Ok here is my 2 cents

Steve I understand that nothing has been decided but If I read correctly you state that without this site where would the chapters be. Well I would imagine we would still be here. We are in the process of developing a more professional website for our chapter right now. I mean we could very easily promote our site or we could promote yours. Well I for one would rather promote yours and use ours as a point of reference for what we are all about. Now I guess it all comes down to what you want but remember this THE TEXAS CHAPTER will survive either way. We will still have our meets no matter what because we are like a family now.

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Just purchased a 2001 Explorer Sport Trac 4x4 for mrs2ksport

http://communities.msn.com/2000sport

http://communities.msn.com/TexasChapter

 

Hey all, check under the SEMA site for laws on "clubs"...there is info there.
How about, not the issue of being sued by anyone for an accident, but for using a registered trademark name...who sues who there? hmmmm.
Enough of all the suing and what name etc....do like most other clubs, call yourself(your club), ie "pharside", "low intentions", etc. But use this site as you normally would, and then just post, ie "Pharside" is meeting this month, blah, blah, blah. While your attending your meeting mention how and where you met, etc...F150ONLINE.COM...if your specific club wants to pay dues or form any official by-laws have at it. Check out some of the club sites from SEMA and see how they do it. Some clubs are very organized and some are the way the Great Texas Chapter (ooopps) are (no dues, but having just a good ole time together).
Lets get off this and just use this forum like we always have...a site to post on, period. When ya meeting and where, etc.
Hell I go wherever anyone is meeting anddo I have the time to make the drive. Geez I left last month at 12am from Albuquerque, drove to Denver (6hours), met a small but great group of folks spent time at a car show (showing our trucks proudly) and drove 6 hours home to arrive back in Albq. by 11pm that same night. 23 hours to go meet and join up with a group of fellow f-150 truck owners that I met from reading this forum. Why not choice a totally unrelated name and then break it into regional groups, and gosh we just happen to all meet up here because it is a greatforum to use...hmmm
My 1/2 cents worth

 

We agree with Cableguy. Just use a name that doesn't refer to a specific website.

ie. F150 SoCal Chapter
F150 Tx Chapter
F150 Wa Chapter
F150 New Jersey Chapter and so on....

And look, no dues! Just a bunch of great people and their trucks.

Darin and Susan in San Diego, CA

 

I HAVE A HEADACHE........

 

It contradicts you discouraging us not to use the F150Online name. We have followed the rules that you implied so no harm no foul. This is a mute point now.

The main thing of this Chapter issue in my mind has to do with keeping the Chapters together. We don't want to split. We are NOT disbanding. What we want is a site that will keep us together. At the moment it looks like everyone is going to there own sites for Chapter dealing. The New Jersey Chapter has a web page with board and chat room as do the Mich. folk with ATST’s site. Tom will most likely do so as well , The Cal. guys are starting to get into all of this and we are building one as well. What we want is a site that supports us as much as we support it. If we take on the Club aspect not with the Web Site name in it that might work, but we will not have the advertisement power that I believe we need. The sticker reads F150 TX Chapter would not let people in on where to go to get to know us. If we put our own web addresses on the sticker then we are separated. I believe and have seen how having the main Web Site on our Texas Chapter stickers has help us as well as the F150Online in members.

One thing is that I don't talk with any of the other chapters that much anymore. Heck maybe our focus is out in left field on this thread, and I think that this issue is rooted deeper than we see here.

Steve as for a sale of F150Online is that what you want?? What are your future plans for the site Steve, we as members are concerned??

 

I just got a new windshield sticker...anyone wanna guess what it says?

I got a maganet too.

Mabey I should have posted this under
"Congrats to MUDDER and bigED"
then it would be back to the top.

Hey we can't leave this site until my post numbers get above one hundred!!

 

BigEd you beat me to it I was gonna get on this morning and say what are you gonna do if you had to start over with post # again.LOL

 

So let me see if I've got this right...
If Sean would drive carefully we would not have any problems ?

 

I guess I really opened a can of worms this time didn't I? In reading others postings I perceive a common thread - the support the chapters feel they provide the site and their perception of a lack of support from the website.

Speaking for myself, one of the most frustrating things to me is the effort I put forth in supporting this website and I don't perceive that I'm getting any support in return. I can't tell you the number of times I've followed trucks into parking lots just to expound the value of F150online.com and how the guy/gal really ought to go visit it. I've barged in on lunching truck owners to tell them the same. There have been dozens of times I've floored my truck just so I can pull in front of another F-Series truck in an attempt to get them to see the F150online.com sticker on my back slider. The WA Chapter is registered for a show in Tacoma on the 19th under the F150online.com club affiliation. Every opportunity to rain praise on this website has been taken.

During the early days of this site (I've been a regular since November 10th, 1997) the email server died and we were all lost without it. Many others and I offered financial assistance - mine was returned. I've offered to ship a Pentium-class server to help support the cause - 'no thank you' was the response. I've seen over and over again how we, the general membership, have offered to pay subscription/membership fees - we've never been taken up on our offers.

Steve, I'm grateful that you've shared your hobby with us. I've personally benefited greatly from what you've made possible. I've attempted to contribute where and when I could. But I know that I've supported this website and have contributed to increasing the member base. While that increase can be seen as a need for greater bandwidth and storage capacity - it can also be seen as an opportunity to seize.

What was a hobby has become a business - incorporated or not - like it or not. I picture myself as one of those people that hand out those annoying handbills in parking lots to advertise a business. The difference is that those people are paid to perform that advertising deed, or they perform that task for free because they believe in the value of what they are advertising - they aren't charged dues for the right to spread the word of a business's value.

I won't post on this subject any more - to me it's a dead issue now. I've contacted the Washington Chapter members to let them know they can continue with a F150online.com affiliation provided they meet Steve's conditions and dues requirements. But they will do it without me. I'm not stopping people in the parking lots anymore either, I'm tired of not receiving the same level of support that I put forth.

Thanks for taking the time to listen.

Tom in Tacoma

 

mumbly (and all),

Let me repeat this another way and maybe it will put a temporary end to this, at least until I have some more firm answers:

F-150 Online was established as online organization. With that there come certain legal protection for the site owner/operator. What we are talking about here is evolving the site into an online/offline organization, an intention that I never intended to undertake.

I will repeat over and over again, with this type of organization comes more legal liability with F-150 Online. What comes along with more legal liability are legal fees. We can make this quite simple:

1) If none of the "chapters" are willing to share the costs to create a legitimate offline organization, then the use of the name "F-150 Online" in a "clubs" name will be prohibited, simple as that.

2) If a "club" wants to use the name "F-150 Online" there will be standards, by-laws, rules, etc. If the club does not want to abide by these they will not be able to use "F-150 Online" in their name.

3) Nobody is advocating the elimination of any existing groups, nor trying to repress the creating of new groups. You can still use the F-150 Online Message Boards to "recruit" or "promote" your events. No problem.

Does everyone get this??

I am not going to entertain answering the following...

[qoute]Steve as for a sale of F150Online is that what you want?? What are your future plans for the site Steve, we as members are concerned??[/quote]

...until I hear from whom you heard the rumor that it is up for sale.

Steve

 

Sp, Tom, the fact that this site even exists and does not cost you a penny to use (regardless of the offers you put forward) does not mean a thing to you. It seems absolutely short-sighted that you feel that me wanting to protect my personal liability is somewhat of a personal affront to you? How on earth do you arrive at that conclusion.

And this statement will certainly not help things at all, re-read this thread. At this time there are no dues, no requirements, nothing.

This is sickening to me. Because I feel the desire to not risk my house and personal belonging, people are implying that I do not support you? Give me a f*ckig break!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

You'd miss what a lot? Did I say or imply this site is shutting down? You'd still be the same group of people, still have the same resource on which to communicate. Am I missing something here?

 

I think if everybody read this thread level headed it would all make sense. I don't think the Webmaster has stepped on anybody's toes by asking that we restrict the use of 'F150Online.com' within "chapter" names until he has performed his legal reserarch upon the matter. As he mentioned earlier it is temporary for the moment. Think about this, would you want a club to be formed and named after say your family name which had no restrictions or limitations to adhere by? Probably not.

And by the same token I don't think anybody who affiliates themselves with a "chapter" would object to abiding by specific rules, possibly paying dues, if it were to mean that everybody could be maintain our current status as a F150Online chapter.

Everybody here, I believe, wants the same thing but in order to do so Steve does need to grant us permission. As you can read he has not abandoned the idea as of yet but we need to allow him the time to make the decision and take the necessary steps to uphold the integrity of his creation. I'm sure everybody else would demand the same respect if they were on the other side of the fence.

There is an answer on the way I'm sure. No need to get up in arms and abandon ship unneccessarily. Neither parties (Chapters or Webmaster) are trying to harm or discredit the other. But in this type of relationship there abolutely needs to be some type of foundation for rules for legality purpose. Let's just await the solution and until then.......CAN"T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG .
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2000 F-150 XLT
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[This message has been edited by 19-SeventyFord (edited 08-09-2000).]

 

1) If none of the "chapters" are willing to share the costs to create a legitimate offline organization, then the use of the name "F-150 Online" in a "clubs" name will be prohibited, simple as that...

(ok I am pretty sure the tx chapter will pay our share of club cost....DAVENSA)

2) If a "club" wants to use the name "F-150 Online" there will be standards, by-laws, rules, etc. If the club does not want to abide by these they will not be able to use "F-150 Online" in their name.

(Rules are good...we have talked about it...so I dont see a problem here...DAVENSA)

3) Nobody is advocating the elimination of any existing groups, nor trying to repress the creating of new groups. You can still use the F-150 Online Message Boards to "recruit" or "promote" your events. No problem.

Does everyone get this??( DOG GONE IT , I hope so...but I still have a head ache)

davensa

 

Sorry one more note I realized after I had already posted. This goes out to Tom in Tacoma, because I have a sneaky suspicion that you have not abandoned the site as you stated that you have. What in the HELL do you think that Steve owes you for promoting this site? Have you been employed by F150Online? What kind of compensation could you possibly expect for promoting this site? Does Coca Cola owe me a paycheck because I tell all of my friends that it is delicious? No I have done this on my own will. Just because Steve is an individual rather than a large Corporation and he is easily accessible does not give anyone the right to dictate what decisions he does or does not make. This site has obviously gotten very personal for people and touches nerves when it comes to situations like this. but in the REAL WORLD S&*T happens that we don't have control over and we need to learn to DEAL!