comment.

 

HI
ok for what l don't know about how fan clubs work now days being from an era where we really were making it up as we went and didn't have a lot of restrictions and absolutely no intervention from the "offical" clubs,

here goes and god help us all,

it seems to me that you all want the same thing? you want the fan club and the forum and you want the club to accept "casual" members or ppl who would like to come to the occasional meeting?, so have a door cost?,
hint here there seems to be no area that gives any information that directly relates to the club here and if l hadn't asked or had been shyer l wouldn't have know who to ask about joining and paying membership??, do you have a full membership and a casull membership, do you post club meets here and do you welcome straglers?, if so how much.
to the problem of office bearers come on have a committee meeting and see if you can post a list of the problems that can be presented at an OFFICAL meeting for the members only and get a vote on it banners don't know how to fix that one maybe you can post the term site and club and have 2 different flags ?? another vote? please these are just very early morning thoughts but maybe they make some sence to someone, this is supposed to be fun
well if l am wrong l am sorry but l would like some feed back to where l am thankyou

 

I look at the "OR" as comprising 2 functions.

1. The Forum.(run by TFN)
2. The Official Club.(run by OR Inc)

The Forum is what I'm interested in. It's a place to chat with other people, nothing more.

The Club is a chance to meet people face to face, have Pizza/Video/Fan Films/Gaming nights etc, while discussing club business.

As for the difference of hat between CR(forum) and Pres(OR) I can't see a problem with Soneil having both positions, in fact at this early stage of everything it is probably the best thing until the Club is established.

Members and Non-members are using this board right now without any hassle-why change something that's not broken?? Like I posted earlier, people just need to be aware to pass info on to the right people in regard to membership enquires of the OR.

For the record I am not a member of the club, and as such can't assume what the policy/thoughts of the club are however Shelly I thought your ideas were very good

 

Thanks for the comments Mutley & Shelly. I think the opinions of those who haven't been involved in the club are a valuable indication of how many lurkers would feel. Mutley has made it clear for some time that she's only interested in the forums for the time being. I hope her and others do feel welcome in either if they're interested.
SM, I think you're being a little unfair in claiming that SK & I think our decision is final. Opinions were asked for and given. I appreciate your posts and your points are valid but we didn't have to reply so be nice . I hope others reply as well since we're certainy not stopping anyone.
SK & I have been voted to positions of leadership in the club. Neither of us have done this before and we're learning (and making mistakes) as we go. What we need are suggestions. There is some good input but it's often from the same people (SM you're one of them).
If anyone feels that their ideas aren't being heard then speak up. Look back through the threads and see how many times there have been threads created for the sole purpose of encouraging people to post their ideas. I've said it repeatedly and I'll say it again - the club is meant to be for everyone but it never will be when people are too shy to give their ideas - and I don't mean mentioning it in passing as part of a post. Start a thread or something.
If anyone has a suggestion you need to push it, otherwise it's bound to get ignored because we all have a lot on our plates. Expect people to disagree with your opinion and prepare to justify it without getting offended. That's the way these things work. What I want more than anything is for as many people as possible to be involved. If I've been guilty of ignoring any ideas then tell me directly. I'm hard to offend - really. I need the suggestions.
We will have another official club meet soon and we'll work out the details of that meet in another thread. Obviously the issue of club/forum needs to be on the agenda. Think of other things to put on the agenda as well. The agenda will be posted and open to discussion well before the meet so think about what you want to get done at the meet and plan on being there. Let's make sure that any suggestions/criticism/whatever else, stay out in the open. The worst thing that could happen to the club at this early point is for people to give up because of a lack of communication. I've made some good friends through this forum and I'd hate to lose any over misunderstandings. I think you guys are all great and I appreciate what you've all done for the club and/or the forum.
Lastly, I'll post a poll about the banner so everyone can have their say anonymously.

 

There were 3 positions for the OR "Council" voted on at the first meeting, they were Pres : Soniel, Sec : PL, and Tres : Jedi Nat (at the time). All other positions were left vacant, and at no time was a Vice President voted on. At all the official meetings I've been to there has been no other votes to fill other positions. If the old boards are still accessible, go back and look through the threads, and you will find one where SK was changing his "Job Title" within the OR on a post by post basis (almost). A comment was made by Soniel "Shouldn't that be Vice President" and the "assumed" job title has stuck since. There has been no vote on the position of VP, and this assumption of the position has been brought up once too often for me to bite my tongue anymore.
I'm not after the job - positions of rank don't interest me as anyone who has known my ARes service will know, but I say again the "vote" bit gotten up my nose once too often to keep quiet about it any longer.

 

Well, I suppose I'd better give my 2 cents worth.

Here's how I see the club in the future.

1. We have a committee. This should consist of the 4 office bearers and maybe 2-4 others. This group takes suggestions from the members on what the club should be like and meets once a month to organize stuff. The club needs to have an AGM soon to get started properly. This would be a good time to decide exactly who wants to be on the committee. You need to be willing and able to come every month and also to contribute ideas and follow up with some organization.


2. We have club members. These are the people who have paid me their $20 to join. I'll try to make up some membership cards soon, so you've got something to show for your money. Members should get a newsletter at least, to let them know of club events and meetings. Any other benefits of membership will be decided soon, as the membership grows and we figure out what we are doing. Suggestions for club events should be addresses to me so I can bring them up in committee meetings. Anyone wishing to join the club, contact me and I'll send you a membership form. (when I make one that is)


3. We have a club website. This is our newsletter/advert/contact place online, where people can find out about our club. This will be the 'official' spot to find out about club events.


4. We have Fanforce. This is a place where anyone in the world who likes Star Wars can chat. A good place to socialise, meet new people, maybe plug the club now and again, get ideas for things to do in our club. This is where 'social' meets are organized. Club events can be advertised here just like anything else, but they should be organized in committee meetings.

........................................

Secretary, Outer Rim
princess@oneil.com.au

 

Grizzly, I agree. I've been concerned about people voting themselves to positions too. The AGM will be the place to rectify this, as all previously voted members have to stand down and be voted back in, this is official, it's in the constitution.

SK was voted in though, we just voted on the forums, we weren't very organized back then so it may have slipped by you.

 

<laugh>

I will have to disagree with you on that one Grizz. Your right in saying that VP was not voted on back on the old boards but if you remember back to the night when we were talking about the stars, well that night we did vote. Everyone there that night agreed that I should be VP. If that wasnt official then someone please tell me because I would hate to think I took the position when someone else wanted it.

EDIT: There was vote on the board but I never took that as official. Who knows what is offical anymore!

 

History as I remember it.
When I was first nominated as president, I nominated SK as the vice president since I felt at the time that he had contributed a lot to the forum and the future club. That was my decision but I did ask for objections on the old forums and got none. Not a formal vote but no-one seemd to mind.
There was a formal vote later. At the first meet this year there was a vote about the club positions but I was never sure if anyone really took that seriously. At the next meet I made a point of getting everyone's opinions on the positions. On that occasion I mostly did it because my own leadership had been questioned and I wanted to make sure any objections were brought out in to the open. I also wanted to make sure everyone was ok with SK being VP since I knew not everyone had a say in that originally so I made a point of having a vote on that. SM as treasurer (since Nat never wanted to do that in the first place)and PM as secretary were also voted on. PL has the minutes for that meeting and I remember posting them in one of the threads. As far as I was concerned it was finalised but we can vote on it again at the next meet if anyone really thinks we need to. Like SK, I'd really like to make sure that no-one is in the committee unless the club members are ok with it. We're doing this willingly and we'll do our best but the opinions of the people in the club as a majority should come first.

 

MOM !!!!!

The politics are back
< runs and hides >

 

You spelt mum the American way!
For shame!!!!

 

I'd run & hide too but that wouldn't look so good.
In all honesty I'd love to keep the politics to a minimum but I'm a sucker for an honest question that requires a lengthy answer.

 

When you get the membership form organised JediLego would you mind sending one my way. As the club is now officially a club I would officially like to be a part of it.

Thanks a heap.

 

SK says there was no vote on the old board, and after a lot of digging around (ie reading just about every topic) he's right. But that doesn't explain this thread
http://fanforce.net/ubb/Forum182/HTML/000135.html which is what I've been going on about.

 

LD double for shame *glare* l have seen that l lot lately yanky spelling and in such an important site.

To the topic at hand well it seems to me that everyone agrees that everyone is right so whats the problem SK was voted in at the meeting ?? cool and the banner is great l would like to see both there and both distinct ie some words ?? is that possible?

apart from that it seems that everyone just about agrees on everything the rest is meer details )))))))

 

Grizzly: I read that thread just then, as fas as I can tell I wasnt sure where I would fit in ie.

---------------------
Sounds good to me!!
...........


Wayne Siviour
*******, Outer Rim
---------------------

And Soniel said

---------------------
That should be

Wayne Siviour
Vice pres. Outer Rim
---------------------

And from then on it was only Soniel that said I could but that wasn't official. It was more of a casual muck around I think.

I think there was just some confusion, now that we are organize a little better we should start making things official and putting them down on paper I think.

 

In any case, there'll be an official meeting soon and positions can be either confirmed or changed at that point. It might not be this month since there's already a few unofficial meets hapenning. Don't want to overload everyone. If you guys don't mind having yet another meet squeezed in sometime thins month then let me know. Next month is likely to be hectic for us since that's when PL's due to have the baby.