Joining Gamerz

The mailing list is now being phased out so to join gamerz simply click on the FORUM link and register for the forums. If you wish to know more about the different levels of being part of Gamerz then please read on . . .

At present, I see three levels of membership in Gamerz and these are my initial thoughts and ideas on them:-

a. Free membership.
There will be no cost to join, use the forums, download resources and use any Gamerz gaming servers. The only requirement is to register at the forum on this website. This kind of membership is being a "user". To register just click the FORUM link.

b. Association member.
Once the Gamerz Association has been registered (as a non-profit body) a person can decide to join for a yearly fee. This fee will be somewhere around $30 a year I imagine at present. This kind of membership is being a "member". As membership grows and depending on the requirements (like additonal servers) then the membership fee per year may decrease.

An Association requires a Managing Board with elected members and office bearers such as Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer, etc. These board members will come from paid Association members. How Gamerz will be run and managed will be determined by this Managing Board - a board comprised of gamers for gamers!

So, some of the initial benefits of a paid Association membership will be:-
a. The right to stand to be elected to the board.
b. The right to be an elected member of the board.
b. Voting on issues called for by the board.

Some of the extra benefits of being a member could be:-
a. Being asked to be a Gaming server Admin.
b. Being asked (or volunteering) for other roles such as helping on the website, being a forum moderator, handling different areas of email, being an #gamerz op on IRC, etc.

To be an association member then register for the forums (FORUM link) and then post your request to be a "member" in the Feedback & Volunteers forum section.

c. Executive member.
An executive member is determined by making a significant contribution to the setting up of a gaming server. This kind of membership is "exec". The benefits of being an "exec" could be:-
a. Being a server admin
b. Automatic membership of the Association
c. Determining how a server is to be managed i.e. each server will have its own Managing Board.
d. POP gamerz.org.au email accounts

To be an "exec" member then register for the forums (FORUM link) and then post your request to be a "member" in the Feedback & Volunteers forum section.

At present I see three possible ways of becoming an Executive Member:-

a. Financial contribution.
At present I have asked 4 others to pledge $120 each to having a UT CTF server paid up and running for a year which makes 5 people, including myself, doing this. These are:-
1. Kokain
2. [V&T]Anchovy
3. Astr0
4. [V&T]Heffalump

The above members, after making this financial contribution, will be automatically entitled to all the benefits of being an "exec".

Additionaly there have been some more pledges:-
Unit92 (pumpkin and Uncle_Bob) - $120 (exec)
Joe - $120 (exec)
Rax - $120 (exec)
quokka - $30
HaJALI (aka Scarface) - $30

Thanks to all the above!

We will need somewhere in the vicinity of 10 - 14 people making exec pledges to get Gamerz going (if there are no membership contributions) and its first server up. Making a financial contribution of this calibre will also immediately make an "exec" a "member" of the Association. So part of the contribution will go to the cost of being a member.

Once initial setup costs are covered (see "Financials" below) then the Association will contribute excess funds to the cost of leasing gaming servers as it gains new members. I am hoping that, in the long run, enough funds can be generated from Association memberships and other forms of income generation, to do away with this "exec" financial contribution request.

b. Resource contribution
This can be a computer for co-location as a gaming server, web hosting (as my business is providing at present), bandwidth, etc. However, to be on the "exec" anyone making a resource contribtuion is still required to pay the Association membership fee to be an exec.

c. Expertise contribution
Different areas of expertise will be needed to enable Gamerz to operate as an entity, to provide resources and to setup gaming servers. For example:-
1. I will be setting up the online database management information system (MIS) for the Association.
2. Frilly(Nalien) has offered to do the coding for the UT CTF server login that links to the Forum member database.
3. We will need a Webmaster to co-ordinate the contruction of a good website (I am only doing it to set it up for now).
4. We will need someone to be the overall Manager/Admin of the Forum.
5. We will need someone to be the manager of the IRC channel.
6. We will need someone to manage the Listserves (there will be more needed in the future).
7. Graphic design for logos, stationary, website, etc.
8. Copywriting for the website
9. Designing the website (possibly a committee)

However again, as with resource contribution, I see the necessity for people in this area to being a financial member of the Association if they want to be an exec.