Points Proposal 2021

[scrapdolly]

Proposal for Points 2021

I have been giving his some thought and taking on board the many helpful comments that have been shared over the past week. I have a suggestion – and please, it is just that … a suggestion.

Newbies and less frequent scrappers and people who are not in teams can feel that they are very isolated and that things are very cliquey so I have an idea for points collecting in 2021 (and it looks like there will be a lot more challenges to play along with)

I suggest we keep the existing teams exactly as they are as many are long established, chat every day and people have become good friends, but I suggest they are chat and friend teams.

I would post a sign up list for people who wanted to scrap and collect points – all people, new and old, team members and non-team members, people who scrap 50 pages a month or who struggle to scrap 5 pages – and I would shout this out on facebook etc and would ask other members to shout it out in their groups too so we hopefully drive more people to the forum. People would have until mid December to sign up and then I would allocate everyone to points groups – not teams … let’s keep away from that word to not confuse – and that would be their group for points. The group numbers and size will depend on how many people sign up. Each group would then sort out a leader to collate it all and send in the points to me once a month. They would have chat threads, would encourage each other (whilst still being in their own teams as well of course) it would mean newbies felt included, regular members (I used old at first and that sounded awful) could guide, encourage etc and I could balance it to spread prolific scrappers and experienced UKS members around the groups so it was fair. People who joined after the ‘event’ started could be allocated to a group (I would just try and keep them as even as possible from a numbers perspective). They could come up with their own names, logos (a bit like the old cyber crops) etc. I know I made many new friends in cyber crop groups over the years and it worked just like this. It could run for 3 months or – better I think – for 6 months and then we could either run with it the same or after 6 months completely rejig them all again.

The aim of this is so that people get to chat to more people, get shown around by someone more experienced, get to know others, get encouraged etc but we still keep our existing teams in tact and protected as they are so important to the people in them.

So what do people think? It is just an idea for the reasons stated. But I think it is a way of getting the word out that we are fun and vibrant and please come and join. It might drive people to the boards and encourage less experienced and more reticent members.

[Crafty Sandra]

Sounds good Karen. Dont forget people whether they are prolific scrappers in a team or not are more than welcome to join in my (well I'm the one who starts it mostly) daily chat in the Community Chat forum.

[scrapdolly]

Sandra that's so important too - I must pop in more. We can direct people to that as it is a really good starting point

[Crafty Sandra]

Thanks

[kimmie_35]

Sounds like a good idea. x

[Maria in France]

sounds fantastic to me. I dont want to change my crafting chatting friends but my teammates no longer scrap. Ive been very off and on myself in this year - difficult to scrap when you dont do anything or go anywhere.

Anyway, my old teamies remain my friends and always will i hope, but Id welcome some scrapmates too.

[scrapdolly]

sounds fantastic to me. I dont want to change my crafting chatting friends but my teammates no longer scrap. Ive been very off and on myself in this year - difficult to scrap when you dont do anything or go anywhere.

Anyway, my old teamies remain my friends and always will i hope, but Id welcome some scrapmates too.

I love the idea of calling them scrap mates - yes it's been a hard year this year for everyone hasn't it

[thriftycrafter]

Sounds like a plan, I would HATE to split from my team but I do have friends in other teams too, perhaps from the houses, I can't remember. So we'd have a social group, a points group and the House and daily chat if we like too.

[Crafty Lady]

I think mixing us around, but still being with the friends we've already made is great. There are a lot of people on here that I don't really know where to find them or know them enough to chat to.

[MaryAnne]

I am opening this back up again to add some additional information. I have had a long hard think about this.

This has been an ongoing problem for UKS, there are always changes that one group or another don't like. But it is the overall health of UKS that matters to me, not pleasing a narrow section of the membership over the vast majority.

So far as I see it there are a couple of options:

1. We leave things as they are. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

2. We adopt the suggested change, despite one teams objections . Harking back to point 1 the way I read it, for almost all but one team, it IS broke. Fixing it will result in one team being unhappy and maybe leaving UKS while the rest of the members will embrace the change as making UKS more welcoming to new members and the Team program more inclusive. The risk is that the change does NOT work and we then have to deal with that.

3. Leave things as they are other than we alter the points aspect. Elaine raises a good point when she suggests maybe not having points We had thought of it already. If we DO scrap points, then teams would be free to collect points within their team if they choose to and the "competition" would be between Team members rather than between Teams. This might be just the thing we need. It will allow teams to be of ANY size. That opens up the whole thing in a new and interesting way! Those who WANT to keep the competitive edge that points offer can happily do so. Those that just want a friendly supportive smaller haven within the vastness of UKS can have that too!

So I would be very interested in comments. More important will be any comments people make that offer both their objections to the options and WHY, as well as their own suggestions to solve the problem, addressing:

1. Making the TEAMS program accessible to new or less driven-by-points members of UKS

2. Allowing for Teams that are happy with the team they have to carry on together

To my mind option 3 does that. But I am happy to listen to any other ideas that do as well.

[elainevking]

Thrifty crafter has said exactly what I think I too.

[Maggie B]

Thrifty crafter has said exactly what I think I too.

Does that mean you wouldn't be collecting points for Scrap Happy?

[Maggie B]

Personally I would not want to be allocated to a new points collecting group, I scrap the challenges and collect points for my team.

[scrapdolly]

It's sounding like a positive way forward meaning we can all keep our friends and teams as we have now but will also meet new people, include shyer people and newer people and people not in teams and to me it is a win win all the way round.

I will leave it another 24 hours and unless there are any major objections I will start a sign up thread.

[scrapdolly]

Susie I can't answer the questions re Community chat I am afraid but maybe MaryAnne can

Maggie I think that is what Elaine meant - she was liking the new idea to mix things up a bit

If we went with the new idea - and it seems people like it - then existing teams would be chatting friends teams and not collect points - its all about including people less confident and newer and not making it so isolating