Why aren't you a member

I've got no objections in paying "my due" to keep the site going but do object to being cohersed into paying to help others sort their problems.  There's nothing that being a fully paid member can offer to me - Gaydon, where is it, what is it ? Money off, I already buy at trade. I'm a MK1 fan, always have been so reading and partcipating in the forum is my fortie. Sorry guys, but forcing a fee will make me and no doubt others look elsewhere and that would be the real loss, there's a lot of knowledgable people here.

I have been a paid member before, but not for a while now, and intend to pay again for 2008.  If you are able to attend Gaydon you save ?15 and get free camping.  That almost manages to paid for membership alone However, most people are unable to attend Gaydon due to location.  

I personally think the membership fee should include an online magazine, in a simular vain to Club GTIs Rabbit.  

If it wasn't for me stumbling on this site in 2005 i would never have taken the plunge and bought a mk1 again.  The advice, help, support and the fact that i've met so many nice kind ethusiasts is a reflection on this site and the way its run

no doubt a few elite members wont like this but sod em,

I never bothered to pay up as i did not like the ?20 for the rest of the year, i got my mk1 at the end of sept, had it been a rolling year then maybe. (i see this is now being changed)

The club discounts are of no interest to me, black circles are stupidly expensive! my localish guy who i always go to does me stupidly good deals and as such all my family, friends and neighbours go to see him. (if anyone in Nottingham wants his name and location PM me)

I already get money off my insurance so no biggy there,

trim from newtons - its a track car so no need,

brakes 4 u - I prefer to bang on a counter for my brakes even if they are a couple of quid more so should there be a issue I can get it resoved asap. plus how ofter do you need to change the brake pads n discs etc on your car a year?

Gaydon is no where near me, so not a huge benefit to me. Ive been there, done the club stand thing and yes it nice once but ill be the first to admit shows arent my bag, tbh id rather be at a trackday, as its like a show (minus the sellers normally) with some tasty cars, but you can enjoy the driving too.

Also being a small special group it can be very clicky at times, I got out of the mini scene as the club i was in became a hunt the witch, if you was not flavour of the month your questions would not be answered, or if one of the main members disliked something you had suggeted you would be ripped apart for it, (kinda like that on the silicon hose thread if im honest!)

And finally I have just paid upto CGTI as its only a tenner, i get money off at GSF, euro car parts, my local VW TPS plus others, so no doubt it will pay for its self easily soon, as the discount can be used to buy bits for both of my VWs, and the club is more viabrant due to a greater number of members, meaning more to read and help out with, (i like poking around the engine threads etc)

and as a side note, their forum has a nice look to it with their smoothed lines and cleaner colour scheme, (i know its different software,) it just looks more "classy"

Just my 2p worth, you did ask.

A5OPY said

A5OPY said

Topoftherange said

oh rather…..when are you popping to "the lodge" to pick it up…what :wink:

we prefare to call it the "sump"

your luck I'm talking to you really

Oh do prey tell why sir……………im just itching to know :wink:

This is a useful thread, and we are listening to comments and critique. So let's keep on topic please.

There will be more benefits to becoming a member next year!

Without us non members the club website would drop down to a crawl. I will join but not at the moment.

Topoftherange said

it was entitled "Advice for new members" or something? it was posted by another moderator 8O

i just searched for it and it "seems" to have disapeared :roll:  mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

well why would the thread just disapear, just don`t seem right that someone can just delete the entire post.

Who was the moderator that made the post, why not just ask them where its gone. And Why !!!  :dontknow:  :dontknow:

To check how valuable the non members are, we could (non members only) have a non post day or strike to see what the post rate will be  

Kenno said

Topoftherange said

it was entitled "Advice for new members" or something? it was posted by another moderator 8O

i just searched for it and it "seems" to have disapeared :roll:  mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

well why would the thread just disapear, just don`t seem right that someone can just delete the entire post.

Who was the moderator that made the post, why not just ask them where its gone. And Why !!!  :dontknow:  :dontknow:

It was Paul C that started it and he's been very quiet on this one, Crazyquiff posted this up as Pauls thread was edging towards this burning question that richard had the 'dangly bits' to ask everyone..

Fair play to all that have answered and in my opinion, the ?20 isnt worth anything as far as the discounts go..
I paid up for one reason and one reason only.. to keep this website going..
I am not the most technically minded unlike a large number of people on this site and the knowledge on some posts is great..

I feel it would be more beneficial if the club broadened its outlook, attended more shows, increased its awareness and to be fair to all other drop teh 'free entry to gaydon' as a benefit for club member and make it payable to all who want to go.. Fairs fair then, then maybe make the Club a tenner a year with a proper membership number and card and also get some good benefits to being a member..

The club in my opinion needsw to look outside the box more.. Merchandise is crazy, 3 months to ordera hoodie, less than a week till xmas and no calendars..
Nothing suitable for the ladies etc etc etc

lets hope your right Dubboy and lets see some changes next year, otherwise as M7R says this could end up being a very clicky forum…

not that many hitlers patrolling the website on cgti neither, worth a look.

cheers

I totaly agree that the mk1oc needs to better represent itself on the show circuit

we are not talking your car needing to be a 10k resto or modded to death….obviously those included as they are nice cars 8) its just to give a good representation of the mk1 of all types..no need to be a gti…no need to be anything other than road legal and loved!!! dub shows need the mk1……..

I too would be more tempted/willing to pay ?10 a year for membership, i think the discounts arent really the draw for most by the sounds of it? a lot of us seem to be "experienced" (not old) Dubbers and when you been on the scene a while you get contacts and % discounts form all over the place be it vw or whatever…….

I understand that the people who "run" the site do it for free basicly, and those volunteers who organise events and merchandise have other lives aswell as jobs & commitments, so it can be a bit awkward meeting everyones expectations..but agree, the merchandise is a good way to bring in capital to put back into the club as well as advertising it, so maybe that side of things could be looked at and maybe make it more efficient or accesible :roll:

I think that Drew should come out of retirement and fix things, because the site IMO was run a lot better. Sorry for the critism but it just had to be said, I've been a watcher for a long time and have only just decided to become a forum user.

I too have been a paid member for about 3 years and also use none of the discounts, I pay my fee to keep the site going. I too agree that discounts with more useful suppliers such as G.S.F and T.P.S. (Genuine VW) would be more of a draw to new or potential members, I don't really see the forum as being clicky, I just think there are some contributors with a sharp wit which I quite enjoy as it appeals to my sense of humour, and more often than not the query is answered anyway by a more sensible poster
I also think the site could do with a bit of a revamp it is looking a bit weathered, I realize it is alot of work but i'm sure there are those willing to give it a go…aren't there? .. perhaps some strobe lighting or a disco ball?

my 2 penith.


mike.
 :mrgreen:

It seems to me that the question here is Value for money , many have said " im too far from Gaydon, Don't use Newtons Or any of the other discounts" which is a fair comment.
I pay to keep the club going but what does this cost?
As a member we should be shown the club books at least once a year so we can see where the ?20 goes it would be interesting to see what the hosting costs are for the site? some member could get this service cheaper etc.
to try and put the clicky aspect to bed we need to be more transparent with may things on the site I have touched on this subject before on other threads, like if a post has been removed then tell us why. if things seem to be hidden it gives little confidence, tell us why and if its embarrassing to either the club or a member then sorry but honesty is the best policy.
if the club can run on a fee of ?10 and more of the none paying contributors join this can only be a good thing.
The club needs to involve its none paying members in helping to run the club ie production of the club Mag that we are all crying out for, we must have some real talent out there that could be used to good effect we should be blowing other mk1 related clubs out of the water but we're not, as other have mention how good  cgti is etc, etc.
I feel that this thread should be the springboard to bring us all together as some of the negative content of this post seems to be doing the opposite.

So to recap
more transparency within the club management (even if it hurts)
tell us why posts are pulled etc.
Show us the books, I'm sure we must have an accountant amongst us who might be able to help.
Lets pull together as one members and none paying members.
PS
Most post i do have a humerus side as that what I'm about and if I've offended anyone ………don't be so soft .

here, here, I think the point you are making about the talent among non paying members is a good one. At the moment non paying members are looked down at and are treated like crap, yet the management fail to grasp that we are human and that some of run successful businesses.

Cero said

 There's nothing that being a fully paid member can offer to me - Gaydon, where is it, what is it ?  I'm a MK1 fan, always have been so reading and partcipating in the forum is my forte.

Yep, my sentiments exactly. I don't live in the UK anymore, and I've sold my British Golf, but I like it on here because everyone is pretty helpful. Also, I haven't paid because I'm in denial about being into my car (that's my brother's domain!), and to be honest, I hate getting dirty hands so I leave most work to my mechanic. But still, I like finding out about things so I can explain to my mechanic what I think the problem is etc.

Common-interest internet forums are typically free. If I didn't source the info from here, I'd find it somewhere else for free anyway. And apart from the forum, there are no other benefits for me.

A5OPY said

So to recap
more transparency within the club management (even if it hurts)
tell us why posts are pulled etc.
Show us the books, I'm sure we must have an accountant amongst us who might be able to help.
Lets pull together as one members and none paying members.

We have a qualified accountant running the books. Full accounts are shown at the annual AGM (at Gaydon this year). Any profits are put back into the Club to make it better for everyone.

You should receive a PM if any posts are deleted, please let me know if you haven't so I can investigate.

Clearly foreign users have less incentive to become a member if they don't attend the meets, buy from UK companies, etc. Sorry there is little we can do about that. If you have any foreign companies that you can recommend let me know and I will do my best to arrange a discount scheme, but obviously it is not so interesting for them.

golf1 said

here, here, I think the point you are making about the talent among non paying members is a good one. At the moment non paying members are looked down at and are treated like crap, yet the management fail to grasp that we are human and that some of run successful businesses.

In which way? Clearly paid up members enjoy more benefits and have a say in the way the Club is run. If you don't want to become a member then fine, most of the forum remains free for you and we are open to suggestions to improve it. Next year we are planning to improve the register and owner's cars side.

I'm fairly new here and I've not noticed non-members being looked down on at all. Maybe I am thick skinned (I am ginger so perhaps I am used to it?). Think it's an excellent site, really friendly, always helpful and without question, conducted with a spirit that is hard to find anywhere else on the web.

I'd probably pay ?10 for membership, if only to keep the site going. I'm not that interested in seeing the accounts, have enough 'fun' with my own. Agree that a newsletter would be quite fun, inviting contributions from everyone could help more (and a wider group) of people get involved. The danger is always that the same old people have to contribute every month and it becomes a chore or repetative. Having said that, the familiar faces on here do tend to provide a decent amount of entertainment! Perhaps an e-newsletter, easy to do, no print costs etc. For example, some of the restoration threads on here would make great articles, helpful and inteteresting. Also gives the opportunity to publicise meets. I know I hardly ever look at the meets section, an e-newsletter just gives more potential eyeballs for events/meets and also could attract advertising.

Anywhere that can provide me with a solution to my problem of a lack of indicators (found a post saying to put hazzard switch half on) is absolutely priceless to me (well, ?10-?20 anyway). I probably wouldn't use any of the discount offers, although if they were more mainstream I may do, so for me, membership has to be sold on the value that the site, rather than membership per se can offer to people. I'm not so fussed about the AGMs etc, but I am fussed about a place where like minded people (well, people who all enjoy Mk 1 Golfs) can get together, have a laugh and help each other out.

There is a terrific "pool" of information on this site……ways to fix things ways to mod things and ways to overcome generally running problems……..that said there are people that are continuously shot down by some users or their input disregarded as "they know best" attitudes rise…….sometimes not the case!!…….anyway that aside

theres a good range of ages on here and a fair few "serial" mk1 owners who have a vast knowledge built up over years of ownership….as with all forums nobody ever totally agrees on stuff but thats what makes it such a good place in a way :wink: , as that gives multiple solutions to some problems for people to try, I totally agree that if everyone found common ground and with a few tweaks the club can go forward and upward

"the missing post" situation is a massive back track on someones part, they know who they are :wink:  but they must have their reasons???????

in a nutshell for me if the membership was ?10 (without the Gayden entry) then i would give the money tommorow and those members who wish to go to gaydon pay the ?20 and use that option then thats a possible solution, at the end of the day if someone wanted to travel to that show then they could and just pay on the gate anyway surely?

maybe make it member and premier member??????????  to differentiate that way  :dontknow:

oh leave him alone. so a post a gone missing. not going to kill anyone.
on the excess cash being used to improve the club, why not use it to supply free beer to members who go to gaydon (or gaydom if your going in a floppie). solves all problems in one hit then.
 everyone will want to go, gaydon gets better, more members.