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Virtual club proof for members at Rally

montana

New member
Hi,

The Chromeheads Motorcycle Club #274 received the email regarding how to manage proof for Virtual Club membership for the rally attendance award.

I'm not certain we all understand what "virtual" really means in this context.

"bring along a current roster of your club's Members in Good Standing"

We don't have club meetings or charge for membership, so "good standing" for us means, you created a user name for the forums and we didn't kick you out and delete your username (= Troll). If you are participating, you are a member. But, we don't require a log in just to view the forum. So, if you are even interested, you are welcome.

Isn't that the point of "increasing your membership" and "encouraging others" and all the other buzzwords that we are trying to accomplish?

"We also encourage you to let your members know that they will need to "sign in" with you during the Rally. Since administration of these awards will not be done during registration, this data will have to be brought to the Awards Booth (in the BMW MOA Building) by 1:00 pm on Saturday of the rally. A comparison of the two lists will stand as a verification of your club's entry for validation by the Awards Committee."

MOA gets the registration form where an attendee lists if they are affiliated with MOA, a local club, a virtual club, etc. Does this mean every club, virtual or not, needs to staff the Registration tent with someone during all open hours, to be available to checkmark who arrived at the rally? Why do you need to compare two lists?

"Yes, we do understand that this is laying yet another burden on your leadership responsibilities, but we want to insure a fair accounting for these prestigious awards."

I think this concept for accounting is nonsensical.

Anyone who shows up and lists that they are a "member" of a virtual club should not need any verification. We are "virtual" because we are on the web. In our case, we are open to anyone.


You are overlooking the first FACT: They have chosen to attend the BMW MOA Rally.

You are overlooking the second FACT: The fact that they bother to list a virtual club at all is an indication that they are "one of us" as well as one of anything else they want to list. We are not a secret society and neither is MOA.

You are overlooking a third FACT: If the rally was ONLY open to MOA members, it would be a different situation.

How can you constantly support and encourage growth and participation, and then impose some sort of identification verification process? Virtual Club members are pretty much self-defining.

You are penalizing a functioning aspect of the Virtual Club-as-Charter Club process. Don't tease us with potential recognition of our success and then make it impossible for us to enter the playing field.

Sincerely,
The Chromeheads Motorcycle Club #274

Bloomsburg PA:
Largest Virtual or Special Interest Club
1. #274 Chromeheads...................................76
2. #329 Veteran BMW Riders..........................39
3. #264 BMW Road Animals Touring Society......34
4. #650 The Chain Gang................................26

519600.jpg
 
Well... Looking at the Chromehead's "site" the member list is a bit "outdated" for lack of a better term.
Being a member and not participating since 2004 in my mind tends to skew the numbers.

Perhaps after determining what an active member is, say posting and contributing in a fairly recent time, constitutes a member in good standing.

So... Clean house and print a list of who's been active in the past 12 months and present that.
Not so hard to do. Your moderators over there like to "control" things so this shouldn't be to large a task.

Get Crackin'!


green-pistachio.jpg
 
Virtual Clubs

As far as I know, the membership roster thing really only applies to the local clubs competing for the largest percentage of members attending.

The virtual club award has in the past only considered raw number of attendees.

In TN 2009, they wanted a list of those attending turned in.
In PA 2011, they only asked for a total number attending, but we did have a list as supporting documentation should there be any questions.

We had a gathering at the Bier Garten on Thursday evening, and a ride gathering on Friday morning where we attempted to document those attending. We also added names to the list as we found them on the Rally grounds. It was a fantastic GROUP effort!

I would suggest making contact with the Awards Chair listed on page 155 of the March ON for specific guidance on requirements for this year's award documentation.

Hope this helps.
 
Well... Looking at the Chromehead's "site" the member list is a bit "outdated" for lack of a better term.
Being a member and not participating since 2004 in my mind tends to skew the numbers.

If a username has no profile, it is not on the member list. This is under your control. You decide if you are a member or not.

You have made my point, sir.
 
If a username has no profile, it is not on the member list. This is under your control. You decide if you are a member or not.

You have made my point, sir.

What Point?

For numbers sake let's say there are 2800 members WITH profiles.
Since March 22 2012 only 248 participated in any conversations/posts/sales or whatever.
You would be hard pressed to claim 2800 "active" members.

The user profile has a freshness date stamp.

IE: "Chromeheads274 last posted on 19 March 2007."

I would hardly call that an active member.
There are also duplicate profiles.

I had mentioned that years ago when I was trying to find WA State members.
I was told to MYOB and let the Mods Mod.
And that was by the fat little boyscout who doesn't even own a "C".

To put it bluntly the sites a mess and one of many reasons I left.
Twice!
And leaving behind a lotta great people.

I'd worry more about updating/cleaning up the site before how many plaques can be hung on a virtual wall.

~ Jim aka Grafikfeat/Gracie
 
/ mod hat on /

It appears that this applies to local clubs and likely not virtual clubs. Until the Rally Chair weighs in, let's just let this go until we get real information.

I asked one of the principals at the Airheads Beemer Club and he said he had no knowledge of this requirement for them.

Thanks...

/ mod hat off /
 
{For numbers sake let's say there are 2800 members WITH profiles.
Since March 22 2012 only 248 participated in any conversations/posts/sales or whatever.
You would be hard pressed to claim 2800 "active" members.

The user profile has a freshness date stamp.

IE: "Chromeheads274 last posted on 19 March 2007."

I would hardly call that an active member.
There are also duplicate profiles.}


So If I understand you, if someone is a lurker, and reads the Chromehead forum every day but never posts him/herself, according to you they are not an active member. I would call them a very active member.

For any rally that I chaired, virtual club members merely sign up as members, there is no cross check to club active lists.

Josh
 
So If I understand you, if someone is a lurker, and reads the Chromehead forum every day but never posts him/herself, according to you they are not an active member. I would call them a very active member.

For any rally that I chaired, virtual club members merely sign up as members, there is no cross check to club active lists.

Josh

I see. So someone with say... 126 posts is just as "active" and participating with someone who has say... 5213 posts... √ Gotcha.

~dopey me~
 
I see. So someone with say... 126 posts is just as "active" and participating with someone who has say... 5213 posts... √ Gotcha.

~dopey me~

This is about tally and awards calculating which virtual club has the most members present at the rally. You are defining or measuring, by your standards, how active some one is to be labeled active for this purpose? How many posts are required for you to consider someone active. I know that I am extremely active, but I don't post on forums often. By your definition I assume you would not allow me to be included in tally and awards calculations?

Josh
 


This is about tally and awards calculating which virtual club has the most members present at the rally. You are defining or measuring, by your standards, how active some one is to be labeled active for this purpose? How many posts are required for you to consider someone active. I know that I am extremely active, but I don't post on forums often. By your definition I assume you would not allow me to be included in tally and awards calculations?

Josh

No. You're missing the point.
One I was poking fun at our post totals and the wide gap, not creating a gauge of which to measure by.
Two, you "knowing" that you are extremely active means what? You are? How do others know that with little "visible" participation.
That being said... If you are going to claim membership numbers you do need a way to validate the claim. And I'm not saying YOU. I'm speaking figuratively.
So... Once again... In this context... Posting once or twice seven years ago hardly meets a (general) criteria of an active participant in the "virtual environment".
Got it? Good. Let's now move on.
 
Your points would be taken much more seriously if you didn't have to interject crap like "And that was by the fat little boyscout who doesn't even own a "C"."
Your opinion of someone's stature or hobbies has no bearing on this discussion, and whether he owns a "C" or even owns a bike at all, has nothing to do with this discussion. Once again, you have let your temper and personal attacks get in the way of dealing with the issues. I appreciate your points, don't always agree with them, but personal attacks demean what you're trying to do, and I don't appreciate you ragging on my friend. I'd stand up the same for you Jim, if someone said this kind of stuff about you publicly. There are ways to tell people how you feel about them, but an international motorcycle forum is not the venue for that.

Larry "Rocketman" Barasch
Moderator of Chromeheads.org
Best bunch of folks I know, past & present, Moderators & Members
Maybe a virtual club....but Real People
 
Let's get to the meat of the matter shall we? The simple requirements of membership in this PRIVATELY held club which is recognized by the MOA has a set of rules. There is no set expiration for these rules. Just abide by them and be a member. That simple. Yes, there are a lot of REGISTERED MEMBERS active or not, they are there and can walk right into our virtual doors whenever they want as a certified club member. Hey, how many of you were wallflowers at a prom or other social event?
I do not see anywhere that there should be a minimum posting requirement. As a matter of fact, I think that the only status that may be bestowed casually by the members would be an EMITRIUS status when a bike is sold.

The rules for membership are right here in this link...................

http://www.chromeheads.org/discus/messages/3/39200.html

So, what is to say that if a C/H shows up who has another bike in attendance at the rally was or was not counted because of some loosely veiled requirement from the rally chairs? What to do?

C'mon people. This should not turn into an Olympic type competition for gold. Johnson City was great for the C/H contingent there no doubt. Due to the efforts of several members, a grass roots effort was started by posting about the award campaign. It grew. It made excitement for the group and as a result, I believe that many C/H members that may have had an option to do otherwise, attended. It became a WIN WIN for the Rally which is what it all about isn't it?

Let's not make the rules so onerous that they will be too tough to follow.

I am a member and posting in several Virtual clubs. How can I compete against myself? Where would my loyalty lie?

As far as I am concerned, once a C/H, Always a C/H. Even you Jim! :)
 
Here is the pertinent text:

"For the "Largest Chartered Club at the Rally," "Club with Largest Percentage of Members at the Rally," and "Largest Virtual or Special Interest Chartered Club," "

Let's not assume it doesn't apply to whomever, until reading the whole thing yourself. Ask your own MOA club president or liaison. Ask the MOA to post the full text here in the Rally section. It is their missive.

"IE: "Chromeheads274 last posted on 19 March 2007." "

I think we are confusing Forum participation with actual activities. 2007 = 6 years with that username for this forum. None of which has anything to do with anything else.

Some of us are active OTHER than forums. In real life, for instance.

The point of this topic was to bring up to the members here that the requirements will impact them, and they may not even known about it. The decision was not brought up in advance for discussion anywhere that I am aware of, either for input by the chartered clubs, or on the rally forum.

If rally attendees don't know this requirement in advance, how can they comply? And how can you expect every club to have a dedicated "formally check in here" location at this rally, unless that was provided for in advance? We didn't know we should be prepared to provide a "physical clubhouse" on the rally grounds for a Virtual Club.

I would like to see more clubs involved in the decisions that affect clubs.
 
Here is the message

I can't believe it; I actually have been sent a message that accuses me of bringing up something that is based on Rumor, not FACT.


Here is the email we got from MOA:

"Dear BMW MOA Chartered Club Leaders,

As the 41st Annual BMW MOA "Beemers, Bigfoot and Blue Skies" International Rally returns us to the fantastic roads of the Great Northwest, Chartered Club Recognition Awards are expected to be highly valued and contested. To assure a fair accounting for these awards we will be asking Chartered Club Leaders to assist their clubs by bringing along some basic club information verify your standings.

For the "Largest Chartered Club at the Rally," "Club with Largest Percentage of Members at the Rally," and "Largest Virtual or Special Interest Chartered Club," we ask that you or your representative bring along a current roster of your club's Members in Good Standing, along with a "sign in" list of members present. (That roster can be either in hard copy or "memory stick" type formats.) We also encourage you to let your members know that they will need to "sign in" with you during the Rally. Since administration of these awards will not be done during registration, this data will have to be brought to the Awards Booth (in the BMW MOA Building) by 1:00 pm on Saturday of the rally. A comparison of the two lists will stand as a verification of your club's entry for validation by the Awards Committee.

Yes, we do understand that this is laying yet another burden on your leadership responsibilities, but we want to insure a fair accounting for these prestigious awards.

Along those lines, we ask that you remind your members that they will also need to register at the Awards Booth for the other awards. Appropriate documentation will be necessary when they apply for their award. That documentation could be as simple as your driverÔÇÖs license and motorcycle registration, or a copy of the birth certificate for an unlicensed passenger (other documents to prove age for children can be documents such as library cards, school ID, passport or something that has their name and birth date on it). The ÔÇ£goodÔÇØ thing is that we will be using Google Maps as our standard for mileage awards. For Tour Awards, appropriate gas or lodging receipts, local rally registrations, or even those certificates of speedometer calibration issued by law enforcement agencies will do the trick. A GPS that tracks distances will be accepted with receipts proving key points.

Your cooperation will go far in assuring the accuracy of the awards presentations and your leadership credibility within your Chartered Club. Earning an award at this yearsÔÇÖ BMW MOA ÔÇ£Beemers, Bigfoot and Blue SkiesÔÇØ Rally in Salem, OR., will be an honor like no other. Individual awards lend validation to your accomplishment, and Club awards attest to the camaraderie in your group worthy of bragging about!

Thank you for your support and dedication to your club,

Don Hamblin

Awards Co-Chair,

41st Annual BMW MOA "Beemers, Bigfoot and Blue Skies" International Rally"


Your own clubs either are NOT reading their email or are not communicating well.

I posted this initial topic here, to inform those affected, as well as into the private "presendential" section of the MOA forums, so that that clubs could potentially discuss this. We Can Be Part Of The Solution, if you would let us. But that topic was removed, so instead of this discussion being amongst the clubs, I suppose it is up to the members, who belong to various clubs by choice, to address these issues with the MOA at large.

No good deed goes unpunished, as they say.
 
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Virtual Reality

Here is the pertinent text:

If rally attendees don't know this requirement in advance, how can they comply? And how can you expect every club to have a dedicated "formally check in here" location at this rally, unless that was provided for in advance? We didn't know we should be prepared to provide a "physical clubhouse" on the rally grounds for a Virtual Club.

I would like to see more clubs involved in the decisions that affect clubs.

The Registration form does not contain information used for calculating any of the awards for the 2013 rally. A representative of each virtual club that wants to be considered for the virtual club award will need to go by the Awards booth in Columbia Hall to sign-up the club and present documentation of members at the rally.

Good points have been raised in this thread. Don and Marilyn, Awards Co-Chairs will take what has been said in this thread as they determine the best and fairest way to identify the largest Virtual Club in attendance at the rally.

The June BMW Owners News will contain an article on how each Rally Award is determined.

Deb Lower
2013 BMW MOA Rally Chair
 
Deb -

From the sounds of this, it appears this is something new for 2013. I don't recall this being an issue in past rallys. Can you provide some background as to why the change?
 
The Registration form does not contain information used for calculating

I know that for the registration form, years ago, a determination was made (and we were given plenty of notice about it) to limit the form to only 2 club association lines. You got to enter your main affiliation, such as a local club, and then a secondary affiliation, such as a model-specific or virtual club.

Why isn't that working?
 
I don't belong to a club but do belong to the MOA and the Airheads, so I guess I do belong to a club just never thought of it that way. Dumb me.

I think if any of us are getting that hung up on this type of an award, then maybe its time the award was dumped. Other than beer bragging rites, what does it accomplish! We all have to look at the bigger picture and don't sweat the small stuff.
 
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