Proposed new USBCHA Forum

[Eileen Stein]

Which is easier to manage, and less of a nuisance, 50 emails in your inbox or 50 replies on a forum?

 

50 emails in your inbox. That way you don't even have to go to a forum, and you get them even if you forget to check the forum.

 

A forum is better than email for the same reason BC Boards is better than some kind of email attempt at conversation. With email, no one else sees what is being said. The "conversation" is important when it is about an issue that pertains to the entire membership.

 

The BC Boards may be better for general digressive multi-party conversation, but for letting your director know your views on a particular issue, email is better IMO. I would always contact my representatives directly regarding an issue I cared about, rather than posting about it to a discussion forum and hoping they would read through the posts and see mine.

[Gary Scott]

Which is easier to manage, and less of a nuisance, 50 emails in your inbox or 50 replies on a forum?

 

50 emails in your inbox. That way you don't even have to go to a forum, and you get them even if you forget to check the forum.

 

I know going to a forum is tough , especially when the automatic log-in is an option, but there's no way having to reply to all those emails(assuming a conscientious director), delete them, and whatever else one has to do to manage them is easier than one forum access to see member thoughts on some issue. And, I don't think a director conscientious enough to respond to many emails would "forget" to go to a forum if some important issue was being discussed. After all, he/she would already be working with the other directors in the "Directors Only" part of the forum.

 

Regards,

 

Gary

[Kelliwic Border Collies]

Which is easier to manage, and less of a nuisance, 50 emails in your inbox or 50 replies on a forum?

 

I personally find a message board forum MUCH much easier to keep up with at a glance, than emails. I'm on the digest format for Sheepdog-L, workingsheepdog, etc., but even so (and even with the YahooGroups feature of sorting messages within the digest by topic), I still find it far faster to look at message boards. It's also MUCH easier (for me) to refer back to older posts on a message board, or to keep track of how a thread evolved. Even with an email list digest format, it can be tedious to go back and open each of the emails to find the original post of a topic, or to find and re-read the reply someone contributed four days into the thread's lifespan (particularly the threads that continue for quite some time). The email scenario, of course, assumes that I have plenty of space on my home computer to save emails, so as to have the luxury of re-reading items of interest or importance.

 

Also, it seems to me that in message board venue, people generally trim their "reply" posts down to relevant quotes and comments a lot better than they do when replying to email threads!

[Guest herbertholmes]

I am updating the agenda items on the usbcha website. Our directors are on this forum, and because of that, I will be looking at comments made here as the point of reference for my specific feedback. If you want to post a ?? to me here,I will try to find time to answer, but no Guarantees. Thanks, Herbert

[Gary Scott]

I am updating the agenda items on the usbcha website. Our directors are on this forum, and because of that, I will be looking at comments made here as the point of reference for my specific feedback. If you want to post a ?? to me here,I will try to find time to answer, but no Guarantees. Thanks, Herbert

 

Herbert,

 

Any chance you would be willing to try doing it also on the Test Forum, just to get a feel for how it would work, and give people who have registered, as you have, a chance to see it work? I know you're not "for" it, but it would be of interest, and wouldn't affect, one way or the other, how the eventual vote will turn out.

 

Based on what I just tried, all you have to do is copy and paste.

 

Thanks,

 

Gary

[Gary Scott]

Also, Herbert, where will the updated agenda be posted?

 

I see a place for "Forum & Board of Director Minutes", a place for "President's Page", and a place for "Agenda of Next Board Meeting".

 

But, in "Agenda of Next Board Meeting", the most recent entry is for the meeting at Klamath Falls on Sept. 25, 2006.

 

In no place do I see "Agenda of Next Forum Meeting".

 

It's probably there, but I couldn't find it.

 

Thanks,

 

Gary

[Sue R]

On the sheepdog page, at least, there is a nice and bright (red-lettered) "Board of Directors Agenda" link to this page:

 

http://www.usbcha.com/08%20-%20Agenda%20fo...20Directors.htm

 

Thanks, Herbert!

[Gary Scott]

On the sheepdog page, at least, there is a nice and bright (red-lettered) link to this page:

 

http://www.usbcha.com/08%20-%20Agenda%20fo...20Directors.htm

 

Thanks, Herbert!

 

When I go to the "Sheepdog Section", I'm taken to a page on which the only thing "nice and bright (red-lettered)" is a link to the "President's Page".

 

Can you guide me further, rather than just the link in your post?

 

Never mind. I refreshed the page, and it popped up. Is that relatively new, or quite old? Whichever it is, it's an improvement.

 

Thanks,

 

Gary

[Sue R]

I have no idea how new or old it is but I'm assuming it is what Herbert was just posting about doing today. I just found it after reading Herbert's and your most recent posts.

 

I'm sorry if I was not being clear enough.

[Gary Scott]

Well, it is unfortunate that minds are probably "made up", even though discussions are on-going about the test forum proposal.

 

The reason I say that is: There are 25 directors and officers. Of that number, 23 are voting directors. Of the 23, 7 have registered for the forum. Two have actually posted. If that is the way proposals are handled, even when it was suggested that a couple of us write and submit a proposal, why bother?

 

I even offered to do the following, but it was met with lukewarm interest, at best, so I didn't:

 

For those directors and officers who have not registered I can get their email addresses from the USBCHA web site, assign them a password, register them, activate them, and set their preferences, email the sign-in name and password to them, so that all they have to do is go to the site, "Log in", and everything is right there in front of them. Nothing else to do but browse. They can then change their passwords on their own if they want to.

 

The vote will be taken with a majority of the voters not knowing very much about the proposal, other than "knowing" it's not the way to go. What information most have is second, third, or who-knows-what-hand, and/or from this board and "sheepdog-L".

 

Excellent.

 

Gary

[Wendy V]

When will the vote occur?

[Gary Scott]

When will the vote occur?

 

You won't know, unless something changes procedurally about how the internet private forum is handled.

 

This is one of the things the Test Forum addressed, but few directors visited it to see how that could be, and I emphasize the word "could", meaning doesn't have to be, done.

 

Gary

[J. Williams]

Amy and Gary – Tremendous thanks for your efforts, which seem to be leading somewhere, so have not been expended in vain.

 

Michele and Wilda – You consistently serve District One with a singular focus on the best interests of the Association. Keep up the grand work!

 

BOD/Herbert – I appreciate and respect your unselfish services as well. Posting BOD discussion topics (any chance of doing the same for Committee discussion topics?) is a nice start and will go a long way in providing “pre-decision” opportunities for HA members to make contact with their BOD if /when they care to.

 

Regarding the New Forum Proposal – I am in support of a USBCHA Forum with both an HA Directors Only area and HA Members Only area. Ideally it would serve the Directors just as the current forum does, but would be owned and operated by the HA, with an added element of a Members Only area that would serve two functions; 1) provide a place for Members to discuss HA topics solely with other Members; and, 2) provide a place for HA Directors to check the pulse of the Membership on a particular topic if/when they want to.

 

As far as providing HA Membership access to HA BOD discussions - being privy to the discussions and reasoning behind how the HA BOD, and/or and its individual parts, arrives at decisions would be informative and provide insight relative to how each contributing Director is acting on behalf of the Association (and, perhaps promote accountability on some fronts), but I just don’t feel that the benefits outweigh the stifling drawbacks of being placed in a fish bowl.

 

As far as “where” - I would like to see the HA have total ownership/control of their own web presence, capable of providing entirely for itself, whether it be forums, on-line membership/renewal, on-line sanctioning fee payment, a members-only comment section, guest book, what have you.

 

While I am familiar with all the different e-mail groups, chat rooms and discussion forums, new members and/or folks just beginning to research membership in our Association may not be and should be looking to the “official” website, and the links contained therein, to provide the best and most reliable source of information and referrals available.

[Gary Scott]

Amy and Gary – Tremendous thanks for your efforts, which seem to be leading somewhere, so have not been expended in vain.

 

Michele and Wilda – You consistently serve District One with a singular focus on the best interests of the Association. Keep up the grand work!

 

BOD/Herbert – I appreciate and respect your unselfish services as well. Posting BOD discussion topics (any chance of doing the same for Committee discussion topics?) is a nice start and will go a long way in providing “pre-decision” opportunities for HA members to make contact with their BOD if /when they care to. Regarding the New Forum Proposal....(See above).... to provide the best and most reliable source of information and referrals available.

 

Julia,

 

Brilliant! Although, I disagree (what, you're surprised?) with one part, but nobody's perfect.

 

Gary

[Guest herbertholmes]

I posted this morning about the agenda. It is newly updated and I will make every effort to keep it current. there is a motion just now to not allow voting on a seconded, stated motion until it hhas been posted on the wb siteunder agenda for 1 week minimum. they generally take longer than that anyway. Gary, your efforts are not in vain. I myself have a better plan due to what I have read on this issue, and I think the whole board has a better idea that they need to communicate. I saw on the mt & plains bc site that Dan Keeten and Laura Hicks are appealing to their members for better communication. Your proposal garnerd a motion to accept, but has not had a second and in a few minutes will die for lack of a second. thanks for your efforts, hmh

[Gary Scott]

I posted this morning about the agenda. It is newly updated and I will make every effort to keep it current. there is a motion just now to not allow voting on a seconded, stated motion until it hhas been posted on the wb siteunder agenda for 1 week minimum. they generally take longer than that anyway. Gary, your efforts are not in vain. I myself have a better plan due to what I have read on this issue, and I think the whole board has a better idea that they need to communicate. I saw on the mt & plains bc site that Dan Keeten and Laura Hicks are appealing to their members for better communication. Your proposal garnerd a motion to accept, but has not had a second and in a few minutes will die for lack of a second. thanks for your efforts, hmh

A better plan?

 

I'm no parliamentarian, Herbert. I'm not familiar with a "motion to accept"? Is that a motion to accept the proposal to be voted on at a later date, or what?

 

Thanks,

 

Gary

[Guest herbertholmes]

A motion was made to accept your proposal. It was made several days back. It died for lack of a second. Is that clear? hmh

[Guest herbertholmes]

Yes, I have a better plan as to what I need to do to communicate with the members. As in better than what I have done in the past. As in getting the agenda updated regularly. Not a better plan than you propsed forum. If you have other questions I will try to addresss them as time goes by. hmh

[J. Williams]

What fantastic forward progress! I hope the current motion, regarding seconded, stated motions being posted for a 1 week minimum, passes.

 

I posted this morning about the agenda. It is newly updated and I will make every effort to keep it current. there is a motion just now to not allow voting on a seconded, stated motion until it hhas been posted on the wb siteunder agenda for 1 week minimum... I myself have a better plan due to what I have read on this issue, and I think the whole board has a better idea that they need to communicate... Dan Keeten and Laura Hicks are appealing to their members for better communication...

[Gary Scott]

A motion was made to accept your proposal. It was made several days back. It died for lack of a second. Is that clear? hmh

 

Well, not perfectly clear, but I'm sure it's because I'm not familiar with the terminology.

 

I think what is clear is, at a minimum, one director was sufficiently "for" the proposal to make the motion, although not necessarily gung-ho, and 22 directors were against the proposal, since there was no second. A resounding defeat, with only 7 directors good enough to even register for the test to see how it might be modified to meet their demands. Excellent.

 

Thanks,

 

Gary