UKMOC Election time

[slob]

A couple of years ago (May '13) the Ducati Factory dictated that official DOCs (Desmo Owners Clubs, not to be confused with 'Ducati Owners Club GB', who like UKMOC, SDC, DSC, MOB etc. are part of over 200 Worldwide DOCs) should have certain offices defined. To this end, as serving President, I appointed some officers for an interim term with some sort of democratic process kicking in at the end of 2014:
Grumpy: Vice President
Pedro: Secretary
J.P: Treasurer (and road safety rep.)

Ducati's vision of how a local club affiliated with a single dealer maps quite poorly to a national club. All four UK DOCs are affiliated directly with Ducati UK, which seems to mostly work for us even though the roles of some of the officers don't quite match up with Ducati's definitions.
Of the 2000 or so UKMOC members (Monster Owners living in/from UK & ROI) under 200 are actually affiliated with the factory, leaving the UKMOC/Forum membership somewhat out of sync with DOC Membership.
After some discussion on the forum we decided to remain affiliated as a DOC unless the factory made it too difficult.

During the last two years Pedro has taken care of forum memberships and continues to do so. J.P has had very little to do, since we're a free club with very limited income and I've failed to colate my box of odd receipts for him to go through. Grumpy has found self employment stealing far more of his time than he'd like. I've taken care of pretty much everything else (with the help of a number of volunteers taking on tasks such as regional repping and organising Weekenders)

We've almost reached the end of 2014 (and annual DOC renewal time) so it's election time and I've asked Liz (current Hants/Wilts Rep) to stand for Vice President in Grumpy's place, everyone else is happy to stand again:

slob: President
Liz: Vice President
Pedro: Secretary *
J.P: Treasurer

* will continue to take care of the forum whilst Pres/Vice Pres deal with the DOC side of the membership.

If no members have any serious objections to these positions, I'm happy to call it election by default, rather than come up with a full process by which we can vote and validate the results, which sounds like a great deal of extra work. If anyone does object and/or wishes to propose serious counter-nominations, please reply on this thread before the end of October 18th November and we'll work out how to proceed.

We will still need volunteers for other positions besides the four listed above, for anyone that wants to get more involved.

[slob]

Ducati define these roles as:

4.2 President
The D.O.C. President is responsible for the D.O.C., is its legal
representative, promotes all activities in compliance with these
Regulations, guarantees the democratic management of club affairs, is the
key contact with Ducati and the Local D.O.C. contact person designated by
Ducati.

4.3 Vice President
The Vice President is responsible for D.O.C. activities in the territory. He
manages D.O.C initiatives inspired by the suggestions provided in paragraph
3.8. of these Regulations; prepares the calendar of events at the beginning
of each year and requests the event kits within the due terms; organises
activities, informs members of such activities and documents activities
(photos, video, texts) to share them through the DCO. He co-operates with
Ducati to offer an evaluation of events with a nation-wide audience and
helps select partners to be involved in such activities. He promotes
awareness of issues relating to safe riding and observance of applicable law
and responsible behaviour among D.O.C. members.

4.4. Secretary
The Secretary to the D.O.C. fulfils formalities relating to club activity,
such as managing member data records and entering such data records in the
DCO system. He organises the meetings of the Board of Management and of club
members and writes meeting reports where required. He ensures that members
fill any insurance documents/liability waivers for test rides and/or track
days. He sets up, maintains and keep up-to-date the D.O.C document archive.

4.5 Treasurer
The D.O.C. Treasurer takes care of accounting/administration, prepares
yearly budgets and year-end reports; collects membership fees (if any) from
members, allocates resources to activities as agreed with the other members
of the Board of Management and with the President; manages cash flows from
activities and draws up at least annual financial reports for submission to
the Board of Management and members; keeps track of revenues and expenses
arising out of D.O.C fulfilments with due care and promptly informs the
competent body of any deviations from budget plans.

[Kato]

Good call Rob ...Congrats Liz

[Mr Gazza]

Well done to all for running such a great club..:mand:

The forum does have a Poll facility..Just sayin'..:mand:

[Yorkie]

The forum does have a Poll facility..Just sayin'..:mand:

I don't think this is needed unless someone feels strongly about the leadership and wants to run or challenge for an appointment.

Rob and the team have done a superb job and the addition of Liz can only enhance what the team/management/committee can achieve.

Unlike some other clubs around this one has survived by maintaining a sensible leadership of like minded individuals who operate on our behalf. I fully support the proposals.

Good luck to you all, long may it keep going.


Yorkie

[Mr Gazza]

Yeah...What he said. Except that I figured a poll only really needs to be: a) in favour of the status quo, or b) not....It would be only slightly more democratic.

Shame that Grumpy is stepping down. From where I am standing he has been a great ambasador for the club and not afraid to put the miles in.
I have seen more of him than some of our local members and that includes our local meets.

The last time, we were approached by a Monster owner, and Grumpy had a UKMOC calling card in his hand as if by slieght of hand.

I understand pressure of work and so on, so no suprises. But well done chap, for your great efforts.

[Darkness]

Hi Rob.

I have no objections (Serious or otherwise) to the following and would be happy to vote for them.



slob: President
Liz: Vice President
Pedro: Secretary *
J.P: Treasurer

* will continue to take care of the forum whilst Pres/Vice Pres deal with the DOC side of the membership.

If no members have any serious objections to these positions, I'm happy to call it election by default.

[Pedro]

All good with me Slobby!

[S4R Dude]

Sod the poll , sounds great to me.

And a heartfelt thanks, information on here is invaluable and always relevant and quick to arrive.

Your all great , ta. :spin:

[Nickj]

Sounds good to me :thumbsup:

Vice.. mmmm something I must get some more of in my life :look:

[bigredduke]

Sounds fine to me. Thanks for all your efforts, they are genuinely appreciated.

[Zimbo]

Gets my vote in favour too. I'd also like to take the opportunity to thank all the club officials for the job they do and their contribution to the club.

[don_matese]

Phenomenal club. Thanks for all your efforts. Im fine with the proposed plan.

[crust]

An election in the true spirit of UKMOC and all it stands for, this is what makes this club the great club it is.

Big thanks to Slob, Pedro, JP and Grumpy for this years efforts, nice one folks.

To Slob, Pedro and JP for signing up for another year and to Liz for stepping up.

[MerlinPV12]

What they all said with bells on... getting stuff done can be as frustrating as herding cats sometimes so thanks to all the officials for sticking with it and making a great club.

[Dennis menace]

I second that ........

"Sounds fine to me. Thanks for all your efforts, they are genuinely appreciated."
At this rate all members will have expressed their views anyway - unlike most political organizations, ah hem!

[gary tompkins]

Go for it Rob - keep up the good work

[utopia]

Yep, I agree too.
Sorry that Grumpy won't be continuing as vice pres, but happy that Liz is up for the job.
And the work of all the officials, past and present, is very much appreciated.
Likewise the work of others in their unofficial capacity....you all know who you are.

[jdp683]

Great job done by you all!!
Keep up the great work it's appreciated by all the members :-)

[Rally]

So Ducati state this;
4.3 Vice President
The Vice President is responsible for D.O.C. activities in the territory. He
manages D.O.C initiatives inspired by the suggestions provided in paragraph
3.8. of these Regulations; prepares the calendar of events at the beginning
of each year and requests the event kits within the due terms; organises
activities, informs members of such activities and documents activities
(photos, video, texts) to share them through the DCO. He co-operates with
Ducati to offer an evaluation of events with a nation-wide audience and
helps select partners to be involved in such activities. He promotes
awareness of issues relating to safe riding and observance of applicable law
and responsible behaviour among D.O.C. members.

Poor old Stafford when Liz has the sex change! Lol

Good work by all concerned. :thumbsup:

[WayneO]

Shouldn't all members have a say who gets elected?.....

How can you hold an ' election ' over a forum?... Seems a very ' old boys club' way of doing things,,,, not very member logs in regulary to use I this, I certainly don't..

I certainly don't agree with with those elected...

So where does this leave me and probably quite a few others....

[slob]

Wayne, in this case the forum is the club more or less.
I haven't at any stage suggested holding an election over the forum, however unless other candidates wish to register an interest we haven't even reached a starting point. And I'm not going to invest my time and energy in working out a democratic process if no one is interested.
I will reply at length once everyone has had a chance to have their say.

[WayneO]

Surely, as you are the president, it's your duty, to organise a democratic process, so all members get the opportunity to vote, and all members should be notified!!!.....

As this is part of your presidential role...regardless wether it's a waste of time or not, if you see it as a waste of time, then you should not be at the helm of the club, as it needs to be lead forward.....

[slob]

Duly noted

[jonzi]

Is this a democracy?

[jonzi]

Shouldn't all members have a say who gets elected?.....

How can you hold an ' election ' over a forum?... Seems a very ' old boys club' way of doing things,,,, not very member logs in regulary to use I this, I certainly don't..

I certainly don't agree with with those elected...

So where does this leave me and probably quite a few others....

What don't you agree with?

If you don't log in regularly then why does it bother you who is leading this club?

[Dirty]

Is this a democracy?

Well until a few days ago I'd assumed not but apparently it is supposed to be.

What don't you agree with?

If you don't log in regularly then why does it bother you who is leading this club?

The club is not just the forum though so logging in is irrelevant.

Again until a few days ago I thought it pretty much was, but all this stuff about elections etc prove otherwise. If I had the time I'd happily chip in and do a lot more. I will when I do. How often are these elections supposed to be?

[jonzi]

Having seen all the crap that the presidents have to put up with Ducati and members, it's not something I would choose to do

Slob has my utmost respect for the time and patience he puts in to this club.

If someone thinks they can do better then they probably don't understand the work that is put in to this.

[chris.p]

Happy with the way things are, have no issues with any one at the helm, keep up the good work Slob :thumbsup:

[WayneO]

I don't log in regularly, because I have a life, and don't want to faf about hunting for things on a forum,,, it's old fashioned,, I joined MOC because I have a monster, which I want to ride,, and I thought it would be a good way of meeting other fellow monster owners, but it appears there's a lot of key board warriors....


If you want to know, what I don't agree with it, it's simple,,, I don't think the current president, whoever he is, should be president, because in my opinion, ( and that's all it is ) he's not wanting to progress with the times,, forums are old fashioned, social media, which ever form is the way forward,, and yet when I mentioned this it was bluntly dismissed,, why? Is the MOC his club or our club,,,

I'm sure my comments will rattle a few cages, but, as a member am I not in titled to voice my opinion,,

[pegboy]

I have no problems with the leaders they do a sterling job and without them the Ukmoc probably would have disappeared.

So from me a big big thank you.

[crust]

Tis the UKMOC way.

The founding members of the club set the precedent for how the club runs, the presidential succession and how the clubs officers are chosen, that's the way it is. The club's success is very much down to this, it keeps the club on track and avoids the politics and infighting that has beset other clubs.

To come on here and lecture some one who gives up a huge amount of his and his lovely partners time is to be frank, quite rude. If you are not happy with the way the club is run start a thread on it and discuss it in a civilised manner.

[Goofle]

I personally have no problem with the current set up - I've found the organisation to be unnoticed (as I believe it should be).
In this and other social organisations I've seen and been part of I usually notice a lot of people being negative but reluctant to step up to the plate and volunteer their services - and therefore time, but happy to offer often less than helpful advice.
When faced with this similar situation before, my simple answer was 'Put up or shut up'. I was more than happy to hand over the reins to whoever wanted them. I left as I entered, as committee member.
I appreciate this may rattle a cage or two....

A quick edit to say - don't think I'm implying that anyone should not offer opinions on how things could be improved - a little bit of constructive criticism and advice would go along a long way. What I'm actually saying is rather than saying XYZ shouldn't be a committee member / president / whatever because they're crap or whatever, try saying I would like to do the job myself and I'll improve things by doing AB and C.

[gary tompkins]

http://media.giphy.com/media/ri3DONNgpGW4w/giphy.gif

[Dirty]

One thing that is not democratic is this thread? If people can't voice their opinions without being attacked for having them then we have a mob not a democracy.

Do I think the club is run well by the incumbents? Yes 100%. Could it be improved? Show me something that can't! Do we need to change the regime to do that? Of course not but we do need a bit more engagement and an election is one good way of engaging.

[Fatal]

Considering the fact that this is a Free Forum, I think Slob does a cracking job
How the hell you can call anyone on here a Keyboard warrior, totally baffles me, the majority on here are active Monster riders
If its Keyboard Warriors you want go to Facebook, its ferkin full off them, Plus you can get some cracking deals on dodgy sunglasses, ;)
Since joining just over a year ago, I have taken part in around 8 meetings / rideouts and met a cracking bunch of Hooligans

Alan H

[Liz]

Thanks to Grumpy for the role he has played in the club over the past few years.
Thanks to Pedro for carrying on as Secretary.
Thanks to Slob for being El Presidente and giving up so much of your time.
Thanks to all the members who make the club what it is.

WayneO has expressed his opinion that he is not happy with those who have been elected, personally I am, and that is my opinion.

I too have a busy life, but part of that life is being a member of the UKMOC and as an area rep, trying to keep the Hampshire and Wiltshire reprobates a little organised ;)

I think what people have to remember is that this is a free club, free forum, free website and free membership. The website is only kept going by fundraising from events like the Weekender, T-shirt and calendar sales and the efforts of members giving up their own time to organise these.

The UKMOC is asked to run a committee purely so that all members can benefit from an affiliation with a larger club, there is certainly no renumeration for anyone and all time is given freely.

So just to say, I'll happily go with the majority decision if someone else wishes to put their name forward as VP and apologies for any upset caused.

[DrD]

If you want to know, what I don't agree with it, it's simple,,, I don't think the current president, whoever he is, should be president, because in my opinion, ( and that's all it is ) he's not wanting to progress with the times,, forums are old fashioned, social media, which ever form is the way forward,, and yet when I mentioned this it was bluntly dismissed,, why? Is the MOC his club or our club,

So put yourself forward.... and I'll vote for slob
I thought a forum is a form of social media...
I thought **we** had put that one to bed...:bucks:

[LouSCannon]

My opinion is WayneO is very like those who moves house next to a well established race track and then complain about the noise.

That said each is entitled to their opinion, this club is a forum based free official DOC. The forum gives structure and central place where everyone knows they can come and organise whatever. I personally would like to see a refresh of the forum itself, but other then that my view is if you want to see a change step up and make it happen in a constructive collaborative manner, and if it's not adopted or a success remember life isn't fair and you won't always get what you want.

Don't think the president is doing enough, offer to help, and keep offering. Don't hop on every so often and expect the club to change for your... if you have enough time to set up a facebook group and regularly post then your social life is indeed crap enough to find time to be more active here.

[Dukedesmo]

As a relative newbie on UKMOC, I am very happy with the whole setup; enjoy the forum, rideouts, meets etc. and have met some great people (in real life) through UKMOC.

However, like many others on here, I don't have the time/motivation/ability etc. to be involved in running the place and so greatly appreciate those that do.

I also don't do Facebook, Twitter etc. and am not looking to start so would prefer that things stay as they are.

I'm more than happy with Slob's proposals and would like to thank him and all the others involved for the excellent job that they do, long may it continue. :thumbsup:

[squarehead]

+1 Dukedesmo's comments.

I like the friendly and slightly retro feel of the forum and would like to echo my thanks to those who selflessly contribute to the successful running of the club.

Everyone is entitled to air their opinion, but I find WayneO's anatagnostic, negative and selfish.

Maybe that's why his comments don't sit well here.

[Fatal]

Do we need a Vote on whether we need a Vote ;)
Mine is NO, we don't

Alan H

[utopia]

The way I see it, this thread gives us an opportunity to exercise some sort of democracy by suggesting alternatives to Slob's proposals.
If none are forthcoming, then we've saved an awful lot of unnecessary work, which makes a lot of sense.
If there are some alternative proposals, then we'll need to roll out the democracy machine I guess.
Democracy is a simple enough concept, and a fine one which I support in principle, but there are many different designs, and the devil is always in the detail.
In this case I don't see that we're being deprived of democracy, we're merely being asked which sort we would prefer.

Personally, I'm happy with Slob's suggestions and also the general structure of the club.

[Stuart42]

So, Uksurfer, do you still have that pressure plate for sale?

(That comment probably only means something if you have a long memory)

[Dookbob]

I have been, and still am a member of numerous forums of which the UKMOC is by far the best of them all. As they say, " If it ain't broke, don't fix it ".

[Char]

Happy here

It is a great club for sure

[WayneO]

As a member I have a right to voice my opinion, and I wether I log in daily or weekly is irrelevant, I still have a say who runs the club!...

Unfortunately, I say what I think, and occasionally upset a few people hey ho!!..... Most of my friends from ukmoc who've I've known for many years, and the new ones I've made, from meeting me a at various ukmoc events, in various parts of the country know this...

The club is more than just a forum, so surely, putting the club ' out there' on social media , in my opinion, is the way forward, after all if Facebook, Twitter and the others are good enough for Audi, Rolls Royce, Piere Terblance, Fabio Taglioni, to name a few...then surely it's good enough for ukmoc to have a presence on?!.... Let's face it Facebook is the biggest social media site and it's a good way of attracting new an younger members, who eventually will take the club forward...

I'm not disputing what the current commitee do or put in time wise,, as I know what's involved , being on one myself..

All I'm saying is that the current positions, should be put up for a democratic vote,,


And for the record, The ' keyboard warrior' wasn't aimed at anyone specific , but if the cap fits!...

[J.P]

Wayne thanks for your comments an input.

Just for the reasoning behind the Forum remaining online rather than specifically having moved onto the newer social media venues is quite a simple one. We believe that more people have regular access to the use of a computer to get online to a simple forum format, like the current UKMOC one, that has been running for years, than the take up of the newer social media outlets. The age of the core, regular, users of the club, isn't young, and even some of the biggest participants of Facebook/Twitter prefer the simpler web-based forum, and are more comfortable with it as that.

[FLATTOP]

What's not to like about the current set up you own a Monster you come to the UKMOC forum it's simple.

Any problems or queries are responded to quickly and the volunteers who run the club do a cracking job behind the scenes.

The generosity amongst members is exceptional keep at it everyone.

Facebook I wouldn't know where to begin and as for twatter what's that all about. :ukm:

[alan c]

Wayne thanks for your comments an input.

Just for the reasoning behind the Forum remaining online rather than specifically having moved onto the newer social media venues is quite a simple one. We believe that more people have regular access to the use of a computer to get online to a simple forum format, like the current UKMOC one, that has been running for years, than the take up of the newer social media outlets. The age of the core, regular, users of the club, isn't young, and even some of the biggest participants of Facebook/Twitter prefer the simpler web-based forum, and are more comfortable with it as that.



I don't do Bookface !!!

[MrsC_772]

I'm very happy for Slob to continue as President (with all the grief that dealing with Bologna involves), for Liz to be Vice President (having done a great job organising the last weekender, and keeping the Wiltshire/Hampshire area active) and for JP and Pedro to continue as Treasurer and Secretary.

I'm sure there's a lot of behind the scenes frantic paddling of swans feet going on, just to keep the forum ticking over (all the boring web-hosting IT techie stuff) that those of us who just post or turn up to meets don't know about, and whoever is doing it, I thank you.

I see little point in organising an "election" seeking volunteers (who probably wouldn't come forward anyway), taking time and hassle to organise, and which would probably lead to the same outcome.

I most categorically do NOT want UKMOC to move to Facebook etc. I'm sure I'm not the only UKMOCer who is not on Facebook and want nothing to do with Facebook or any other newfangled social media for the terminally narcissistic or unconcerned about privacy. I like the fact that UKMOC is a proper online forum, open to those who want to post, and to do so under an internet pseudonym if they so choose, rather than have all their private information sold willy-nilly to advertisers.

If you want to join a Ducati related group on Facebook, I dare say there are plenty out there. UKMOC is not and should not be one.

[slob]

Could we steer the current conversation away from the immediate arguments about what form of social media is in fashion right now and back onto whether there are any other candidates or objections.

Wayne has made a perfectly reasonable point about the breadth of membership informed of the process, which I've taken on board and will address shortly.
Whilst I clearly can't rely on Wayne's vote, unless someone else steps up his only choice becomes abstention. Being a(n inter)national club, whose primary method of communication is this forum, a thread on here seemed to be the right way to kick the process off.
Whether a subsequent election debate becomes about facebook or not, the purpose of this thread was to see if anyone else wanted to run.

If anyone reading this would like to be considered or has concerns but doesn't want to post on here feel free to pm me.



--
interesting avatar change

[mart64]

i am curious of the other positions mentioned at beginning
" We will still need volunteers for other positions besides the four listed above, for anyone that wants to get more involved "
Cheers

[Fatal]

As a member I have a right to voice my opinion, and I wether I log in daily or weekly is irrelevant, I still have a say who runs the club!...

And for the record, The ' keyboard warrior' wasn't aimed at anyone specific , but if the cap fits!...

So you pay nothing and contribute little, but you think you have a God given right to say how the club/forum works. "nice"

If you feel so strongly about how badly run this forum/club is run perhaps you should set up your own, and see how many follow

Alan H

[Darkness]

The forum is the main form of communication at present, but that's backed up with periodic face to face contact.

Why don't we set a closing date for other candidates to be nominated (With two supporters) and if there aren't any more candidates the proposed candidates (Who already have more than two supporters) are deemed elected.

As area meetings are monthly I propose a one month period from Rob's original post for other supported candidates to make themselves known, or that's it folks.

[Dirty]

i am curious of the other positions mentioned at beginning
" We will still need volunteers for other positions besides the four listed above, for anyone that wants to get more involved "
Cheers

I think we need a social media co ordinator :)

I also think people should lay off the attacks. Everyone IS entitled to their say. Attacking people merely reflects badly on those who attack. Small children use bad language to impress! :p

[slob]

i am curious of the other positions mentioned at beginning
" We will still need volunteers for other positions besides the four listed above, for anyone that wants to get more involved "
Cheers

Primarily area reps.
We have quite a good structure in the South East but other areas not so busy of late, personally I'd like to have a West London rep again and see some regular Surrey/Sussex meets organised. I'd be happy to let someone else take care of organising East London meets if they wanted to (or run the club and let me concentrate on that)
Manchester and Leicestershire both used to be very well organised for instance.
happily Norfolk has seen a resurgence this year.
I'd like to find two or three LAMP specialists among the membership who'd be prepared to work towards updating the forum etc. (I'll let the next President worry about that one)
A 'social media rep' is something I've discussed with a number of people over the years but I don't want to get dragged back into that argument just yet.
The Kent group are already well underway organising next year's Weekender.
The more people put into this club, the more they get out of it.

[buzzbomb]

As one of the older members (age) of the club I say lets draw a line under this thread because the guys and gals that presently run the club/forum are doing a good job with very little thanks from some quarters.

It isn't broken so it don't need fixing and if certain so called members don't like the current state of the club/forum then I suggest they find a club/forum that suits them.

[solomoto]

All good with me too, thanks to all for their time and effort.

:)

[Goofle]

I'd agree that a set period of time for other volunteers to step forward for election. If somebody (or more) do then reconsider how to have a vote. If nobody then continue how things are?

[gary tompkins]

I discussed the subject of elections with Rob last Thursday at a pub in London. Didn't realise what a massive can of worms it would open.

As the saying goes "Opinions are like arseholes... everybody has one"

UKMOC's managed to remain relatively arsehole free in the 12 years I've been a member. The few that manage to sneak under the radar don't usually hang around for very long. Luckily the good people of this club do hang around, support the club's events and make a difference. If having democratic elections is what it takes to resolve this then so be it. But I think it will make little difference to the reason this club exists, and will continue to thrive in future

[samieb]

I'll agree with the part that says "if it ain't broke, then don't fix it".

Well said Buzzbomb. :-)

[mart64]

Primarily area reps.
We have quite a good structure in the South East but other areas not so busy of late, personally I'd like to have a West London rep again and see some regular Surrey/Sussex meets organised.
Thanks for info.
Regular Surrey/Sussex meets would be good, hope this comment does not affect my Kent adoption application :biggrin:

Forum is informative and therapeutic, enjoy the banter/comedy/sarky posts.
Thanks to all for making it what it is, much appreciated.
Cheers :booze:

[LVC]

Those of us that have been here for a good while longer than certain #beenamemberfor5minutesandwhingingalready are more than happy with how things are run and we stay here because of how it's run :woot: :yoparty:

Thanks to all concerned, good luck Liz and keep up the good work "team" - no change, nor vote needed (unless I can vote for new members to need more than 10 posts before they start dribbling rubbish) :mand:

[solomoto]

If you want to know, what I don't agree with it, it's simple,,, I don't think the current president, whoever he is, should be president, because in my opinion, ( and that's all it is ) he's not wanting to progress with the times,, forums are old fashioned, social media, which ever form is the way forward,, and yet when I mentioned this it was bluntly dismissed,, why? Is the MOC his club or our club,,,

,,

Just a thought, I dont have face book, twitter or the like but I do have a browser to access a forum, where does this leave me ?
I am not having a go, just wondering where I would be left......

cheers

[Dirty]

Thought we were leaving the SM debate behind but....

You would be left accessing the forum via your browser. Social media is an adjunct to the rest of the world. A choice. Mcdonalds uses social media but I do believe it is still possible to buy and eat a big mac at one of their branches. Equally it is still possible, even though they have a twitter account, to think their food is crap and refuse to vist :)

[LVC]

Certain "gullible people" really believe that it's now becoming impossible to #havealifewithoutusingasocialnetworkingmediums so that you can then tag your "virtual friends" whilst organising "virtual events" that no-one ever comes to and then you get upset when your dropped from their friend list or blocked for posting "unlike-able" images all the time whilst posting in-interesting facts about your mundane existence :mand:

If that's progress then you can keep it - I'll stick to riding bikes and chatting on an "old school" forum with real people some of whom I've actually met in person ^^

[slob]

thought we were leaving the sm debate behind...

please!!!!!!

[solomoto]

my vote, leaving the thread now......

slob: President
Liz: Vice President
Pedro: Secretary *
J.P: Treasurer

[Dirty]

I don't dislike them nor avoid them (with accounts on virtually all of them) but I don't believe that I "need" them in order to have a life - gullible people do however. Sorry I don't see any relation to the French though, do you consider "Social Networking people" to be a nation ???


No, I was just illustrating the fact that just because you may not enjoy something doesn't mean it has no value. It just has no value to you. It's an analogy.

Food and shelter is all that is needed to have a life. Does your love of bikes etc make you gullible?

[Duncan]

Its been a while since I logged in but still have my Monster and a few other Ducs too.

When this club was started by Fatbloke and Grunter all those years ago, the spirit of friendship and cooperation was evident from day 1. As it spread out of London I joined as Bristol rep and gradually we became national. I remember the day we got up to 100 members and a joyful text from fatbloke.

Im glad to see the healthy discussion on this topic and that some of the steady heads are still holding this lot together 14 years later.
Its always been that those who 'talk the talk' on forums seem to vanish when a position of responsibility comes along. Even though a contested election is good for democracy it can also be fractious in a club like this so I for one support those wise and able volunteers who have put their names forward and knowing them of old say your club is in good hands.

Im sure if anyone else wants to get involved in any way then positions can be created to use your enthusiasm and ability so don't be put off putting your name forward even if you don't want to run for the 4 positions. New blood is the life of clubs so just get involved at any level you can

[CK & AK]

Yo all, we do still visit here tho not anywhere as often as in the past - still owning 2 monsters (hidden behind the 1198RS & R).

Ref the original post - you have our double vote :)

[slob]

ENOUGH FFS!!!

Do not post on this thread if you have nothing constructive to add about candidates or the process (of the UKMOC election)

Casually racist comments, personal attacks and other drivel that seem clever after one too many sherries in the pub at lunchtime serve no purpose other than to alienate shyer members who may have otherwise had something valid to add.

I don't want to have to start moderating this thread but if it doesn't stay on topic I'm going to have little choice but to remove irrelevant posts.
If you want to talk ****, start another thread.

Once again anyone who has been put off replying here can pm me or email rob[at]ukmonster[dot]co[dot]uk with their concerns

[JMo]

http://i492.photobucket.com/albums/rr289/JMoandpiglet/other%20pix/NTSA_zps73dac84b.jpg

This club has worked so well for so long, precisely because of the selflessness of those members who have devoted their free time to it.

I have nothing more to add, other than my wholehearted support for those who wish to stand again.

Jx

[Paranoid Dave]

Sounds good to me.
Keep up the good work everyone.

[JR]

Good on you guys and gal for volunteering to keep the powerhouse engine of the UKMOC fired up.

[SteveG]

Fine by me. Met a couple of you guys just the once and that plus the experience on how the forum is run is enough for me to say you'd get my vote if it came to it. Thanks and appreciated all.

[Mand]

I'm voting for all of the above :) you all do an ace job

[Michaelw8794]

Hi Rob, I have received from you an e-mail.
I still have two Monster 750 and 900Si.e, but I live in Germany (Dortmund). I hope you're not mad because we won against Arsenal.
Have come to my story as to the English Monster Forum.
This year we spent our vacation in London, Cornwall and Sussex ('re totally excited about England) and have seen one or the other monsters. Sorry, we were able to establish any contacts, because all were gone again so quickly.
I have to get regestriert also tips for conversions and parts supply outside of Germany. Sorry, my English is not so good to be active in the forum. I'm just going to improve my language skills. In 2015 it goes on vacation again to you to England.
The choice I want to stay up to you but further logged into the board.
I will officially introduce myself shortly.
regards Michael

[sapone cremoso]

Vote for all the above too, thanks for the great job you do

[Gilps]

It's a yes from me. Good work Rob and the rest of the team. You all do a fantastic job and it is much appreciated.

[Wasta]

A yes from me also, keep up the good work and thanks.

[DrD]

At the risk of voting twice (but in response to Rob's email):

slob: President
Liz: Vice President
Pedro: Secretary *
J.P: Treasurer

* will continue to take care of the forum whilst Pres/Vice Pres deal with the DOC side of the membership.

Thanks

[jonzi]

What email?

If it's to vote on who should be boss, then I say

Same as everyone else is saying.

[Bonzo]

This is a great forum & you guys do a bostin' job.

[Bonzo]

This is a great forum & you guys do a bostin' job.

Thanks for all the work you do behind the scenes.

[FLATTOP]

In regard to the e-mail

slob: President
Liz: Vice President
Pedro: Secretary *
J.P: Treasurer

You are all doing a fine job thanks you have my vote.

[crust]

My 2p

slob: President
Liz: Vice President
Pedro: Secretary
J.P: Treasurer

[Akita Boy]

^^ what crust said

slob: President
Liz: Vice President
Pedro: Secretary
J.P: Treasurer

[StevieL]

If its not broke it don't need fixing, keep up the good work boys and girl atb Steve

[sn1ck]

... aaaaaannnd another one ...

slob: President
Liz: Vice President
Pedro: Secretary
J.P: Treasurer

[Bobdelion]

In response to the email:

Yes, still a Monster owner and still a visitor to these forums. Although I don't post here I have come to view this place as the missing Haynes manual. Every time I have a question a quick search shows that you all have already covered things in far more detail than I could ever have hoped, hence me never feeling the need to start new threads!

In either case, as I think this is maybe my second post in a year and a half (the other one being the Hello message) I don't really feel in a position to elect anyone. Having said that I trust in the evidence I see on these forums, week-in week-out, and that those running things know what they are doing and have the best of interests in mind. On that front I say, "Keep on keeping on".

[nambduke]

No objections here.....you're all doing a sterling job!

Best regards
Mark
nambduke

[Nickj]

My Formal vote is:

slob: President
Liz: Vice President
Pedro: Secretary
J.P: Treasurer

[Moley]

Confirming agreement with your proposals and nominations Rob.
Thanks and Kind Regards to all.
Steve

[nik_the_brief]

I'm very happy to go with the majority too - although I've been a member for years I've not an incredibly active one (understatement of the year). But they all get my vote.

:ukm:

[Quantox]

I'd go with these proposals too, nice to see some willing volunteers doing a good job. Thanks to all for their efforts.

Q

[StuartJames]

I no longer have a Monster, but still have a Ducati. Happy to vote for...

slob: President
Liz: Vice President
Pedro: Secretary
J.P: Treasurer

Keep up the good work, and look forward to bumping into UKMOC members at random places around the country!

When's the next Muff meet?

[Bikergirl]

What they all said with bells on... getting stuff done can be as frustrating as herding cats sometimes so thanks to all the officials for sticking with it and making a great club.
:ukm::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[Saint aka ML]

Do not care as long as Slob stops sending spam :)

[ricky]

Best club on the net!! Long time member, not as active as I used to b but have alot of respect for all those who run this club!!!

[jarv]

I visit the forum pretty much every day - I'm happy with the way things are.

I got the email - so thought I had better say something.
Thanks to all those who work behind the scenes - I'm very happy with the current admin and the way the forum/club is run.

Thanks for all your hard work.

:thumbsup:

jarv

[bazread]

I would like to cast my votes for the following, the same as everyone else

Slob: President
Liz: Vice President
Pedro: Secretary
J.P: Treasurer

:thumbsup:

[ercasa]

Thank you for the good work guys, confirm vote as below

Slob: President
Liz: Vice President
Pedro: Secretary
J.P: Treasurer

[ricky]

I would like to cast my vote for the following

slob: President
Liz: Vice President
Pedro: Secretary*
J.P: Treasurer

[Black Bob]

slob: President
Liz: Vice President
Pedro: Secretary*
J.P: Treasurer

Gets my vote. Top choice of VP too.

Slob has my utmost respect for the time and patience he puts in to this club.

:hail:

Unfortunately, I say what I think, and occasionally upset a few people hey ho!!

If that works for you generally, then well done. Keep at it. I suspect it won't work here though.

[Dirty]

If that works for you generally, then well done. Keep at it. I suspect it won't work here though.

It's worked well for you so far ;):p:D

[Cutter]

I know I'm not around much, but I think it's a great forum. So as far as I am concerned all good as it is. Good luck to the new officer and many thanks to the outgoing one. :thumbsup:

[Black Bob]

It's worked well for you so far ;):p:D

I meant the upsetting people bit. I hope I've never done that? I'd be mortified.

By the way, I got 2 emails so I get 2 votes...

So I vote again for the aforementioned persons to stay in their aforemention posts.

[BK56]

I speak as someone who regularly logs in, I enjoy reading the forum, however, as is evident from the number of my posts, I could never be described as a “keyboard warrior”. I am not convinced I have anything sufficiently interesting to say, consequently I remain largely silent. Some of us don't post, because we are happy rather than because we don’t care.

This issue and Rob's email, made me want to speak up.

From the tone of this thread, it is clear I was not alone in being surprised by the original suggestion that we needed a more democratic process to elect the Officers. Rightly or wrongly the request for a election felt like a rebuke or a criticism of the existing Officers,

Like others I also feel indebted to those people who put in the time to keep the club going. On the few times that I have managed to pitch up to meetings/events ( or rather an event), I have been greeted with camaraderie and enthusiasm. I am of the view, that, regardless of the way the club operates or how it is constituted, it is clearly getting something very right.

I think we could spend a lot of time trying to find a suitable democratic process to elect Officers. I think we could spend even longer actually arguing about wether democracy is achievable/desirable, etc. but that debate is for another thread, on a less interesting forum.

The question that WayneO's post raised for me was..... wether the formal election of Officers would make the UKMOC more democratic? Surely the democracy in this club resides is this forum ? We all have the right to air our views and WayneO has proved that this is the case. It could be argued that the Officers are facilitators that guide an the keep UKMOC working.. but...the membership also has its voice and provides direction here in this forum.

So my thanks to and my vote for

slob: President
Liz: Vice President
Pedro: Secretary
J.P: Treasurer






__________________________________________________ ____________________
This email has been scanned by the Symantec Email Security.cloud service.
For more information please visit http://www.symanteccloud.com
__________________________________________________ ____________________

[chris.p]

Not been an active member till recently, but on and off the site over the past few years, but my vote is.

slob: President
Liz: Vice President
Pedro: Secretary
J.P: Treasurer

[Mr Gazza]

Thanks for the email Rob. I now understand why a forum poll would not be suitable for this.

Just to add that I am in favour of the status quo and support the present regime wholeheartedly...:mand:

I had the pleasure of meeting WayneO a few weeks back when the Sun was shining and the roads were dry. We shared the best part of a day chatting and riding our Monsters.

He did raise the subject of facebook at one point, and it was clear he was passionate about it, however he did not seem offended by my lack of interest and failure to engage.
We don't agree on that subject but it didn't spoil the day...Life's too short and it was too nice a day..:mand:

I would like to think that folk can seperate the view point from the person and discuss the view without attacking the person in future...(although I think we have heard the last of that particular....)

Long live UKMOC..
:ukm:

[pegboy]

I vote for all of the above

slob: President
Liz: Vice President
Pedro: Secretary
J.P: Treasurer

You guys have and are doing a great job. This would have to be he friendliest, helpful withy he most genuine people and I am proud to say I am part of it, even a very small part.

[weimeranerman]

A couple of years ago (May '13) the Ducati Factory dictated that official DOCs (Desmo Owners Clubs, not to be confused with 'Ducati Owners Club GB', who like UKMOC, SDC, DSC, MOB etc. are part of over 200 Worldwide DOCs) should have certain offices defined. To this end, as serving President, I appointed some officers for an interim term with some sort of democratic process kicking in at the end of 2014:
Grumpy: Vice President
Pedro: Secretary
J.P: Treasurer (and road safety rep.)

Ducati's vision of how a local club affiliated with a single dealer maps quite poorly to a national club. All four UK DOCs are affiliated directly with Ducati UK, which seems to mostly work for us even though the roles of some of the officers don't quite match up with Ducati's definitions.
Of the 2000 or so UKMOC members (Monster Owners living in/from UK & ROI) under 200 are actually affiliated with the factory, leaving the UKMOC/Forum membership somewhat out of sync with DOC Membership.
After some discussion on the forum we decided to remain affiliated as a DOC unless the factory made it too difficult.

During the last two years Pedro has taken care of forum memberships and continues to do so. J.P has had very little to do, since we're a free club with very limited income and I've failed to colate my box of odd receipts for him to go through. Grumpy has found self employment stealing far more of his time than he'd like. I've taken care of pretty much everything else (with the help of a number of volunteers taking on tasks such as regional repping and organising Weekenders)

We've almost reached the end of 2014 (and annual DOC renewal time) so it's election time and I've asked Liz (current Hants/Wilts Rep) to stand for Vice President in Grumpy's place, everyone else is happy to stand again:

slob: President
Liz: Vice President
Pedro: Secretary *
J.P: Treasurer

* will continue to take care of the forum whilst Pres/Vice Pres deal with the DOC side of the membership.

If no members have any serious objections to these positions, I'm happy to call it election by default, rather than come up with a full process by which we can vote and validate the results, which sounds like a great deal of extra work. If anyone does object and/or wishes to propose serious counter-nominations, please reply on this thread before the end of October 18th November and we'll work out how to proceed.

We will still need volunteers for other positions besides the four listed above, for anyone that wants to get more involved.

I received the email from Slob which alerted me to this thread and wish to express my feelings. Not currently riding and not having accessed the forum for some while, due to on going illness, but still owning my S4 and hoping to get fit enough to climb aboard again at some point, I would like to add my support to this forum. It has been a source of vital information over the years and the members have on the whole been very helpful, supportive and friendly, even to occasional contributors such as myself.

It seems to me that despite discussion about the process, no one has expressed a desire to stand against the proposed. Therefore, I am happy to support the proposal and add my vote to the list above in Rob's post.

Keep up the excellent work. Now where is that thread on the calendars!

[slob]

Once again... This thread is not about voting or anything else other than
1. Any other nominations for candidates
2. Any objections to the process
I'm still having to delete a whole bunch of off topic stuff

[Black Bob]

Once again... This thread is not about voting or anything else...

Seems like you were out-voted on that one at least. ;)

[Bikergirl]

:biggrin::biggrin:Seems like you were out-voted on that one at least. ;)

:biggrin::biggrin:

[nik_the_brief]

I understand that democracy is over-rated anyway. My wife tells me there's nowt wrong with the benign dictatorship we have here at home. :D

[gary tompkins]

I deleted my post to save you the time Rob

I'm beyond giving a toss now

[Akita Boy]

Anyone else feel like we've opened Pandoras Box with this thread?? Let's close it, bury it and never speak of it again.

[Fatal]

Let's close it, bury it and never speak of it again.

You just did :twak: ;);)

Alan H

[slob]

Whilst I'd love to, following editing the original post to say this will run until 19/11 I'm bound to let it run.

[slob]

I'm a little sorry to have to resurrect this thread, it's been so peaceful the last couple of weeks but Ducati's deadline for re-affiliation is looming so I need to bring this to a close.
Sadly Liz has decided to withdraw from the process, happily she'll be continuing as Hants/Wilts rep. Given the shortness of time and the fact no-one else has come forward, we're going to have to run with a team of the remaining three. Ducati Club Office have said they're happy with this.
Thanks to those who offered advice, offers of support and criticism. I will endeavour to improve this process before we do it again in a couple of years. I've got a few people to email back, apologies for the delay, I've been very busy elsewhere.
All hate mail to the usual address
cheers
Rob
--

[Dirty]

Excellent, well apart from Liz. Can't you find another VP?

[slob]

As far as Ducati are concerned I'm putting forward J.P as VP and we're running without a Treasurer. Sorry I wasn't clear.

[Yorkie]

Slob,

Glad this is over as I am sure you are.

Sorry to hear that Liz dropped out of the 'management'.

The team has my support.

Yorkie

[Dirty]

Ah ok.

Finding a treasurer gotta be easier than a vp? Who has got a calculator? :)