Steve,
To be honest, the officers have nothing to do with the site being unavailable to anyone without logging in. I set it that way while setting this all up prior to taking it live. To be honest... I didn't even think about it being closed to the general public after we went live or it even being a problem. I've been too busy fixing bugs and other stuff to even give it a second thought. So, that has nothing at all to do with control at all. It just how it all went down... nothing more. So please don't make it into something that it isn't.
However, I've just taken this very topic up with the officers this morning. The question is... what do members get for their money and how do we manage it?
Right now it is up in the air as to how much we make available to the general public and how much is behind closed doors. I'm leaving those decisions up to the officers, but I have always felt that membership should be free. Unfortunately, costs of running a web site, holding events, domain names, insurance, etc... aren't free. So we must charge something or else it comes out of someones pocket... like it did mine for many years.
One topic is how to have automated dues tied into membership. We do have the ability to tie site registration in with a paypal subscription. All of this opens up a new can of worms and I'm sure no matter what the club decides to do, some people will be unhappy. Some people want to pay with a check, some want to pay two to three years in advance, some don't want to pay but still want to access the forum... on and on and on.
I think the easiest way to do this is to simply use a paypal donation method and hope people contribute. You can guess the problem that results from that.
I don't know the answers this right now, but I can set the site to view rights for unregistered "guests". I guess though I'm a little confused because if one was going to use the forum they need to register anyway. What difference would it make if guests can view it or not. I could see this being a bigger problem if forum registration was tied into paypal dues. Know what I mean?
Right now I'm more concerned with making sure everything is working and the site content is getting finished. I'll let the officers figure out who can see what for their membership dues. I would suggest you take your opinion up with them. I will be sure to include it as we continue to discuss this issue.
What you must understand is this. What started out as a simple web site has evolved into a National club. We must provide value to members and we are doing the best we can to keep everyone happy. I can say this... we have an awesome team of officers right now and I feel the club is back on a positive track again. Our goal is to get back on track in 2008 with a great web site and working membership dues process. Andrew Masse is also going to be getting our newsletter going again, so we have a lot of positive stuff going on. I encourage everyone to join the club and help support our efforts. So, Let me know if you have ideas and continue to voice your opinion.
BTW... thanks for the help with the Board Problem topics.
I'll keep it simple.
