ACW Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 The following is an excerpt of the Committee meeting minutes that took place in November. ----------------------------------- At the recent meeting of the Committee it considered the role of the Club with regard to enabling members to obtain the best offers in kit-car related goods and services, especially via the “Boardroom”. The Committee was keen to act in the best interests of the members, but was mindful of both the danger of the Boardroom becoming a commercial “free for all”, and of maintaining a privileged position for Speed Series and Club sponsors. Following detailed discussions of various options the following was decided: a. The current ban on commercial advertising to be maintained except as modified below. b. The maintenance in the “Links” page of the main club web-site of a reasonably comprehensive list of suppliers of goods and services appropriate to the build and maintenance of kit-cars. A simple way to update links and request addition of links will be set up in due course. c. The creation of a new membership status (“Trade Member”) costing £120 per year d. The establishment in the Boardroom of a new Trade section in the Advertisement area, in which Trade Members might freely advertise appropriate goods and services. e. That both Sponsors and Trade Members should to be allowed to offer their services, where appropriate, in responses to Boardroom threads seeking technical or sourcing advice. f. That, in future, members wishing to organise “bulk buys” for the good of the membership must arrange for the chosen supplier to become a Trade Member and make the offer directly in the Trade section of the Advertisement area. g. That advertising by a member “on behalf of a friend” in the Members’ Advertisement section be discouraged except where the “friend” is another named member. All other such advertisements shall be moved or made to the (renamed) “Ebay links” section. It will be made clear that all adverts in this section are ”outside” of any control of WSCC. The Committee considered the status of “Forum Users”. Recognising that it was good to allow potential members to experience the offer available to members, but also the disruption which has been caused on the Boardroom by a handful of long term “Forum Users”. The committee does not want to be forced to go members only. it was decided that FUs should be limited to tenure of 30 days or 20 posts (whichever comes first) from join up. It was further decided that, during their “trial tenure” FU rights should be extended to enable them to reply to member advertisements, to post in the “Ebay Links” section, and to send and receive PMs. After this time they will have a choice of becoming a member or becoming read only. The Committee would also look at the feasibility of offering an online trial extension for 60 days for a fee of around £10. The written proposal from Mark Stanton to establish a facility for boardroom banners for Sponsors (and which could be additionally purchased by Trade Members) was approved subject to there being no “pop-up” advertisements. The Committee considered how best to support of Area Organizers. Scott undertook to send the AOs’ details to Paul so that he could write to them to begin dialogue on best practice transfer, etc. It was decided that the changes to the boardroom structure would be communicated to the AOs, and then to the boardroom prior to implementation. It was further decided that a new Committee post of “AO Representative” be established The Committee considered other aspects of Boardroom usage: Recognising the need for banter among members, but desirous of keeping the technical areas of the Boardroom on topic, the Committee decided to introduce a new Boardroom section (“Stuff and Nonsense”) for that purpose. The chat section would then be limited to on topic chat relating to WSCC. Moderators were requested to move frivolous threads posted in other sections to the new section, and to remove frivolous posts from serious threads in other areas where they threaten to “hijack” the thread. In order to “depersonalise” moderation decisions on the Boardroom, anonymous moderator status should be introduced. All moderation is subject to discussion between all of the moderators. It was decided that the various changes to the Boardroom arising from the meeting should be implemented as a single package as soon as reasonably possible. -------------------------- These changes will be put in place at the start of December and will affect Forum Users on or after 10th December. As part of this change a new set of rules is been drafted and shall be distributed to all registered users of the boardroom. Regards, Webmaster - Adrian Clinton-Watkins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajpearson Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 Can't say fairer than that on everything, I especially like the Chat and nonsense area, although could it be renamed the Norman room ?? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACW Posted November 24, 2012 Author Share Posted November 24, 2012 Pinned for a week to ensure max visibility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff101 Posted November 24, 2012 Share Posted November 24, 2012 All good ideas. Is there a technical way to prevent people signing up as a new Forum User each time the trial period expires? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 f. That, in future, members wishing to organise “bulk buys” for the good of the membership must arrange for the chosen supplier to become a Trade Member and make the offer directly in the Trade section of the Advertisement area. I'm sure you boys considered this but for the sake of clarity, would the bulk buy supplier be required to pay the Trade Member subscription? If not, how does one arrange for a supplier to become a trade member? My concern here is that if the bulk buy items were not of sufficient value, any discount / cost benefit may be lost as the supplier (who may not previously have thought of becoming a trade member and may well decide that there is limited benefit to so becoming) seeks to recover his up front costs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Colonial Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 I'm sure you boys considered this but for the sake of clarity, would the bulk buy supplier be required to pay the Trade Member subscription? Yes (see Point F in the statement), as a minimum and based on the size of the company - the Trader status is meant exclusively for the much smaller type business, enterprise or extreme hobbyist, and not for the likes of larger companies such as, for example, Demon Tweaks, hence the price of becoming a Trader. What you must appreciate is that it does not limit them to one bulk buy a year. They may do as many as they like, and also start threads in the new Trade section when they have special offers, excess stock, new products, etc. Effectively, the Trader account will provide this minority with an affordable shop window, while benefitting the members and being fair to our valued larger company sponsors and advertisers, at only £80-£90 more than a standard membership. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Colonial Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 All good ideas. Is there a technical way to prevent people signing up as a new Forum User each time the trial period expires? Yes - that will be the case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhc Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 I may just have an interest in this scheme. Its seems that common sense as been applied to a very contentious issue. May need a few tweeks but the idea is sound. Well done to those in charge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Colonial Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 If anyone is interested in a Trader account and has further questions, please feel free to PM me and I'll try to answer your questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Stanton Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 and for traders wanting to add upgrades" to their standard package details will be available very soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blatman Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 Yes (see Point F in the statement), as a minimum and based on the size of the company - the Trader status is meant exclusively for the much smaller type business, enterprise or extreme hobbyist, and not for the likes of larger companies such as, for example, Demon Tweaks, hence the price of becoming a Trader. What you must appreciate is that it does not limit them to one bulk buy a year. They may do as many as they like, and also start threads in the new Trade section when they have special offers, excess stock, new products, etc. Effectively, the Trader account will provide this minority with an affordable shop window, while benefitting the members and being fair to our valued larger company sponsors and advertisers, at only £80-£90 more than a standard membership. A simple "Yes" would have sufficed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete g Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 I'm sure you boys considered this but for the sake of clarity, would the bulk buy supplier be required to pay the Trade Member subscription? If not, how does one arrange for a supplier to become a trade member? My concern here is that if the bulk buy items were not of sufficient value, any discount / cost benefit may be lost as the supplier (who may not previously have thought of becoming a trade member and may well decide that there is limited benefit to so becoming) seeks to recover his up front costs. my thoughts also Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Keene Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 So, just for the sake of clarity, if a member wants to arrange a bulk buy, they have to get the company offering the products at a discount to post the thread. To do this will require the company to register as a Trader at a cost of £120? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meakin Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 Seems well thought out guys, look forward to the changes esp. the forum user idea as we have had a few rather insulting FU's taking the p somewhat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Colonial Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 A simple "Yes" would have sufficed. No need for that, Blatters. You asked a question and I was taking the time and effort to explain it politely, fully and clearly for your sake and that of others so everyone understands the committee's reasoning and logic in making this decision. If I had simply typed "a simple yes", would you have accused me of being short, rude and abrupt? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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