Post by Jon the Stripe on May 20, 2014 19:57:32 GMT
I'd better introduce myself i suppose, my names Jon the Stripe, many of you already know me through The FFS Club we created 16 months ago. I'd like to make a few points, as i have lost contact with so many of The FFS members. Sorry if this is not appropriate, but i 've got to get a few things off my chest.
*Warning this post could prove boring! Ha Ha
Firstly, well done to all involved in the current forum's, at least fan's have somewhere to go to find each other and debate again - Big Respect to you all!
The Official Forum
I was very disappointed to see the OF shut down, i was more frustrated by the fact users/members had no warning whatsover which i find unforgiveable. Many had PM info, contacts etc wiped out by its closure. In my opinion it was closed due to too many people speaking out (only my opinion of course), the excuse (libel etc) was a legitimate one, but was just not necessary. I believe it has actually caused more divides at a time we desperately needed some unity and lacked forethought, respect and awareness. I still strongly maintain, it should not have closed without dialogue.
Why was no help asked for? There are many who could have moderated it well.
Why was no forewarning given? This was very disrespectful to it's members
Why close something for all fan's? There were some out of order posters, but all should not be punished.
If ten fan's did something illegal at a match - Would we close The Mem???
The FFS Club
Well, The FFS has suffered, possibly irrepairably, we raised over £7,500 in extra revenue for the Football Club and brought some supporters closer together in a good way. The OF was our platform, where we announced news, updates and debated together to keep it democratically run for the members by the members. We are now left without a home! I accept there are 5 or 6 other forum's all of which seem run well and have a following, but sadly the forum user Rovers supporters are now spread and it will be difficult to run the FFS across 6 forums. i have no intention at present to select one because i don't view one as better than another, maybe we will need to set up "another" forum for our own use, i hope not!. The last thing i want is The FFS being viewed as any sort of clique, that would be so far from the truth, we're open to all, in fact you don't even need to be a member to join in any of our activities. The saddest part came yesterday, Tom Curtis phoned me asking if we could help the Academy with some Fundraising for some Summer expert coaching at St. Georges Park facility, sadly i will have to inform him it's not possible at present.
The football club gave me no warning of the OF closure, we have lost contact with so many members it's ridiculous. I only received a call from BSS the day after it closed. And only today has anyone offered to help get the contacts back, but i'm sure you agree we need the OF reactivated to send messages, which i have requested, but to no avail. We do intend to continue the FFS IF POSSIBLE, but that is yet to be seen. For any members reading: I'll continue to search for a way to make it a success.
If you're interested in The FFS. Please follow us: @ffsclub
The Independent Supporters Club
I am very interested to see how this progresses and would happily meet with anyone involved in this set up. I have had meetings with a few who would like to find some new ways forward and it's certainly got legs. My personal concerns are Apathy as a club as a whole, and that some people running the club have become "Stale" and lack new ideas and freshness. My thoughts are: We must avoid a mob mentality at all costs as that will just pull the drawbridge up. It needs well reasoned, thoughtful, respectful communication along with people who are both knowledgeable, articulate and prepared to put lots of their own time into it freely. I look forward to following BRISC's progress.
Divisions in Fanbase
Maybe it's just the way life is nowadays and there's nothing we can do about it, togetherness seems to be old fashioned. I am worried that divisions will form, this already happens at The Mem i.e: singing in The Blackthorn is done in small groups rather than all for one, one for all. With the creation of several new Forum's this is now a concern. No forum is better than another, and we must all embrace each other if we are to prosper. We also have Facebook Groups, Twitter Groups etc and i hope that no cliques are forming - We are ALL Gashead's! I would love to see ONE FORUM formed for all, but appreciate it may be difficult if not impossible and i respect every one of the current Forum's.
Union of Gas
An idea i would like to throw at you would be the creation of a Umbrella website (possibly run by BRISCA if they become popular and well run). The website could be a "Union of Gas" and have links to all the seperate forums, Facebook groups, Twitter groups and The FFS Club. Promoting unity being it's number one mission. We may even be able to help each other in some way.
Anyway, thanks for reading (if you're still awake!). I'm gonna struggle to read all the forum's so please forgive me if i don't post often.
I'll leave you with a quote for those thinking of "Making a difference"
Many of life's failures are people who didn't know how close they were to success when they gave up!
Good luck everyone!!!
Regards, JTS
*Warning this post could prove boring! Ha Ha
Firstly, well done to all involved in the current forum's, at least fan's have somewhere to go to find each other and debate again - Big Respect to you all!
The Official Forum
I was very disappointed to see the OF shut down, i was more frustrated by the fact users/members had no warning whatsover which i find unforgiveable. Many had PM info, contacts etc wiped out by its closure. In my opinion it was closed due to too many people speaking out (only my opinion of course), the excuse (libel etc) was a legitimate one, but was just not necessary. I believe it has actually caused more divides at a time we desperately needed some unity and lacked forethought, respect and awareness. I still strongly maintain, it should not have closed without dialogue.
Why was no help asked for? There are many who could have moderated it well.
Why was no forewarning given? This was very disrespectful to it's members
Why close something for all fan's? There were some out of order posters, but all should not be punished.
If ten fan's did something illegal at a match - Would we close The Mem???
The FFS Club
Well, The FFS has suffered, possibly irrepairably, we raised over £7,500 in extra revenue for the Football Club and brought some supporters closer together in a good way. The OF was our platform, where we announced news, updates and debated together to keep it democratically run for the members by the members. We are now left without a home! I accept there are 5 or 6 other forum's all of which seem run well and have a following, but sadly the forum user Rovers supporters are now spread and it will be difficult to run the FFS across 6 forums. i have no intention at present to select one because i don't view one as better than another, maybe we will need to set up "another" forum for our own use, i hope not!. The last thing i want is The FFS being viewed as any sort of clique, that would be so far from the truth, we're open to all, in fact you don't even need to be a member to join in any of our activities. The saddest part came yesterday, Tom Curtis phoned me asking if we could help the Academy with some Fundraising for some Summer expert coaching at St. Georges Park facility, sadly i will have to inform him it's not possible at present.
The football club gave me no warning of the OF closure, we have lost contact with so many members it's ridiculous. I only received a call from BSS the day after it closed. And only today has anyone offered to help get the contacts back, but i'm sure you agree we need the OF reactivated to send messages, which i have requested, but to no avail. We do intend to continue the FFS IF POSSIBLE, but that is yet to be seen. For any members reading: I'll continue to search for a way to make it a success.
If you're interested in The FFS. Please follow us: @ffsclub
The Independent Supporters Club
I am very interested to see how this progresses and would happily meet with anyone involved in this set up. I have had meetings with a few who would like to find some new ways forward and it's certainly got legs. My personal concerns are Apathy as a club as a whole, and that some people running the club have become "Stale" and lack new ideas and freshness. My thoughts are: We must avoid a mob mentality at all costs as that will just pull the drawbridge up. It needs well reasoned, thoughtful, respectful communication along with people who are both knowledgeable, articulate and prepared to put lots of their own time into it freely. I look forward to following BRISC's progress.
Divisions in Fanbase
Maybe it's just the way life is nowadays and there's nothing we can do about it, togetherness seems to be old fashioned. I am worried that divisions will form, this already happens at The Mem i.e: singing in The Blackthorn is done in small groups rather than all for one, one for all. With the creation of several new Forum's this is now a concern. No forum is better than another, and we must all embrace each other if we are to prosper. We also have Facebook Groups, Twitter Groups etc and i hope that no cliques are forming - We are ALL Gashead's! I would love to see ONE FORUM formed for all, but appreciate it may be difficult if not impossible and i respect every one of the current Forum's.
Union of Gas
An idea i would like to throw at you would be the creation of a Umbrella website (possibly run by BRISCA if they become popular and well run). The website could be a "Union of Gas" and have links to all the seperate forums, Facebook groups, Twitter groups and The FFS Club. Promoting unity being it's number one mission. We may even be able to help each other in some way.
Anyway, thanks for reading (if you're still awake!). I'm gonna struggle to read all the forum's so please forgive me if i don't post often.
I'll leave you with a quote for those thinking of "Making a difference"
Many of life's failures are people who didn't know how close they were to success when they gave up!
Good luck everyone!!!
Regards, JTS
