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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

MOD FanForce - Forum Romanum

Discussion in 'FanForce Communications' started by Corellian_Outrider, Mar 26, 2015.

  1. Corellian_Outrider

    Corellian_Outrider Former FanForce Admin star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Mar 9, 2002
    Welcome to the Forum Romanum.

    Much like the one from the hallowed days of antiquity, this place is an open forum available to all citizens of the boards to voice their opinions and participate in discussions, suggestions and commentary regarding all facets of FanForce and its future.

    Goes without saying but the main guidelines to keep in mind is to follow the boards TOS and Rules of the JC. Please remain respectful to one another and to keep discussions constructive and on topic.

    First topic on the agenda is your perspective of FanForce: What does FanForce mean to you?

    We will start with an SWOT analysis and ask for your input on what you deem to be the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of FanForce and what FanForce stands for.
     
  2. Obi Anne

    Obi Anne Celebration Mistress of Ceremonies star 8 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 4, 1998
    Hello everyone, this is your chance to speak up about what you want FanForce to be in the future. All suggestions are open and we want to build up the organisation so that we can be one of the major fan organisations again.

    First of all, in order to get to know where you are coming from, it would be nice if you could introduce yourself. Where are you from? Do you have an active FF chapter in your area, or have you had one?

    I will start. My name is Johanna I'm from Sweden. I've been part of FanForce from the start, both as a member and as an administrator, around 2005-2006 Sweden had a very active FF chapter, but now it has gone inactive. I will post my SWOT analysis later, but first we encourage you to give us your opinions and views.
     
  3. PatttyB0123

    PatttyB0123 Former RSA star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Apr 2, 2003
    Nice great posts.

    I think I should introduce myself first.
    I can't remember now when I joined the JC.
    My mane is Sandra and I am from South America.
    One of those far away countries. Lol

    I was member of the Lightside of the Force group which later got abandoned by us. Well some how.
    Later I got the opportunity to be the RSA of Latin America.
    Those boards became inactive long time ago since FB expanded in the net.
    I still seeing some of the members in FB.
    I don't have yet any inputs. I will later
    Thank you. :)
     
  4. Vesper2112

    Vesper2112 FF President & CR, Chattanooga, TN star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 14, 2003
    I'm Jeff from the Chattanooga, TN FanForce (that we call "Chattooine"). We've been around since late 2004 and have had monthly meetings every 2nd Monday of the month since the start. After Episode III came out (in which we partnered up with one of our local theaters (where we've had our meetings) and had an awesome time that weekend. We dressed up (along with loads of theater-goers), held a video game contest, ran game demos of Attacktix (remember those?) and the miniature game. We also did mock lightsaber battles in front of as many audiences as we could. What can we say? We were young and naive! LOL

    Anyway, after Episode III came and went, the theater manager thanked us all by letting us see the movie "Serenity" as a private midnight showing. That got us thinking about expanding the scope of our group a bit. We all came here because of Star Wars, but we all like other (but similar) things, so it just made sense to us at the time that we wanted to make sure our group would continue on past Star Wars (since we all thought there wouldn't be any more movies).

    Costuming wasn't a focus when we started, but quickly became a thing when we started doing more movie premiers. The superhero genre really took off and along with other things, we were doing loads of events throughout the year. Not just costuming or anything... We had the monthly meetings, game nights, holiday parties, our annual picnic and our annual "Bounty Hunt" (I'll explain that one in a minute), and random dinner get-togethers. We did get costume event heavy for a year or two, but we're trying to bring back more purely social events.

    We used to do an annual scavenger hunt, but we mutated that into the BOUNTY HUNT. For those that want to try this or a variation of it, our Bounty Hunt is kind of like a scavenger hunt and Amazing Race mashup. It takes place over the course of an afternoon and the goal is to have the lowest time. We have teams of 4 start off at a designated place. We start off with a few games to where you can knock off some time right away. Nerf target shooting, trivia, etc... Then everyone gets a packet with the scavenger hunt list. Mostly things around the city. You also get a clue to where you're supposed to go to get your next set of instructions. These aren't hard as we don't want people wandering around the city all day... At the next clue point, we have some kind of challenge you have to pass before you're given your next packet (with additional scavenger hunt stuff and your next clue destination). These challenges range from running a lap (you can split up among your teammates), putting together a small lego kit, or yes... eating weird things. My son insisted that he wanted to do that challenge, so he now has the honor of being the only one that threw up after eating moon pies (marshmallow/chocolate concoction), gummy worms, meal worms (yup) and a warm Monster energy drink. After 4 destination stops, you go back to the starting point. All the various scavenger hunt times are taken off your time and a winner is declared!

    But back to the main question: What does FanForce mean to you?
    I helped start the Chapter in my city as a means to meet new friends that had similar interests. That's still true today. As an added bonus, I met my fiancee through Chattooine. As an additional side effect of being in FanForce, I helped start a multi-genre convention called ConNooga (in which we've had a few Star Wars guests over the years: Timothy Zahn, Felix Silla, Daniel Logan, Temuera Morrison). Obviously these are just things that happened as a result of there being a FanForce Chapter, but not the goal. So I still see FanForce as a way to continue to meet new people. Not just meet them, but interact with them. In the age of facebook, it's easy to be that kind of social, but to have lunch together, or arrange movie outings, or sure... work on costumes together and maybe wear them at whatever movie premiers, cons, etc... It's all about having fun. Now that the future of Star Wars looks like it'll be around a long, long time, our FanForce community should also be here. FanForce fills a very important void. We're a FAN based group and not a COSTUMING group. If you go to www.starwars.com right now and look at the fan groups, it's either the costuming groups or the R2 Builders club. We should be there. Not everyone wants to costume. There's a LOT more to being a fan than that. That's where we come in. There's a whole lot of non-costumers out there that would be a perfect fit for this group. And the good thing is, the ones that are into costuming can join as well!

    I know I have lots of ideas and examples from our own club that I would be happy to share for anyone wanting to start up a new chapter in their city. I also know there are lots of other FanForcers that would gladly help out. So while FanForce is very much a local thing, I personally would like to see us as a collective group be on par with the costuming groups out there. The 501st (for example) are worldwide and known for their costumes and being a part of charity events (among others). FanForce is also worldwide. We know how popular Star Wars is. There are a LOT of fans out there that might like to be in a Star Wars club. How do they hear about it? People can do things locally to get the word out, but if we had a global presence, I think that would help even more.
     
  5. DieWompRatDie

    DieWompRatDie Former RSA star 4 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Dec 2, 2008
  6. Skiara

    Skiara ~• RSA FFC •~ star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 5, 2002
    *waves*
    I'm Sabine, living in West-Germany and joined FF in the year I signed up. At that time our FF was quite busy. Nowadays it's slow, but I know that most, if not all, members are still SW fans and participating somehow and some even at other (costuming) groups.

    For me FF means to hang around with friends from all over the world. Not more not less.

    There are two suggestions crossing my mind so far:

    This thread could get more attention. But I think no one beside of RSA and CR is aware of it, because this board hardly ever get used. So why not creating some kind of newsletter, so everyone learns about news?

    Second thought: Costuming is a reason to leave and joining other groups. Why not creating an costuming event like "best FF costume of the year"?

    Edit: Instead of newsletter the notification is a good option! Works well!
     
  7. Lord_Kosh

    Lord_Kosh Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Oct 20, 2005
    Hello all,

    My name is Michael. I live in a suburb of Nashville, TN...in what was "Nashville After Darth". It has shifted between Jackson and Nashville lately...drifting to the west, but basically covers the "Middle Tennessee" area. The activity (locally) seems to come and go, with only a handful of regulars... though I admit that I took my own "break" as such. I believe there was some local politics within the group that forced the group to part from what was "Nashville After Darth" as well. But long before I got into costuming, I was using the boards to make friends with roleplay stories (fan-fiction) and game night type events and get-togethers. The last few events I have made locally through Fan-Force have been charity-type events trooping, and it makes me want to do them more often.

    Now, I am involved with costuming and am part of the 501st as well...maybe the Rebel Legion (RL) in a few months, too. But I see no reason for them to be at odds. As a potential weakness, one could argue that the costuming standards may be a little lower (and in theory, too low), but this is not necessarily a bad thing. First, the FF group I have trooped with have quality costumes in their own right...with it being very difficult to find anything wrong in terms of quality or film accuracy. And in some cases, the requirements are too specific or ones I do not necessarily agree with anyway, even as an avid fan of the Star Wars universe. FF gives the flexibility that the other groups may not, with basically the same type of goal in mind. This helps those of us who may not be as skilled to get involved and be part of the community. The groups often focus on different events anyway, so being part of both lets me do more. Many in both groups do more costumes outside the Star Wars universe as well, so this is a common meeting place for them.

    One of the strengths is that the FF is not ONLY a costuming group... I'm really still a beginner in costuming and like that there is a place to go to find more than costuming discussed. My schedule prevents me from doing to much as I used to, but I really enjoyed the fan-fiction section and the roleplay stories that drew me to the boards in the first place ...long before putting on an Imperial suit was even a thought. It is great to have a creative community of like minded people that can interact on the boards. For those of us that have collections or looking for spoofs and humor, there were plenty of topics to go around. In fact, I doubt I ever saw the entire list of section on the boards. The beauty is that there is something for everyone.

    The opportunities are to keep the fans excited, especially with another round of movies coming soon (and other things like SW: Rebels TV series). More activity will help people feel the need to check back more frequently. Social media can help, but it is still good to have one location to find almost everything.

    The threat would be to let ourselves get caught up in politics, either internally or with other groups... or to try to become one of the other groups. Let them keep their mission, and we keep ours. There is plenty of room in the galaxy for both, and as long as we can respect each other, we should be able to play together or at least co-exist. :)

    Personally, I would love to see more local involvement with the FF boards again. It does seem to come and go, but we have something right in our sights to help focus us... a brand new set of movies for this and past generations to enjoy together. And, we are going to have to find some friends that we can talk to while we wait between the movies, much like during the prequels. However, we can also connect with others world-wide. I'll make the commitment to check the boards more frequently and when possible, to contribute to some aspect. And, may the force be with us.
     
  8. jawajames

    jawajames Former RSA // stawars.com contributor star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA VIP

    Registered:
    Apr 26, 2002
    I first got involved in Fan Force back in 2002 when the new San Diego Star Wars Society gained Fan Force chapter status. From that time, I've been club president, vice-president, PR officer, dealt with growth, dealt with drama that split the club into two clubs: SDSWS and San Diego Fan Force, and hopping the forums from server to server, and last year, the disintegration of San Diego Fan Force due to a lack of membership and leadership. In the meantime, I've been chapter rep for San Diego for the past many years, and the Pacific RSA for the past one or two years (and even was the lead for the Pacific Region Fan Force table at Celebration III)

    Where Fan Force shined:
    - connection to other fans in online forums beyond our local scope (both other clubs and the JC in general)
    - leadership community that was able to help our club develop, and provide mediation opportunity when there was drama
    - not being a costume club

    Where Fan Force has been weak:
    - not a unique online presence, but just a small part of a larger site
    - lacking branding -> lacking visibility
    - lacking a definable hierarchy for organizing presence at major events (celebrations), getting us listed on sw.com etc.
    - not adjusting to the development of social media well.

    opportunity:
    - spin-off from theforce.net and make the JC forums part of fan force.
    - emphasize global scope, local clubs, and as an alternative to costuming orgs.
     
    Lord_Dubi, PreludeRM and Grimby like this.
  9. Granger

    Granger Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2012
    I first joined the JC many years ago but I took a break and came back with new credentials when the Disney deal happened. I also comment a bit over at CJ but not all that much. I'm also from San Diego. I've been aware of FF from their presence at SDCC in the past but I was more aware of SDSWS and was on their forum for a short time but didn't make the move when they switched servers some years ago. I've never really gotten involved with either club because the FF info I got was kind of vague and SDSWS seemed like a costume club which is really not my thing. So these are the opinions of someone who is probably target demo for FF but has never joined, so maybe that's worth something or maybe not.

    Like I said, I was just never really sure what it was about. I would ask myself, what would we do if we got together? Do I need to read every book or collect merch to fit into this group? Is this the group handing out buttons at SDCC for answering obscure trivia questions that came from the books? I'm a big fan and I can kill it in movie trivia but if you're asking me to name the Death Star droid's roommate or something at the convention I'm starting to feel like this might not be my crowd. I've tried to get into the FF forum here but it's so spread out that there never seems to be much conversation going on. It's funny how I can pretty much chat with someone in real time about rumors on the movie forums but it's nearly crickets when I ask a question in the forum about Celebration. I'm not sure what could be done to improve that, maybe merge some of the forums? Anyway, those are my outsider views about why I haven't become active.

    Of course, its not all FF'S fault, you could add busy schedule and my own apathy to the list as well.
     
  10. Grimby

    Grimby Technical Consultant & Former Head Admin star 7 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Apr 22, 2000
    I first joined FanForce back in the early days of TFN when the FF forums were still on FanForce.net. At some point in 2000, they shut down the FanForce.net forums and created new ones here, and if I look under my avatar over there on the left, it says I made it over here in April of that year.

    For the history buffs among us, FanForce first started in 1999 as a group of people in Dallas who decided to organize a lineup for Episode I. After the success of the lineup, they convinced TheForce.net to create FanForce as a means for fans in cities all over the world to start their own local clubs and communicate in a central place. (There's more info on that on the DFW FF site.) In 2000, one of the guys who had been involved in the lineup group in Dallas moved to Denver and organized the first ever Denver FanForce meeting. We met for lunch at a Chili's and then went to see Hollow Man (not our best decision). A year later, the Rocky Mountain FanForce was born and has been going strong ever since. Even over the past several years, we've routinely seen 15-20 or more people at our monthly meetings. Part of the reason for that is that the majority of the group has always been good friends, and on occasion we hang out for other reasons than Star Wars.

    Over these past 15 years, the mission of our local FanForce chapter hasn't changed much. We see ourselves as the social alternative to the costuming groups, but we also organize local events and raise money for charity. We run fan tables at local conventions and movie premieres. We've done clothing drives at movie theater events, and in recent years some very awesome members of our group have organized an annual auction in which all proceeds are donated to the Make A Wish foundation.

    To me, FanForce is a means for local Star Wars fans to connect, hang out together, and organize local chapters. We don't have strict costume requirements for membership or focus around requested public appearances. We're primarily about having fun and hanging out with like-minded people, but we also organize events and give back to the community.
     
  11. Obi Anne

    Obi Anne Celebration Mistress of Ceremonies star 8 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 4, 1998
    I really enjoy reading what people are writing, and now I feel it's time for me to add as well.

    Strength - I think FanForce's greatest strength is the community. That we are an alternative to the costume clubs, where people who are simply Star Wars fans can do things together. We also have a platform that is truly global, with members from all over the world.

    Weakness - our greatest weakness though is that it's hard to define what we are, and we haven't been able to create a global FF identity. Individual FanForce chapters have managed to create their own identity, but not the main organisation itself. FanForce hasn't managed to adapt to the change in how people communicate, I think it's time tthat we seriously think about how our organisation can reflect today's internet, rather than 15 years ago.

    Opportunity - We all know that the interest for Star Wars will get a push again, with the new films that are coming. I think that a lot of people want to meet other fans, and without having to spend a lot of money on costumes or collectable.

    Threat - FanForce hasn't managed to adapt to the change in how people communicate, I think it's time that we seriously think about how our organisation can reflect today's internet, rather than 15 years ago.
     
  12. Pensivia

    Pensivia Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 24, 2013
    [Great idea about the personalized notification at the top of the FF Community page--that's what brought me to this thread.]

    Hi, everyone!:) If it's ok, in the public areas of the boards, I prefer to go only by my JCF username (most posters usually call me "Penny").

    Unfortunately I don't have much to contribute on the subject of FF--I actually had never heard of FF at all until I joined the JCF and found this area of the forums. I started posting in FFC (as slow as it is) because I liked the friendly tone of the threads/posts I saw in the FF "general community" area. I was also really attracted by the international focus of the FF area of the boards, as I am very interested in interacting here with posters from outside the U.S. (I have had the chance to travel in Europe a bit over the years, hope to be able to travel even more in the future, and in general I love the opportunity to get to know someone from any different culture (not just Europe).

    Even though I've always had a very special fondness for SW (since seeing the OT films when they were first released when I was a kid), I had never joined any SW-related fan groups before joining the JCF. I don't think the FF chapter in my local area is active right now, but I might be open to checking out a local FF event in my area, depending on what the event was.

    So, like I said, sorry I don't have more substantive input, but I don't really have any familiarity with what FF was in the past. I would love to see the FF Community board pick up, though!
     
    Vesper2112 and Skiara like this.
  13. Obi Anne

    Obi Anne Celebration Mistress of Ceremonies star 8 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 4, 1998
    It's great to hear input from those of you who don't have a long FF history, this is about the future, what all of us want FanForce to be.
     
    Pensivia likes this.
  14. PatttyB0123

    PatttyB0123 Former RSA star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Apr 2, 2003
    One thing about Fan Force is how people united with their ideas to direct the group in a much better way.
    We all have almost the same goals.

    I remember when sone groups used to be to share their events. No master the distances.
    Speaking the Latin areas.
    Chile was the most active group.

    The inputs of each area were very valuable for the others groups.
    Then came the games and etc.
    They decided one time to visit each area to give an positive input to each group.
    But
    Well the area is very quiet.
     
  15. SITH__CHICK

    SITH__CHICK Former RMFF CR star 7

    Registered:
    Mar 25, 2002
    Ooops, wrong thread, move along.
     
  16. RedLord

    RedLord Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Dec 3, 2000
    My name is Erik I'm from France. I'm part of FanForce for a long time (15 years :eek:) and I'm a SW Fan since 1977.

    France has still a small FF chapter, it's not very active, but almost all the members has met IRL, and discuss also on others channels like Facebook.

    I'm very attached to the spirit of FF in its diversity.
     
  17. Twinnie

    Twinnie Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Jan 5, 2001
    Hi, I'm Luce, French FanForce too. I discovered FanForce when it merged with the JC boards, and was one of members of the very first real life meeting in Paris all of 15 years ago (grâce à toi, akhun, tu nous manques). I was a shy little thing then, and these people helped me out of my shell.
    When the French FanForce was active enough, a few meetings of the Southern boards took place in my home-town of Toulouse, where I got to play hostess.
    I still have the signed freesbie the GSFF gave all of us during the All-European Meeting in Paris.
    And I got to visit a few of the Swedes in 2006, which is the last time I got to travel before real life caught up with me, and is thus a really precious memory, too ^^ (Johanna, honestly, the night of the 21st of June? When we picked all those 7 flowers and we were supposed to dream of our Prince Charming? I blame you for being single today, what with having dreamt of Han Solo after talking with you crazy gals all day long ^^)

    What does FanForce mean to me? It's... My youth, not that I'm that old now :p It's just something that was important to me at the happiest time of my life, when I was a carefree student, and before I fell in love with the wrong guy and all the crappy things that took place because of him.

    I know the guys in Paris still meet with regularity, even if they don't post all that often any more. I hear from them sometimes when I have BlueSelenium on the phone, because even if she doesn't post at all any longer, we're still in touch.

    The only reason I sometimes consider using Facebook is to keep contact with the French Fanforce, and get in touch again with the other Europeans I met.

    In a way, FanForce was never about StarWars after the first year: it was about the people.
    That's my input, actually: The JC is about StarWars, FanForce is about people and friends.
     
  18. Obi Anne

    Obi Anne Celebration Mistress of Ceremonies star 8 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 4, 1998
    Great to see you posting here, Luce! It reminds me that I should probably ask Kee about that sheep chessboard from Wales.

    On the more serious note I really liked your last sentence, that to me sums FanForce up really well.
     
  19. RedLord

    RedLord Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Dec 3, 2000
    Yeah I do agree too
     
  20. Allie Fox

    Allie Fox FanForce CR Macon GA US star 3

    Registered:
    Jan 13, 2000
    Greetings!

    I'm the founder of the Middle Georgia FanForce, The Macon Clones. As a chapter, we did not get "official" status until 2002. I have personally been involved with FanForce though since day one. Even though I lived in Georgia, I was an online member of several lineup communities including countingdown, swcampers and countdowndallas. I was interested in starting a fan club in my area with the intent of lining up for Attack of the Clones in 2002. When tF.n began hosting messageboards for existing and potential fan clubs/ lineups, there were only about ten cities listed. I lobbied hard for Macon/ Middle Georgia to be included and thanks to lightsabre, Macon was one of the original "expansion" cities added to the newly formed FanForce forums.
    I stayed at it for two years and along with guidance from online friends in Richmond, VA (The Moisture Farm Co-op), New York (SWNYC), LA (countingdown.com), etc. eventually the Macon, GA city board paid off. Within two months of the release of AotC, four locals and one transfer (from Kentucky) found their way to FanForce and the MACON CLONES were born.
    Had it not been for the popular online presence of tF.n at the time, I doubt there would have been a single place that funneled us all together to establish contact with each other.

    What does FanForce mean to the MACON CLONES?
    Even though our club has since grown up and moved out of our "parents' house" to host our own website and messageboard; FanForce is and always will be home.
     
  21. Pensivia

    Pensivia Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 24, 2013
    Though I only first learned about FanForce recently (through the JC forums), I have to say that description sounds great to me as well.:)
     
  22. BobaChris12

    BobaChris12 Former RSA star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Aug 30, 2002
    I am one of the founders of the Buffalo, NY FanForce - The North Ridge. We've been raising a ruckus since 2002 and see no end in sight.

    I stumbled upon tf.n one day and clicked the forums to see what they were about. When I saw that Buffalo had a forum (although a little quiet at the time) I was excited to have the opportunity to meet local Star Wars fans. People ask me all the time what my favorite piece in my collection is and I tell them "the friends I have met in The North Ridge." While I am a member of a costuming club, I cannot get the feel of a close knit community there due to a large territory that encompasses the group. There are also restrictions to membership (need money to create a really great costume) that keep a casual fan away. We (The North Ridge) adopted some basic costume standards and drafted a set of By Laws to act as loose guidelines to keep order.

    Where do I want to see FanForce in the future?

    To start, I'd like to see us grow and be a recognized group along the same lines as 501st/RL. I feel our local group is there now, but hope the rest of FF can follow suit.

    I'd like to see the activity level return to where it was a long time ago. I remember having to log in daily or you would miss out on a lot of chatter. Now, a monthly visit can catch you up in a few minutes.Many of the people who took part in this have moved on. It's just a part of life.

    I enjoy keeping our community together and having a place to call home. We are a central hub to share anything SW, ideas on growing your chapter, support, spoilers, and creativity.
     
    BobbyFromBUF likes this.
  23. Obi Anne

    Obi Anne Celebration Mistress of Ceremonies star 8 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 4, 1998
    I think its' time to move on with this discussion, and now I would like to discuss how FF should be structured. When we go into this discussion I want you to keep in mind though that FF/JC will never be a full democracy, due to the fact that we are owned by a person, and there are limits to what can be done by for example just holding elections or discussions.

    As of now FF is organised in several regions, each region has an RSA, a regional support administrator. The RSA should be there to support the local groups and also moderate the forums. When started it was felt that the RSA should be able to travel through their region and meed up with people locally, some regions are covering such a large area that that has never been feasible.

    Above the RSAs you have a team of GSAs, global support administrators. They are there to help the RSAs, keep contact with the owner of FanForce and mediate issues that haven't been solved by the RSAs. Having at least one GSA is necessary, and since that has to do with contact with the owner that can not be an elected position. The GSA team has consisted of three persons, with one head GSA.

    So here are my questions to you

    What do you think that the RSA should do?
    Is it necessary to have an RSA for each region?

    Do you think that the regions we have now are well-defined and usable?
     
  24. BobaChris12

    BobaChris12 Former RSA star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Aug 30, 2002
    I am keeping in mind the old saying "if it isn't broken, don't fix it".

    I think the regions are set up well and leave room to sub-divide again should we experience a large surge of chapters soon.

    RSAs should be the local/regional point person to direct questions to for any chapter in that region. They should help a group grow by encouraging meet ups, keeping discussions going, offering advise, and helping to foster new ideas to groups. The RSA is also the first line mediator to any squabbles and issues that may arise. They need to be fair and see both sides of an argument before making a decision. The RSA can take feedback to the GSA team in terms of improvement suggestions or concerns.

    I feel each region needs a RSA. When my chapter was starting out, our RSA was important in keeping us heading in the right direction.
     
  25. Obi Anne

    Obi Anne Celebration Mistress of Ceremonies star 8 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 4, 1998
    So the RSAs are important, and I agree there. Do you think there should be a minimium requirement of what an RSA should do in its region? Would it help to make the RSA visible if there was some kind of periodic reporting done? Meaning that the RSA would regularly post in its region about what was going on? We have tried with having something called FF updates in this forum, but they pewtered out because it was hard to come up with something to post.