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Next Meeting?!?!?!?!?!...!!! (1 Viewer)

I started looking at this forum when I first started thinking about putting up my tank. The reason i put this tank up was for the enjoyment of it in my own home, the same reason I use the forum. I used ONLY SPONSORS of this forum when I purchased ALL of my livestock and equipment. Even going threw LFS on a group buys threw them instead of internet suppliers. This is a hobby me and my family like to do on our time,this isnt something we revolve our life around, well sometimes it feel like I do. We attended a frag swap, Ive met with many members and non in my home and at theirs. Ive gone to SPONSORED LFS for their events/sales/charities/fund raisers all posted here. Now all of a sudden Im not good enough? But all the money I spent at SPONSORED ONLY stores sure was good enough!! I know it isnt hard to make to a meeting, and I probably will, but now you have made it a duty instead of fun for alot of people. I think this is something you shouldve thought more about and at LEAST given people the time to become members. This move almost seems to be $$$$$ motivated than anything.
Membership has its benefits, get involved and you shall recieve these benefits. The decision was made to weed out alot of the "members" that have no interest in participating in the club . If you come here to discuss reefing and get advice you are still able to do so.
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Got to love this quote!!! Weed out, thats not terms you use to increase peoples want to join this club. I am a non member and are on here or view the forum almost everyday at some point. Recently I have met a few members and ex that said they do not post or participate here anymore because its getting to be to weird/political. Now when I decide to be a "member" how long is it gonna be before I need to jump threw another one of the forums hurdles? And sinse Im not a "member" does that mean I should start using my non-member money somewhere else? And I think the for sale thead was great for non-members as a place to sell there usaully failing live stock to people who have the knowledge and equipment to save it. With all that said I probably will become a member as soon as I can, on my time!!
 
see I like that attitude, thanks Karen

Kelly did post the meeting notes. I'd be happy to try to explain any point on it. I've been trying to with all my posts today and last night. Weeding through complaints and people trying to explain what's happening is hard. If people want constructive answers please post constructive questions :)
 
aquaholic said:
I started looking at this forum when I first started thinking about putting up my tank. The reason i put this tank up was for the enjoyment of it in my own home, the same reason I use the forum. I used ONLY SPONSORS of this forum when I purchased ALL of my livestock and equipment. Even going threw LFS on a group buys threw them instead of internet suppliers. This is a hobby me and my family like to do on our time,this isnt something we revolve our life around, well sometimes it feel like I do. We attended a frag swap, Ive met with many members and non in my home and at theirs. Ive gone to SPONSORED LFS for their events/sales/charities/fund raisers all posted here. Now all of a sudden Im not good enough? But all the money I spent at SPONSORED ONLY stores sure was good enough!! I know it isnt hard to make to a meeting, and I probably will, but now you have made it a duty instead of fun for alot of people. I think this is something you shouldve thought more about and at LEAST given people the time to become members. This move almost seems to be $$$$$ motivated than anything. Got to love this quote!!! Weed out, thats not terms you use to increase peoples want to join this club. I am a non member and are on here or view the forum almost everyday at some point. Recently I have met a few members and ex that said they do not post or participate here anymore because its getting to be to weird/political. Now when I decide to be a "member" how long is it gonna be before I need to jump threw another one of the forums hurdles? And sinse Im not a "member" does that mean I should start using my non-member money somewhere else? And I think the for sale thead was great for non-members as a place to sell there usaully failing live stock to people who have the knowledge and equipment to save it. With all that said I probably will become a member as soon as I can, on my time!!
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TCMAS is a non-profit club. BOD and mods do not get paid. We are not affiliated with any vendors minus the very very small amount of money they pay to have a forum and banner. Those funds are used to host events like frag swaps and speaker events. We're also going to try to have more workshops.

Members still have access to the vendor forums. This was not taken away from you.

I've said it a few times. Members voted this in because they do not want to buy/sell/trade with new and non members. TCMAS does not collect any money from any member for classifieds.

edit: It was also always a requirement to attend a meeting to be a member. In fact we made it easier from going from 2 per year to 1.
 
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i joined here because i didn't like the fact i had no idea who i was dealing with on the other forums.
 
Has the thought of a membership fee came up yet? Heck id pay 50 a year to be considered a "member" instead of taking time from work/home/kids to attend meetings.... I am not saying I dont want to attend meetings.... As I feel they are very good for ANYONE.

Im saying, as a state worker, ON CALL 24/7, I cannot be 2 hours away from work. PERIOD

Angent462 quoted "It's driven from their reluctance to buy/sell/trade with newer members. They want to know the people they are doing business with."

is this meaning to say that Ray (sorry ray) wont sell me one of his Lobo-licious Lobos, because he dosent know who I am?

$$ talks baby!


Its seems that this has become a money issue........

CAN I PAY FOR A MEMBERSHIP?
 
The idea of paid memberships was brought up at the meeting. I don't think it passed. I am sure the club is willing to take donations though.

sent from my mobile computer that looks like a phone
 
Like everyone else said, just p*ssed it happened so fast and dont have a chance anytime time soon to jump the hurdle.
 
dblaness said:
Has the thought of a membership fee came up yet? Heck id pay 50 a year to be considered a "member" instead of taking time from work/home/kids to attend meetings.... I am not saying I dont want to attend meetings.... As I feel they are very good for ANYONE.
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This is basically the same boat I'm in. I'm on-call all hours of the day but mainly work ungodly overnight hours. I'd love to attend a meeting, but I just don't see it all that likely without having to take time off of work and hope for no flare ups around my house on a predetermined date that would make me miss a meeting. Especially if more meetings are not set up. If a donation of some sort to the club would solve that, I would be in favor of that.

As for members not wanting to deal with new/non members, isn't it their choice who they choose to do business with? If they don't feel comfortable selling to someone they don't trust, they shouldn't. Even more so when it comes to putting their own money towards a purchase. I know I don't purchase anything from stores that I get a bad impression from.

Again, I'm new here and don't want to make waves around this place. I've learned a lot just by reading old threads and posts around here the last month. I hope that I can eventually make a meeting and I do plan to if my time affords me that chance. But it is hard to do that and not everyone's lifestyle is the same as the next person's.
 
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I have spent a ton of money at some of these sponsors stores, I guess that doesn't constitute as giving back to the club? Or what about a 75 gallon RR tank and stand for $100 bucks I sold to a newbie looking to get in the hobby, or when Jakalana (who I believe is relatively new to the hobby) was looking for a cheap sump for his new tank I donated a 40 gallon breeder?

Am pissed I cant see the FS section, no. There is craigslist. I enjoyed being able to do little things like this for the community. Part of me likes to think the more people involved in the hobby the better the LFS will be.

Your mission statement "The Twin Cities Marine Aquarium Society promotes fellowship and support among saltwater aquarists of all experience levels." However, now the long term members want to segregate from the noobs.
 
i think your right about the club and money .the problem i see ,it started to be more about money than about reefing.
 
dblaness said:
Has the thought of a membership fee came up yet? Heck id pay 50 a year to be considered a "member" instead of taking time from work/home/kids to attend meetings.... I am not saying I dont want to attend meetings.... As I feel they are very good for ANYONE.

Im saying, as a state worker, ON CALL 24/7, I cannot be 2 hours away from work. PERIOD

Angent462 quoted "It's driven from their reluctance to buy/sell/trade with newer members. They want to know the people they are doing business with."

is this meaning to say that Ray (sorry ray) wont sell me one of his Lobo-licious Lobos, because he dosent know who I am?

$$ talks baby!


Its seems that this has become a money issue........

CAN I PAY FOR A MEMBERSHIP?
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Ray is a vendor and has been for a long time.
 
I doubt that the majority of attendies to the meeting were store owners that would have been motivated finiancially, but rather by their ideas of how the club should be represented. In fact, I would think that these paying sponsors would be against this ruling. Why would they want to support a club that makes rules that will minimize their exposure to potential customers.
 
The idea of paid memberships was brought up at the meeting. I don't think it passed. I am sure the club is willing to take donations though.
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Do you think they would take it from a non-memeber? Done complaining SEE YA!!!
 
I really don't understand this I joined 2 years ago at the time I did not have a tank setup, I asked how do I become a member, I also was interested in the classified section as I saw posts about it. I was told come to a meeting. I did in New ULM which was quite a drive.

It was great and got to see the diversity and camaraderie of the club which goes so far beyond the forum and a classified section that everyone is so worried about getting to.

Now all of a sudden this is a big deal and something new. You feel the old time members are segregating the noobs nothing could be more from the truth. They are trying to engage the noobs into the activities of the whole club which far exceeds just the for sale section.
 
As I stated before, I have a full time job (which I'm also on-call for), 6 week old baby, 2 dogs, BOD member, 400 gallon system, etc... I don't attend every meeting. I love this hobby and this club and I find time to attend a meeting here and there.

All we're asking is to attend one meeting per year. If a person is not willing to attempt to make that or give back in some other way then this club is not for them. You're still welcome to seek knowledge and ask questions. That's still here for anyone willing to learn and grow.
 
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aquaholic said:
Do you think they would take it from a non-memeber? Done complaining SEE YA!!!
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I understand your upset. But I was just trying to help. I did not have anything to do with the implementation or the design of the new rules. Please don't take this out on me.
 
Ugh, as Brian already mentioned. To those newbies that want to get into the hobby, it is highly recommended that you do some research and chat with folks before making any purchases commitments.

Second, for those that are feeling a little intimidated. We do a meet and greet at most meetings to alleviate this feeling.

Finally, I guess I am not afraid of using the term "weed out". We want the club to grow but lately it has been the forum growing, not the club. The forum is a tool for the club, why should the BoD and moderators have the headache that comes with a percentage of additional forum users without the club actually growing?

Come chat with me, I'm not a jerk. I was a newb once too. I know where you are all coming from. When I started you had to get to a meeting to become a member and use FS forums.

I'll host a meeting for all the people unhappy about the effect these changes have had on them. I'll even take a poll of what day/time is most convenient for all of you. And I'll do it soon. I will do this even though I hosted 1 a month ago and 7 people showed up, when the meeting was announced over a month in advance. It was a Saturday night at 7. Want one on a weeknight? Done.
 
We're honestly not interested in taking money from any member or non-member. This is a non-profit club. The only Donation we would love is your time and knowledge.

1 year = 8,765.81277 hours

All we're asking is for a couple of those
 
agent462 said:
We're honestly not interested in taking money from any member or non-member. This is a non-profit club. The only Donation we would love is your time and knowledge.

1 year = 8,765.81277 hours

All we're asking is for a couple of those
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Whats is the difference between doing this in person and through this website?
 
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