[Thomas]

Hi Vic,

I appreciate your position and I feel that it contains reasonable points. I only speak out of experience in another group of similar size (in Germany though). By tendency different platforms do not go along well with homogeneous groups. I did not know that there are three platforms (even worse). The argument of a "free society" is not discussable, of course. The question is, however, what the club is interested in: a) Attracting new members or b) bringing Sunbeam aficionados together or c) both. For me it is sufficient to bring Sunbeam drivers together and only hope that they join the club. The latter is a matter of information quality. And that in turn is a matter of focused discussions and a directly connected website. That however, is difficult if I have to run from house to house for collection knowledge (it's the same with using different messengers). Overall, I believe in a focusing strategy and, hence, in a single platform. But maybe such a discussion is not in the members interest.

BTW: Do you have information about how many joined the club because of Facebook and because of the club/forum website?

Cheers, Thomas

[VicYouel]

I often discuss this subject with club colleagues (it also comes up at committee) and there are actually TWO active Facebook sites..... the forum records the discussions and can be searched which is a  major advantage.  Facebook stuff just dissappears over the longer term. Trouble is that some of the better technical information has been appearing on Facebook in recent times; also it is not always right.

However we like to think we live in a relatively "free" society and Facebook is one of the many media that younger people use along with snapchat, whatsapp, and other stuff like TiToc and U Tube etc? Facebook actually turns out to be quite a good venue for recruitment of new members.... especially when they want to purchase parts when club membership is a prerequisite. It would in my opinion be very wrong to introduce draconian control methods even if it were possible because the club does not own or control Fecebook membership.

Incidentally as the club new spares officer I particular object to people who use "messenger" to communicate with me even when sending photos and videos many times people also contact me by mobile text messages which is a real nuisance.

We live in modern times and  purchases using cash,  cheques or bank transfers is extremely onerous and prone to error. The payment and data base facilities used in our club shop ensure far better management. I could go on Thomas!

[Thomas]

Hi all!

The club live apparently suffers from the club's Facebook pages. The exchange in the forum is marginal and discussions between Sunbeam owners are diversified with two platforms. This cannot be in the best interest of the club and its members. We should realize that the association with its Facebook pages outsources the exchange to a private company that commercializes user data. This means that not only the Sunbeam community as a whole suffers from this construct, but also each individual user. I think the club should retain its "sovereignty" as coordinator of Sunbeam issues and abandon its presence on Facebook in favor of international club life. The objection to lose potential discussion partners is in my opinion unfounded, because then the forum is without alternative. As a regular member of the association, I feel obliged to point out this problem and would be pleased to hear other opinions.

Cheers, Thomas