Ducati Sporting Club UK > General > Idle Chat > DSC Membership ? POLL

[BDG]

I would vote to join, despite some negative points about the club, and the political bitching (a large portion of the North and Scotland opted not to renew a while ago because of aforesaid issues) i still think the plus points, as well documented by Jools out weigh the negatives for being a member.

I have remained a member whilst many of my good friends have not. I don't think this is anything to do with DuN either.

I've asked some of the people concerned and it was DSC issues, not DuN that drove them away.

Having said all that i will renew again next year, IMHO there are still a lot of good points about the club.

Final comment, personally i'm devastated that Pronto is not deemed worthwhile, must be my writing from time to time

(FFS that last comment is tongue in cheek )

[Henners]

Final comment, personally i'm devastated that Pronto is not deemed worthwhile, must be my writing from time to time

(FFS that last comment is tongue in cheek )

... that says it all in two sentences Shaun

[Athelstan]

Originally Posted by BDG

Final comment, personally i'm devastated that Pronto is not deemed worthwhile, must be my writing from time to time

(FFS that last comment is tongue in cheek )

Shaun - your Marakesh Express (Issue 32) was one of the great Pronto pieces, and, I was looking forward to Part2. Did it not get published, was it censored??? (too many locked in toilet escapades)

[khushy]

which they are probably not - but I dont really care . . .

I vote (for myself only) NOT to join - although I have been a member before.

Sure the online forum is valuable, but I find the "clique" very very sad indeed as I also find the level of control that the MT tries to inflict on the forum and membership in general. Most of the time this place is a pi*sing competition or a popularity contest - laughable really.

It seems if you dont have a "popular" view - you are not worthy and shouldnt have a view at all - you might even have your view deleted by the powers that be!!!

There also seems to be a lot of double standards when it comes to how some members are treated - I for one would much rather support the DD Series directly - cause I think that, followed by the forum, are the ONLY things of value that this "club" has going for it right now!

I'm with the 17% on this one - unsurprisingly!

Khushy

PS - there are some valuable relationships to be made here - I have had loads of advice and banter that has helped me with my biking experiences. I have also offered and would like to think that I have helped people here too - thats what life is about - but the politics and bull*hit that goes on most of the time is of no interest to me?!?!?!?!?!?

[Iconic944ss]

I find it disapointing that a non-member can continuously belittle the efforts of the Pronto team. If the content is coming under fire then the majority of that is due to the material supplied by the membership.

Sorry to re-state Jools post but its so good that I feel its worthy of it - especially as the original first post appears to be aimed NOT at whether existing members rejoin but at NEW members.......

Originally Posted by Jools

Getting all the advice and banter on this board (24 x 7 now the webteam have cracked it) is good value for 38 pence* a week !

Paying for your membership fee over and over again with discounts from dealers and insurance is good value for 38 pence a week !

Heavily discounted club trackdays even just once a year (and especially at Cadwell this year) are good value for 38 pence a week !

Getting a club mag that is gonna get better all the time is good value for 38 pence a week !

Having access to a network of regional organisers is good value for 38 pence a week !

Being a member of a club with it's very own race series is good value for 38 pence a week !

Being part of a club through which I've met people who I'm proud to call some of the best friends I've ever had is absolutely priceless !!!




I 'joined' the DSC just by browsing the web. I got so much out of it that I wanted to put something back into it and reckoned that 38 pence a week was peanuts (in fact a bag of peanuts is 40 pence). Following on from that I got more involved and was elected onto the Management Team in January to try and support the regions.

Being on the MT is hard, thankless work that sets you up as an Aunt Sally for everyone with grievance to have a pop at you, it also involves countless hours doing stuff that's just part of club admin, nothing to do with your 'role' on the MT. Before anyone has a go, I'm not whingeing about this, it was my choice to put myself up for it on the basis that the more you put in the more you get out. What I get out of it is the satisfaction of knowing that I'm helping to run a club that has given me a lot and I'm putting my effort where my mouth is - contrary to popular belief there are few perks or fringe benefits to being on the MT but I still feel that I get far more out of it than I put in.

Of course, with any club this size, there are people who like to moan. There are people who are antagonistic. There are people who are prone to childish ranting. There are people whose behaviour is just plain boorish. Thankfully these people are in a very small minority, but it's easy to kick up a disproportionate amount of fuss and give the impression that the DSC is nothing but a forum for bickering kids.

There is no doubt, and no point in hiding the fact, that as a club like ours matures there will be people who disagree (sometimes very strongly) with others. That is especially true of people who have had issues with the MT and we have been through a tough patch trying to resolve these disagreements - in some cases we may just have to agree to disagree. However, as an optimist by nature, I truly believe that we have now worked through those differences and we have a committed team in place who are dedicated to promoting the healthy life of this club.

In my view, the healthy life of this club is not exclusive. It should welcome everyone and also applaud other peoples attempts to further the cause of having fun with like minded people on what (for my money) is the best type of motorcycle in the world bar none. That's why I had no hesitation in posting up links to the Ducatisti site and why I regularly lurk around DuN. These things are reciprocal. Gizmo, the main man behind DuN also put a huge amount of work into this club's newly proposed constitution that went out with Pronto this week (and he wouldn't have done all that if he couldn't give a stuff about the DSC) and why people from Ducatisti have volunteered to be regional coordinators for the DSC. After all, we all love Ducatis.

As in all things you can't please all the people all the time. It would be a boring old world if everybody had the same type of bike, likewise it would be pretty boring if every bike club was exactly the same. That's why individuals have a choice, if the DSC doesn't suit their taste there is the DOC, MOC, DuN and Ducatisti to choose from and good luck to everyone of them.

For me, and not knocking the others 'cos I like them as well, the DSC is the best club and it's only 38 pence* a week

*Based on a £20 yearly sub after the first year

[Henners]

Fundamentally disagree with you Frank

The role of pronto editor is a full voting member of the MT - that was never the case before. With that status also comes responsibility. If the members are not providing information - and why should they they're not journalists - then it is the role of the editor to commission or find interesting material - the editor is not a post box All you have to do is read what some of the members are doing on here to know that there are some great stories being 'written' every day. You then pick up the phone and interview them! And that's just one small avenue to follow - there's loads more!!

If you like I'll guest edit a copy for the club magazine and demonstrate that it isn’t difficult in the least.

One final point - the members are entitled to 6 copies of Pronto a year. That's one every two months. How many so far this year?

Henry

[psychlist]

The last Pronto was much more interesting than the ramblings about an Arabian desert jaunt, I was in this one! Twice

[Tonio600]

Originally Posted by psychlist

The last Pronto was much more interesting than the ramblings about an Arabian desert jaunt, I was in this one! Twice

So was I, twice
I did love it as well

[Iconic944ss]

Pronto is obviously only a fraction of what the DSC is all about but, it is an important "Shop-front" for the club and it members - Henry, if the editors position was a paid one then I could agree with you to some extent - having an idea of how arduous putting together even a simple magazine can be, I only have admiration for the Pronto team...

Sorry for hi-jacking the thread!

To return to which:- if I'd have thought about it a little more this year I would of bought a lifetime membership as the friends alone I've made on here are worth it.

Cheers - Frank.

[phil_h]

The DSC is one of the most active and interesting groups of people I have ever met.
If you want advice, amusement, a rant or a ride you have a good chance of finding it here





oh, and there's the ridicule, the arguments, the politics, the handbags and the posing too, but everybody expects that anyway dont they