Re: [AGA-mcm] Forum "purchasing"

["S. Hieber" <shieber@yahoo.com>]

I imagine you took some time to think about what you wanted
to say, and chose your words carefully. I will try to do
the same.

I don't know why this is off list. Or to put it another
way, if I knew that was how you felt, I wouldn't have
spoken quite as I did. Or, more liekly, I might have said
something else, or the discussion might have gone another
way. We might have disagreed in public, and what's wrong
with that? I can't see that anyone's feelings were at
stake. Although, I'm guessing now that I have offend you,
and that is something I absolutely had no intention of
doing.

At the risk of furthering contention, but in hope of
clarifying my points, I would like to point out that I
didn't say the Board felt like me; I said some felt surely
thought as Phil described and some the other. I'm pretty
sure that's true. And that's not a suggestion that the BoD
is clear cut in its view; it's a claim of ambivalence,
i.e., views in both directions. Something which has struck
me quite poignantly.

My comments were basically that, if it makes things easier,
especially down the road, then I think we should do it,
that the costs is a reason not to. I never said the BoD as
a whole agreed with me.

I thought Phil was the leader on the forum thing, at least
getting the moderators involved. If he isan't able to do
that, he should say so. If you want to limit your
inovlvlement to what you've done so far, or to sticking
with a particular hardware or software set-up, I think you
should say so. That's a good point to inlcude in the
decisionmaking. I didn't know that you did. I voiced a view
and figured others interested would sound in (or sound off)
with their own thoughts. It wouldn't be the first time one
or more, or most, folks disagreed with me.

Or to put it another way, Phil essentially said he was
speaking for the Bod; I didn't think he was and I put in my
two cents. I thought Phil was damping one of things that at
least one of the moderators seemed to get excited about.
Doesn't mean we have to do it that way, but more discussion
seemed to me what's called for rather than less. It won't
all be what about what everyone wants; but he more they're
talking the more interested and invovled they'll be. 

Personally, I think the forums are as noble an undertaking
as "The Basics." That's not taking anything away from, Ben
-- I admire him as a hobbyist and aquatic gardener and
think the piece he wrote is great. 

sh

--- Erik Olson <erik@thekrib.com> wrote:

> Scott,
> 
> I am replying off-forum to the topic where you keep
> steering to "let's pay 
> the money and buy vBulletin now".
> 
> I do not think it is appropriate to just say as treasurer
> "we're going to 
> spend the money". The board discussed and voted on the
> current proposal, 
> not one that involved purchasing a BB.  And I do not
> think the overall 
> opinion of the board is that clear-cut.  Sorry.
> 
> Further, you don't know if I am technically able or
> willing to install 
> vBulletin at this time.  You don't know if it will cost
> more to have 
> someone else do it, host it, etc.  Maybe Jeff Ludwig
> would do it for free. 
> But I'm starting to get fed up enough with this direction
> that I'm now 
> ready to pull the offer of host computer entirely and
> say, "OK, YOU GUYS 
> FIGURE IT OUT."
> 
> You wrote: "We spend as much or more on miscellaneous
> postage & delivery 
> than we are talking about for forum software. In fact,
> there are few 
> things that AGA spends omoney on that cost as little.  I
> think printing 
> _The Basics_ for the ACA show, cost more -- and very
> worthwhile endeavor 
> -- I'm not questioning that at all; I'm only trying to
> show scale."
> 
> The Basics booklet was not a speculative project, nor is
> the postage and 
> delivery expenses.  In the former, we knew exactly how
> much it would 
> cost, and we knew the goals: to provide some literature
> to 
> convention-goers.  We knew every one of those booklets
> would go home with 
> someone and we would "lose" a couple bucks per book, as
> we were giving 
> them out for free.  We *discussed* it on this list and
> agreed.
> 
> The forum project, on the other hand, is a big unknown. 
> We have no idea 
> whether it will fly.  I hope it will.  But we don't know.
>  Nobody may use 
> it.
> 
> In the meantime, we still don't have anyone leading the
> discussion on 
> remaining items to be worked out.  It's going nowhere. 
> The volunteers are 
> sitting there, occasionally trying to come up with a
> question.  The forum 
> LEADER needs to take care of some important things,
> including:
> 
>       * PR strategy, lock down opening date
>       * Finalize Topics
>       * Find someone to customize graphics as needed
>       * Verify moderation policy
>
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