Pierre LaRochelle wrote:

In considering Facebook as vehicle to attract more members

NB.  My bolding, not Pierre's.

At the AGM 2014, the members voted to accept a Financial Management paper which included the following:

"The measure of success of the Association is the rate and quality of our exchange of information about Junk Rig. It is not whether in business terms the Association makes a profit or a loss. It is not the size of our assets. It is not the number of our members."

 http://www.junkrigassociation.org/agm2014introkjfalkjfl 

FFor what it is worth I feel that the corrosive potential of social media, paticularly FB could juprovide a platform for trolls and dissention.  As it stands this association is a civilised llocation for the indulgence of a passion and a generous and healthy exchange of views within a fairly private and mutually supportive framework. Not something I am inclined to attribute to the wild west of social media. Once it is out there it is really out there. Plus one iif I may to the previous comment by Asmat. David

In considering Facebook as vehicle to attract more members with divergent interest is no doubt something that should not be taken lightly.  My interest is on the history of the Junk Rig.  Nevertheless, I am very much a proponent of the modern developments of the Chinese Lug Sail and as far as I'm concerned their evolution is simply a punctuation in the continuum of time.

So, perhaps the way to go, if the natural consensus is to do so, would be to simply be linked to nautical history non-profits for those interested in exploring Junks, Junk Sails, and Modern Junk Sail Making etc.  I believe those that want to learn more about the Junk Rig would be served with links if they were available from the vast array of nautical history sites when sleuthing through the internet.  Obviously the recurring issue with boats and boat building is that the market is now very much based on consumer goods.  There are not a lot of folks wiling to spend anymore time exploring sailboat options beyond the immediate availability of the Tupper Ware Market.  I honestly think that the Wood Boat Lovers are the ones that will turn the tide if there is any chance of that; particularly in the United States.

There's a lot to offer and exploit with the virtues of such an ancient, yet still relevant rig.  I'll step of the soap box now.

Happy New Year!

This idea has been raised several times in the past, without much by way of enthusiastic response. The occasional tumbleweed still blows across this post, for example. Search 'Facebook' from the top of the Members' page for other examples.

As Maxime rightly points out, it needs someone (or someones) to maintain it, someone who is enthusiastic about Facebook and troll-tolerant, and has time to spare. As far as I know, this description fits none of the current committee, least of all the Webmaster!

However, it is great to see evidence of such enthusiasm from some of our members, who also appear to have an appreciation of the work currently being put in by the committee. If the two of you were to set up a small group to investigate and set up this project, I think the committee and members would support it, and it could be both sucessful and useful.

Hi Pierre,

Having a Facebook "Page" (capitalisation theirs) sounds like a good idea. The Page could republish photos, projects, select articles and meet-ups from the JRA site. It could help share knowledge and awareness of the junk rig outside of the JRA circle.

The only downside I can think of is that it takes someone to maintain it by posting occasionally, of course. I maintain a 4000-follower Page on Facebook for my work, and I don't think the task is too onerous. I don't know how agreeable the sailing community at large is, but the only really annoying task is occasionally moderating unpleasant comments (if you care about those). As we all unfortunately know, outside of pleasant communities like this one, the internet brings out the worst in some people. We'd probably occasionally get public comments on our photos such as "Har har junks are so slow", or "My uncle had one of these and he drowned, everyone beware".

Facebook does allow administrative responsibility for a Page to be shared amongst several people, so if the idea interests the members and committee, we could put out a call for volunteers. We'd have to decide on editorial direction, if any. I feel that the committee and many highly active members are already giving a lot of their time, so if it's to happen, this project should be done in such a way as not to burden them, and especially as not to take time away from the more important activities of experimenting with and writing about the junk rig.

Regards,

Maxime