Forums demoted?
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| Aug 18th 2013, 18:36 | |
aa6eTotal Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
I see that the Forums link has disappeared from the ARRL.org home page. It is only linked from the left-hand menu (very bottom) of many of the secondary pages - "On the Air", "Licensing, Education & Training", etc. No doubt, someone did a traffic analysis and decided that the forums link gets so few hits it should be pushed off the front page. At this rate, it will be no surprise if the forums are never discovered by most users! Forums have never been given the visibility they should have IMO. I suggest that they should get a substantial display item on the front page, comparable to the "Join ARRL" and "Donate Now" items that are quite prominent. It's a free service (for members), and it offers access to a crack group of technical and operational experts! I could imagine highlighting some good posts to appear as news items or elsewhere to whet peoples' interest. Let's make it work. 73 Martin AA6E |
| Aug 19th 2013, 01:07 | |
K6DMBTotal Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
I agree....very interesting. The whole thread has been removed. I guess some director(s) cannot take criticism. This plus the non-action emails I received back from a couple of the directors (the others didn't bother to respond at all), probably indicates how much they are interested in the opinion of the membership - "just pay your dues and SHUT UP!" |
| Aug 19th 2013, 01:43 | |
NS5BTotal Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
Same here...I got the "...we'll look into it..." spill myself. Reminds me of a telemarketer reading from a script. And some of them seem to be arrogant elitist, that don't care to hear from the ones that FUND THEIR SALARY...and any suggestions that ARE made...and I've seen some good ones...have been blatantly ignored. Its going to be run THEIR way, and the members don't have, and probably never will have a say. And as you said..."just pay your dues and SHUT UP!" About sums it up. |
| Aug 19th 2013, 13:48 | |
WB1GCMSuper Moderator Total Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
Scott, KG7DSH, Though the thread was removed (I don't know why), your letter to the ARRL about needed website improvements was published in September QST, page 24. Your letter is valuable and now 161,000 + ARRL members will see it; many will agree and likely write to their ARRL Section Director. You have succeeded with getting your point across to the ARRL. Gents, it's been my observation that if a staff member here at HQ is slow to respond to a letter or email, it's because that staff person is overwhelmed with the workload on hand and that's not counting letters, phone calls and emails they receive. We wish for the forums to be a community of members helping members with Amateur Radio relayed questions, with the hope of freeing up some staff time. ARRL Staff receive many, many emails and phone calls each day and have multiple duties as there is much work to do servicing our membership (No, I'm not reading from a script). Thanks to helpful members like Martin, AA6E and other regular contributors, we have had some success, but not as much as we would like. Please remember that Board of Directors are volunteers. They have demanding careers and families to attend to. If, for any reason, you are not satisfied with their performance as an unpaid volunteer, you have a regular opportunity to nominate, campaign and vote for a new Director who represents your section. Personally, I would NOT be working at the ARRL if arrogant attitudes were allowed in the building. I had enough of that working in television for nearly 30 years! Trust me, everyone here at HQ is dedicated to Amateur Radio. For me as with most others at HQ, our work is our passion. Bob Allison WB1GCM ARRL Test Engineer |
| Aug 19th 2013, 16:40 | |
WB1GCMSuper Moderator Total Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
You are very welcome! I will always be at your service. Hey, BTW, FORUMS is back up on the main page! I wonder why? 73, Bob |
| Aug 20th 2013, 01:57 | |
K6DMBTotal Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
Bob, Thanks for your response and I sincerely hope what you have said is true. I would however like to mention that many of the Board of Directors are not volunteers. Here is an excert from my previous post on this forum: "The key word is "volunteer". That must be interpreted to mean that non-volunteer officers do receive compensation. I suggest those interested review the IRS Form 990 where the CEO, CFO, CDO, COO, CTO, Treasurer, and Editorial and Production Manager all received salaries of over $100,000 pre year except the Treasurer who received over $50,000 for a 5 hours work per week. This information is from the 2011 IRS Form 990: http://990s.foundationcenter.org/990_pdf_archive/066/066000004/066000004_201112_990.pdf" While I personally do not object to having paid board positions, I think we all need to understand that many of the positions are full time paid jobs so it's not like they are doing this on a part time non paid basis. I can appreciate being overwhelmed by the volume of email but I maintain that trite and unresponsive replies do more harm than good. 73, Dan |
| Aug 20th 2013, 14:12 | |
WB1GCMSuper Moderator Total Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
Dan, The CEO, COO, CDO, etc, are paid, but are not Board Members. The officers attend board meetings, where the Board of Directors function is to direct. They give the marching orders and make the decisions. The officers report to the Board of Directors. Every paid employee in this building are following the wishes of the Directors. The Director's job is to preserve Amateur Radio; and preserve the ARRL so it can continue to preserve Amateur Radio. Our organization exists (when I mean organization, I mean the whole entity, which means its membership) for the benefit of the Amateur Radio Service. Yes, we have to generate revenue and pay people to generate the revenue, but we only generate enough to break even, not for the monetary profit for anyone. If we have a good year, we can offer more services to our membership, such as Digital QST, our updated web site (however clunky it is) and the many programs offered to volunteers (and hopefully some new Lab Equipment!). We have added several membership benefits over the past few years without raising membership dues, too; not an easy feat considering the recession we have all experienced. If you are not happy, in any way, with actions, or lack of action by a paid staff member, contact your Section Director. If you are not happy with your Section Director, you can nominate, campaign and vote for a new director, who, you feel, will do the job better. As a member, you have that right. It's the best way any not-for-profit, membership organization can operate. At your service, 73, Bob |
| Aug 21st 2013, 01:41 | |
K6DMBTotal Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
Bob, your distinction between officers and board members is noted. As I stated above, I do not have objections to paying for full time positions (whether they be officer or board titles) as I understand that an organization this large requires top level management. I appreciate you explanation. I was referred to one of the Section Directors (abet the wrong section as there was confusion over my address). We did correspond first about the issue of the status of the forum and later about ham things and making contact on the air. I was told there was an International Section Director, but am unable to locate him on the list of Section Managers/Directors. Perhaps you can provide me this information or where to find it? 73, Dan |
| Aug 21st 2013, 02:53 | |
WA2CWATotal Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
Probably your best bet might be to contact Jay Bellows, K0QB, the International Affairs Vice President, http://www.arrl.org/officers# Pete, wa2cwa
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| Aug 28th 2013, 11:17 | |
N4AABTotal Topics: 0 Total Posts: 0 |
There was also a recent letter printed in QST that claimed this web site didn't need a revamp. That claim really makes no sense. Jim/KF5VPK |
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