After much discussion and planning we have decided to migrate our old listserv system into this more common, user-friendly online forum format. Like the listserv this forum will be for Co-op Shareholders Only. You will need to register to become a member of this forum.

We have decided to do this in an effort to foster communication within our community and make it more accessible to more shareholders. We are aware that Mad River Glen's culture can be somewhat "resistant to change" and that we may have a few hiccups to start. However, after much deliberation we know that the benefits will far outweigh any short-term confusion. Some of the benefits include;

1. Forums are more common and folks tend to be more familiar with it. We hope that this will increase usage and foster communication.

2. Instead of a stream of emails forum users will find discussion threads so you can read about the topics that interest you most.

3. Threads will be searchable

4. Users will now be able to post pictures and video

5. We will be able to utilize Co-op volunteers as moderators for the forum.

6. Listserv posts won't "go missing" due to SPAM filters, attachments and file sizes.

7. The administration of the forum will be much more streamlined

8. We can do very quick polling of our shareholder community.

9. Shareholders will be able to be notified, if they wish, for every post or for posts about specific threads.

10. And Finally - we can all utlize cheesy smilies like this!
Thank you for your patience as we make this switch and please be sure to let me know if you have any questions, comments or concerns.

THINK SNOW!!!!

Eric

Eric Friedman
Marketing Director

Mad River Glen
PO Box 1089
Waitsfield, VT 05673

Phone: (802) 496-3551 extension: 111
Email: eric@madriverglen.com
Website: http://www.madriverglen.com

Hi Eric,

Wow!!

I am clearly very enthusiastic about the new Forum.

I read Vivian's post and decided to spend some time exploring. I sure don't want to see folks become prematurely dis-enchanted !!

I did bump into some navigational bumps, and maybe just my "feeble brain" so I created a new "test thread/topic" to experiment.

Feel free to delete it if/when you see fit. I will experiment further.

Maybe it will prove to be a good spot for all of us to experiment, and I'm sure you can delete the entire thread at some point.

If that makes sense to you, I guess I will have to go back and edit out all of the "don't reply" comments so folks will use it to try things out and test their skills.

There was something in the FAQ that indicated that once another user responded to a post the original poster could no longer delete it.

Anyway, I am hopeful that this flies and encourages a new level of participation !!

Have a great day, Lee

Things look good. Lets just update the spelling of the "welcome to the shareholder Forum".

thanks

adam

Eric:

Is there a link to this Forum on the Shareholders' page of the website?

John Caffry

Ummmmm, no there was not!
Duhhhh - Now there is - thanks for the heads up on that.

Hi there. Is anyone else having difficulty logging out? Sometimes I can and sometimes I can't. Also, it occurs to me that at times like this summer when I was notifying shareholders regarding the volunteer project, it would not be as easy or as fast to post a message in a timely fashion or to as many people, judging from the small number of shareholders who have registered to this new forum. I'm afraid a lot of the people who were part of the old listserve, are not interested in this 'newfangled' forum. I check in fairly often and there is not much going on under any of the topics. If it reduces participation and if a smaller number of our owners find it comfortable to use, that would be too bad. I know change is difficult for lots of us and I hope the registered users increase. That would mean communication has been improved and I think that was the point of the forum.
Vivian

The Forum Lives!!!!

Thanks Vivian for posting! Yup we are having a relatively slow period after a nice push in the beginning. Do keep in mind that this is a particularly slow period and I am sure activity will increase when the snow starts to fly in earnest. We currently have about 120 shareholders in compared to a bit less than 400 on the listserv. We had a nice flurry in the beginning and I do plan on promoting it muich more heavily once we get close to opening day.

One thing I do think will help is if folks "subscribe" to the forum, then you will be notified via email (along with a link) when someone posts to the forum. To do so;

#1 - Go to the “MRG Shareholders” forum http://www.madriverglen.com/skiforums/

#2
In the upper right, just above the posted topics, click “subscibe”
This sends a notification to you every time there is a post.

Let me know how that works for folks. we;ll keep workin' on it!

Thanks for your patience and.....

Eric,
Subscription works great for me; I got a notification of today's posting just now.

Liz

look at how many posts are on this system...think about it. then think about the old listserve. which fostered communication between shareholders? which got more use? who is even going to read this post????? while we need to evolve with the times and technology, i think this system needs some major work to get the usage the old system did...hey, a double chair would have brought a lot more skiers to the top of the mountain, snowboards would increase the bottom line significantly. is that what we, the shareholders want? i don't thing so. I hope that something can be done about this system to get us back to the level of usage the old system had. my off the cuff observation is that traffic has decreased about 80%...and I won't know how anyone else feels until i go back into this site...not the instant email the old listserve brought. I also should mention that I've been trying to get on this since September, and all of my emails asking for help from whoever is administering this were ignored...

If additional shareholder volunteer moderators are needed, please set me up. I am familiar with phpBB. It seems like people may be posting, but the posts never get approved so they never show up on the website.

Thanks,
Pat