Correspondance 1

an extract from.............

BMW CAR CLUB

CENTREPOINT

A REPORT FROM PRE-AGM NATIONAL COMMITTEE

MEETING No 155, HELD AT BROMSGROVE GOLF CLUB, BROMSGROVE, WEST MIDLANDS

 23/07/06.

                                                                       Issue 33

Intro.

“Welcome to issue 33 of ‘Centrepoint’, a newsletter designed to keep the Regional and Register Committee members informed of what is being discussed and decided at National Committee level. As this meeting preceded the AGM, agenda items were kept to a minimum”

Feedback is important, so please read the items discussed below and let me know your feelings, so give me a call on 0161    or email jeffheywood@bmwcarclubnw.freeserve.co.uk

Cascade of Info to club members – please read

The Centrepoint newsletter is obviously not written as a gimmick – it was put together after certain people asked for some sort of communication ‘pathway’ between the National Committee and club officials in the Regions & Registers. In this newsletter you receive all the latest news and items discussed at the latest national meetings, including full details of ongoing discussions like those regarding our breakaway from BMW Club Europa (BCE). Any information fed back via this newsletter that you feel effects our members should be cascaded down via your regional/register pages in the club magazine and on your websites.

BMW Car Club Forum

Senior forum moderator Killian Bannon was asked to attend the meeting so that we could discuss a way forward that would suit both the club and the forum users. As most of you are probably now aware, the meeting ended in acrimoniously as Killian wasn’t willing to discuss any changes to the forum that the directors were asking for. We told him if that was the case the club would have to start up a new forum for club members only (see below for main reason why).

He left the meeting saying that he was fine with that decision, and if we needed any help with the new forum he would be happy to offer advice. He asked for a couple of weeks grace to move the old forum onto a new domain name and remove any car club references/logos and BMW trademarks, as he didn’t want it to die. Imagine our surprise then when we got back home from the meeting to find all the postings on the forum saying we were shutting it down (untrue, we only asked for him to remove any reference to the car club) and basically what a lot of b****rds we were (please excuse the French).

There are many reasons why the board felt that posting on the club forum should be a privilege for members only, but the main one was a legal grey area that has arisen after taking legal advice. There are many un-official meetings/cruises/runs organised on the current forum by non-members, but because they are advertised on the club’s forum we would have a hard time explaining in court if, say, an innocent bystander was seriously injured or killed at one of these events. Our insurers would refuse to cover the club because it was an event organised by non-members, but can you imagine the lawyers on the other side blaming the club because the event was organised on the ‘Official BMW Car Club Forum’ – if we had no insurance cover the club and its directors could be chased for ££££££££!!! Yes it’s a grey area, but it is a risk the board wasn’t willing to take, therefore we asked Killian to change the current forum to a forum that can be accessed by all, with postings only by club members – this he refused point blank and wouldn’t budge an inch.

Therefore, the board has instructed RM Software to install a new BMW Car Club forum that will be accessed for posting by members only, who will have to insert their name, membership number and give a unique password to be able to post on the site. The new forum should be up and running in the next few days. Anyone will still be able to view postings.

The board would be very grateful if you would all care to keep an eye on initial postings just to make sure everything is above board when it is launched.

Finally, a letter is to be sent this week to all members explaining the full reasons behind the board’s decision. The letter will also be posted on the club website and in the August magazine.

Thanks for your co-operation and words of support I have received.

 

.................

 

Regards,

Jeff Heywood.

 

 

Edited by thepits

Nigel wrote: He's going to love you for putting his home number on here

oops! did I?

 silly old me.

 

(edit) I'd better edit it out then............

 

 

Edited by thepits

nero wrote: Centrepoint wrote: Thanks for your co-operation and words of support I have received. [][][][][]

Its good to see that his wife and Dr. Dale are standing by him! Im happy for him!

kidsinister wrote: Bimmon's sig was right... "Not too bright, are we?"

is it just me or is the mins of the meeting got really nothing to do with the meeting at all ,hes still tryin to push the 'grey area' and daft examples he's trying to tell everyone killian was at fault and not me before they find out the truth ...

no mention of the nasty comments on his behalf since he was sooooo suprised to see the topic on the fourm

no mention of them trying to steel the account info of kiilans

no mention of them steeling the domain name ,

no mention of lack of communication in the first place

nomention of his own personal goal ( ie to control the popular site )

and NO mention of their lack( mr dale and jeff) of managerial /communication skills

i bet killian would have better off at home that weekend cos it was pointless anyone else being at the meeting ...

anyway enough deweling on the past look to the future now ...

future correspondance should be fun to read if he's going to contradict himself in the same letter imagine what he could say different in the next news letter ..

guy's that are going to gaydon please have your camera ready cos you never know whats going to happen ...

     

 

p.s christ just relised yet angain am writing a story as a reply , i can t do one liners .. so you'll just need to put up with it ..

Edited by swordfish_bite

Pete - things have moved on !!!!

This is the new site and its nice to see you supporting it in your normal charismatic way.

I saw it - it too is funny!

Just got home to find my letter - and I quote:

"It was therefore with some considerable surprise that the Directors found postings on the forum by those who attended the meeting stating, incorrectly, that the forum was being closed down."

That's b******s, for a start. Pardon my French, but I'm really warming to this subject...

"Directors of the Club (oh they are enjoying themselves, aren't they?) were also concerned that those making comments on the forum could do so with anonimity... forum members could hide behind pseudonyms."

Pots & kettles, anyone!!!! Mr. "BIMMON", for example?!

I'm seriously considering a warm response to this letter. Even reading between the lines you can see where they've altered the facts just to get a dig in. It's just unfortunate that so many members who did not have access to the old forum are going to get a false picture from this.

I, and no doubt many others, will be posting a response on this new club forum when it materialises. I wonder how long such posts will last on there before they are, ahem, "moderated"?

Yours,

Incensed of Oldham.

Yeah, that one confused me as well. Control freaks.

It's perfectly normal to issue a "standard" password, be it ramdomly generated or not to a new user.

It's then up to the user to change it, standard network user policy in most organisations.

If they are forcing you to use their password, then that is different.


P.S.

I've been to an AGM and have seen the power rangers in full flight. Oh, so magnificent.


Killian et al, good for you!




Edited by Jeff Spangle

That would be my interpretation also. Anyway, polite email sent... buggered if I'm ringing them.