That old chesnut...

[gareth]

There sure is. It is open to paid up members. If you are a paid up member but have no access to the section pm the web master with your member number and he will sort it for you.

[gareth]

It's not a very busy section thou.

[dayoungfella]

Thanks lads.

[willman]

ok I would not normally post comment to a thread like this but here goes

I'm not a member of the IMOC, I'm in the DMOC but everyday I check this forum, I have both sold and bought on here and meet up with a few of the guys on here. The site itself is fantastic and well laid out, and very easy to use.

Weather or not there is an off topic section the forum will still do well, however it would be nice to see an off topic section were certain stuff could be posted. It would be nice but I do respect that this is the IMOC website and they (the paid members) are the ones who created it and host it so it's there right what section, post etc that are up.

The only one thing I would say/suggest is that maybe there could be a form to fill in for items that are for sale so that a post cannot be created without a photo etc. It would save all the reply posts asking for photos location etc. I know the rules are listed but sometimes people don't see that or miss it and a simple fill out form would solve the problem.

REMEMBER AT THE END OF THE DAY OUR COMMON INTREST IS THE MINIS AND DISAGREEMENT SHOULD BE SORTED ASAP AND GET BACK TO THE MINIS

Just my feelings on the matter, and I don't want to upset anyone or there views

Regards
William

[mgb1978]

I think Billy should go ahead with the "members only" poll.......



........and then set up a Premium-Rate Text number for forum members (non IMOC) to vote on the issue.

This could be a huge money-spinner for the club

[Billy]

I think Billy should go ahead with the "members only" poll.......



........and then set up a Premium-Rate Text number for forum members (non IMOC) to vote on the issue.

This could be a huge money-spinner for the club

Now that I could sign up to!

[niallm]

Cant see the woods for the trees

[Dilogoat]

I think that the paid members have a right over the management and don't get me wrong, I'd much rather a managed site over a free for all. But you have your members only section and as Gareth says it's not very busy.

I also think your point about non members profitting is moot. It works both ways. The paid members sell things too and so they profit just as much as the non paid members. Aa site which prefers it's paid members opinions over its larger group of unpaid members is obviously a fair situation, but I think we digress. This whole point isn't about management, it's about off-topic threads.

As far as I'm concerned it's excellently managed but there needs to be a place for everything. Some stuff fits into for sale, some into general some into off-topic and some into the bin.

Is it a case of there aren't enough people to Moderate and as such adding a playing ground like the off-topic forum would create a big job? Or is there something I'm missing?

Billy, personally I think you have handelled this well and I wonder if there is room for a poll on whether people want an off-topic arena?

[Billy]

Is it a case of there aren't enough people to Moderate and as such adding a playing ground like the off-topic forum would create a big job? Or is there something I'm missing?

Billy, personally I think you have handelled this well and I wonder if there is room for a poll on whether people want an off-topic arena?

To answer the first part, Aidan (club president) and Tony (club secretary), the other two mods, are both away on holidays at the moment so I'm holding the fort but Aidan has been kept up to date on this discussion during the day (yes we do take this stuff seriously!).

Typically when a serious issue arises on the forum, all three of us make contact and agree a solution which may be to ignore it, edit it, or delete it. Most days, moderating is just about correcting spelling/grammar mistakes to make posts more legible. Bad language and text-speak are both actively discouraged and several of you will have been PM-ed recently to stop using it. A log of all moderating is automatically generated and Simon (site admin) monitors this. The forum is always on the agenda of every committee meeting and we review how the forum is being used. It is an excellent tool for the club to help promote itself and its events, and is a free service for all.

Moderating a Mini-only forum can be time-consuming (today has been a great example) but off-topic stuff could be potentially overwhelming. As was mentioned to me off-line this afternoon, many of us who are friends through the club use the likes of Facebook to keep in touch about non-Mini stuff.

Dilogoat, by all means, set up a poll on the off-topic section but keep it in the Members Only section.

And finally, Dilogoat, please do me a favour and PM me your real name so at least I know who I'm addressing.

Billy

[StanO'Toole]

[

If mods are needed I'l happyly put myself forward.

[niallm]

Trees are getting bigger

member or non-member if one of our cars got stolen I am sure we would all post up here regarding the same

Mini or Non mini/member or Non member are you telling me that members wouldnt look out for a car that belonged to a non member that they may come across(re-members only section+cob webs)
I DONT BELIEVE SO


The imoc was established in 1989 to celebrate 30 years of the Mini and I remember being there,then fell away from the club for a long while only to come back and as family commitments take first call thats the way it will be until Im prob old and grey but Ill always be around lurking

Point is we are all car lovers (thats why we are here)

CAN WE NOT JUST TRY HELP EACH OTHER OUT INSTEAD OF THIS BICKERING

What would a extra part on the forum cost for "Any other Buisness"

It might generate a bit of extra banter on the forum and some people may get to know each other a bit better as the forum may be their only link with the club

[Billy]

Niall,

Not sure where some of your reasoning is coming from though your comment on MR this morning that as I put myself forward for the post of moderator does tend to personalise the issue though I will take into account that it was written at 2.30am.

To retrack over much of what has been stated, the IMOC has a policy of providing a Mini-only forum. Clearly it's up to the club to structure the forum as its members prefer. The opinions of paid-up members will always get preference over those who don't contribute to the running of the club. If the Mini-only forum already takes up the time of moderators, I for one dread to think how much time an off-topic section would take up and the minefield of what is acceptable or not. At least with Minis, we all speak the same language. The majority of moderator intervention is related to non-Mini stuff as it is.

Stan, as the only one after 36 posts who has kindly offered to help with the workload, I'm afraid the club could not accept your offer as you are as yet not a paid-up club member.

Be very clear on one point, the IMOC forum will not become an idealised MiniResource Mk2. Those who have migrated from MR to the IMOC forum may not like that, but that's the way it is until/if the club changes its policy.

It has been proposed to set up polls in the Members Only section. Hence there is where this discussion can now move to.

And for those scrabble lovers everywhere who have been cracking up, yes there are two t's in chestnut.

This topic is now locked but the discussion can continue, if desired, in the Members-Only section.