NGF Membership Cards

[CarriageShed]

As the law stands it's no   laughing matter,  for the cashier serving alcohol if  ID  isnt provided proving the  person  is  25  or they believe them  to  be under 25   with no  ID  then the sale is declined or should be ..   if not  then  the cashier  can be fined  £80     on the spot fine from their own  pocket nothing to do with the business they work for  &  it the matter could go to court  .........    the business could  lose their licence to sell   alcohol.   

The cashier can also   be disciplined by the business &  lose their job,   trading standards do carry out test purchases a colleague of mine  was told  by  a customer they were from  trading standards &   he  had passed  fine for asking the person  before them for ID    as they were doing a test purchase.

I fully agree. Ridiculous laws are nothing to be laughed at. Instead we should be doing our best to encourage some good old fashioned common sense and less reliance on silly over-legislation and jobsworth mentality.

In the meantime, we might be straying 

[EtchedPixels]

The ID one is a pain because so many places want "a driving licence". They then get uppity when you point out a) you don't have one and b) its for medical reasons (and by implicaton c) would you like to get clobbered for disability discrimination)

The trading standards test is also stupid. Plenty of dodgy bottle shops simply look the buyer in the eye and say "Tell me you are over 18".

The Trading Standards kiddies are not allowed to entrap them....

Doh...

Alan

[upnick]

The ID one is a pain because so many places want "a driving licence". They then get uppity when you point out a) you don't have one and b) its for medical reasons (and by implicaton c) would you like to get clobbered for disability discrimination)

The trading standards test is also stupid. Plenty of dodgy bottle shops simply look the buyer in the eye and say "Tell me you are over 18".

The Trading Standards kiddies are not allowed to entrap them....

Doh...

Alan

I obviously dont know  what i'm  talking about  i   only  have worked in  retail  for over 20 years i  waste my time on here trying to be helpful   &  informative.

Oh  i  also  dont have a driving licence there are other forms of ID  acceptable  .......  i wont go into them as  it will fall on  deaf ears   !! 

[Rob H]

Is there any chance of getting back to the original topic instead of inane ramblings about ID cards and under age drinking !

[EtchedPixels]

I know other ID is acceptable but not all the counter kiddies do.

Otherwise I didn't think we were disagreeing ?

[Newportnobby]

If there was ever to be such a thing as a membership card which could be used to gain a discount in your local modelling emporium, such a discount would have to be negotiated locally by members in that area and used frequently or the retailer concerned may not gain enough custom to warrant it.
Any thoughts of trying to gain a discount at the major on line retailers fall down on the basis of not being able to prove membership of the NGF without sending said membership card to them with each order.
If anyone has other ideas I would be pleased to hear (see) them providing it doesn't throw too much work at the Admin team

[Sprintex]

Is there any chance of getting back to the original topic instead of inane ramblings about ID cards and under age drinking !

I quite agree 

Back to NGF membership cards please, any further postings otherwise will be deleted.




Paul

[Rob H]

Try reading the original post !

[KTM]

I agree that this forum should remain free access to all but, on the other hand I do not see what would be wrong with a membership fee for those amongst who would like to hold a membership card for the NGF.

A lot of us have joined the N Gauge Society, and the benefits it brings, so maybe there would benefits in having such a membership.

Obviously it comes down to cost and the administration, but on the plus side if through a membership it brings extra revenue for the site then I'm all for it.

Just my two penneth.

Ian

I agree with you Ian but the trouble is each good idea carries such a back narrative as well. While I'm all in favour of membership cards - who prints them and who pays up front? What about the logistics of record-keeping, stationery, admin and postage costs etc?  Someone always ends up doing a lot of extra unpaid work... and it's often the same people too.

I'd happily pay an annual membership fee of £5 to use NGF. Great - lots of dosh to enable NGF to be even better than it is - BUT - who holds the dosh - who opens a bank account for NGF memberships - who does the work involved - would the increased income push NGF into all the hassles of accounts, accountants, AGMs etc...not to mention the taxman.

And so it goes on. I suppose sometimes it's better to keep the status quo rather than open up the Pandora's box mentioned above. I've experienced at least one model railway group that ended up spending more time arguing about all the stuff above that talking about railways.

While I would pay to use NGF, and I would like a membership card - I do not want NGF to be deflected away from the superb job that is being done right now without either.

[daveg]

Interesting discussion.

Don't forget that you can contribute to NGF funds via the Make a Donation button at any time and as much or as little as you can afford.

Thanks for all the support!

Dave G

[Newportnobby]

Please see my previous reply (#20)
What would be the benefit of having an NGF membership card is what we have to ask ourselves?
We, as Admin/Mods, cannot arrange national discounts and even if we did, it would be incumbent on the card holder to prove their membership by sending said card off with each order.
As KTM so eruditely put it, the actual administration would be a headache for (as far as I can see) very little benefit.
As DaveG says, if you would like to donate to the forum there is a method of doing so.
Another thought occurs - NGF enamel badges are only being sold to NGF members so just substitute badge for card and Robert's your mother's brother

[keerout]

Please see my previous reply (#20)
What would be the benefit of having an NGF membership card is what we have to ask ourselves?
We, as Admin/Mods, cannot arrange national discounts and even if we did, it would be incumbent on the card holder to prove their membership by sending said card off with each order.
As KTM so eruditely put it, the actual administration would be a headache for (as far as I can see) very little benefit.
As DaveG says, if you would like to donate to the forum there is a method of doing so.
Another though occurs - NGF enamel badges are only being sold to NGF members so just substitute badge for card and Robert's your mother's brother

Agreed. and besides, I really like the way this forum and the people on it give freely in knowledge and support.
and it looks like enough people are supporting the forum as freely, so why fix something that is so perfect?

Gerard 

[PostModN66]

I would ask, what is the stance of the NGF with respect to the N Gauge Society (and, to a lesser degree the 2mm society and other N gauge clubs that may exist)?

In an ideal world I think it would be good if they were all joined up - N Gauge is a relatively minority interest, and there are obvious efficiencies available if they were one organisation.

This is why I wouldn't be in favour of forum membership cards and fees - it would risk starting up a competitor to the N gauge society.

Thoughts? 

Jon   

[Newportnobby]

My personal opinion is that we can all co-exist without necessarily becoming an amorphous mass. Some of the NGS staff are also members of the NGF and vice versa, but although we have relatively the same agendas, we go about it in different ways. Not everyone in the world possesses a computerised piece of kit that allows them to see what we do in the NGF. As an active forum 'pimp' at shows etc I still find many folks in the (how can I put it kindly)...more mature* time of their life who love the hobby but hate computers.
We do, however, have some liaison between our 'societies' which, I am sure, benefits the vast majority of N gauge modellers.
Please do not hold back from any suggestions as to what you like/dislike about the forum as that way lies stagnation and we want to keep the freshness and family friendly ethos of the NGF.

* By mature I only mean physically and not mentally

[Tank]

I tried to work with the NGS a few years ago.  They weren't interested at first - but we didn't have many members.    Later I was promised that they'd talk about working together at the next committee meeting.  I heard it a few times, and they were always a couple of months away.  Their decision making is painfully slow!  Never received any feedback.

All of these organisations are different, and run in different ways.  I'm not interested in competing with the NGS, 2mm or anyone else, merely making somewhere central on the internet.  I wanted a modern forum for us all to chat on that was instant, supported pictures, and was well moderated.  Everything else has just grown with the help of everyone else which is fantastic!

There was talk of the NGS advertising on here, and possibly us advertising in the Journal again, but that was going to be spoken about in the next NGS committee meeting.  Again, I'm not sure what has happened about that and I'd almost forgotten about it!    It's a very slow way of running a group/society.  I'm happy to work with all 'N' organisations, but I don't think anyone would want the way in which this forum is run to change?