Clarification of the affect of the voting. The second choice speaks for itself. It's the first choice which may not be as clear as I may have wished. Voting for a new Admin means that there will be two of us at the helm. The new Admin and myself. He will not be replacing me.

This is a straightforward choice. If the result is no new Admin then there is nothing else for the membership to do, I will take care of that. If you decide to have a new Admin then we will be looking for volunteers.

PS. I have just copied the text from my other post, see below, on this subject. It should have been in here in the first place. My apologies.

"Time passes folks and spring chicken time has been lost in my past  somewhere. The workload of Administration get's no less and we are now  at the point where I can no longer do the forum justice in it's present  form. As I see it I have two choices. The first is to stop all the time  consuming items which although add to the pleasure we get visually, do  nothing, in practical terms, for the day to day running of the forum.  The side panel pictures and random photographs for example. The constant  monitoring of members to make sure that the ones we have are active and  not just making up numbers also takes up time. The alternative is to  just let the numbers swell with any and all sign ups. Our team of  moderators, and I couldn't wish for a better, are surprisingly limited  in what they can actually do when it comes to forum software. The above  mentioned items being obvious ones.

My second option is to appoint another Administrator. I have done this  before with Jeff (Gwent Rail) and he had got a grip on a lot of the  things that were required of him and he would have made an excellent  Administrator for the forseeable future. Unfortunately for the forum and  myself we came to a parting of the ways and we lost a valuable member..  A very sad day for me.

Anyway, as you can see we need someone who has the best interests of the  forum at heart, who has the time to give to the forum and either knows  html and can deal with an FTP program or is willing to learn over a  period of time. The most important thing is however that the person must  be of sterling character, honest and totally reliable. I lay emphasis  on this because a person who doesn't have these characteristics could  make it his first job as Administrator to delete me from the membership  and ban me from anything further to do with the forum and there would be  nothing I could do about it. Admins have equal power, it's all or  nothing. So as you can see it's not just me but the whole forum that  would be relying on this person.

To save any modesty, false or otherwise, we will assume that we all have  the required character to be an Admin so there is no need to mention it  again.

This would also have to be a long term commitment by any person who is contemplating taking on the job.

The first thing however before I do anything else is to hold a poll to  see what the membership wants. Two simple questions either to appoint a  new Administrator and keep the forum as it is with improvements or leave  the forum under my Administration but cut right back on the workload  and frills. When voting please do not take the present management into  consideration, it's your forum so have it the way you want it."

Having read the other thread on this subject, I vote 'Yes'.

This is no way any reflection on Bob, or the Mods or anything else, but a vote for the continued format of the forum in its present state.

That's all I ask for folks, an honest opinion.

Sorry Robert, I voted no as I hadn't seen your other post and thought perhaps this was a coup to oust you.  Having now seen the reasons for your poll, I would wish to change my vote.

Perhaps members should be advised to read the reasons outlined in the second post, before voting, or better still move the poll to that post so there is only one post to read.

It would be sad day if we ever lost the results all your hard work and dedication Bob.

Without being rude, there will come a time when, as you say, it will all become too much for you to run single handed and without a "training period", any new Administrator would be starting with his/her hands tied behind their backs.

You say a new Administrator could shut you out on day one.  I'm absolutely certain that I speak for every member here when I say that such an action would be the last action that particular Administrator did on YMR. 

YMR IS Bob Heath and Bob Heath IS YMR but you need a Parliament to help.:cheers

[user=396]gordons19[/user] wrote:

Sorry Robert, I voted no as I hadn't seen your other post and thought perhaps this was a coup to oust you…………………….

I doubt such a coup would ever take place Gordon.  There may be the odd disagreement (see the current thread in Room 101) but the Boss is still and always will be "the Boss". :thumbs

I have always respected the fact that this is Bob's club and membership is accorded on his terms to, in essence, those whom he chooses though most of us have been recommended by existing members or simply applied online.

We are a lucky few in a unique world-wide internet-based group.

Most of us will be aware that Bob doesn't always enjoy the best of health nor at times the best of computer and internet systems.  While the day to day administration is probably not over-taxing it can certainly pay to have someone else in harness.  Not in any way to usurp but just as Jeff, our previous co-admin, had said to aid, support and to turn to if Bob is not available for any reason.  There are some important functions which only the administrator(s) may perform.

I will support a move to seek a second administrator for those reasons and to strengthen the support offered to the moderators.  I feel it can only benefit the membership and the club as a whole.

I voted ""yes" for all of the positive reasons already given, but in no way was my vote a mark of disrespect or ingratitude for what the Boss has done for us all.

I voted YES.

I wish to see the forum continue in it's present form.

Without doubt this is the most friendly forum on the net, due in no small amount to Bob's leadership.

All I ask is that the new Administrator pledges to continue in the same vein.

This vote is NOT intended to decry the good work put in by the rest of the moderating team.They deserve better recognition for the work they do. The unsung hero's of the club. Not an easy task, been there, done it, got the T shirt!
The moderation on this forum is the fairest and most helpful of all the forums I look at.


Sorry I've rambled on a bit over what should be a straight Yes/No vote but thought I had to add comment.

Cheers
Frank

Speaking as a newcomer  and not really feeling i have a place to vote i would
just like to say that when i first joined…. the thing that struck me the most  was
the fantastic layout of the forum….it was clear a lot of work goes into the way it runs….
And although i won't vote i would hate to see any downgrading of such an excellent "CLUB"

I vote yes for all the reasons mentioned above:thumbs

[user=563]Dock Shunter[/user] wrote:

Speaking as a newcomer  and not really feeling i have a place to vote i would
just like to say that when i first joined…. the thing that struck me the most  was
the fantastic layout of the forum….it was clear a lot of work goes into the way it runs….
And although i won't vote i would hate to see any downgrading of such an excellent "CLUB"

"Newcomer" or not Ste, you have the same voting rights as everyone else on here.  It matters not one jot if you joined yesterday or when Bob first set it all up.  You're a member just the same as everyone.   You'll also be an "oldie" one day …………

So that Bob knows the vote is what the whole club wants, please everyone, cast a vote.

I quite like the forum the way it is, However, I think Bob, that ultimately it comes down to your desires…its your baby and you should be getting the most pleasure out of the site and if maintaining it to the present standard is wearing you down and taking the pleasure out of it for you then you need to change it. And by that I mean change it to a system that  you are happy and comfortable with.

Bob, I think it is great that you want to accommodate our, the members, input and desires and hopefully those will give you some useful insights but at the end of the day i think the final decision must be yours…and I'm pretty sure most of us will gladly go along with it, whatever you decide.  

Cheers
Gene

voted yes Bob for your benefit,plus I want to keep the forum as is,
lol::cool:

I voted yes, on the basis that this is to support Bob maintaining the forum as is.

I voted yes as I hope this forum can be kept as it - its great!

Thomas

Its a yes from me too.

I have voted yes for all the above reasons.

One suggestion I would like you to consider Bob, is there anyway you can set up the software so that a new Administrator cannot make drastic changes without at least yourself or a majority of Moderators electronically agreeing.

Something like a joint account at the bank where you need more than one signature.

Gordon you are not limited to one vote. In this case of course there are only two choices so voting yes now would cancel the effecft of your no vote.

Bob, I have voted 'Yes', I am a comparatively new member and like things as they are, should the forum be open, as are others, I would not remain a member. I appreciate the manner it is managed and the gentlemanly conduct.

Two things,

1, is it possible there be a reconciliation with Jeff ? He was an excellent and helpful Administrator. I have no wish to intrude or inquire into what might be personal misunderstandings. Those are for the individuals.

2, can the administration be streamlined?  We have thanks to you many 'nice' features but are they absolutely necessary. Pruning the system could make your management and an Administrators task easier.

The standard of any organisation is set by the leadership and yours is to be commended.