"Club" membership and CT
Comments
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I think that there are many reasons why people use CT and those that don't. If you are new to this hobby you will use CT as a resource to help guide you to the right outfit for you and then get answers for all the questions you have on those first few trips away. Once you have gained experience for yourself the need for CT recedes and you may not use it again unless you have a specific question on your outfit or a destination. The other main use is purely social and there are many good threads on CT that cater for that. Then if your are brave enough you can engage on the threads that soon turn into MH v carvans, EHU v non EHU, over here v over there, club sites v non club sites or commercial club v members club, which sadly ends with posters just stating their own preference then it gets personal with content being removed or threads locked. I think that may well put people off from contributing.
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I think that's the nail on the head pretty much GE. The negativity whether it's warranted or not tends to take over many threads.
JK
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I have made a couple of suggestions for CT improvements to the club which I think will benefit the community and help reduce the number of closed threads and removed posts. Firstly give the moderaters the ability to provide an explanation of which guidelines have been broken resulting in the post being removed, I think that this would provide some education to posters on the type of posts that are inappropriate. Secondly, add a Members Only section which would I think help reduce some of the recent member v non-member negativity.
What other improvements would people like to see.
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I am not sure how long you have been a member of the forum? I say that because in the early days we did offer explanations for moderation and it actually caused more problems than it solved. The decision was made not to engage in that discussion and the T&C's were changed that required those that felt they had been unfairly moderated to contact the Community Manager direct to register their feelings. All that reporting a post does, BTW Mods don't see this reporting, is to alert Admin to the issue which has been raised and will be looked at but not necessarily be replied to individually. The main cause of posts being Deleted User on this forum is the tendency of some to go for the player rather than the ball. There is nothing wrong with robust debate but the legitimacy of a post as soon as it gets personal is lost and against the T&C's. I think it would improve things if Deleted User posts were completely removed from the listing rather than shown as "content removed".
David
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+1, the messenger was always blamed, sometimes verbally attacked too. It makes sense to me why an answer is rarely given🤷🏻♂️
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I confess to being a bit puzzled about your reference to Member v Non Member negativity to be honest. It’s not something that I can recall noticing.
Many of those who post have been long standing contributors, and might only now be Non Members as they have given up active touring, no longer owning an outfit, or might have stopped because of poor health. Many of these folks are very knowledgeable about the Club, and still have a lot to offer in terms of touring advice, outfit advice, etc….. I don’t think that help and advice, and the willingness to contribute has been diminished by simply not paying a fee to the Club. So not sure if your “Members only” idea has its merits really. It would instantly create an “us and them” scenario if you block contributors merely on the basis of paying the Club fee.🤔🙂
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I'm interested to what would the advantages be of a members only section GE? A better suggestion maybe is to have a "let's have a rant and play negative bash anything" section
As TTDA mentions, there are many valuable contributions from people who aren't members anymore for whatever reason who have a wealth of knowledge and experience (and like a bit of banter). Why exclude them and what for?
JK
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Well that's simply not true, is it, David, much though you obviously would like it to be.
Firstly, there is, and never has been, a membership fee for Club Together.
Secondly, the "us and them" negativity is quite amply demonstrated by existing CAMC members in the frequent van/MH or home/ away debates (and often one gets the impression that these are deliberately started).
And finally, there is little evidence, as far as I can see, of non CAMC members not wanting to contribute the experiences genuinely.
I can see some merit, though, in the suggestion of a separate "CAMC members only" area to discuss specifically CAMC concerns.
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+1, I for one have not ruled out rejoining CAMC, for the time being I prefer to wait for things to settle & make sense again. I’m not one to continually complain at CAMC yet maintain my membership. I applaud CAMC for their need to be seen as a modernising 21st century company & in time I believe they will succeed, they need to make money above & beyond the norm to fund their future. When they do get there I will revisit my original decision to lapse my annual fee, the current costs are not an issue. We all have to pay for better.
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I suspect that it is often not the guidelines which are broken which lead to a post being removed, but is because there has been a complaint about a post, often, simply because the post does not correspond with, or is a criticism, no matter how slight, of the views of the person who has made the complaint. I have read on a number of occasions, posters who state that they don't object to other people having a view different to their own, when they actually do!
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I have always seen CT as a bit of fun
, if you ask a question you will probably get a dozen different answers 
, but some take CT too seriously and report any thing they don’t like , .Me , I can take or leave it , as why I only post now and again 1 -
I think there are elements indeed in what you say, and in some of DK’s/JK’s thoughts. But I would add that there might be a personal element at work as well (controversial perhaps, but all I can say is that occasionally, I know who might come back at me, not always because of what I post, but because of who I am, ie playing the person, not the ball).
It goes with the territory really, most forums are a mix of personalities, and you are always going to get some very polarised opinions, and this applies equally to Members and Non Members. Compared with most forums, social media, it’s quite heavily censored in terms of topics for discussion, but then it is primarily an outlet for sharing touring ideas.
What is a bit of a conundrum is why folks who have no interest whatsoever in a thread, deem it necessary to post in such thread with their quite often abrasive opinions on the choices, likes or dislikes of others. The only resort then is the report button, (without recourse to knowing any outcome) or to commence a slanging match that ends up with posts removed or threads locked, to the frustration of all concerned. It’s the inability of a few to consider an alternative point of view, for whatever reason, that seems to be the reason why a lot of posts end up being locked. The report button really is the only choice, so yes possibly is weaponised at times. But the real focus ought to be beyond that, taking a look at patterns of behaviour and if necessary, taking more HQ deemed penalties to prevent future similar behaviour? That’s not a Member v Non Member issue, that’s an inability to debate, chat, rationalise a different point of view?
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No, I didn’t mis read, just pondering over what a Members Only section might include, Moulesy has elaborated on a possible idea, but then it would exclude a lot of former Members who have a vast wealth of experience to share.🤔🙂
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Like you I wonder what topics would be discussed in a members only section and would it then be taboo to mention those same topics elsewhere on the forum? Bearing in mind that non-members would have no idea what was being discussed in the closed section, it’s very likely they could repeat those subjects elsewhere. Seems to me it would be a moderators' nightmare.
Also, we are told the whole point of having an open forum is to attract new members to CAMC so it would seem to be self defeating to prevent non-members seeing the pros and cons of membership discussed in a closed section🤷🏻♂️
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I was thinking about topics such as the recent changes to the booking system, introduction of deposits, booking/cancellation t&c as being suitable for a "CAMC members only" section as it might be considered irrelevant to former members although definitely of interest to prospective new members. Not hidden but just open only to paying club members - probably a bit beyond the scope of the club's IT though!
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So in the interest of good debate. There's been many a comment lately that the club is becoming less of a members club, is that feeling strengthened by not having a members only forum I'm not putting forward my personal view just raising a question.
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I think the CT forum is possibly the area of the Club (beyond the Centres and Rallies set up) that remains a bit of a “members” area. Much of it is social conversation, sharing many of the things that many folks have in common, such as nature, gardening, sport, places to visit, each other’s family ups and downs to a lesser extent, children growing up, pets, health, lots of other things. Some like to get involved in this, others aren’t so keen, but that’s choice.
Then there is the wealth of experience from folks who tour here and overseas, in many different kinds of outfits, at all times of the year, and using all sorts of different sites, not just Club Sites. Many have had very valuable help in terms of making the right choice of outfit to suit their circumstances, help with outfit issues, and money saving tips on repairs, sharing all sorts of solutions to questions asked.
Look beyond this and then you have the truly social side where new friends have been made online, folks have actually met up and continue to do so, or have accidentally met up and still keep in touch when they can. CT has been a conduit for this, and continues to be so.
As for away from the more social aspects, and sharing of site information, the Club uses CT to gauge trends, and feedback. If all the feedback is weighted to happy, smiling, “we like everything, carry on regardless” type conversations, then those who make the decisions will have a somewhat skewed impression that all is right in Club land. I have no idea what trend monitoring happens, but I can’t help but think that these last couple of years have seen a huge change in modus operandi, and it certainly has been a period of upheaval away from how the Club has more traditionally operated. Change of any kind always brings debate, and there will be elements that succeed, but there will be other areas that aren’t right, and the decision makers need to know. Some will get this across by simple suggestions, others might take more drastic steps and opt out of Membership. Most will find solutions of their own, and make the most of things as best they can.
I personally don’t think that paying a fee to access the CL network makes me a more valuable contributor to CT, because most of the issues talked about are relevant to both Members and Non Members. 😁
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"As for away from the more social aspects, and sharing of site information, the Club uses CT to gauge trends, and feedback. I"
really TTDA, from my reading of CT many members/non members are always screaming about lack of communication from the club on CT, and a total disregard for what the members are shouting about, the new booking system is a case in question.
" I have no idea what trend monitoring happens,"
i dont think they use CT, even when long standing members have walked the plank, become non members and eventually given up on CT, I wonder if any of them got a call/email from the club to ask them why they are leaving. ?
But they are not a lot different from other organisations, I was a member of the AA for more years than i care to remember but changed provider last year, did the AA chase me up, I dont think so, but they used to chase you up when your membership was almost about to expire if they had not had notice of renewal.
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Oh I agree Rufs, lack of clear communication does seem an unwelcome aspect of Membership at the moment. Doesn’t mean they aren’t reading CT though, just not giving many answers on there😉 The marketing dept at HQ has been expanding recently, I am sure that someone will be number crunching from CT remarks at some point, also via Facebook as well no doubt.
Do I think the Club care who is or isn’t retaining their Membership? No, not at the moment, it’s still getting a bit of a buzz from COVID/staycation, so membership is I think still growing. Out with the dissatisfied, those who don’t like the changes, don’t waste staff time chasing them, take up is still good. It’s never been a Club that rewarded long term membership beyond a window sticker in my 30+ years of paying a Members fee. The crunch will come when the take up peak starts to plateau and then dip.
Some surprising organisations will bend over backward to keep customers onboard. I threaten Virgin Media with ending my association with them on a regular two year cycle, and always emerge with a good deal compared to their original offer. It’s getting to the decision makers that’s the important bit.
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I have just cancelled my membership from "Auto Renewal" after 17yrs!
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Mine wasn’t on auto renew so I just didn’t pay. I beat you by 2 or 3 years membership🙂
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I have no problems at all with non club members being members of CT and I can't see why it should matter. Unit it was remarked upon I never gave it a second thought. If someone wants to register and be part of CT then that is it.
Opinions are opinions, help is help, posts are posts and being a member of the club doesn't make any of those better in any way, or more valid or have extra 'points' or should be listened to more.
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