On 10/26/2012 12:20 PM, Kinley, Shannon wrote:
Hello Russell,
As a new member, I don't know much about the past dealings with the club. But
I do have a question about the Web Master issue. It seem to Chris and I that
there was a allot talk when we first joined about weather or not you where
going to continue to provide you're services or if the club was going change
to a new platform which is a extra cost for the club. I personality liked your
website and it was one of the reason we joined. We also joined for "No BS"
aspect. Which also as a new member there seem to be allot of BS flying, which
for me maybe second guessed our membership? Chris and I just want to ride with
a cool group of people, who are safe and a little sane J .. So what's up
with WEB MASTER Issues, what happened and what will happen if [when] you're
elected?
Best Regards'
Shannon Kinley
skinley@golyon.com
916-519-6064
Howdy Shannon, et al,
"past dealings with the club" - there is some information on the website...
rchri.com... click on the History link... information there is pretty
sketchy... it is merely what I typed in as a seed for the club's historian
to embellish on... however... so far, none of the club historians have
added any history.
"I personality liked your website and it was one of the reason we joined" - you
are not the only one... I have received that comment from a lot of folks.
"second guessed our membership" - there are a lot of folks in the club, some
closer to others than others, and, I too am closer to some more than others,
but, there isn't a member in the club that I do not feel comfortable swapping
lies with or riding with; I ride a lot, not quite daily, but really often
(gotta keep the oil circulated in more than one bike) and with some that I am
closer to we ride just for the fun of riding, short - down the river road to
Isleton or to Woodland, some medium - to Pioneer or Sonora, and some long -
Morro Bay or Grants Pass; any time you and Chris want to go for a ride and
there is nothing else going on shoot me an email or call me... I'm almost
always game for a short ride or possibly a medium ride; longer rides tend to
be overnight and take a little more planning but that's also an option. Sharon
and I joined the "other club" to meet folks to ride with and we did and we
went, and we still go, on many rides with 1 to 3 or 4 other bikes. As time
passes I'm sure you will find other folks in the club you would like to ride
with also.
Well, you have until the last day of February 2013 to decide if you want to
renew your membership to avoid your membership going inactive.
"WEB MASTER ... what happened" - a little over five years ago I accepted the
job as webmaster for the "other club," and, although I was unfamiliar with php
programming, I took it upon myself to learn it - just another programming
language. The only "internal/external specification" I had to work with was the
HOG Website Guidelines which were pretty wide open with exception of politics
(the motor company will jump on the band wagon they want and HOG chapters will
not "represent" the motor company's political stand), and, advertising (the
Harley dealer ships themselves have to walk a tight line themselves in
advertising lest they get fined by the motor company, many submit intended ads
to the legal department for approval prior to publishing). So, as in my
professional experience, I had free reign to maintain and even enhance the
website as I saw fit, and, it was that way in the dark months of 2009, and it
was that way up and until... golly... reckon six months or so ago when other
folks wanted me to say "how high" when they said "frog." Didn't work for my dad
and didn't work for them. I've been doing websites since the mid 1990's and
currently have about ten websites that I created and maintain for other not for
profit organizations and small businesses, and, all of them rely on my
experience and talent and are totally pleased with their sites, and, all of
them collectively require LESS time to maintain than I was spending on the
RCHR website.
OK, long story short, it all boiled down to this:
- yes, I was willing to continue to serve as webmaster and maintain the
site as I saw best served the RCHR,
and,
- no, I was not willing to continue to serve as webmaster Pinocchio and
maintain the site in a manner I saw as NOT best serving the RCHR.
And, you guessed it, my position was not acceptable to the powers that be and
they decided to hire a consultant to create a NEW website similar to the
current website, and, for a bargain (I don't have the amount, heard by the
grapevine $850, heard $1k, heard plus $40/hour for additional effort), I as an
independent contractor would not create such a site from scratch for less than
$5K, probably $10K and although I could have a basic site up and running within
as little as a few days, to mix in all the functionality of the current site
would be 3 to 6 months, and, no, I would not take on such a task at this
point... my time is more valuable than the money.
"what will happen if [when] you're elected" - well, I don't have a crystal
ball, but, when I am elected, given that there is a long time club member of
the "other club" who is also a charter member of this club who, according to
the grapevine, offered to assume the duties as webmaster, and, was willing to
be subjected to my expert tutelage in php programming, but, was ignored, and,
given that it is my opinion that hiring a contractor for a large amount of the
club's capitol, with continuing/recurring costs, when the service existed for
free and was offered for free is a misuse of club funds, and, I would not be
in favor of spending one additional cent for website
creation/enhancement/maintenance.
hmmmmmm... that brings up another plank in my platform, viz., a change to the
constitution: the proposed expenditure of club funds in excess of $SATBDBTM(*)
shall be announced at a general meeting and presented to the general membership
for their discussion and approval by a favorable vote of the majority of the
club membership on record at that time.
* SATBDBTM = Some Amount To Be Determined By The Membership
Shannon, I hope I have sufficiently answered your questions, but please, ask
for additional clarification if I have not, and, I hope I can count on your
vote on election day.
Election day is just over a month away and the advertising costs for the
| VOTE4RAZ campaign continue
to rise. Please take a moment to
contribute what ever amount you
feel comfortable with - do it...
do it now...
Hope to ride with you on the road
some day soon,
KF!
PS: click here to visit
RCHR RESTORATION ELECTION CENTRAL,
and, while you are there, please
consider making a generous contribution
to the advertising campaign.
Click here to make a campaign contribution
Contributions or gifts to VOTE4RAZ are not tax deductible. |
 |
--
|
