Forum Steering Committee - Volunteers Needed

[rvwnsd]

Thanks, @JoeMendoza, for creating the post about volunteering for the various roles and the chart in the very first post.

 

As of noon, April 29, 2021 we have a steering committee of one (me). We need five to six additional steering committee members. Please reply to this thread if you would like to volunteer. If you'd rather volunteer privately, you may PM @JoeMendoza and me.

 

To help gauge the time commitment, here are some functions typically performed by a steering committee:

• Define the general direction of the Forum
  
• Consider suggestions and requests made by the general Forum membership
  
• Consider requests to change/upgrade the Forum software, hardware, hosting, and other infrastructure
  
• Determine which suggestions/requests get implemented, ensure they are implemented by the technical folks, and give members who make suggestions a timely reply as to the decision to make or not implement a suggestion.
  
• Decide on other matters that affect the Forum
  

Steering committee members typically have good communication skills, the ability to think and reason, and the ability to make a fact-based decision.

 

@stevenkesslar made the great suggestion that the committee's composition should reflect the composition of Forum membership. That is, members who are escorts as well as members who are not escorts.

 

Thanks

[+ WilliamM]

Aren't there many more older members Who post frequently than escorts who post frequently?

[Guest]

Aren't there many more older members Who post frequently than escorts who post frequently?

Or, better yet, old sexagenerian escorts who post frequently, such as @stevenkesslar

[+ WilliamM]

Or, better yet, old sexagenerian escorts who post frequently, such as @stevenkesslar

Steven is really that old? Is he retired?

[lonely_john]

Aren't there many more older members Who post frequently than escorts who post frequently?

It's true but there are escorts. I think they want everyone to have representation, so having at least 1 or 2 escorts to make the voice of providers heard wouldn't be bad.

[+ Coolwave35]

I’m not interested in being part of an elaborate process. This is a fun hobby for me, I’m not looking for an extra career.

 

One financier. One tech guy. The existing team of moderators with all the access codes should the financier or tech guy die unexpectedly should be plenty. Why is this spiraling wildly into an enormous project?

 

If the community wants 15 cooks working In the kitchen, that isn’t a model I’d want to be a part of.

[gallahadesquire]

Where is JD Daniels when we need him?

[lonely_john]

I’m not interested in being part of an elaborate process. This is a fun hobby for me, I’m not looking for an extra career.

 

One financier. One tech guy. The existing team of moderators with all the access codes should the financier or tech guy die unexpectedly should be plenty. Why is this spiraling wildly into an enormous project?

 

If the community wants 15 cooks working In the kitchen, that isn’t a model I’d want to be a part of.

I believe this is being proposed because during the past administration it looked like there was 1 single person making most arbitrating decisions, especially regarding moderation (deletion of dissenting comments, just for thinking different) and banning (without warning) of members of the forum, in a way that almost felt like totalitarianism with no right to reply or dialogue, or at least that's how I felt it sometimes.

 

Change for the better always requires work. I'm just not sure that the community needs a committee of 15, or that they need to work almost at a full-time capacity. Perhaps the number of committee members and number of hours needs to be reformulated considering the tasks that reallly need to be done as a priority? Would they need to submit some sort of personal information to be part of the committee? Could they keep their anonymity while collaborating?

 

What I know is that in every team there are always 1 or 2 people who will be pulling more of the weight and that's ok. They will know who they are and at what capacity they can volunteer their time. But don't make it look as if it's something that no one should do just because you don't like the idea. I don't know what will be the scope of work but when I've volunteered it in the past, for other causes, most times it was 1 to 3 hours per week

Edited April 30, 2021 by lonely_john

[+ overeasy]

My experience tells me not-for profit endeavors overseen and operated by a loose-knit committee just don't seem to work well. I've always thought that rule by a benevolent dictator has the best chance of success....decisions made quickly, easily, usually responsibly....just sayin'....

[+ WilliamM]

For Long time members, one can guess who will volunteer. How about a mix of new people and those who have been here quite a while?

[+ sam.fitzpatrick]

Thanks, @JoeMendoza, for creating the post about volunteering for the various roles and the chart in the very first post.

 

As of noon, April 29, 2021 we have a steering committee of one (me). We need five to six additional steering committee members. Please reply to this thread if you would like to volunteer. If you'd rather volunteer privately, you may PM @JoeMendoza and me.

 

To help gauge the time commitment, here are some functions typically performed by a steering committee:

• Define the general direction of the Forum
  
• Consider suggestions and requests made by the general Forum membership
  
• Consider requests to change/upgrade the Forum software, hardware, hosting, and other infrastructure
  
• Determine which suggestions/requests get implemented, ensure they are implemented by the technical folks, and give members who make suggestions a timely reply as to the decision to make or not implement a suggestion.
  
• Decide on other matters that affect the Forum
  

Steering committee members typically have good communication skills, the ability to think and reason, and the ability to make a fact-based decision.

 

@stevenkesslar made the great suggestion that the committee's composition should reflect the composition of Forum membership. That is, members who are escorts as well as members who are not escorts.

 

Thanks

 

We're jumping the gun here. None of us are the owners of the site. (Yes, the site does have an owner, albeit one that is deceased.) We should probably wait for an administrator/administratrix of the estate to be appointed by the state of Nevada. Once that is done, that individual would be in a position to direct the next steps.

[lonely_john]

My experience tells me not-for profit endeavors overseen and operated by a loose-knit committee just don't seem to work well. I've always thought that rule by a benevolent dictator has the best chance of success....decisions made quickly, easily, usually responsibly....just sayin'....

This is just not true. I have friends who are members of the board of directors at not-for-profit organizations with years in operation and growing every year, and there is not 1 single person making all the decisions. I think the expression 'benevolent dictator' is an oxymoron. If anyone would like to look at examples of outcomes under a dictatorship they should be looking at the current situation in Cuba or North Korea.

[+ overeasy]

The terminology was not meant to be taken so literally, john...maybe leader, boss, chairperson,....And I have been on the boards of several non profits myself. Some work, some are not as successful.

Edited April 30, 2021 by overeasy

[+ WilliamM]

I was on the board of an organization led by the sister of a well-known mob boss. She could be quite annoying, but had a big heart for helping abused children.

[rvwnsd]

I believe this is being proposed because during the past administration it looked like there was 1 single person making most arbitrating decisions, especially regarding moderation (deletion of dissenting comments, just for thinking different) and banning (without warning) of members of the forum, in a way that almost felt like totalitarianism with no right to reply or dialogue, or at least that's how I felt it sometimes....

 

The idea of a steering committee has been discussed in several threads and posts, but @stevenkesslar posted a succinct summary of its purpose in his post to the "Forum Ownership" thread.

 

After @Orin asked whether anyone was tracking the various people who offered to help with the site, @JoeMendoza asked for volunteers in this post. When that post got buried, I posted the call for five or six volunteers in a distinct thread (this one) that got pinned to The Lounge. After reading and re-reading all of the above, I'm truly puzzled how

 

...we have a steering committee of one (me). We need five to six additional steering committee members. Please reply to this thread if you would like to volunteer. If you'd rather volunteer privately, you may PM @JoeMendoza and me....

 

was understood as more than a dozen people and a potential second career. Doing the math, I see six or seven people. Maybe I am missing something.

 

PS: The "READ ME..." thread pinned to the lounge is worth, well, reading. Had a non-owner not stepped in Monday when the site crashed we would not have been posting Tuesday, Wednesday, or today. Or tomorrow. Or Saturday...

[Guest]

Steven is really that old? Is he retired?

Yes to the first question. I don't know about the second. ?

[Guest]

I believe this is being proposed because during the past administration it looked like there was 1 single person making most arbitrating decisions, especially regarding moderation (deletion of dissenting comments, just for thinking different) and banning (without warning) of members of the forum, in a way that almost felt like totalitarianism with no right to reply or dialogue, or at least that's how I felt it sometimes.

...

I really hope that moderation becomes more reasonable and less capricious. I once found myself "banned" because I posted a photo of a naked trans man. I later found out that he didn't want to see vaginas in the forum. It had never been a part of the TOS, and I of course had no idea. He allows un-erect penises--why not vaginas (it wasn't even being fondled or open or anything like that)? Instead of saying something cordial like "I know I haven't discussed it before, but I don't want to see vaginas, so in the future, please avoid posting such photos," he just pushed me off (I don't know if he was having a bad day or was under the influence or what).

Another time I found myself locked out, and again had no idea why. I later found out that I had posted a photo of a male model I found on the model's Facebook page, and in the background was his clothed son. No sane person would have ever construed that to be an inappropriate photo, but he had these fixed ideas in his head. Obviously I wasn't trying to push his buttons, but this was the way he often reacted. I look forward to a more cordial forum where members are treated with respect, especially when the member is trying to be reasonable.

[+ ArVaGuy]

The idea of a steering committee has been discussed in several threads and posts, but @stevenkesslar posted a succinct summary of its purpose in his post to the "Forum

 

I have never considered the word “succinct“ in association with a Steven Kesslar post.

[+ newatthis]

For Long time members, one can guess who will volunteer. How about a mix of new people and those who have been here quite a while?

I'm not so crazy about the new-to-the-forum people idea...I'd prefer people with some history here who have a feel for this community.

 

I do think, however, that having a mix of ages is important, both for the diversity of viewpoints and life experiences, and for continuity.

[+ Lucky]

I was on the board of an organization led by the sister of a well-known mob boss. She could be quite annoying, but had a big heart for helping abused children.

@WilliamM What relevance does this have to the subject of discussion?

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

We're jumping the gun here. None of us are the owners of the site. (Yes, the site does have an owner, albeit one that is deceased.) We should probably wait for an administrator/administratrix of the estate to be appointed by the state of Nevada. Once that is done, that individual would be in a position to direct the next steps.

 

This.

 

100% this.

[+ Charlie]

I agree with @sam.fitzpatrick. The sites are currently a business with an owner, who is now deceased. Until there is a legal resolution of the ownership, and the new owner decides how he or she wishes the sites to be run, we are simply spinning our own ideas of how things should be run. Those ideas may be helpful to the new owner, or he or she may completely disregard them.

[mike carey]

I agree with @sam.fitzpatrick. The sites are currently a business with an owner, who is now deceased. Until there is a legal resolution of the ownership, and the new owner decides how he or she wishes the sites to be run, we are simply spinning our own ideas of how things should be run. Those ideas may be helpful to the new owner, or he or she may completely disregard them.

I agree that any new owner can decide that, but we need to plan for the eventuality (one that is not assured) that the community needs to decide what the ownership is. We can do that as a contingency plan that may become moot if a single owner emerges.

[lonely_john]

I agree that any new owner can decide that, but we need to plan for the eventuality (one that is not assured) that the community needs to decide what the ownership is. We can do that as a contingency plan that may become moot if a single owner emerges.

100% Agree. No need to wait until a formal decision is made in court.

Having at least a sketch of a plan is better than having nothing and letting the whole thing fall into chaos.

Edited April 30, 2021 by lonely_john

[+ Charlie]

I am concerned that if we get too far ahead of ourselves, enthusiastic members will become too invested in a particular plan; then a new owner may say that he or she is not interested in doing things that way.