Hello all. Barry the Tech Guy here. The forums are up and running smoothly and operating as the board has directed me to set it up. If you want changes to be made, post in the suggestion box. Not a member and can’t access certain areas? Join the club. It’s only $35 frikken dollars for crying out loud ($30 if you take Doug up on his offer). I’m confident most of you pay more to ship items than that in just a few months.

If you feel certain club-only areas should be open to the public, say so OVER THERE. Post it anywhere you have access (general discussion, for instance). The board can decide if they want to open things up, and maybe they should for some period of time and THEN decide if they want to limit access.

As to ease of use, I do plan to make some instructional videos but haven’t yet done so (my fault). But I’ve been super responsive to anyone who’s asked questions or had difficulties. I even set up a half dozen accounts for members (and one non-member) because it was requested and easier to get them going.

As to lack of posts over there, it’s no one’s fault but your own. Start posting there. Start some conversations. CONTINUE conversations. Pick something you can post about daily or weekly and make it a habit. The more effort you put into supporting the club site/boards vs. supporting this for-profit non-club site, the better off the club will be. I’m not suggesting everyone abandon the chip board. It absolutely has its place, but it’s NOT the club board and you can’t complain about a lack of participation over there when you NEVER post yourselves. So, make the effort and let’s see how club participation II proves.

As for the website, can’t we all agree that it no longer looks like Windows 98? Mike did a great job with it and I can’t imagine what y’all have to complain about in that regard. A few suggestions were made and Mike jumped in and got them done, such as making sure all social media links appear prominently on the site. Couple that with Paul’s efforts in the social media side of things, and you’ve got some serious progress made.

And if you don’t like how the board is operating or responding to your needs or the needs of the club, elections are held every year. Run for office if you think you can do a better job and have the time and energy to devote to the things you’re complaining about.

I’ll probably run for something in the next election (we’ll see who’s sick and tired of the complaint and begs me to take their place, LOL). If you like my efforts and intentions and comments and responsiveness, prepare to toss your vote my way. I don’t know if this is endearing to you or not, but I’m definitely not part of the old guard. I have nothing but respect for them, from the founders to the volunteers to the vocal members to the non-vocal ones. But as you can see, I’m a nudged for positive change and growth. If you want more of that type of effort, then be that type of effort or find it in others and get them into positions of power to do something about it.

P.S. One other benefits of the new message boards is that it NEVER GOES DOWN FOR MAINTENANCE. I tried to post this response and it failed. Luckily, I copy/pasted this novel and (will have) reposted it once it comes back online.

-- Barry