Another Stamp Society Bites The Dust

Stamp Community Family
I guess I'll be sitting in the den at the folding table with the children.

Nah, to heck with a table. Sitting in the recliner in front of the widescreen with a food tray watching football is the place to be! Let the inlaws and outlaws babble and chat all they want.

Let me ask this question.

How many traditional stamps clubs / societies actually maintain a discussion forum as part of the group for members to interact, etc?

I am not aware of any but then not a member of that many societies. I would curious who some are.

Back in the stone age, when I was secretary of the Classics society, part of my job was to maintain a membership directory. This was a roster of all members who were ok with sharing their contact information with others. This is/was a common benefit for many stamp societies - they facilitated contact with people of similar interests.

When the internet came along, we expanded to include email addresses in the directory, and also homepages. This was several decades ago.

A society forum, in the modern era might be a nice benefit, but I wonder if it's worth the extra cost to the society & members — or if an open forum such as this will become the de-facto new way of connecting.

"I wonder if it's worth the extra cost to the society & members"

It depends but there multiple "no cost" stamp discussion forums around. This one has supporters and relies on other funding. It would nothing for the bigger stamp groups. SOR and SCF are also no cost.

While there is certainly a generational factor - the old coots on the board already know how to reach each other by phone - I suspect there is a practical attitude, eg, anyone who likes that kind of thing (chatting online) can already get it without any help from us.

Cheers,

/s/ ikeyPikey

I can think of two I belong to.

Civil Censorship Study Group http://c-c-s-g.org/index.php

has a forum on their website, which is available only to members.

The Mexico Elmhurst Philatelic Society International (MEPSI) has a loose connection to the MexiMail Forum,

http://meximail.org/index.php

which was originally established and moderated by an ex-President of MEPSI. Officially it is independent of MEPSI, and open to anyone who wants to join (like this group), but many participants are memberrs of MEPSI.

This gets thrown so cavalierly that you must know something I don't. There are at least four online forums where one can go and state all sort of things about the APS and I have done my very best to engage people on all fronts. There are exceptions, pending litigation and investigations are off limits for me to discuss.

I have laid out a fairly detailed set of targets to accomplish engaging the member and non-member community of the APS. This and other forums are a means to an end, not an end. The APS has opened the channel of communications and feedback to the philatelic community and, as you know, we will continue to grow in the months and years ahead.

This or any forum has a constituency, as do clubs, affiliates, and other assemblages of collectors. I'm sorry your local club does not work for you, but I've been to many around the country and they are working for about half of our membership and there are some great clubs that are growing.

The implication of your point, to those who are not familiar with the APS, is that we are some cloistered group of people who've raised the bridge to the stamp collecting castle. Nothing that has happened in the past two plus years I've been with the organization confirms that. I am proud of the openness we've pushed for and where we are going.




Since I have known Mick for more than a decade, I can speak to this. If you met him in person, he wouldn't show you his recent collection acquisitions. But, if you showed him yours, he would listen and ask a bunch of questions and probably talk about someone he knows who collects similarly and offer to introduce you.

We have to allow people, whether they are the President of the APS or the newest member to be who they are and give them a place to enjoy their hobby and how they do. There is a bias to online forums that this is the way it must be and then everyone else agrees. Of course because you are all using an online forum, but I go back to the original point. It is about engaging people where they are and getting feedback from all. Well, we're doing it and will continue on as many channels as we can.

Scott

Scott,

I accept some who do not venture online but believe some avoid it for several reasons. As I said previously, I recall a situation where well know people said they would participate but never did because they would worried about being challenged. They are worried about the drama and drama (personal arguments) often drives people away.

This can limit how societies survive in modern times where the number of web masters, newsletter editors, people willing to volunteer as officers, etc. are diminishing. Online activity can help. A lot has to do with some groups focused on print and online is limited to what is in print and once the newsletter no longer has a editor, etc. it can basically kill a group.

I will think one interesting sight would be when Linn's has an article on how to make stamp forums a success. The only stamp near me is once a month and during the week and work prevents even going. Thy have a Facebook page (no website I have seen but nothing is posted. I cannot tell how many are following the page.

Closed forums have their benefits. For example, members of a local stamp club might not want discussion of their local issues visible to the world. An example might be, "We just got this fantastic donation and it will be in Bill's garage for the next two weeks for sorting. Come over and help, here's the address ..." You can use email, but a forum has many other features and doesn't throw ads within an email client.

Cost isn't an issue. Private discussion forums can be set up for free using platforms like www.groups.io. I have established several for various hobby groups and they work extremely well. Admission of members can be controlled, as well as visibility of posts. It supports posting data files and images.

Angore- Two additional societie with discussion forums: The China Stamp Society and the Germany and Colonies PS (UK). I don't think you even have to be a member to participate.