New rules and OVAS objectives

[Fishnut]

Change is good!  I'm not a member of the exec...although I at least tried...and I am 100% on board with this decision.  It's high time OVAS had an image make-over.  It needs to come out from under this "cheep place to get rid of stuff" and "open for all kinds of abuse" reputation to a much more respectful club with active members...in person or not...who take part in as many aspects of the club as possible.  We need to attract quality members, not the pain-in-the-bum people who take away some enjoyment of the club.

Here's an example of how a non-exec member has helped...not to boast, but a few months ago I took the initiative to contact an exec member of another aquarium club to get permission to use their forum rules to base ours on.  They run a really tight ship when it comes to their website and I wanted that for our website.  I had some great e-mail conversations with people who not only help run that club but CAOAC, I got permission to use their rules, did a lot of editing of their rules to suit OVAS and submitted it to the OVAS exec.  They've been modified a bit more but those rules are there because I love this hobby, this club and took initiative beyond the usual dramatic ways of dealing with things...although I freely admit that I have done my share of that in the past .  

Read the rules everyone.  It's very thorough, dealing with conduct, language, subject matter and (to my surprise) links to external sites in signatures.

[Hookup]

Just to be clear, I was responding to your example and not you personally.

There are many ways to give back and I for one have done (bugger-all)² but what I have done is in appreciation for the people who give their time because I'm too selfish to give mine.

Thanks, your clarification is appreciated. 

But, other than huge walls of text, the posting of links and some articles I am guilty as charged...

I think it's just taken time to realize OVAS does not provide what I am looking for, regardless of the many great people on the site.

[Tyler.L]

this is what i think of all the new changes....

I am not a member, nor will i ever be, because of this exact problem. For people that know me, will know how much i will want to be swearing and calling people out but then i will be banned, so i wont.

Saltwater is a huge part of this board/community, yet they get no appreciation. The club bring in people to talk about discus when maybe a handful of people, if that keep discus. I would like to see what percentage of other sections get traffic here other than saltwater which is a huge part of this board. All of which again i wont be, becoming a member because everything for the saltwater people is non-existant.

Again i have been on here for a few years now, i have sold things, now im not allowed. i participate with people on here outside of the "club" etc, but i honestly dont think i should have to pay $20 so i could not have saltwater speakers come in, not attend meetings because of this retarded drama, and wanting to choke people out, and as it was posted above the $20 has nothing to do with the website. So if I spend $20 i can sell things in the classifieds, yay, what else do i get out of it? i can use my ovas card to get discounts where? nowhere.

When Anthony Calfo came i think that was one of the biggest attendances and probably the only attendance i had been at. Maybe if they could split down the middle salt/fresh speakers more people would be inclined to become members.

I could careless what happens on here to be honest its just ridiculous as to what is happening with a few certain people all of which are in this thread fighting for b.s rules that they threw into the boggle game and shook and tossed out and came out with.

Where is the wonderful president in all of this drama, no where to be seen. Amazing!

Here comes the ban/reported thread

[garnpet]

Where is the wonderful president in all of this drama, no where to be seen. Amazing!

Well, if you must know it was our monthly exec meeting tonight. We are organizing the BBQ for this weekend as well as other details of the club operations.

[TLe041]

Well said, Snowgrrl.

I was planning on joining the club when the next session starts but after all these changes that won't happen. Frankly, all I see this as is a small group of individuals wanting to increase further increase their exclusivity by limiting access by non-members. The reasoning behind all these changes is laughable. How exactly does restricting access to the classified "reinforce that this site is an extension of a community of hobbyists?"

[holachicka]

Well, if you must know it was our monthly exec meeting tonight organizing the BBQ for this weekend as well as other details of the club operations.

Now that that is cleared up hopefully someone with some real authority can set things straight

[robt18]

It prevents people who have no idea what OVAS is about from putting a bunch of junk up for sale in the classifieds and clogging it up.

It may also help prevent the occassional problem of people posting free items and having certain people take them and then sell them on the site a week later. If members are the only ones posting ads they are more likely to know each other and hopefully avoid these conflicts.

[Tyler.L]

thats great but maybe have a post limit on who can sell instead of non members flat out not being allowed. reefcentral has a post count  being 50 posts, but then they will come back saying they will top nonsense, but hey thats why we have moderators to go through these things...

[dan2x38]

It prevents people who have no idea what OVAS is about from putting a bunch of junk up for sale in the classifieds and clogging it up.

It may also help prevent the occassional problem of people posting free items and having certain people take them and then sell them on the site a week later. If members are the only ones posting ads they are more likely to know each other and hopefully avoid these conflicts.

How will stopping non-members from posting prevent that? Members post crap and grab freebies for resale.

[robt18]

I find that I know quite a few members and I'd be more likely to confront them if they did that to me rather than someone who makes an account, grabs some stuff and then sells it next week and is never seen again. A slight amount of accountability and tracability I guess?

[holachicka]

That is not 100% accurate....

I went to a members house, gave a sizeable deposit and was to return on the Saturday with a truck and the second half ofthe money...He never answered calls, emails, nothing! OVAS was contacted about it and was told that it is not their place to get involved in interactions in the classifieds. All in all, whether the poster is a member or not, does not make it fool proof...as well as, I am curious as to where this "cheap place to get rid of stuff" comes from...I for 1 have never heard anything negative about OVAS from any outsider...

That's my 2 cents

[mseguin]

All I can say is wow! The ignorance displayed here by some makes me glad I didn't re-run for the exec this year.

#1 As for where the President was...I was at work till 5, rushed home to get changed then headed back out for the executive meeting, then spent 3 hours planning a kick-butt BBQ and brainstorming ideas for next season. So I've been up since 5, have to be up at 4 tomorrow, and have not gone to bed yet. Wow do I feel appreciated right now.

#2 I have never been one to quash criticism or to say "pay up and shut up", but why is that so many people have opinions and yet so few volunteer to help, let alone run for election (to those who have helped and Sylvia and Brent who did run for election I apologize). It just seems like those who complain the loudest and most are the one who participate the least.

#3 The fact that someone could even claim we haven't brought in saltwater speakers boggles my mind. Were you there for Robert DiMarco and his talk about breeding clownfish? How about Frank Aguirre. What about all the talks that covered all aspects of the hobby, such as fish nutrition? And I won't even get into the self-centeredness and sense of entitlement that ignores any topic not directly related to their specific interests.

#4 It was never about money or increasing membership. It's about bringing the club (be it the meetings or the online branch) back to what makes it great: The information and socialization gained. When any new forum visitor looking for information is instead deluged with ads for used filters and such, we're doing them a disservice. There's nothing wrong with hobbyists selling and buying and getting good deals, but I don't want that to be what ovas.ca is known for, and I'm pretty sure that's the reputation it has acquired. If we get no more members next season than this season, I won't lose any sleep. But I won't be impressed if we become a more specialized form of usedottawa and lose the community and information aspect.

#5 Yes one of our goals is education and conservation. That is why earlier this year we donated a tank to a school, and several members donated money and/or fish to this endeavour. Take a look at the classifieds, and tell me how often do you see fish being sold that would otherwise wind up in a river? Most of the time its used equipment, etc. And it's a free market, people can sell what they want. But that doesn't mean we want ovas.ca to become known as that. I won't get into the details, but suffice to say as well that not everyone agrees that overfishing (especially in freshwater) is nearly as big a threat as habitat loss and pollution, and that in fact the ornamental fish trade can be a positive for ecosystems.

#6 I've lost count of how many times we've discussed how to get the saltwater hobbyists to participate in the club more. We've brought in speakers (Anthony Calfo anyone?) at great expense, we've had mini auctions dedicated to frags and corals, you have your own forum, and yet you get no appreciation? Seriously?

#7 The executive works for the membership, but the whole point of elections is that you use your power to vote, then we run the club. We don't have to be running to the membership every time we need to make a decision, or we wouldn't get anything done. We make decisions for the good of the club (and I cannot emphasize that enough), and no other reason. We may not always be right, but to question our motives is insulting.

#8 As for sponsor's worries, that is up to each sponsor to decide, but I would bet you dollars to donuts that you will not lose any significant income, because the people who don't participate in the community aspects of the club (be it online or meetings) aren't going to pay attention to your banner either.

Most of my other issues have been dealt with by others in the thread. If I seem a bit peeved, well that's putting it mildly. Like I said before, I can take criticism. PM me, question a decision, I'll do my best to respond to you. But this has gotten ridiculous. And people's leaps of logic just boggle my mind. I'm going to stop before steam comes out my ears or my head explodes.

Thank you to those of you who showed your support for the OVAS Executive, it is appreciated.  We can also appreciate constructive criticism, but there are better ways to handle it than this thread.  And yes, it is now locked.

[mseguin]

For those of you wondering where we get these ideas, this thread gives a pretty good picture of what some of the opinions of the forum are.