Restricted Forum to members only?

[Momentum M]

Hi guys...I just received the November Mainsheet and as I was reading it I came to the secretary's report (Stu) that the membership as drop quite a bit.  I don't know if this is hurting the association's bank account but if it does then I would either limit or block the forum to the non member.  That way the non members that want to ask question/solutions will have to join.
As we all know we get mongus benefits from the forum and getting the Mainsheets (by the way...very nicely done...including the pull out).
If any one (and I'm sure that's everyone) get one idea a yr for there boat then it's well worth it.  Also think of all the good ideas that we all pick up and that could save lives and/or money if your out there and a situation arise.

I don't know if I'm off the track or if there's some reasons for "not" restricting the Forum.

So, I'd like to know if "restricting the Forum" is possible and if it is then should it be done?

[Ken Juul]

Serge,
Your suggestion is a topic in almost every Association Board meeting. 

The current policy is to keep as much of the web site and message board open to the public as we (C34IA) possibly can.  Right now the only thing that is not open to all is the Technotes section.  The reason, if I remember correctly, is a copyright issue and will remain that way.  What we have is a huge "Community of Interest" in today's lexicon. 

The current Board considers receiving the Mainsheet and having access to the Technotes to be sufficient motivation to join the Association.  Our thinking is having an open website/message board will translate to more membership not less.  We also realize membership is not for everyone and with the current economic climate; the low renewal rate is not a big surprise.  Another issue is a lot of folks are unaware; many just go to the message board and never visit the home page.  Unless they go browsing they don't know the Association exists and/or is separate from message board membership. 

As I have been saying in all my Commodore articles....it is up to the rank and file to talk up the association and recruit new members.  A good idea is to have a few copies of the Mainsheet on board to give to prospective members to show them the benefits of membership.  Additionally in the background we have been trying to revamp the webpage.  Make it more interactive and inviting so folks visit it rather than camp on the message board.

Appreciate your thoughts, I can guarantee it will be discussed again in the near future.

C34IA members if you think the Leadership is way off base here, please let us know how you feel.  We like to make informed decisions...what do you think?

[waterdog]

Restricting the forum is not a good idea in my opinion.   Perhaps we pressure a couple of hundred memberships and enrich the coffers by a few thousand dollars.   

Understand as an owner, that having a forum that is open adds value to your boat.   When I was looking for a boat, the Catalina 34 wasn't the only model on my shopping list.   Having this forum open where I could explore all of the issues with the boat was fantastic.   Recognizing that the ongoing knowledge and support of hundreds of other owners would be available on an ongoing basis probably tipped the C34 from being "on the list" to being "preferred".   

I would definitely not have paid money to join the association just to research buying the boat.   And frankly, I probably wouldn't pay money to join the secret society as an owner.   But I'm happy to pay my dues to join the association and would encourage others to do so largely because of the openess.

If we have people preferring these boats over others, they will be worth more.   So if we go into a clubby stealth mode, we become invisible to prospective owners and in the absence of any real information a Hunter is as good as Catalina.   The couple thousand dollars in the association will come off the price tag of every invidual owners' boat.  Not a good idea.   

Now, what exactly is the association doing with the membership dues anyway?   I see the word going out monthly in the mainsheet looking for membership.  And membership seems to be represented as good just for the sake of being a member.   But what are we doing with the money?   We need to be reminded of what it's spent on exactly and why that is valuable to us for members.   Much more powerful than shaming us for not renewing. 

Just my thoughts.

[joe]

i agree with steve. before i bought my boat i went back and read 2 years of the message board.i felt it would alert me to any intrinsic problems. i saw only common nonsubstantial items and that reinforced my decision to buy.

[Stu Jackson]

Steve,  An unusually huge proportion of the membership dues go to purchase and distribution of the Mainsheet magazine.  Period.  The small amount remaining is for website maintenance and other activities.  The C34 Officer's yearly meeting notes are posted on this board under General Activities, here:    http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/board,25.0.html

[Michael Shaner]

The current Board considers receiving the Mainsheet and having access to the Technotes to be sufficient motivation to join the Association.  Our thinking is having an open website/message board will translate to more membership not less.  We also realize membership is not for everyone and with the current economic climate; the low renewal rate is not a big surprise.

I concur...

Additionally, I agree with Joe and Steve. I tore this message board apart prior to our purchase. I certainly wouldn't have joined at the prospect of owning a C34. However, the $$'s spent on membership vs. the benefits are a no-brainer...even if all the Technotes aren't accessible...(I still don't speak code Stu...maybe I'll buy a book ! )

[Terry Forshier]

If the Mainsheet publication is the driving factor in the cost of the dues it would not hurt my feelings if it was decided to offer that magazine at a additional cost and keep the membership on line and the collective wisdom there as the standard dues cost.
Although the publication is probably worthwhile for some I scan it in a few minutes, reading the C34 and C36 pages and then it goes in the "pile". The value i perceive here is the communication on line of other owners and their experiences in fixing problems that arise. My vote is keep the forum open. pitch the mainsheet if it is holding back membership.
Terry Forshier

[sail4dale]

I am confused.  (so far nothing new )  Requiring a membership to the Fleet34  on line seems redundant as we belong to our own "All Catalina Fleet 24" here in Los Angeles Harbor.  Paying dues to another Catalina fleet doesn't add up. 
I do enjoy the message board and the input from the members but more dues at this time is not in my list of favorite things to do in 2009.

Just a view from the other side ....

[hump180]

Everyone, I just recieved my 1st mainsheet as a new member, and although it was a nice addition to the membership, I would happily forego getting the monthly magazine to free up dues. As an owner this site to me is far more important than the mainsheet and I am sure that goes for many members. Maybe we could have the option of respectivly declining the mainsheet and having our dues directed strictly to website maintenance and other c34.org costs.

[alexlyn]

Hi,

I'm the webmaster for the C36 association, and contributor of your map-based owner registry (which is still not upgraded for our new site, http://www.c36ia.com ) and site logo.

The C36 association has a Supporting Membership option that includes all membership benefits except for Mainsheet. Adding that option may encourage more to join in this challenging economic climate.

In addition, we have very recently added Google Ads to our site. Ads are shown only to non-members on the website, and to everyone on the forums (because there's no easy way to hide them from members -- yet).  This lets us keep the majority of our content open but also lets us benefit indirectly from the many non-members (~ 60%) who visit our site.  We have only had ads running since Halloween, but it looks like the revenue will comfortably cover our Web hosting costs and may make a contribution back to the association.

Regards,
Alex.

[Wayne]

I also browsed this site before making the leap into C34 ownership.  This site was a great resource that encouraged me to make the purchase.  I too am all for keeping it open (and I am a member).  As a matter of fact, the closed portion (tech notes) doesn't work for me for some reason; don't know why.  The real time postings by members are very valuable to me.  The dues seem pretty reasonable; I  could care less about the Mainsheet benefit.  It is the members that make this group!

[seanmcelligott]

I have a terrible confession to make.  In the year and a half that I have owned a C34, I haven't joined the association despite receiving an incredible amount of value from this forum.  Oddly, I am a member of the C36 association which I joined when I borrowed their cutlass bearing tool (and I recieve the mainsheet from them).  Honestly, the reason I haven't joined the C34 association to date is not the $25 bucks.  It's that I can't get around to printing out the application form, finding a stamp and an envelope and mailing it in with a check.  You would think that I could spend one of the many hours I spend perusing the forum to accomplish this simple task, but it is what it is.  I know this makes me the laziest person alive.  But I might not be the only one.  The C36 membership can be obtained online using payments through pay pal.  You can renew that way was as well.  Would it be worth jazzing up the "join" page on the website (perhaps accepting paypal or credit cards) so that someone enjoying the forum could be just a few clicks away from membership?  Perhaps we could even have a banner or some other type of direct link to the "join" page from the forum.  It could say something like, support this forum join or renew your membership today with a link.   Then we could sit back and rely on forum user's guilt (or fear of being an ingrate) to swell the membership.

[Tom Soko]

Sean,
Being a member of C36IA doesn't make you a bad person!!!?!!!   

[Roger Blake]

I'm a member...and agree with Sean. When I renewed, I was thinking the same thing...wish I could do it online. I vote for an online option. Just think about all those C34'ers on the move out there...they could join so easily...not worrying about printing, then finding a post office, etc... 

[Allan.SVCarina]

Perhaps there could be reciprocity between the 2 organizations (C36 & C34) so members could get full benefits of both sites to entice new members to one or the other.  Both sites have excellent information and knowledge to share (I am a member of C36IA).