Mark Stanton Posted May 25, 2016 Share Posted May 25, 2016 If you don't want your magazines that's fine its your choice to throw them away - if you only want to use the forum that's fine to and thank you for your £27.50 membership which has been paid and I'm sure the club will use that wisely to offset the cost against a new £1000 server to be purchased to enable the forum to be efficient 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yanto Posted May 25, 2016 Share Posted May 25, 2016 I've been biting my tongue about posting on this topic, but now I feel i need my say to get my thoughts written down. When i found the club I did so because I was looking for a car, i thought the first membership fee was excessive, I joined with reservations thinking it was a lot of money for a "free" mag and the forum. 1st renewal and after going to Stoneleigh with all the extras the previous year I had no problem renewing (well apart from actually paying) and thought it wasn't too bad a price to pay. This year, with a new car, all the questions and responces I've had (and still am getting) regarding it, plus Stoneleigh this year, well actually I consider it a privilege to contribute to such a club with such great members. I didn't know about the club or forum back in the free days, but i suspect it is similar to the viper pit "Piston Heads" where the IQ and age are often the same. I put it into perspective that when the yearly fee actually equates to 90 miles worth of fuel, well in the grande scheme of things it is peanuts and value for money. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Hurdsfield - Joint Manchester AO Posted May 25, 2016 Share Posted May 25, 2016 I put it into perspective that when the yearly fee actually equates to 90 miles worth of fuel, well in the grande scheme of things it is peanuts and value for money. He's got a 4.3ltr V8 better make that 50 miles.....lol Edit to add Oops just noticed you've got a V8 too, maybe your right. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tisme Posted May 25, 2016 Share Posted May 25, 2016 I have to say that I think the club has it about right now - I joined when I first got my Westy but left a few years later due to some of the reasons outlined by our Chairman. I think in the time I initially joined I posted about 3 times and 2 of them ended up being knocked to bits so I left. But it's so different now and I feel happy to join in discussions and post new things as I hope they may be helpful to someone, somewhere. sometime - I have certainly learnt many things about Westfield (and C20XE) ownership via the club. I must admit to being something of a "quiet" person so don't tend to join in on the social side but then that's the nice thing - you can dip in and out of things or just pay your subscription and little else (though that "Tall Dutch Bloke" has twisted my arm to go along to the next meet and I'm looking forward to meeting everyone at Silverstone ). I've even told myself that I'll write an article or two for the mag - even if it turns out to be either self indulgent or technical (or possibly both ). I find the club magazine (and calendar) useful and informative, sometimes for the "expeditions" people have been on, but also as a reminder that this club is, very much a "club" - of like minded people and it's good to read and see what people have been doing either just pootling about or in competitions. So is the annual fee worth it? Well, I'm "retired" and we're currently living off my savings (and looking forward to next year when the government can start paying me a pension) - so every penny matters at the moment, but yes, the cost of membership is nothing compared to the facts of life - for heavens sake it's just cost me £50 to take my cat to the vet for some eye drops !! I really do hope that the Westfield car, and the WSCC make it for another 30 years. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikef Posted May 25, 2016 Share Posted May 25, 2016 I’m not a great “club” person but I value my WSCC membership and think £27.50 is jolly good value. I have saved that amount many times over what with the various discounts I get and the invaluable advice I have received on a wide variety of subjects. Many of my friends refer to my car as a “toy” car in that it has no really practical application and am grateful that I am in a position to afford it and have fun in it. The price of membership, in the overall scheme of things, is a small price to pay to enhance my enjoyment of the car. Long may it continue! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodgey Posted May 25, 2016 Author Share Posted May 25, 2016 because it's been discused so many times and each time we've polled the full membership the result has always been the same. If the matter was so important to you this time why did you not put it forward for consideration and discussion at the AGM? ..Because I just want to access a forum. I don't want: Committees AGMs Votes I'm 47, not 67. (there is truth, and humour in that statement - it does often feel very "old gentlements club" on here) I'm not up for any of that. I just want access to a forum! :-) I know I'm not in the same group as nearly all of the posters on this thread. I'm aware of that. I dont' want to go to meets, I don't have the time or inclination to go on "blats". I get an hour here and there to go out for a fun drive when the sun is shining and I have some time. My insurance is £150 a year FC. Hell, on the occasions when they ask me if I'm a member of WSCC they don't even check if it's true (I don't use WSCC discount on my Aplan policy as it's rock bottom already). The reality it seems , is everyone on here now is a fan of the system as they get a lot out of being in a "club" (which is great for them). That's little suprise as anyone who just wants a forum has long gone - once they were asked to pay. That's great and I'm glad it suits everyone. It just doesn't suit me. Whichever way you look at it, I'm being asked to pay another £27.50 for forum access (as that's all I use). I just won't keep doing it. - what is most frustrating about this discussion is the constant reference to the good value of the £27.50 in help and advice on the forum. I get the theory, but, I use: Electric skateboard forums Electronic forums Firework forums (professional) 3D printing forums Peugeot forums Landrover forums V8 forums To name a few. They are all free, and all full of other likeminded people exchanging help and advice. The sharing of help should always be free in a community led environment. I understand that there is a club element here too, but in my opinion, they should be differentiated. They won't be, but they should. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dommo Posted May 25, 2016 Share Posted May 25, 2016 But they are just that, forums (and probably app supported). This is a forum of a club rather than a forum with a good social side. I can understand how it's easier to look at it that way when you're someone who wants the clubby side Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Little (Trevturtle) - Treasurer Posted May 26, 2016 Share Posted May 26, 2016 Simple. No one is forcing anyone to pay. If anyone doesn't like it...don't pay...Theres plenty of free 'Advice' on the Internet go and use it It's about value not price.. this is good value even for just the forum. If you don't see the value don't buy it. I would happily pay more..... we all spend more on a night out or a meal and no one complains 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark (smokey mow) Posted May 26, 2016 Share Posted May 26, 2016 ..Because I just want to access a forum. I don't want: Committees AGMs Votes If we didn't have any of the above then the result would be a dictatorship wherby the club is run in a manner that a few sellect people want and not in the best interests of the majority of the club members.This framework exists so club members can put forward ideas for discussion by the commitee and ulimately have them voted on by the wider membership. This is called being Fair. If you dont want to abide by the same rules as everyone else then thats fine, but don't expect them to change just for you. If you want change then use your democratic vote or stand for election. As has already been said, this is a club and the fee pays for membership of that. I pay more than that for membership of other clubs that dont even have a forum. If yoy feel you can get you westfield advice for free on one of the other forums you have listed then i wish you good luck. And for what its worth I'm 39. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Colonial Posted May 26, 2016 Share Posted May 26, 2016 Roger, you know what you want and that's fine. You're entitled to change your mind (although the club's offerings haven't changed or decreased since you joined four years ago). As I said, what the club offers as a package isn't for everyone (what is?), and the WSCC is now on reflection clearly not your pint of beer - fair enough, each to their own.I could post up a rebuttal to your post and correct things mentioned I know to be wrong, but you've obviously already made up your mind, so there's clearly no point in doing so. All I will say is that I find some of your points to be rather flawed and misguided. As Gary rightly said - this is a club with a forum, not a forum with a club. It was a club long before Internet forums even existed. The clue is in the name when you join - Westfield Sports Car CLUB. If one feels the benefits of a product are wrong for them after they have bought it (and re-purchased it repeatedly), the fault is not with the product but with the buyer who fails to understand what is clearly being offered at the time of purchase and ensure it matches their needs or desires. (You might like to remember that while you have indeed given valuable advice, you've also received quite a bit.)Getting back to the original point, you want a forum only membership level. You've stated you use many free forums, so because of that I have serious doubts you'd be willing to pay anything for a forum only membership even if it existed. For the many reasons already outlined in this thread and many more as well, it's not going to happen, nor is the subject going to be revisited. It would be the ruination of this excellent club, and it won't happen on my watch. I have member experience from other areas in my life and have watched it happen more than once - it's not pretty and often sad. There will be no divisive, unmanageable, two-tier membership system in the WSCC.Roger, thanks for your patronage of the club during your time as a member, which I know will shortly be coming to an end. I wish you well in the future and hope you enjoy your Westfield for many years to come. I appreciate all the opinions and support expressed by the others in this thread - thank you. (As the subject has run its course, and to avoid it inevitably deteriorating into an unproductive and unhelpful argument, I'm locking the thread.) 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XTR2Turbo Posted May 26, 2016 Share Posted May 26, 2016 never before was the quote .. a cynic was 'a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing .. more appropriate. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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