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Grex > Coop > #278: Grex Town Hall -- How do we move forward? |  |
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| 25 new of 357 responses total. |
richard
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response 317 of 357:
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Jul 12 05:50 UTC 2010 |
re #316 I think grex has forgotten the communal spirit in which it was
founded. MNet had started as this liberal idealistic place, but then it
was bought by this guy who needed to see a return on his investment and
made business decisions. Grex was started by disaffected MNet users who
wanted to be part of a community in which everyone could have an equal
stake, where one person didn't own it. Where everything was shared and
the objectives were the common good, an internet community that users
could be part of and where nobody was more important than anyone else.
Grex was seemingly intended as a microexample of what society itself
could be if people worked together.
What has happened is that the communal idea, of grex as a community
where the users collectively build something that is a whole of all of
its parts and everyone shares of what it becomes, has been overrun by
those with a libertarian ethic. With all the freedoms it offered, Grex
has ended up becoming not the bastion for liberal idealism and community
that was intended, but rather a haven instead for those who don't want a
community, who don't care about a community. The idealistic liberals
and progressives who founded this place and used to post here have been
replaced by libertarians and conservatives, those whose basic idea of
community is not to have one but to be left alone.
Somewhere along the line Grex ceased being a community, and the great
idea behind its founding was lost. Now its a place where right wingers,
libertarians and trolls, none of whom have or had any desire to see Grex
grow or thrive as a community, but all of whom can take advantage of
Grex's lack of moderation and censorship, are most of whats left.
Grex was a great idea once. But that was a then. Now its just like an
old ship that lost most of its crew a long time ago and because it was
built sturdily and still sails, and hasn't sunk yet, pirates who
couldn't give damn of what it was built for are content to sail it
around until it sinks.
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kentn
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response 318 of 357:
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Jul 12 12:38 UTC 2010 |
My point would be that Grex does not need to be one idea that has run
its course. With some innovation and creativity, it might become a new
community, using what it has learned from the past nearly 20 years.
But, as Richard points out, it can't be a thriving community with people
who don't care. We need enthusiasm for meaningful, purposeful change
and doing things to help.
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lar
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response 319 of 357:
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Jul 12 13:29 UTC 2010 |
LOL...too little too late.
gelinas is right...grex won't last the year
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kentn
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response 320 of 357:
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Jul 12 14:42 UTC 2010 |
So you are unwilling to help?
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lar
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response 321 of 357:
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Jul 12 14:54 UTC 2010 |
look,it's over. Times have changes it's time to move on. Or take
tonsters offer and let him set grex up like m-net. Our dues are like 15
bucks a year and we never go down.
thanks tony
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kentn
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response 322 of 357:
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Jul 12 16:24 UTC 2010 |
Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed
Pearl Harbor? Hell no!
The dues are in the by-laws so it would take a by-law change to modify
those. Not impossible, but would need enough voters. Considering we
have money in the bank and need members more, it would make some sense
to lower the dues as long as we could still pay for operations and
improvements. Also, other similar services have lower dues, so from a
competitive view, they should be lowered.
For those who don't care about Grex succeeding, why are you still here?
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mary
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response 323 of 357:
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Jul 12 16:40 UTC 2010 |
Why don't we ask people to send in 3 months worth of dues? That's
currently $18. According to our bylaws they will then be able to vote on
a bylaw change to lower dues. The new, lower amount, could be made
retroactive to, say, January 2010, so those that paid 3 months are now
member for a year.
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richard
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response 324 of 357:
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Jul 12 16:45 UTC 2010 |
re #322 yes but it was also in the bylaws that you needed to be a
current dues paying member to vote in elections and the board simply
voted to ignore that part in December when it was apparent that almost
nobody was a dues paying member at that point. The board simply decided
that anybody who had ever been a member could vote. On the basis of
that precedent, the board seems to be able to waive or ignore the bylaws
as the need presents itself.
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slynne
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response 325 of 357:
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Jul 12 17:04 UTC 2010 |
resp:324 I think that is a good idea
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rcurl
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response 326 of 357:
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Jul 12 17:22 UTC 2010 |
Re #322: "...the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?"?
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nharmon
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response 327 of 357:
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Jul 12 17:55 UTC 2010 |
Rane. Don't walk...RUN... to the nearest movie rental place and rent the
1978 classic, "Animal House".
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tod
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response 328 of 357:
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Jul 12 18:29 UTC 2010 |
re #326
And it ain't over now. 'Cause when the goin' gets tough...
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kentn
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response 329 of 357:
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Jul 12 21:08 UTC 2010 |
Re 324, so that's an excuse to repeat the mistakes of the past? I don't
find that a credible argument. Exceptional circumstances sometimes call
for exceptional measures but not necessarily now. Honestly, if people
won't pay for a membership, even the Board, we are in big trouble. I've
encouraged the Board to pay up to be in line with the by-laws. We'll
see how that goes. The idea of a 3 month membership that could be made
retroactive into a yearly membership sounds like a good idea to me, if
we can get the by-laws changed to allow that. It would even apply to
the Board.
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richard
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response 330 of 357:
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Jul 12 22:06 UTC 2010 |
I like Mary's idea of moving the conferencing to a new platform. If
this is done, wouldn't a benefit of it be that the corporate structure
of grex-- which is to say 'cyberspace communications, inc." could
finally be disolved? It is beyond obvious that whatever users are left
here are not really enough to support a corporation and there aren't
any other non profit activities going on that this corporation
supports.
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mary
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response 331 of 357:
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Jul 12 22:17 UTC 2010 |
Except I wasn't suggesting moving anything. Everything here would
continue as it otherwise would. A second system would not look or behave
anything like this one. It would be quite different, actually. Or at
least that's my hope.
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rcurl
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response 332 of 357:
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Jul 13 03:51 UTC 2010 |
If the bylaws are changed to change the dues, I recommend that the bylaws
simply give the Board the authority to set the dues. It is rather unusual for
bylaws to give specific financial specifications, like dues.
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lar
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response 333 of 357:
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Jul 13 03:57 UTC 2010 |
greedy cocksuckers...
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richard
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response 334 of 357:
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Jul 13 05:53 UTC 2010 |
I don't think dues should be asked for unless the board submits a plan
for the future of grex. Right now as Grex's future looks bleak and
nothing changes, you aren't making an argument for why this organization
is worth supporting. Don't raise dues, or even ask for dues, until
things get better. If Grex proves itself viable again there will be
support for it, n the meantime its bills are minimal and it has money in
the bank to last at least another year. I would suggest that doing
anything about dues right now should in no way be a priority.
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lar
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response 335 of 357:
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Jul 13 10:06 UTC 2010 |
a busted clock is right twice a day and richard has the day's first
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mary
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response 336 of 357:
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Jul 13 10:47 UTC 2010 |
I want to be a voting member so I'm sending in $18. Now, if nobody else
does I guess it's all going to pretty much go my way. ;-)
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slynne
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response 337 of 357:
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Jul 13 14:28 UTC 2010 |
resp:336 I was thinking of getting 10 of my closest friend memberships
as gifts and then starting a movement to remove certain items by
membership vote just to see if I could get people to complain about it
for the next ENTIRE decade!
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denise
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response 338 of 357:
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Jul 13 14:34 UTC 2010 |
I've paid my dues for 6 months so there's a couple of us members that
can vote. Plus the couple other paid up members. We're on a roll! :-)
I do like the idea of a 3 month membership.
[Lynne slipped in...]
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keesan
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response 339 of 357:
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Jul 13 14:36 UTC 2010 |
Have the two phone lines been dropped yet? I don't want to be paying for
lines that nobody is using.
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lar
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response 340 of 357:
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Jul 13 15:42 UTC 2010 |
re# 337
you were "thinking" i doubt if it amouted to much
re#339
stfu shopping cart girl,you pay nothing anyway
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kentn
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response 341 of 357:
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Jul 13 16:09 UTC 2010 |
Re 339: see coop item 279 for the decision on this. I've been told
that the request for one line to be dropped has been made to the phone
company. I'm unsure if that has occurred yet. It's up to the phone
company once the request has been made.
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