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John Reid
United Kingdom
704 Posts |
 Posted - 21/12/2014 : 22:09:12
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Simon,
Excellent suggestion! Good solution.
Everybody happy 
Terry,
I too have been wondering how many Forum users are MGCC members - a comparison with the Main Club database could establish the answer if Nick/Dick give them the Forum names. Since this website is "owned and operated by the MGCC" there should not be a data protection issue - see section on Policies.
John R |
Edited by - John Reid on 21/12/2014 22:10:08 |
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Nick Feakes
USA
3376 Posts |
Posted - 22/12/2014 : 14:20:37
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John
That could certainly be done, however it would need more than forum names since many members do not use their full name as their forum name. Our database holds the member's full name (assuming that is correct) in one field, the MGCC in two separate fields. Also there would be bound to be duplicates which would have to be resolved by checking the location of the member (assuming that is also correct). The end result would be a huge amount of manual work to ensure accuracy.
Then what would we do with the result?
Suppose it were 10% of forum members belonged to the MGCC. How about 50% or 70%? I see little point in collecting data simply for the sake of having data.
IMHO I think the forum is richer for encouraging all owners including past or prospective owners to join regardless of whether they belong to the parent club or not.
To return to the original topic, it would be quite simple to restrict access to the on-line bulletin. We could charge for access or make it available only to registered members of the forum?
Nick
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Oz34
United Kingdom
2542 Posts |
Posted - 22/12/2014 : 15:19:40
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Or even perhaps Nick to MGCC members? Another MG club has a members only area accessed by the membership number & name.
Dave |
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John Reid
United Kingdom
704 Posts |
Posted - 22/12/2014 : 23:05:37
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Nick,
Thanks for your reply. I totally agree in not collecting data for its own sake - I was more thinking of a one off out of interest to see where the split lay. Totally unimportant, but because people have asked this question when talking about club membership and nobody has the facts, if it was easy to do then run a report. Clearly not the case, so "no further action"!
John R
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Nick Feakes
USA
3376 Posts |
Posted - 23/12/2014 : 02:56:01
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John
My apologies, my response sounds very negative, I was having a bad morning. I will see what I can do.
Nick
Webmaster |
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John Reid
United Kingdom
704 Posts |
Posted - 23/12/2014 : 11:15:57
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Nick,
Thanks, but not taken as such.
Have a good day today!
John R |
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Malcolm Eades
United Kingdom
379 Posts |
Posted - 23/12/2014 : 11:22:53
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I, too, think that our best option is to leave things as they are, with perhaps one exception outlined below.
My preference for the status quo is not a result of inertia or intellectual laziness. It's because I have been down this road before, both on a Register committee and as a main Club director looking at "Safety Fast!" and this debate is familiar territory.
"What does the MGCC do for me?" is a recurrent question and for the less active member the answer probably boils down to "It sends you an excellent magazine every month." For the active, involved member, of course, the question doesn't arise because the answer fills their lives. New members who join only in search of cheap spares and insurance are often disappointed. A more accurate but less satisfying answer to the question is "It makes a lot of things possible that wouldn't otherwise happen, so please keep paying your sub to make sure it stays that way". It made the Registers possible.They grew out of the early success of the Club and have achieved such success of their own that occasional conversations about independence become a natural result of it. But is life really that sweet if you cast off from the mother-ship?
As regards on-line publications, not all MG enthusiasts have embraced the technological revolution! Witness a fellow natter member who says "I've got a mobile phone but it's switched off most of the time". And even in my own case, whilst I am a silver surfer with all that that implies, declining eye-sight makes the prospect of reading magazines on a lap-top or a tablet unattractive, even though they offer the mobility that desk-tops do not. On the other hand, if I want quickly to refer back to something, the on-line back copy is perfect.
The MGCC is a broad church and I have always taken the view that Register membership is not only open to UK club members but also to members of our overseas affiliated centres. Thanks to the success of MG abroad, we are a world-wide movement. As far as the internet is concerned, "open" is one of the most desirable characteristics of any website about an internationally shared interest. By taking an open welcoming stance to members of other active MG clubs worldwide we benefit from a lot of knowledge and experience, not to say fresh thinking, and there are some admirable examples of this on our forum. I will save their blushes by not naming them but you know who I mean! If you take a "little Englander" stance and erect a gate that only UK Club membership can open, then you risk alienating a lot of valuable contributors.
One of the common complaints about SF! and other UK publications from overseas subscribers is that, unless you airmail them at much higher cost, they take a long time to arrive. The overseas subscriber is left feeling like a second-class member. That is where an on-line version can fill the gap, by getting the key information to overseas paid-up subscribers quickly, even if they get their printed version later. If, in order to grant access to this, one asked for details of the subscriber's local club membership, then I think that's fair and I'm not suggesting any kind of policing process behind this. I'm sure that in the MMM world a lot of the likely subscribers would be known friends anyway.
Sorry about the length of this. I did try to resist putting my oar in but old habits die hard.
Malcolm
M Type
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Edited by - Malcolm Eades on 23/12/2014 11:23:50 |
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Peter Hall
United Kingdom
33 Posts |
Posted - 23/12/2014 : 20:09:16
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Good evening all,
I hope that you do not mind a new comer to join in with this matter.
I am an avid reader of all the forums on this site as well as the technical pages. However I do not subscribe to the bulletin. I am also of a certain age where whatever goes on inside a computer is beyond me, but I do enjoy reading from my laptop and tablet. However you may note that is only my second post. I joined the register in 1982.!
I know that there are many regular contributors on the forums, but there are also many of us who are readers only. I only mention this, as my memory takes me back to a thread earlier this year which suggested removing access from those of us who do not contribute.
I have a varied interest in MG's at present I am on my third MGB, I also have a pre-production MGF, as well as a swept wing J2.
I am also a member of the MGB and the MGF registers.
I would like to see anything that is available and would surport those who wish for the bulletin to be published on line.
Many thanks,
Peter Hall
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