Official Region West Facebook Group

[Steve]

One other thing to keep in mind, is the a fair number of Overland Bound badge-holding Members are *not* participants on this forum. They participate via Instagram, Facebook, the Member-only Facebook groups, and YouTube. Or, are badge-holding members and don't engage on any social media, but still want to peruse the Facebook Groups. Requiring a member badge number helps facilitate including these members.

 

[slomatt]

@FrankRoams ,

It sounds like you and I have the exact same viewpoint on trail runs and meetups, anybody is welcome as long as they are respectful to the rest of the group and the trail.

The reason I started this paid vs non-paid discussion was because payment is the gateway to being able to join the West Region Facebook group. This came to light last weekend when I met other OB members in person who suggested that I join the FB group, but since I have not paid into OB I am not able to. This establishes a two tier system of "forum members" and "paid badged members".

If the goal is to foster community then perhaps it would be appropriate to judge "Facebook worthiness" based on the OB forum badging system (ex. Ambassador, Adventurer, etc) and/or the point system as alternatives to being a paid member?

- Matt

 

[Michael]

I'll add to what Frank said, and he is absolutely right...no one is measuring you, but likes vs posts IS tracked for Members, and our MEMBERS are rated accordingly. You can see it in the Rally Point Announcements they create. So in fact, our members are under more scrutiny than non-members.

Your contributions are very much appreciated. Regarding "At the end of the day the pay-to-play setup on OB is a different business model than many other forums", its because other forums do not offer what we do in terms of the software we have developed. We offer what other forums do for free, and more, and we don't have ads! We are a BETTER value than other forums for people who are not members. That is at least part of the reason our forums continue to grow - we offer a better service for free, with no ads. That is part of our mission to provide free access to information.

 

[Michael]

@FrankRoams ,

It sounds like you and I have the exact same viewpoint on trail runs and meetups, anybody is welcome as long as they are respectful to the rest of the group and the trail.

The reason I started this paid vs non-paid discussion was because payment is the gateway to being able to join the West Region Facebook group. This came to light last weekend when I met other OB members in person who suggested that I join the FB group, but since I have not paid into OB I am not able to. This establishes a two tier system of "forum members" and "paid badged members".

If the goal is to foster community then perhaps it would be appropriate to judge "Facebook worthiness" based on the OB forum badging system (ex. Ambassador, Adventurer, etc) and/or the point system as alternatives to being a paid member?

- Matt

Oh...regarding Facebook. I've worked with Facebook since they were live, personally, and in business. Some of my very good friends work there. Many of the reasons for being private have already been addressed, but I will add, I do not like what they do with their data, and how they use the information, and capitalize on non-private groups. Making the Overland Bound Facebook groups public is a non-starter, at least until they significantly change their business practices.

 

[slomatt]

Making the Overland Bound Facebook groups public is a non-starter, at least until they significantly change their business practices.

Hi Michael,

Just to be clear, I was not suggesting that you make the OB Facebook groups public. I was questioning if payment into OB is the best way to determine if a forum user can join a OB Facebook group, and I suggested some possible alternatives.

- Matt

 

[Dominic OB0158]

Hello Inland Empire meet-up at Romano’s Chicago style pizzeria. Year end Calendar review for 2019 hope to see you 1 PM. Romano's, 285 E Alessandro Blvd, Riverside, CA 92508

 

[RoarinRow]

Joined! I’ll be checking here and FB for updates, get togethers, etc.