Forming a virtual brewing club?

[Chippy_Tea]

On a potentially more negative note; do we need to consider 'entry criteria'? If we're doing zoom calls, sharing addresses, etc. then there may be some privacy concerns if it's open to anyone that creates a forum account.

Just kicking the tyres here,
I imagine if it was to go ahead there would also be issues with moderation this is not a forum owned by one home brewer its owned by a huge company i doubt they would want a zoom call with no moderation at all but this of course could be sorted by giving the moderating powers to trusted members.

 

[Stu's Brews]

Just kicking the tyres here,
I imagine if it was to go ahead there would also be issues with moderation this is not a forum owned by one home brewer its owned by a huge company i doubt they would want a zoom call with no moderation at all but this of course could be sorted by giving the moderating powers to trusted members.

Playing devil's advocate slightly... How would a 'club' zoom call be any different to one organised by a few forum members via DM?

If it was a concern then I guess you'd have to nominate a 'chairperson' to be responsible for ensuring the call adheres to forum rules.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Playing devil's advocate slightly... How would a 'club' zoom call be any different to one organised by a few forum members via DM?

The latter wouldn't have any official ties to THBF it would be a private chat room.

 

[DocAnna]

...maybe even a Gannt chart..... . Oops not at work at the moment Anna!

I should explain, I do love a good Gannt chart.... sorry it's a tidiness and organising thing

There is another option of course which is to join whichever brew forum already has the zoom call brew club. That sort of suggestion might get me deleted though, so perhaps if it's too much complexity to organised a THBF zoom group then we could publicise whichever clubs are willing to accept virtualised members like the London one @JockyBrewer mentioned. There is a local Glasgow one that I did once dial into on one of the nights I was off work, but I did feel a bit of an interloper. One of the merits of a THBF one would be that quite a few of us know one another from our posts as it is. It would even be possible to be superhero like with your secret identity intact and using your forum name.

Step one is finding out how to get the forum on the lists for clubs for competition.... anyone here already know?

 

[Agentgonzo]

I'm unlikely to enter into any national brewing competitions for a variety of reasons (primarily because I'm lazy and postage seems hard ). I'm not a member of a local brew club. But if I were to enter into a regional/national comp, then I would want to enter this forum as my club, as it serves the same purpose for me as a club. I've had a huge amount of advice and enjoyment from here

 

[Braumeister]

Step one is finding out how to get the forum on the lists for clubs for competition.... anyone here already know?

@DocAnna I‘ve entered a few competitions recently and they have all used the same software. It is called The Brew Competition Online Entry & Management (BCOE&M) system. I have emailed them to ask if they can add “The Home Brew Forum” as an option in the drop-down list of clubs.

 

[DocAnna]

@DocAnna I‘ve entered a few competitions recently and they have all used the same software. It is called The Brew Competition Online Entry & Management (BCOE&M) system. I have emailed them to ask if they can add “The Home Brew Forum” as an option in the drop-down list of clubs.

Thank you - If they come back to ask to confirm can we check with @Chippy_Tea that this is ok - it seems a fairly innocent step but it would feel like a good thing to recognise the forum here like that for competitions.

 

[Clarence]

Seems to me that those who want to form a club should just form a club. This isn't a club, it's a forum. If the forum becomes a club, what happens to those members who aren't really interested in being in a club? Or those forum members who are already in another club?

 

[DocAnna]

Seems to me that those who want to form a club should just form a club. This isn't a club, it's a forum. If the forum becomes a club, what happens to those members who aren't really interested in being in a club? Or those forum members who are already in another club?

This is a fair point - would you object to THBF being an option for those wishing to enter competitions, as a way of recognising the forum. There are also no reasons why people would have to be part of a club, or even being a member of multiple clubs. There seems to be a bit of a blurring of forum and club anyway, as others have noted, we are already doing a lot of things that a club might choose to do.

If there was the option to be part of a group beer swap or zoom call - would that be something you would either be interested in or would have objection to others being involved in?

 

[THBF]

Just kicking the tyres here,
I imagine if it was to go ahead there would also be issues with moderation this is not a forum owned by one home brewer its owned by a huge company i doubt they would want a zoom call with no moderation at all but this of course could be sorted by giving the moderating powers to trusted members.

Huge as in 3 people. We just work a lot.

 

[THBF]

Hmm, a very interesting thread. I've done zoom calls with 3 other people in 3 other locations, so that could be done.
And being listed as a club on the list, I'd love to see what the results of that is.
And there are logisitics to think about on this. I may need to check out an online brewers' club I know of on a different forum.

 

[aamcle]

You don't need to publicly share addresses they can go by direct messaging.

Say 50+ posts to get in, hopefully that might keep the spammers out.

It's a very good idea to go big, I Skype with a group of mates most Fridays and it works out well.

 

[Deadhead]

Well most clubs charge a subs/dues so that's one way to keep spammers out.

 

[MickDundee]

Don’t let your work schedule put you off joining a local club - there are guys in my club that are offshore workers and shift workers, and can sometimes miss 2 or 3 months in a row (or more) because of it.

 

[Leon103]

The only downside i can see about using a zoom room is it would reduce posts in one of the most frequently used threads on the whole forum especially at the weekend when it is very busy this would in turn reduce income and less content for the search engine bots to pick up, those not interested in video meetings would lose out because members in the video would not be posting the aforementioned pictures and descriptions in the thread.

I was going to say this. The owner would want traffic going through the site and not externally.

The comps we run would be pointless also.

For me personally, it's not for me. Have enough online meetings with work, rather in person meetings and always feel that any more that 5 people in a meeting and it gets messy, everyone talking over each other etc.

A couple times a week also seems a bit ambitious.

 

[MickDundee]

@DocAnna I‘ve entered a few competitions recently and they have all used the same software. It is called The Brew Competition Online Entry & Management (BCOE&M) system. I have emailed them to ask if they can add “The Home Brew Forum” as an option in the drop-down list of clubs.

One of the guys from my brew club asked to get our club added and it’s never happened - we were just told to select “other” and then type the club name in the text box.

 

[Stu's Brews]

Don’t let your work schedule put you off joining a local club - there are guys in my club that are offshore workers and shift workers, and can sometimes miss 2 or 3 months in a row (or more) because of it.

Unfortunately in some areas the availability of a club is lacking. I live in Warwickshire and the only one I know of that covers the area is the Midlands Craft Brewers.

Unfortunately, as they cover such a large area the meetings can be a long way away, making it challenging to attend unless driving (which renders any tasting moot). The most recent event was held in Nottingham which would be a 4+ hour round trip on a train for me (plus time either side getting to/from the station). They also normally host meetings on a Saturday, which for me personally is a difficult day to free up.

 

[Tess Tickle's Brewery]

One of the guys from my brew club asked to get our club added and it’s never happened - we were just told to select “other” and then buy the club name in the text box.

That's what I have done. I've written 'UK Home Brew Forum' in the text box.

 

[Agentgonzo]

That's what I have done. I've written 'UK Home Brew Forum' in the text box.

Maybe that's all we really need to do. The the forum is different to a local club, so there's not a lot of benefit in trust l trying to make it at like a local club by having zoom meetings etc. If they didn't happen naturally before, they'll probably not work.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I‘ve entered a few competitions recently and they have all used the same software. It is called The Brew Competition Online Entry & Management (BCOE&M) system. I have emailed them to ask if they can add “The Home Brew Forum” as an option in the drop-down list of clubs.

Thank you - If they come back to ask to confirm can we check with @Chippy_Tea that this is ok - it seems a fairly innocent step but it would feel like a good thing to recognise the forum here like that for competitions.

I don't see any harm in that and am sure if there is a problem @THBF will let us know later.