Announcement - MASC Membership...one more way to join!

jahmic

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#1
We are excited and pleased to announce an update to our membership policy.


As you probably already know, we offer MASC club membership to all community members that donate $24 for annual membership, or attend 2 community meetings within a 12 month period. We recognize that sometimes life steps in between our members and our amazing hobby...work schedules, family time, and other commitments may interfere with attending our monthly meetings. For some members, as much as we spread our meetings around the Denver metro area...our meeting locations would still require hours of travel from the other side of the mountains to stop by and visit. Extended travel for work...unfortunate life events...there are numerous reasons that our members are sometimes forced to step away from the hobby (temporarily, we always hope :) ), and it is our goal to ensure that everyone who has shown an outstanding commitment to participating in our community is recognized accordingly. All that being said, effective immediately:

All members with 750+ posts will be badged as club members

There are obviously going to be some questions on this...so I will try to address as many as possible here.



  • Why was this decision made?
    • We strongly value our web-based forums. The amount of information, experience, and help provided by our members is essential to our success...both as a community and as individual hobbyists. We would like to recognize our active members for their dedication and contribution to MASC


  • What do you hope to gain from this / Why do you think this is a positive change?
    • As much as we'd love to have face-time with all of our community members, we realize that other commitments often keep people from attending meetings. Also...let's face it...not everyone enjoys being packed into large social gatherings. Since our forums are an integral part of our community, we'd like to continue to invite our members to remain active in our community via this virtual platform. We hope that the increased and/or continued participation in the community forums will inspire people to have an even more active role in our community.


  • Shouldn't those people just pay for membership?
    • We are 100% grateful for every membership subscription that we receive. MASC is a non-profit, our BOD receives zero funds for our work...every dollar we receive goes back into the club for the website, hosting events, and putting together fundraisers. All that to say, our $24 membership donations are exactly that...donations to the club. While we love to see that financial support, we also realize that for the people who are unable to make our monthly meetings...perhaps it's difficult to justify donating $24 to a group that you haven't had the pleasure of interacting with face-to-face. We would like to encourage everyone to be as active in the community as possible, and inviting community members that show their dedication by sharing their knowledge and company via our forums seemed like a logical step in the right direction.


  • How many people will be affected by this change?
    • This is going to sound like a math problem...don't let that scare you, keep reading. ;) MASC currently has over 2700 members and over 500 active members. Of those members, about 85 have over 750 posts. Of those 85...believe it or not...just over 60 are already badged members that have either chosen to donate or have been in regular attendance at our monthly meetings. We do have some inactive members with over 750 posts; after an audit when this is rolled out, I anticipate that we will be badging less than 20 active members due to the new policy. In other words, less than 5% of our active community fits this category, and we are happy to welcome them as club members.


  • Aren't you concerned that less people will pay for membership and just up their post count to become members?
    • ​We currently have numerous members that regularly attend meetings, and still choose to donate to MASC. We strongly feel that those who choose to donate do so because they see the benefit the community provides; we even have donating members that "lurk" on the forums and never say too much...so perhaps this will give them the nudge to post some more, if they so choose. ;)


  • So...how does this work...is everyone with 750+ posts permanently a member?
    • No. As of now, we are rolling this out so that everyone currently with 750 posts is a badged member. For anybody that hits 750 posts at a later date, you will receive a member badge at that time. This membership is set to expire on January 1st at the beginning of the new year. At that time, we will be auditing the membership based on activity; members that remain active throughout the year and make meaningful posts will have their membership renewed. So no, spamming "pics brah" across the forums will be of no benefit. ;) Details regarding our procedure for verifying continued membership at the beginner beginning of the year are still being sorted.


We encourage everyone to continue to actively participate in the community, and hope this helps to support the depth of knowledge and community feeling of our online forums. Feel free to PM myself or any of the BOD members if you have any questions or concerns regarding the new policy.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

DyM

Sting ray
M.A.S.C Club Member
#2
Thank you so much! I know I've been a jerk on the subject sometimes, but since MASC has flexed (and believe me I know it wasn't just for me) so will I, and l'll pay the $24 membership fee to show this gesture is GREATLY appreciated!!!! I’ve felt I’ve been “a member” ever since MASC broke from Reefcentral and set up its new separate forum. It’s a great community indeed!!!!

Here is another idea, instead of (or in addition to) the new member via posts should recommend at least 2 new members to the site. I think in total, I'm up past a dozzen. Meaning I recommend this site to everyone who comes to my house and buys coals from CL. As a result, I know many have come and have plenty of IMs saying tanks for recommending the site.
 

SynDen

Administrator
Staff member
M.A.S.C Club Member
M.A.S.C. B.O.D.
M.A.S.C President
M.A.S.C Webmaster
#3
:cool-new:
 

MartinsReef

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#4
Thanks for the up date! I will be following along to see how this plays out. I believe that we as a club, is on to something here.
 

rmougey

Tang
M.A.S.C Club Member
#5
Nice to see some options for folks, as well as recognition for contributors.
 

goslugsgo

Blenny
M.A.S.C Club Member
#6
I don't think I've ever been part of a community that makes such a concerted effort to be maximally inclusive. Well done.
 

Off The Deep End

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#9
That's a cool idea I hope it works out in the best interest of the club!

Sent from my SCH-R970C using Tapatalk
 

Off The Deep End

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#11
I also think you could structure it as 1000 posts and a certain length of time, like 2 years, then you are offering people that are active and have invested time into the community. I think 750 posts alone is not enough to earn a badge. Just my .02

Sent from my SCH-R970C using Tapatalk
 

jahmic

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#12
Off The Deep End;301523 said:
I also think you could structure it as 1000 posts and a certain length of time, like 2 years, then you are offering people that are active and have invested time into the community. I think 750 posts alone is not enough to earn a badge. Just my .02

Sent from my SCH-R970C using Tapatalk
Right there with you...

So...just as an update, we had been planning on making it so that if you have 500 posts in a year's time, your membership will remain active. This was actually the original thought, but we were trying to figure out how to track this on the back end. That's been sorted and we're still working on cleaning things up.

Basically, anybody with 750+ is a member for now. January 2015 we will look at everyone's activity, and if you have remained active by posting 500+ times during 2014, you get renewed. So yes, temporarily there are some people that are "grandfathered in" to having a membership at this time even though they have ~1000 posts over several years. After the audit, people with limited activity during 2014 will no longer be badged members. Since the forum is now designed to "auto-promote" people when they hit the 750 mark, there was no easy/straightforward way to go in and decide who should and should not be grandfathered in. Moving forward, however, anybody that hits the 750+ mark will be promoted to a badged member, and we hope that receiving this recognition due to their dedication to participate in the MASC community will encourage continued active participation.

Hope that makes sense...let us know if you have any questions.
 

FinsUp

According to my watch, the time is now.
M.A.S.C Club Member
#13
H2O_intolerant;301520 said:
Have mixed feelings about this, mostly negative. I'll just wait and see how this plays out. Thanks for the update.
Share those feelings, both good and bad, Jaime. Without specific feedback, it's hard to know how folks feel about things. Newbies should feel welcomed, and folks that participate and contribute should be acknowledged. It takes money to do things, however, so not everything can be free. There's a delicate balance that has to be maintained or the club won't be able to survive. Events are expensive, plus it costs real money (not frags) to host this website, etc. Many of the raffle items are donated, but some are not, and it's not uncommon for the money earned from raffles to not even cover the cost of the items raffled. But events and raffles are important to us, so we don't want to lose those. It's really all about doing what is best for all concerned. The board has that at the top of the priority list in every decision that's made. Sometimes they make those decisions on their own. Other decisions they ask for input from the general membership. This is your chance to give 'em your opinions and thoughts. Trust me, they get heard and discussed, even if not all of them are implemented.
 

GiraffeCat

Goby
M.A.S.C Club Member
#14
I agree to disapprove......

As a non-badged member I must agree with the dissent among the badged members. The current badged members have either paid the dues, or shown up to/hosted events (maybe both in some cases). I personally don't feel that 750 posts is "support" in a traditional sense. While I agree participation is important, the money required to operate the site is still needed - whether through the donations or purchase of items through sponsors. Anything less than the same requirements they were subject to become badged members is, in some sense, depreciating to them/their efforts. If I ever hit 750, please do not badge me. Just my opinion - let the hazing begin.

Late,
GC :torn:
 

Balz3352

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#15
I can see both sides. Again non badged members here. But once I don't have to pay for school I plan on becoming badged. I can see the disagreement from some because it does take money. But at the same time as someone who goes to school full time and works full time I also understand the feeling that many members get that almost every meeting (that I know about I'm also new) is on Saturday. This I feel is more for the active members that are not able to go to Saturday meetings due to work/life. I think it's a good solution and really agree with the 500 posts a year to stay active thing.
Just another way to stay involved with this fantastic club! Just my $. 02
 

jda123

Dolphin
M.A.S.C Club Member
#16
I think think that everybody should be the same upon signing up. If you must, badge people as "I contribute" for helpful content and "I support" if they donate money or items - one could earn both. Outside of the money, these boards die when the meaningful contribution ceases and the board turns into pure banter. I think that everybody knows that it is about the people, and you have to attract, and keep (this is probably most important), the best-of-the-best in addition to the noobies.

Maybe it is just me, but I hate the terms "club" and "member." So many elitist/exclusionary thoughts go through my mind like initiation rituals, "Sir, you are not Bushwood material!" quotes and dudes with puny staches wearing Members Only jackets. IMO, we should just call it a clique or gang... you love it if you are in, and some others might want in, but the exceptional will never sign up or join since they don't have the time or inclination to deal with such things. Have any of you seen the informative posts and content that Denver area reefers give on RC? If they were ever active here, I have not seen them since I joined. I have met some of them and they are truly exceptional hobbyists - why they won't be active here needs to be sorted out.
 

DyM

Sting ray
M.A.S.C Club Member
#17
jda123;301649 said:
I think think that everybody should be the same upon signing up. If you must, badge people as "I contribute" for helpful content and "I support" if they donate money or items - one could earn both. Outside of the money, these boards die when the meaningful contribution ceases and the board turns into pure banter. I think that everybody knows that it is about the people, and you have to attract, and keep (this is probably most important), the best-of-the-best in addition to the noobies.

Maybe it is just me, but I hate the terms "club" and "member." So many elitist/exclusionary thoughts go through my mind like initiation rituals, "Sir, you are not Bushwood material!" quotes and dudes with puny staches wearing Members Only jackets. IMO, we should just call it a clique or gang... you love it if you are in, and some others might want in, but the exceptional will never sign up or join since they don't have the time or inclination to deal with such things. Have any of you seen the informative posts and content that Denver area reefers give on RC? If they were ever active here, I have not seen them since I joined. I have met some of them and they are truly exceptional hobbyists - why they won't be active here needs to be sorted out.
Amen brother Jada. Agree with you 100%
 

FinsUp

According to my watch, the time is now.
M.A.S.C Club Member
#18
jda123;301649 said:
I think think that everybody should be the same upon signing up. If you must, badge people as "I contribute" for helpful content and "I support" if they donate money or items - one could earn both. Outside of the money, these boards die when the meaningful contribution ceases and the board turns into pure banter. I think that everybody knows that it is about the people, and you have to attract, and keep (this is probably most important), the best-of-the-best in addition to the noobies. Maybe it is just me, but I hate the terms "club" and "member." So many elitist/exclusionary thoughts go through my mind like initiation rituals, "Sir, you are not Bushwood material!" quotes and dudes with puny staches wearing Members Only jackets. IMO, we should just call it a clique or gang... you love it if you are in, and some others might want in, but the exceptional will never sign up or join since they don't have the time or inclination to deal with such things. Have any of you seen the informative posts and content that Denver area reefers give on RC? If they were ever active here, I have not seen them since I joined. I have met some of them and they are truly exceptional hobbyists - why they won't be active here needs to be sorted out.
Everyone is the same on signing up. Those who participate and support are recognized and thanked for that. They earn extra perks, just like you find in real life. There's no secret society deciding to let people in on the secret handshake. The rules and requirements are fairly clear and remarkably easy to follow. Certainly easier than your beloved RC. If certain words bother you, due to ancient bad memories, that's unfortunate. If comeraderie and non scientific convo is beneath you, then who is the elitist one?
 

ReeferMatt

Nurse Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#20
Pics Brah!!! LOL You guys made me look at my number of posts and chats... I sure am chatty :blah:
 
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