Thinking out loud

[CC-Slider]

if there is a  interactive tool for live audio chat use it, helps people like me who can talk faster than they can type  

There is Discord a free chat program from Google https://discordapp.com/ I use it for online gaming. It allows both voice and chat and you can create your own room. Did I mention it is free.

[lucius]

I found some older threads concerning the chat rooms in the Executive Forum area so I can't link them here.

But the main issue was that no one was moderating the chat room and of course some 'things' were said.  I'm not sure about the other mods but I have zero intention of moderating a chat room 24/7.  Oddly enough, the last individual that wanted to bring web chat back was a former mod. 

[Jody]

I agree that some limitation on the classifieds for non members would be a good thing.
I do remember hearing some rumblings that the live chats had been problematic with some individuals, though hopefully they are long gone, and it is just us civilized folks now.
I like the idea of a photo contest, but could we make it part of our meeting? Would it be hard to do a quick monthly vote  of hands on the pictures at the meeting? Obviously using a projector would be the easiest, but just a laptop would work too. 
I think that it is important that new members are welcomed into the club, it would be great if the Pres/VP or meeting lead exec gave them a quick thanks for coming out, and just reminded people to include them.
One thing about volunteering, I think that people get the idea that if the offer to help out, then they will have a huge list of jobs that they need to do. This isn't really the case. There are a lot of ways you could help out.  If you are willing to help out, please let us know, as any sort of volunteer is handy.
Obviously, one big thing that we, as club members, both attending and online, need to do, is let the current exec and future exec know what we want for the club. Be it content we would like to see, speakers we would like to hear (though a small club is a bit limited), or just activities we would like to do. Input is very important, and everyone's ideas count.

Jody

[CC-Slider]

I found some older threads concerning the chat rooms in the Executive Forum area so I can't link them here.

But the main issue was that no one was moderating the chat room and of course some 'things' were said.  I'm not sure about the other mods but I have zero intention of moderating a chat room 24/7.  Oddly enough, the last individual that wanted to bring web chat back was a former mod.  

As for the chat/Voice room, I agree it is way to much for one person to monitor. So you delegate, from what I have seen we have many people that regularly post here, we could make many of them mods and a few of them as Admins of the channel. Mods have the power to police the channel and to ban while admins can do the same plus have the power to administrate the channel. In discord the Chat and voice are the same room. So all we would need is 4-5 people willing to be mods this doesn't have to be members of the Comity, just members that people know and participate regularly here. Also only give access to Members and they have to use there OVAS screen name on the Chat/Voice Channel. This should limit any issues as my experience it is the anonymous people on chat that cause the issue. If people know you and have meet you in real life less likely to troll.

And don't worry if you have never moderated a channel before all you need to really know is how to lower the BANHAMMER on any one out of line. Also this does not have to be managed by the executive team , Instead just regular members could monitor and handle the channel.

[charlie]

Just a thought, let`s change the approach.
Lets focus of finding ways to make things work as opposed to finding ways why it won`t work.

[lucius]

ajm1961  This idea was put forth to the executive at the beginning of the season (for a slightly reduced rate, which would have been covered by about 4 new members). I found out last week,  that the idea was rejected. I offered to do the work to implement and keep it updated at the store level, but it did not go anywhere.

Jody

Can you go into details on what you had proposed?  There was mention of discontinuing the discounts at one point.  Was this part of the proposal?

[lucius]

As for the chat/Voice room, I agree it is way to much for one person to monitor. So you delegate, from what I have seen we have many people that regularly post here, we could make many of them mods and a few of them as Admins of the channel. Mods have the power to police the channel and to ban while admins can do the same plus have the power to administrate the channel. In discord the Chat and voice are the same room. So all we would need is 4-5 people willing to be mods this doesn't have to be members of the Comity, just members that people know and participate regularly here. Also only give access to Members and they have to use there OVAS screen name on the Chat/Voice Channel. This should limit any issues as my experience it is the anonymous people on chat that cause the issue. If people know you and have meet you in real life less likely to troll.

And don't worry if you have never moderated a channel before all you need to really know is how to lower the BANHAMMER on any one out of line. Also this does not have to be managed by the executive team , Instead just regular members could monitor and handle the channel.

I think this goes back to a previous point mentioned in which forum users are not necessarily OVAS Club Members.  Not all 'regulars' are OVAS Club Members either.  If a chat room were implemented, then I would suggest OVAS Club Members use their full real names and a face pic of themselves in the avatar.  This would definitely take away the anonymity.

[Jody]

Yes, I can post the entire proposal here for others to see.
The idea was to change how we did the discount, not just discontinue it.


Dear OVAS Executive committee,
    I have a goal to increase the interest, and with it the membership in the club.

        When I look at member attendance at the meetings, both old members and new ones, I think we can all agree that we need to find a better way to bring people into the club, and let them know it exists.  This should be a major goal of the club executive, and I think that I can offer a great option to, hopefully, grow the club.  New members
can bring fresh ideas, more volunteers, as well as more in club dues.

        The bigger the club, the bigger the draw is for speakers, especially if we want to get some bigger names in, who may come with a higher price tag.  Big speakers tend to like full rooms, and if we do a special event speaker, then hopefully we can bring more people out to see them.

        To do this, I propose offering some in store advertising, in the form of a posted flyer in a couple of locations at each store, informing people of the upcoming meeting or event.

        Of course, the problem that has always come up is that by advertising the club in store, it becomes a discount program, which is why I propose replacing the 10% discount with a couple of friends and family days during the course of the season.

        As usual we would continue to offer a donation for the auction, and would like a table/spot at the Aquamania event, if there is a vendor's room.

      I propose continuing  as a sponsor the OVAS site, but for a reduced and what I feel is fair rate, maybe $70 dollars. This number was reached looking at 8 meeting dates, plus 1 or 2 events, and reducing the cost by $10 per date/event doing in store advertising.
     
     The goal is to increase the interest and membership in the club but doing in store advertising. As it would no longer be considered a discount card given for membership,  staff would be free to talk and promote the club as well, as they see fit.

          Being now owned by Big Al's Corporate,  I would need to confirm this idea with them, but wanted to approach the exec with the idea first. They would have to give me clearance for exact values for website sponsorship, but I think the number that I have given are reasonable and should work for them.

    I can discuss this with you further on Monday at the dinner.

That is the exact letter that I sent.
Jody

[Jody]

I agree with having to use actual names in the chat. It certainly reduces the trolling that can happen otherwise.

Jody

[charlie]

I agree with having to use actual names in the chat. It certainly reduces the trolling that can happen otherwise.

Jody

There was a reason why in my suggestion , that it be restricted to " OVAS Club Members" there is a little more discretion on how we use the chat, and it is another perk for membership.
I`m aware of all the issues in the prior era of chat umpteen years ago.

[exv152]

I'd like to offer my two cents to this discussion.

I think Jody's idea (and/or Andre's) of putting flyers in the LFS's is a great way to get the word out about OVAS.  This includes posting flyers in not just BA's but as many stores as possible and it could be a very generic poster that can remain there for a long time without the need to be updated. All it would need to do is refer folks to the website for the latest planned events & meetings. Even if the sponsourship amount were to be reduce or not, the idea of putting a poster in the LFS's is a great idea.

Also, a while back I read something by a very popular aquairum guru in the US who has his own website/forum and was having membership issues. He mentioned that when he was experiencing membership lows he would post free ads on craigslist, where most folks shop for used aquarium stuff and as a result he would easily get 10-15 new members everytime he did this. We have craigslist here in Canada and we also have kijiji and usedottawa etc, and I'm sure a few ads in the Sun or Citizen wouldn't cost a lot.

On a side note, I think the website could also use a makeover. When I look at the forum and home webpage it looks more like an old fashion kiwanis, rotary or shriners club webpage. Even the logo could use a face-lift IMO. Something with HD photos in the header. Maybe photos of high tech planted tanks, shrimp, reefs, plecos, cichlids etc. Make it look more like the pages of an Amazonas magazine edition.  This would appeal to a wider range of millennials and younger folks, which I think the club is lacking.

[zenins]

I'd like to offer my two cents to this discussion.

I think Jody's idea (and/or Andre's) of putting flyers in the LFS's is a great way to get the word out about OVAS.  This includes posting flyers in not just BA's but as many stores as possible and it could be a very generic poster that can remain there for a long time without the need to be updated. All it would need to do is refer folks to the website for the latest planned events & meetings. Even if the sponsourship amount were to be reduce or not, the idea of putting a poster in the LFS's is a great idea.

Also, a while back I read something by a very popular aquairum guru in the US who has his own website/forum and was having membership issues. He mentioned that when he was experiencing membership lows he would post free ads on craigslist, where most folks shop for used aquarium stuff and as a result he would easily get 10-15 new members everytime he did this. We have craigslist here in Canada and we also have kijiji and usedottawa etc, and I'm sure a few ads in the Sun or Citizen wouldn't cost a lot.

On a side note, I think the website could also use a makeover. When I look at the forum and home webpage it looks more like an old fashion kiwanis, rotary or shriners club webpage. Even the logo could use a face-lift IMO. Something with HD photos in the header. Maybe photos of high tech planted tanks, shrimp, reefs, plecos, cichlids etc. Make it look more like the pages of an Amazonas magazine edition.  This would appeal to a wider range of millennials and younger folks, which I think the club is lacking.

These are all great suggestions

What is required is for people to come forward and do the tasks required.

Usually these tasks fall to the same small group of people and they get burned out and
discouraged that more people are not involved 

This has happened at least twice in my home club in Kitchener,
and I am sure it is the same at many other clubs 

I hope your club works out some easy doable things that yield great results


Zenin

[charlie]

No one thinking out loud 

[Jody]

Okay, back from holidays, so now I can continue my thinking..lol

I like the idea of someone posting announcements on kijiji, used ottawa and craigslist about upcoming events.  I will check into some of the other free community boards to see what is out there. I don't mind a bit of popping around to drop off notices if there are some offline ones too.

Jody

[lucius]

If anyone is on Facebook, maybe they can start updating the OVAS Facebook page again.  I looked into it but I don't have my own Facebook account so I can't do it.