Thread: 101 Club - UK

Hi just thought id drop by as Ron was kind enough to give me the link. I thought id clear up a few questions you may have with regards the club although i know some of you being club members still have access the current discussion. Im not here to stir up or enrage just to act as a contact for the club & provide imformation first hand.

The forum moderators are all committee members.

Posting isnt upsetting the moderators, they are doing a fair job of redirecting(rather than deleting) any opinions expressed.

As club secretary i am able to pass on any views to the full committee, or required person, that are neccessary

The proposal to change the forum access rights was voted on by the full paid up club membership at last years AGM. Technical & personal problems were responsible for the delay, which through pressure brought by areas of the membership came into action recently. Ive tried to give a fair right to reply, as well as support the change as it needs to succeed or would be pointless changing it in the first place. It will be reviewed at some stage, but only after a fair time allowing for things to settle.Ive also posted relevant imformation of forum/club numbers to allow justification of the decision & how hard it will be to overturn at present.

If anyone has any further questions then ill be happy to answer them.

All the club has done is unnecessarily alienated a number of people who have contributed more than their fair share through the forum - whether they are members or not. It is not the way to grow your club.

The way to do it is you did previously - open areas and areas for members only is the way to do the forum.

As far as the AGM in 2010 - I was a member then (and was until a couple of months ago) I certainly did not participate and was not aware of the outcome but I appreciate that was probably my fault through not reading the agenda and minutes - but the decision certainly did not get a lot of visibility in the forums at the time.

As a result of this decision I would expect your international membership to grow at a slower rate than it did previously but then who knows - the main attraction of the club for international 101 owners was the forum - parts less so due to ongoing issues that the club seems not to want to address - simply it is not reliable or service so I now buy most of may parts locally or from commercial businesses as you know you will receive what you have ordered within a reasonable time frame.

I certainly respect the right of the club to do what they want, but to block comment from those this decision can impact is basically censorship. You have allowed "registered users" to introduce themselves but the club should also have one section that allow registered users to post threads on this topic - maybe the club membership would then understand how this decision is actually going to be detrimental to the club.

As mentioned, maybe the people who over the years contributed to the knowledge base and are not now members but are still registered users, should be asked if they want their posts removed - afterall the club seems to think non members are leaching on the club forum when in fact from my observations the opposite is the case - non members have contributed to the information base in the forum and brought a wider perspective to 101 ownership. Most UK based 101 owners seem to be locked into doing things as they have always been doing things and have their views widened by international input - of course the same applies the other way around.

Off my box now.

Garry

As secretary i have given a right to respond through me.

101 club • View topic - Wanted ....access to the forum

This was purely to allow anyone who didnt think the club action wise to post to club members. Yes it was censorship but was designed to control reponses & keep order, but not alter the text or meaning in any way. There are club members who also feel it was a bad decision, but one that was made with good intention.

I acknowledge the spares operation isnt as good as it should be & this is mainly because of volumes, technical issues & personal problems, but now we have solved a few of these online ordering is being worked on as a priority to rectify the situation. There is very little profit margin on parts to keep prices low, so no funds to pay "staff" as its all done voluntarily. Online ordering will ease pressures & after which it can be looked at again.

One aim of the club is to remanufacture parts to original specification. This is not cheap as large numbers are quite often needed to make an order. The club therefore relies on membership subscriptions to both fund this & keep the club going. There arnt many landrover clubs,if any that have the spares supply that the 101 club has & when working prpoerly should be fairly efficient worldwide.

I recently quoted membrship figures in club decussion. (End of year is normally about 500) My conclusions are to date that 114 paid up members out of 276 arnt even on the forum. 162 are on the forum. 188 are on the forum but havnt renewed. One main gripe in the membership is "why should i pay my membership when i can get most things for free" Looking at the figures then it does seem a large part of the club are moving in that direction which isnt supporting the club in its aim at all.

There are lots of arguments either way & it will go on for a long time im sure, but for the present the club membership has decided to restrict forum access & thats what has been implimented.

There are a lot of people with 101 knowledge, for which the forum is a great way to exchange & store for future use. There cant be any difference though between suppliers & recievers as we all give & takeat some stage. There also shouldnt be any difference in the way its all funded either, so in 10 years time & you want the specific part craddocks & the rest no longer have, yet the club has then it will be available to all, the ones paying membership now & the ones paying in the future.

I see investing in the 101 club by membership subscriptions, will allow me access to the parts when i need them, not neccessarily this year, & to know that if i need help then there are a fellow band of enthusiasts ready to help. I give freely, not counting the cost, in the hope the3 101 will outlast me & have a rosey future. £30 is half a tank of lpg, takes me about 100 miles, hardly a vast sum to secure the future, each year.

Some of this is a personal view, the facts are the facts. I hope this helps to understand the bigger picture.

Thanks for posting up the info ptsteer.

One main gripe in the membership is "why should i pay my membership when i can get most things for free"

Aulro does not have a parts or a regular magazine.....many of us "subscribe" because we want to see aulro survive. We dont begrudge those that dont subscribe, but it is amazing to see how many subscribe once they see how helpful this place really is.

One suggestion - Use automatic renewal - I have an automatic subscription renewal here and this avoids my temptation to put the renewal off.

I guess, being new to 101's, there only a relatively small number of 101's and therefore only a limited membership you will attract.

It will be great to see the spares section become more streamlined. I have been exchanging emails with Darren (nice bloke..... for a pom) and I am sure he is trying bloody hard. It would be great if the club could make it easier for him.

Paul

Darren is a great bloke, who has worked hard for many years in the spares. It is a victim of its own success with a turn over of just under £67,000 last year whilst £47,500 in 2009. The committee is working hard to help & improve the system but like all change its hard going as people quite often prefer the old ways not modernisation & it takes technical know how.If the right people arnt available then it stalls, as simple as that. We are making efforts to make it work for everyone worldwide, & it will require patience, with the aim that you purchase spares online just the same as everywhere else, this year & for many years to come.

There will always be mistakes, errors etc because noone is perfect, but as a club we are trying to show transparency in the way things run, which is why im quite happy to listen as well, as give our membership chance to view your opinions.

Automatic renewal would be a good idea, ill bring that up with the rest of the committee. We are tightening up on renewals as in previous years it was often 6 months or more before people eventually renewed, sometimes not even bothering as they were still getting everything. Thank you all for listening.

I should add also that there were only 2600 (roughly) 101's ever made so it is a rather restricted audience, hence why the spares remanufacturing is & is going to be a very important aim of the club. That along with the magazine (several £1000 an issue), is why the subscription is higher than normal & its most important to continue at as high a membership level as possible, after all 10 stainless steel tanks require £4000 to put them on the shelf..

Cant dispute anything you have said ptsteer and understand the reason for the clubs change in policy.

I am pretty keen although still a new member. For me the value in membership is not just parts but knowledge. I am concerned that exluding valuable input (like Ron's) will only restrict the knowledge base. {Luckily I know where to find him}

Being new, I am not sure on the procedure but I'll see if I can get together my thoughts and put them in a working paper for the committee to consider.

All input/new ideas are welcome. I can post submissions for a full committee to evaluate. I can also submit proposals from club members to the AGM, for consideration by the committee & club members present. Any ideas worthy of a club vote can then be actioned through the sixstud magazine.(being the most cost effective way of doing it)

As a club member your opinion is valued. If you are not a club member then i can convey your opinions to the club, but they wont in anyway carry the same weight as a paid up club member obviously.

As for losing people like Ron, then although a loss, one has to remember "You cant please everyone, all the time!". We expect to lose a few, & already the signs are that we are gaining a few too, so if you have the same 101 desires as i have then please jump on board too!