Honorarium and class fees

[thetazzbot]

This had happened to me several times when I first joined. It was utterly frustrating to show up for a class where the instructor actually didn’t show or the class was moved or cancelled and the calendars were hosed and the common excuse was “Oh, no one pays attention to the meetup calendar, you have to use our calendar.” Well, news folks, if the people on Meetup DONT KNOW THAT how on earth would they not be expected to trust or not trust the meetup calendar…

But to think of it this way, the 2 non members had a disappointing experience at DMS and probably may not be back or the experience certainly weighs on their decision to actually join.

If DMS wants to tighten up some rules about instructors making money (to pay for their gas, tolls, time, preparation, etc) then maybe DMS needs to step up their game in marketing the classes so they are not empty. Good classes bring in potential customers for DMS. The instructors should be rewarded for that. Don’t try to make them feel like lowlifes because they want to make some money while in essence promoting DMS as an alternative learning center.

But for me, if an instructor wants to sell his own tickets to his class, he needs to be a paying member.

[Photomancer]

The instructor came and spoke with me. He said he stayed until 7:10 and when no one had showed he left. That’s reasonable to me. As I stated earlier I saw the people around 7:30 and neither mentioned what time they arrived.

I have no reason to disbelieve any of parties that spoke with me. I guess the video can be reviewed. I didn’t because a member said the class had “Been Cancelled” which happens. The folks that approve classes will need to pursue what is true if it is important to them. I just reported what I heard and the time.

[MrsMoose]

I don’t even know what the meetup calendar is…from how it was explained to me when something is canceled on the DMS main page they send out a text message

[jast]

meetup calendar

This is meetup.

Dallas Makerspace (Carrollton, TX)

It’s a place to announce events or “meetups”.
It’s a valuable resource, but unfortunately, causes confusion such as those mentioned by Mark, when used to help schedule events.

[Photomancer]

meetup.com is an external site where activities can be posted.

The old calendar used it post our calendar. I believe we don;t have that link option for instructors do to so now because it was difficult or forgotten to post any changes to classes. Some groups still use it as it has some outreach out to other audiences. It is more useful for classes - events that are open to the public than members only classes.

DMS Meet Up page

[MrsMoose]

@Photomancer @jast

Good to know! If any classes are struggling to fill as they approach I’ll make sure to put them on there. Currently IMHO with limited classes (less than 15) the members, or at least individuals who are committed enough to frequent the site, should get first crack before the public fills them up

[kyrithia]

Re meetup

It quit being used as an option to additionally publish class to when new calendar system started. I’m actually kinda glad because it caused confusion on where registration needed to happen (more critical in new systems with honorariums tied to it). See issues above as example.

That being said, nothing prevents and instructor from posting something on meetup to spread the word about a happening. I do the same on fb with my classes. The BIG thing is making sure to be clear on whatever outside social sites are posted, that the registration needs to happen on the DMS site. I always put a link to the class, just in case, too.

[Julie-Harris]

You can also set up an event in the Facebook group to advertise the class, just make it clear that they have to sign up not just mark that they are going on Facebook.

[Bill]

The instructor came and spoke with me. He said he stayed until 7:10 and when no one had showed he left. That’s reasonable to me. As I stated earlier I saw the people around 7:30 and neither mentioned what time they arrived.

I have no reason to disbelieve any of parties that spoke with me. I guess the video can be reviewed. I didn’t because a member said the class had “Been Cancelled” which happens. The folks that approve classes will need to pursue what is true if it is important to them. I just reported what I heard and the time.

Ah, the other side of the story…

[Bill]

Re meetup

It quit being used as an option to additionally publish class to when new calendar system started. I’m actually kinda glad because it caused confusion on where registration needed to happen (more critical in new systems with honorariums tied to it). See issues above as example.

That being said, nothing prevents and instructor from posting something on meetup to spread the word about a happening. I do the same on fb with my classes. The BIG thing is making sure to be clear on whatever outside social sites are posted, that the registration needs to happen on the DMS site. I always put a link to the class, just in case, too.

Exactly. The Meetup users are used to their RSVP system and it was far from clear to them that an RSVP there means absolutely nothing in our calendar system. The other problem is that events over there are not automatically updated once they have been created. With over 3500 pairs of eyeballs subscribed, I would like for us to eventually find some some way to use Meetups for publicity.