The Fra needs a defrag

[anukhet]

The Fra needs a defrag

No opinion at the moment as I am away from home and have plenty of other stuff to think about and do at the moment which is FRA related

[joey_picus]

The Fra needs a defrag

thanks Shane for bringing our corner of the boards to peoples attention. Id be in favour of a fanfic representative, I know to most people it looks like a group of fantasists playing around with numbers and adjectives but it does get people - me included - into real robots, and we also do post on this forum far more than most people as Shane has said so us budding roboteers should at least be able to have a say in the running of the website we rely on.
I freely admit that trying to get a fanfic representative will be somewhat frustrating, but it should pay off for both sides.

As for the main website...quite frankly it desperately needs some sort of change, theres nothing on there to suggest that the sport is alive and kicking in the way that it is, most activity happens on the forum which is great but what about the site that is the face of the organisation to newcomers? The most recent thing on there is from 2006 iirc, its almost three years on now and it needs something to suggest that were active.

The structure was something I discussed with Shane on MSN, cant really add much to whats already been said but regional reps are supposed to be the voices of the roboteers, and if theyre not themselves going to events and listening then theyre not doing the job they were elected to do at all.

Just my 2 cents, in the hope someone will listen.

[mightymouse]

The Fra needs a defrag

I am listening, and have been watching this thread with interest.

The structure of the FRA was set up when there were more active members - and it was the voice of the roboteers when dealing with Mentorn.

The face of roboteering has changed so much in the past 5 years, and the FRA needs to catch up. In April there will be a new President, Chairman and secretary so I am sure things will change. BUT if roboteers sit on their hands and cannot be bothered to vote - which happened last time - then the incentive to do things on their behalf will quickly fade.

There is a committee meeting sometime in January, so if people have suggestions please post them here. I can guarantee that it will be high on the meetings agenda.

I am off to inspect a new arena today.............

Trev

[psycho_fling]

The Fra needs a defrag

what are the vistor figures for the site in question? just wondering how popular it is

when i first got into this sport my first stop was the roaming robots site which gave me loads of hope and enjoyment looking through, then Jonno told me about this place and i only looked at the FRA Home Page because i saw the tiny link to the top left of this forum

[swanaldo]

The Fra needs a defrag

Thanks for your post Trev and your support as my regional rep. I will send you an Email on some points i think need changing and updating and if you would be so good as to pass them on that would be great.

The site i am reffering to Alex is this site as a whole. It needs a serious update and to be kept updated.

[stu]

The Fra needs a defrag

Well its 5 years old so no wonder, i personaly hate the damn site.

Mr Stu

[robotwars]

The Fra needs a defrag

Last time I was in a conversation about unique vistors to the FRA home page..... im sure it was about 100,000 per month.... if you do any google search its up there near the top of the list.

From what ive heard there is going to be a meeting in January 2009.

People should seriously consider contacting their regional reps with any concerns or advice... or even if they want to volunteer help !!

Remember noone gets paid in the FRA, everyone does it in their own spare time. Its easy to say we need to do this, and we need to do that.... but what it needs is more do-ers and less critics.

If your regional rep isnt doing a good job..... then go to another rep with your views.

Trevor is my rep, and he does a good job..... a few more nights at his local pub would be better though !! :-)

John

[RogueTwoRobots]

The Fra needs a defrag

What about having a refresh/update of the site etc in April to tie in with the head of office elections, to signal the start of term for the new person/people?

The time from then till now could be used to ask members for their opinions or any issues they wish to raise for discussion (or for us members to contact our regional reps to get our own views out there) and to gain an overall idea of how the sport should progress/what an updated site could offer.

Maybe it could be worth having North, Midlands and South regions to simplify things a bit, as Shane suggested in the opening post. There are currently only three of us in Scotland that are active in roboteering through the FRA, hardly warrants having our own region and regional rep, so it would possibly be more practical to group us into a North category.

I talk more than I do in regards to contributing to the community, however I see myself as a bit-part member due to only managing to a couple of events a year; Id like to be more of a do-er though so Ill aim to be more constructive in future

[mightymouse]

The Fra needs a defrag

It may come as a surprise to many, but what is posted on the forum does drive the actions of the committee, as it is the only place that we - roboteers - congregate, and speak our mind. I scan the forum every day, so, if concerns are raised the committee members are well aware of what is going on.

It is difficult to arrange meetings as many members live long distances, so there are times when we are reacting to events rather than driving things forward.

Jamie, because you live in Scotland and can only do selected events does not make you any less of an FRA member.

We congregate daily on the forum whether you are a regular poster or just a reader. Without the internet the sport would not exist as this is the only place I can find out about events and any news/gossip that occurs in our community.

The point I am trying to get across, badly, is that many feel that they have no voice, when in fact by posting here everybody gets to get involved. What saddens me is that when the membership is asked for its opinion in the form of voting for committee members, very few actually do.

I rarely go to the front page but if members feel that we can improve the service, then say what you want. If enough people ask then it will get done. The committees job is to serve its membership, unfortunately, many feel that they are being led by the nose, so keep their views to themselves.

Trev

[robotwars]

The Fra needs a defrag

heres a new concept... dont shoot me if you disagree..,,

Out of the reps, theres two people which i see actively post on the forum, and actually have an opinion on things. The others i dont.

Why not change the reps from the regions, to just two positions... a north rep and south rep, and utilise what weve got.

I vote Trevor for the North, and Karoline for the South. Eveyone has a point of contact which they know are active, and will represent a roboteers view for them.

And then again, add some extra points of contact on the list.. event organisors.... woody... mike etc....

I dont think theres anything wrong with the front page.

JOhn

[swanaldo]

The Fra needs a defrag

On the front page there are links and its in those links that needs updating and changing. The meetings should be updated as soon as there has been one arranged. All i get on the support page is a load of usless text. The contacts defo need updating and definatley someone as a point of contact for the fanfic section which is constantly overlooked. There is a vote being done to decide who that contact shall be being done right now. Dont forget even vapourbots belong in the community and there are lots of talented people in fanfic. Woody at the moment is the most helpful person on the forum by miles. He definatly needs to be a point of contact if he wants to be that is. I think April is too far away for change. Why not just change it and be done and the new posts will have a new set of contacts and know whats what. The sooner the better for me. There is a meeting in Jan and i think it should start there.

[robotwars]

The Fra needs a defrag

ok so whos going to volunteer to do it ?

[anukhet]

The Fra needs a defrag

Volunteer? Maybe Shanghai is a more appropriate word

[robotwars]

The Fra needs a defrag

what does that mean.... im havoing a blonde moment!!??

[anukhet]

The Fra needs a defrag

The dictionary definitions thanks to thefreedictionary.com
1. To kidnap (a man) for compulsory service aboard a ship, especially after drugging him.
2. To induce or compel (someone) to do something, especially by fraud or force.