New Feature: Clubs and Groups Directory

[Andy R]

There has been a lot of talk lately about Airstream owners wanting to meet up with a group of others with similar interests. Airstreamers are social people who enjoy getting together and having a good time. Many of our members participate in clubs, meet up in groups to enjoy camping or just to socialize. In an effort to facilitate members in their "grouping up" we have developed the clubs & groups directory.

• List of Clubs & Groups
• Map of Clubs & Groups

In an effort to provide our members tools we have created a new directory for Airstream owners to find each other and have fun camping. We are hoping that our members will form clubs & groups on their own and use the directory to help people find them. The directory is also available for anyone including WBCCI units, all we ask is that your help promote our forum if we help promote your club (that's only fair).

Now is the time to start your own Airstream Club or Group!
Time to stake your claim, come up with a fun name
and put your pin on the map!

We want AIR Forums to be a central place where Airstreamers can meet online. In an effort to support this vision we provide these club and group services for free as long as they help support our online community in return. We provide free private forums for clubs and groups, events calendar (with RSVP system), photo gallery and listing in our Clubs & Groups Directory.

AIR Forums offers these services to any Airstream-related group at NO COST. The catch? If your club or group has it's own site, we only ask that you place our small badge on your club or group's home page...that's all. If your club or group does not have it's own site, that's OK, we can provide you a page for your club or group here on AIR Forums. Click Here to download the HTML code to insert into your page.

Airstream Forums - Airstream Classifieds

WBCCI Units: This is a great way to get exposure for your local unit. Being part of this program not only gets your unit listed on the Clubs & Groups Directory but we can also provide your unit tools to streamline communication with your members. If you want to learn more ask some of the members of the New England Unit (WBCCI # 064) or Four Corners Unit (WBCCI # 004) about how easy it is to use AIR to help your members keep in touch.

The following is a list of services currently offered to Airstream clubs & groups:

• Group forum on AIR Forums for your members to chat, vote, and organize events.
• Group event calendar with event RSVP services
• Entry in the Clubs & Groups Directory

Interested in using AIR Forums to support your group? To get started just use the Group Registration form, and provide the information requested. New group services usually take 24-48 hours to configure once we receive your information.

Already have your group on AIR Forums and need to change something? Contact Us and select the "Group Change Requests" option before providing information on the changes you would like to have made.

In the event a club or group does not want to place our badge on their home page, that's fine too. We offer some low cost advertising options to help promote your club or group to our viewers. Please Contact Us to discuss the options.

Thanks for being part of the Airstream community and helping make AIR Forums THE place for Airstreamers to meet online. If there is anything we can do to help promote your club or group, please let us know!

[RG Coleman]

Fantastic. I'd like to create a group right away, and later edit the slogan, description, etc. after consulting with other members. Will I be able to change the registration info after I've created the group? Thanks!

[Janet H]

We can help you with edits as needed.

[Gene]

A great idea. I hope someone starts a SW Club. I don't have time to do so.

Gene

[flyfshr]

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

A great idea. I hope someone starts a SW Club. I don't have time to do so.

Gene

We've listed the 4CU on the map and listing. Is this what you were hoping for CrawfordGene? Or are you hoping for an AirForums Camping Group?

This feature has been an awesome tool for us in the 4CU as we conduct alot of our communications, discussions and scheduling through our private forum. Any of our 4CU members who have not signed up, just shoot Richard (azflycaster) a PM and we'll get you added.

Brad
FF

[Gene]

Originally Posted by flyfshr

Or are you hoping for an AirForums Camping Group?

Brad
FF

Yes.

Gene

[47WeeWind]

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

A great idea. I hope someone starts a SW Club. I don't have time to do so. Gene

Hi Gene:

You have indirectly described another benefit of joining the WBCCI and a local Unit such as the Four Corners Unit. It has members who have the time, energy and dedication to organize Airstream events for those who are otherwise too busy to start a club themselves. Instead of depending on unknown others who have not yet materialized to satisfy your club wants and needs, you can join local WBCCI members who have been and continue to create the type of Airstream events you enjoy. Or, you can continue to hope for unknown others to form a SW Club for you . . . as the years slip bye.

[2airishuman]

hi gene

now that the endless barrage

of wb' scabbin' commercials has invaded YET another thread that's NOT about the wb'...

it's time for some comic relief...
___________

"my avon lady just became a wb'er... that may not mean much to you, but it saves me one more trip to the door." - george carlin

"i'm a wb' bystander. we's like the wb' witnesses and members, only we don't wanna get involved" - flip wilson

"somebody was knockin' at my door the other day. i went to answer the door, it was a couple from the wb'...

so i said, "yeah. What do you want?"

they said, "we just stopped by to tell you, we're not interested." - rodney dangerfield
________________

after a wb recruiter and first lady knocked on the front door of an airstream in the campground,

they heard a faint, high pitched, "COME IN" from within the trailer.

with some reservations, they tried the door and it was open, so they said "hello we're from the wb'..."

and again heard the high pitched "COME IN".

as they entered the trailer a huge, snarling doberman cornered them.

pinned against the wall, they cried out for help, only to hear the same little voice say "COME IN".

looking around, they identified the sound as coming from a cage, within which was a parrot!

the high ranking wb' fella yelled at the parrot - "is that all you can say?"

the parrot cocked his head to the side, looking at them very carefully. then it said, "SIC EM SPIKE !"...
______________

its CLEAR the clubs/groups feature isn't about the wb'

it's also CLEAR gene wasn't asking for wb' info

members of these forums are NOT unknown 2 each other and DO take the time to organize rallies.

forum events are open to EVERYONE (no silver required, NO rally fee, NO pot of nasty chili dump on fridays) and everybody.

check the calendar of events, check the HISTORY of events here.

it happens ALL OF THE TIME and without SENDING MONEY.

my understanding (from private chats with the o.p.) is that this NEW FEATURE is for ALL OF US to enjoy.

the ability to tweak this club/groups feature is about CONNECTING with each other.

members HERE can use it creatively and go WAY BEYOND the limitations of the wb'...

it's quick to use, it's FREE and it's NON DENOMINATIONAL.

cheers
2air'

[DanB]

ummm.....

The clubs feature can also be used by the "wb", right?

[silverleeper]

Originally Posted by DanB

ummm.....

The clubs feature can also be used by the "wb", right?

Absolutely

[Andy R]

This feature is available for any club or group (WBCCI included). The idea was to help connect our visitors to a group they would like to camp with. To empower people with tools to enjoy their Airstream experience. The next step is going to be a Rally Map where you can see what's going on around the USA and zoom into your area. I am hoping that by 2011 this turns into an outstanding resource for the community!

[2airishuman]

Originally Posted by Andy R

...I am hoping that by 2011...

twoaughteleven?

no hurry huh?

cheers
2air'

[Andy R]

Originally Posted by 2airishuman

no hurry huh?

Nah, I think it's a realistic time frame. Hopefully we will have quite a few listings for next summer (2010) but people will still be figuring out the system and we will keep making it better. To be successful we need to promote the feature throughout the site. I'd like to see many more clubs added to the directory before a big promotion effort is put into place. Hopefully our members can help get the momentum going by adding their club/group to the directory. If you see rally planners posting, please encourage them to put put their pin on the map!

[2airishuman]

Originally Posted by Andy R

... To be successful we need to promote the feature throughout the site. I'd like to see many more clubs added to the directory before a big promotion effort is put into place. Hopefully our members can help get the momentum going by adding their club/group to the directory...

the effort to promote, expand and UTILIZE this feature will be greatly aided...

by EXPLAINING and expanding the concept and terminology beYOND the "c" word.

and most members HERE may not yet understand the UNlimited potential of this feature.

it IS a feature that goes WAY BEYOND the limitations on any C commonly discussed here...

the point being ne1 can form a posse, gang, click, cluster, clutch, affiliation, group, assembly, CYBER group, cult following and so on...

and ALL of us would have access 2 ALL of these CELLS via the map/sites, calendars, discussion threads AND online group pages...

to looky, join, try it, meet up and so on.

except of course for those Cz that CHARGE MONEY and have EXCLUDED the MAJORITY membership HERE from connecting 2 them.

cheers
2air'

[wxbuoy]

Andy and 2airs,

How about an additional feature besides the maps and listing of groups.. I think an awesome feature would be the feature where you can put a pin on the map for a particular time period. So lets say it's Thursday and the wife and I want to go streamin, we pull up the page and see who is out and where this week-end. If there is one close, we just put our pin there as well and head on out. Kinda like a virtual internet dating service for trailers. That doesn't quite sound right, but I think you get hte point. Which is to enable the meeting of otheres with out the 6 months of planning and stuff. Just a quick look to see who is camping in our area and away we go!

What do ya think?

[2airishuman]

Originally Posted by wxbuoy

...Just a quick look to see who is camping in our area and away we go!

What do ya think?

hi wx'

i think it's a GREAT idea.

and it has been proposed several times, with slightly different features/methods....

yours is as good or better description of the concept too.
__________

unfortunately it has been NIXED every time it's been suggested.

i could point you 2 the old threads on this

but the posted reasons WHY it's not been done aren't very good (imo) in those threads.
__________

the way i've seen members TRY to accomplish this is simply by starting a thread, with titles like...

"i'll be at devils tower soon, who wants to join me"

or

"any AIRmembers going to hoboken next week?"
_____________

these threads don't provide for simple scanning for a quick meeting like u are suggesting...

and SOME of us only want 2 know where others are camping ...

so we can go the OPPOSITE direction
___________

still a MAP where members could stick a PIN (with dates/location) indicating THEIR camping spot, would be neat...


cheers
2air'

[Andy R]

I like that idea, we could call it where-streaming and also offer the ability to load photos so everyone can see the fun you are having. There are plans to put geo-based features on the blogs now that cameras are starting to add the longitude & latitude so we can track people on their adventures seeing photos from along the way. Lots of fun projects this winter!!!

[Gene]

2air pretty much answered for me, but that never stops me from writing more. I am well aware of the 4CU and would gladly join it if I didn't have to throw away $55 to support an international group I don't care for. I also don't join thousands of other groups that don't run their groups the way I like. In addition, I don't give money to political parties in opposition to my beliefs, even though I have friends who are members of other parties (misguided as they are). Why would I give the WBCCI money?

Like 2air, I have had private exchanges with the OP, and 2air has it right. It's an opportunity to explore new ways of grouping, new clubs, with different interests, different rules or no rules, dues or no dues.

It's the internet and it's being invented every day by us. I don't know what will evolve. Some will look like the past because that's what we're used to, others will be so different to be incomprehensible to me.

So we could have a Colorado Vintage Club, a SW FB Club, a No Rules Rocky Mountain Club, Left Handed Airstreamers Club, North America Weird Guys Club (Ladies Welcome), Little Bear* Drunkards Airstreamers. Pick your affinity group or your region or city. No limits. Some works, some doesn't.

Gene

*The Little Bear is a famous or infamous saloon in Evergreen, Colo. Barb and I met there proving you never know what to expect when you glo somewhere.

[47WeeWind]

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

. . . So we could have a Colorado Vintage Club, a SW FB Club, a No Rules Rocky Mountain Club, Left Handed Airstreamers Club, North America Weird Guys Club (Ladies Welcome), Little Bear* Drunkards Airstreamers. Pick your affinity group or your region or city. No limits. Some works, some doesn't. Gene

Gene:

Briefly, how would you structure the "club" to grow and prosper in today's world? What basic or general rules, if any, would apply to membership . . . events . . . affiliation . . . identification? Who would bear or cover the initial expenses for the organization and for specific occasions, like a rally? Is computer ownership a prerequisite?

[Ag&Au]

I hope no one minds me posting something about the original topic of this thread.
What is the result of forming a group? Can members correspond among themselves without the threads showing up on the portal? Anything else?
Regards,
Ken