hhhmmmm???

[BenF]

I think this was done a while back on the old site. I think they were the few that put their names forward or something similar. Thats when/how they became mods.

if this is the case then i will be eating lots of humble pie and going to to hide under a rock somewhere
can anybody else confirm this is how it was?
Jay

Yep, basically that's it. Going back into the mists of IMOC-UK history, all of the previous 'Admins' volenteered their services (back in the earliest email Onelist/YahooGroups days) or were nominated / elected.

There tends to be natural churn of moderators with time due to changing personal commitments (Paul Port, Dino, Jamie Ayres, Aidy, Adam Huges to name a few) and when people step down we've established over the last couple of years that there are nominations/elections to replace them.

The reason for the Moderators posts being created is the recognition that the site is growing hugely at the moment, and we were past the point where the Committee could reasonably read all the content posted in a day, as well as the activities needed to keep the club running.

There's the website itself, (Esmond does a fantastic job) as well as issues like funding for next year to cover the hosting, website performance, site development, planning + arranging trackdays / shows next year, looking into the legal issues of running a club, sorting bank accounts to mention a few we're looking at currently.

[Icsunonove]

I am just curious, what would you like to happen? Please don't take this the wrong way, I am just curious...

Best regards, Tom

not taken the wrong way at all tom, we are just discussing our views
ok, let me ask this (to all admin), if things where to remain as they are at the moment would it mean that the comittee members would always be that as long as they wanted the position and will never have to stand for election?

personally, since you ask tom, what i would like to see is an annual review of ALL positions. ie - A 'are we happy with current comittee members/mods' sort of senario

Cheers Jay, now I know your opinion. I *think* (or rather I assume) the answer is that elections would take place periodically. I don't know actually, I might be talking out of my backside!

Certainly from a personal point of view if people didn't think I was doing a good job and there was someone else more suitable, I'd stand down immediately.

Let's face it my role is Events Administrator. I posted events before I was in this position, I have posted events while I am in this position and I will post events after I have left this position. Everyone has a role to play.

The Committee position just means you have a bit of a say in policy and a bit more work to do. The bit I don't understand is that are you unhappy with the way things are being run?

I personally think things are very good, just look at the uptake on membership......

If you are unhappy please explain why?

Best regards, Tom

[anna]

With there being so many members on the forum now i doubt it would ever happen again where a vote was not needed due to lack of interest.

well me and Al were the only ones to stand for membership, so I think it's fair to say we were voted in by default really. I don't personally think it matters too much tbh - we are keen enough (i'm sure the rest of the committee will vouch for the ear bending i've been doing!).

I also appreciate a bit of stability as a club goes through significant changes - if committee changes substantially in periods like this then clubs can often lose their way - and i'm speaking from personal experience here. That's not to say that 'un-elected' committee will always be there unchallenged, but there will be a time and a place for elections - I think we have a little way to go before we get there personally - when all the new site/regime changes have had a chance to settle maybe...

[Quigonjay]

With there being so many members on the forum now i doubt it would ever happen again where a vote was not needed due to lack of interest.

well me and Al were the only ones to stand for membership, so I think it's fair to say we were voted in by default really. I don't personally think it matters too much tbh - we are keen enough (i'm sure the rest of the committee will vouch for the ear bending i've been doing!).

I also appreciate a bit of stability as a club goes through significant changes - if committee changes substantially in periods like this then clubs can often lose their way - and i'm speaking from personal experience here. That's not to say that 'un-elected' committee will always be there unchallenged, but there will be a time and a place for elections - I think we have a little way to go before we get there personally - when all the new site/regime changes have had a chance to settle maybe...

sorry, i meant for moderator positions, as isnt this how everybody started out in the first place?

[Icsunonove]

If you are unhappy please explain why?

[Quigonjay]

The bit I don't understand is that are you unhappy with the way things are being run?

not unhappy at all Tom, i just think that questions needed to be asked and as no one else was stepping in, thought i would do the asking

[Icsunonove]

Fair enough Jay, thanks for posting back. Certainly from a personal point of view I would be very happy for my position to be up for re election every year.

[Lauren]

sorry, i meant for moderator positions, as isnt this how everybody started out in the first place?

No though we had a title of Moderator it wasn't entirely accurate as basically we were always a committee ie we were and are doing a lot more than just moderating the site.

[Lauren]

i guess this is my point, there may or MAY NOT have been changes had the previous mods been made to stand for election again. With there being so many members on the forum now i doubt it would ever happen again where a vote was not needed due to lack of interest. I just find it a little dissapointing that a non voted in member is now vice chair and will always be above those that where voted in

I don't really get your point why you are aiming it at me. As i have already said we were never just moderators... there was only enough people that stood for the positions as there were positions so we didn't have a vote and we needed to get people in place for the new forum board. If you have that issue with me then surely you have the same issue with Ben, Patrick, Toni, Dale and Esmond?

[michael]

If you have that issue with me then surely you have the same issue with Ben, Patrick, Toni, Dale and Esmond?

It's a little bit different though isn't it

[Lauren]

If you have that issue with me then surely you have the same issue with Ben, Patrick, Toni, Dale and Esmond?

It's a little bit different though isn't it

It is?

[Quigonjay]

i guess this is my point, there may or MAY NOT have been changes had the previous mods been made to stand for election again. With there being so many members on the forum now i doubt it would ever happen again where a vote was not needed due to lack of interest. I just find it a little dissapointing that a non voted in member is now vice chair and will always be above those that where voted in

I don't really get your point why you are aiming it at me. As i have already said we were never just moderators... there was only enough people that stood for the positions as there were positions so we didn't have a vote and we needed to get people in place for the new forum board. If you have that issue with me then surely you have the same issue with Ben, Patrick, Toni, Dale and Esmond?

i AM NOT aiming it at you personally, just at the non elected member that has become vice chair, i would have said the same whoever was in the position

[Lauren]

i AM NOT aiming it at you personally, just at the non elected member that has become vice chair, i would have said the same whoever was in the position

Oh okay.. but you know Ben wasn't elected and he's Chairman. Remember if more people had come forward there would certainly have been a vote. We can't really help it if that wasn't the case.

[Quigonjay]

i AM NOT aiming it at you personally, just at the non elected member that has become vice chair, i would have said the same whoever was in the position

Oh okay.. but you know Ben wasn't elected and he's Chairman. Remember if more people had come forward there would certainly have been a vote. We can't really help it if that wasn't the case.

may be wrong here but wasnt ben, along with esmond responsible for saving imoc from going under?
hence why i mentioned earlier 'apart from ben and esmond for obvious reasons'
if i'm wrong though, then yes i am reffering to bens position also

Jay

[michael]

it is?

In my opinion yes.

The others you've named either offered themselves to IMOC during a public request for help or in Ben's case are just part of IMOC history and honestly deserve the position at the table.

You simply appeared on the moderation team as a "trackday advisor" (possibly due to the fact your boyfriend was already a moderator and that you work for Bookatrack) and somehow managed to assume the same rights as everyone else. Following this and your ability to organise 1 trackday in 12 months you then stuck around and assumed the moderator position on the new forum. Continuing to stick around has now earned you the position of Vice-Chair.

I'm not bitter about this I just feel it's important to be honest with the members when discussing these things. Open up the archives of IMOC-UK-ADMIN on Yahoo so they can see my thoughts on the matter back then if you like

[anna]

[edited by admin]

Off topic, and posts of a personal nature will be removed.

Regards,
Anna

[Quigonjay]

[tonigmr2]

A bit of constructive criticism is welcomed.

Yes without Ben and Esmond we wouldn't be here, many a time I've clapped them both. =D>

But perhaps we should look at what the rest of us do. I deal with affiliates and IMOC money, without me there'd be no organisation of the funds coming into the site and we wouldn't be here. It's a bigger job than you might imagine (with over 700 premium members as well!). Currently I am organising a financial forecast for next year as we need to revise a lot of stuff to do with club and board for instance.

Patrick has been instrumental in sorting out lots of legal stuff to do with sorting out IMOC.

Lauren and Dale have been the main people to keep the site tidy. We all moderate, but they do more than most. If it wasn't done, believe me you'd notice.

I think Tom, Anna and Alex have very clearly defined roles and need no further explanation having only just been elected.

We all contribute to the organisation of the board and events in varying ways, but we are hoping to do even better next year.

There is no doubt we will all stand again, but we are not going to do it every 5 minutes or every time somebody says so. The original group of us are evolving and changing the club. We defined roles as we had to set up a bank account. We had to set up a bank account as we needed a more effective means of handling the funds coming in. Being elected less than a year ago we felt we had the consensus of the majority to push the club forward - plus the need is urgent as currently both Ben and I are paying out of our own pockets to keep things smooth. That does not mean we are assuming ownership or otherwise of the club, or that this situation will not be open to a revised election in the future.

I hope that clarifies one or two issues.
T

[ENSMR2]

APatrick has been instrumental in sorting out lots of legal stuff to do with sorting out IMOC.

What legal stuff is this? I am being nosey

[tonigmr2]

Well disclaimers incase any of you lot say something defamatory
Legal stuff to do with collecting money and members details
Insurance and events, structure, how to get a legal status.

All that kind of thing.

T