2009 Annual Yorkie Talk Meet-up Location Poll

[Sukoshi's Mom]

Originally Posted by bchgirl

I can think of several issues with charging 20 bucks. Whose account is holding these funds...not to mention access? No offense or implication to whomever that may be...but if it's someone else's money...they are entitled to know this. Another point...just how are you going to keep non payers from voting? Keep a running tally...then realize you need to X out this person's vote or that person's vote due to lack of payment? Further...if someone chose to mail payment...when are they allowed to vote? When the funds are received and cashed? How would you stop them from voting prior? What happens if you never receive their payment?

These are all very valid questions. I have a PayPal account set-up specifically using the yorketalkmeetup e-mail address, so that everything is separate from any of my personal finances. I do have a personal PayPal account too, but it's using a different address, and it's a different type of PayPal account. The yorkietalkmeetup PayPal account is then tied to a savings account that's only for YT meetup funds (a new savings account I opened up through Bank of America specifically for the meet-up, so there was never any confusion between YT funds and my personal funds), so it's again completely separate from any of my personal finances. I'm an auditor for the federal government, so believe me, I totally understand where you're coming from since I'm a skeptical person myself (hazard of the job, always having to audit everyone's activities ), but because of that being my nature, I've been very particular all along to make sure there is never a question as to the money, where it's going, etc. I even made sure I had witnesses at the meet-up when I bought my raffle tickets using my personal money, because I didn't want there to ever be a question of whether or not I paid for mine like everyone else did. They told me I was crazy to think like that, but my theory is better to be safe than sorry. In case it was brought up later, I wanted to make sure I had proof. Leave an audit trail...again...a hazard of the job. Because of my accounting background, I have spreadsheets that calculate everything from the cost of each individual plate of food (both with service fees and taxes and without) to the individual registration fees to the the overall expenses and whether we're in the red or black. I am way too organized for my own good, and believe me...my hubby wishes I wasn't .

As for keeping non-payers from voting - it's simple - your vote isn't counted until payment is received. When people needed to pay with check or money order for the 2008 registration, I gave them a deadline of when I needed to receive payment by, as there was a registration schedule, and I didn't want someone registering when it was one price and not sending payment for months later when it was a higher price. In this case, payment would need to be received by next Monday (as the deadline states in my original post). Most people use PayPal nowadays, so it's not really a problem, but we didn't want to exclude anyone. For anyone who sends payment and it doesn't arrive by the deadline, I would send their check back to them (unless they tell me to do otherwise). I hope that clears up your questions.

[bchgirl]

Thanks for the explaination...

[Sukoshi's Mom]

Originally Posted by Tnyorkiemom

i dont see a NEW POLL...so am i understanding that if you dont pay to vote you cant even see the poll or am i missing it...i cant find anything and it has been 9 hours now since people could start ""voting"" again....even if i dont get to vote...i still would like to be able to follow it...if the whole Yt family cant see the poll it should be done...that is crappy and sounds a little fishy to me.....sorry but im ery of hidden things in today's world......I guess maybe we should have 2 different Meets...cause hidden polls are def. not the answer

Unfortunately, the only way to charge for a vote is to vote through PayPal. Otherwise, people could place their votes again here, and we would have no way of ensuring those people had sent money. We knew people would take issue with not being able to view the poll, which is why I said in my original post, "We will tally the votes, and we will post a count at the end of the poll regarding how many votes each location received and who voted for each location, so you can ensure your vote is properly counted." We thought this the best way to eliminate any suspicion. Since we will be posting a list of WHO voted for WHICH location, I don't see how this isn't fair, as you will be able to make sure YOUR name is under the correct city you voted for, and that nothing was "fishy".

The problem with having 2 meets is that it completely defeats the purpose of the meet-up. This "International YT Meet-up" began as a way for ALL of YT to get together and meet in person, and if we have 2 separate meet-ups, it would then be an "East Coast YT Meet-up" and "West Coast YT Meet-up" - not a meet-up for everyone as was the intended idea .

[daisy mae06]

I just wanted to say I am sorry I do plan on trying to come but I will not be paying to vote. I just do not see what it matters.

[Sukoshi's Mom]

Originally Posted by Gingergirlsmom

I cast my vote...because, in principal, I intend to go. I paid my twenty.

I'm concerned, however, that at this point, a pay to vote poll may give us a different kind of a "skewed" result. Those who are willing to risk throwing $20 away (I really can't but am hoping I get to apply it towards the registration) against those who aren't.

I have one question, if the meetup gets cancelled because of all this bickering, will we get our money back?

Thank you for casting your vote! I look forward to meeting you, Ginger, and Bernie!

Yes, if the meet-up is cancelled, you will most DEFINITELY get your money back. Actually, Admin required I make a few various statements/points regarding the past meet-up, so I will make them again here, to abide by admin's rules and further eliminate any questions...

- As I've run everything past Admin to make sure we're not breaking any YT rules by requiring non-refundable registration fees and putting together a meet-up like this, they have requested I make a couple things clear, and I want to make sure I do that on their behalf. I want to make it VERY clear that this meet-up is the responsibility of the meet-up committee. We are handling all aspects and are fully responsible for it - NOT YORKIETALK. Therefore, please do not send your questions regarding the meet-up to Admin or any YT Moderators, as they are not on the meet-up committee and do not have any answers for you!

- In the event the meet-up is cancelled or does not occur for any reason (other than acts of God), your money WILL be refunded.


- Any and all extra monies gathered from this event will be donated at the conclusion of the event to a non-profit Yorkie related rescue (to be determined).

[Gingergirlsmom]

It seems that many who plan to attend do not plan to vote. I don't think your pay vote is going to be that reliable. Too bad......perhaps in the future (2009)the committee should just select a location.

[daisy mae06]

Originally Posted by Gingergirlsmom

It seems that many who plan to attend do not plan to vote. I don't think your pay vote is going to be that reliable. Too bad......perhaps in the future (2009)the committee should just select a location.

I agree Judy. I would be happy with that. They did great the 1st time and I am sure will do great this time too .

[MeganS]

Originally Posted by Izzy Princess

Forgive me everyone I just don't understand..yes I do know things can change in a year (times are rough now and probably going to get rougher as time goes on), but if it's a hardship now to deposit $20 for a meet-up that will be used towards your registration fee (and if you don't go for some unforseen reason that your $20 would go towards a Yorkie Rescue) then how can those not able to pay the $20 now pay for a trip like this later on?

I know that I am going no matter where the meet-up is held as it was an amazing experince in KC for me and Izzy. And if something happens that I can't go next year then I know my $$$ will go towards the Yorkie Rescue...win..win in my book.

And, yes, Jen, I'm amazed too how political this thread got and something that is supposed to be so much fun and exciting to look forward too has now gotten not so fun.

IMO, it's easier to save up over almost a year a couple hundred bucks than it is to hand out $20 at the drop of a hat. Just saying.

I was one of the people who was supporting a Pay to Vote, but I think $20 is just really quite insane. I thought we had agreed on $5 or $10.

And I understand the explanation for doing a revote thing, but I don't like it. I thought we agreed that this poll was it because it's the majority. Just because people are new doesn't mean they're not serious members. This meetup is for the members of YorkieTalk, not for the members with the most posts, and I feel that voting should also reflect that.

Basically, I love how Janie worded her post, so I'll just 2nd her.

This is like a popularity contest to me. We all thought it was going to be on the West Coast, and since it was voted that it's on the East Coast, we're doing a revote to just make SURE it's not wanted on the West Coast? Sorry, it doesn't make sense to me.

[Sukoshi's Mom]

Originally Posted by Gingergirlsmom

It seems that many who plan to attend do not plan to vote. I don't think your pay vote is going to be that reliable. Too bad......perhaps in the future (2009)the committee should just select a location.

Yes, it does seem that way . Unfortunately, had we just selected a location, we would be taking heat for that as well . We are a forum of 34,000+ members, and we cannot make everyone happy. We are trying to do it the most fair for everyone. Some wanted an additional vote, some did not. Some wanted East coast, some wanted West, some wanted Midwest again. All the committee wanted was another happy meet-up for everyone in 2009, and it's very disheartening that we have to go through all this in order to begin planning. Believe me, it would've been much easier for us to just say, "this is the 2009 location - PERIOD", but we thought this was most fair to everyone, as without each and every YTer, the meet-up will never be a success. I remind myself that we will upset people no matter what we do, and we rehashed everyone's responses from the thread last night before we ultimately voted to do a 2nd poll and the pros, cons, and logistics of doing that. I haven't seen one argument this morning that we didn't expect, but we discussed all the responses we knew we'd get on the thread, and this was what we came up with as the most fair path to take for everyone. That's all we can do. I'm sad others don't see that we're trying to do this for them, as it would be much easier for us to just pick a location, as you suggested .

[simonandhallie]

Originally Posted by daisy mae06

I just wanted to say I am sorry I do plan on trying to come but I will not be paying to vote. I just do not see what it matters.

I agree with you 100%. This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever experienced here on YT. The "committee" asked the YT community to vote, members voted, a decision was made. Did this decision not agree with the "committee" and thus, the rules were changed?

Instead of giving $20 to vote I'll donate to a charity myself and start planning a 2009 meetup on the east coast for anyone (regardless of posts or amount of time here) to attend.

I really don't see why there cannot be 2 this year

[zoeybear]

I voted for California. If California won, I would go, If it didn't win, I wouldn't. Does that mean I shouldn't have voted? Paying $20.00 would not change my decision not to fly across the country. I think the original poll should be used by a comittee as a "tool" to help decide the location. The poll, along with many other factors should be considered. Honestly, I think people who might have attended are probably being scared off. Sounds like a "gang-up" not a "meet-up."

[Reese1]

Originally Posted by Sukoshi's Mom

Unfortunately, the only way to charge for a vote is to vote through PayPal. Otherwise, people could place their votes again here, and we would have no way of ensuring those people had sent money. We knew people would take issue with not being able to view the poll, which is why I said in my original post, "[F New Roman]We will tally the votes, and we will post a count at the end of the poll regarding how many votes each location received and who voted for each location, so you can ensure your vote is properly counted.[F We thought this the best way to eliminate any suspicion. Since we will be posting a list of WHO voted for WHICH location, I don't see how this isn't fair, as you will be able to make sure YOUR name is under the correct city you voted for, and that nothing was "fishy".[/FONT][/SIZE][/FONT]

The problem with having 2 meets is that it completely defeats the purpose of the meet-up. This "International YT Meet-up" began as a way for ALL of YT to get together and meet in person, and if we have 2 separate meet-ups, it would then be an "East Coast YT Meet-up" and "West Coast YT Meet-up" - not a meet-up for everyone as was the intended idea .

In theory, I think we all agree that one International YT meet-up would be terrific!
I think this poll is the reality or we wouldn't be having a re-vote!
I would like to throw out there, that just because two meet-ups would be planned, doesn't prevent someone from attending both, if they are able and want to do that.
In all likelihood, mostly west coasters will attend the meet on their side and same for the other coast anyway. The reality is alot of people for a number of reasons can't attend " no matter " where it is! If money and time were no object, I would LOVE to be able to do that!

[chattiesmom]

Originally Posted by simonandhallie

I agree with you 100%. This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever experienced here on YT. The "committee" asked the YT community to vote, members voted, a decision was made. Did this decision not agree with the "committee" and thus, the rules were changed?

Instead of giving $20 to vote I'll donate to a charity myself and start planning a 2009 meetup on the east coast for anyone (regardless of posts or amount of time here) to attend.

I really don't see why there cannot be 2 this year

Thank you for your post. Please count me in for a planning committee on the East Coast. My involvement might be a bit limited - I am facing additional surgery/recovery, but I will help in what ever way I can.

"The Committee" put a vote before the YT general population. It was voted upon and Alexanderia won fair and square according to ALL of "The Committee's" voting requirements - which was to be a YT MEMBER. Not honoring this vote questions the integrity of "The Committee". Since they did not honor the first vote, what obligation are they under to honor any subsequent votes.

If this is a YT event or an event using the YT name as an incentive to attend, especially since $$ is being requested for a vote, then most certainly the Administration and/or Moderators should be the ones to house the $$ and oversee the voting.

[bchgirl]

Originally Posted by zoeybear

I voted for California. If California won, I would go, If it didn't win, I wouldn't. Does that mean I shouldn't have voted? Paying $20.00 would not change my decision not to fly across the country. I think the original poll should be used by a comittee as a "tool" to help decide the location. The poll, along with many other factors should be considered. Honestly, I think people who might have attended are probably being scared off. Sounds like a "gang-up" not a "meet-up."

That was my understanding. By voting...you were saying you would attend regardless of where the meet up was held.

[crb]

I don't agree with having 2 meet-ups because I plan on attending regardless of which coast it ends up on. But I definitely wouldn't be able to attend 2 meet-ups in the same year. I'm sorry but I don't know if anyone's budget would allow that. And I would love to meet people from both coast. I will pay my $20 to vote, yes I did vote for the west coast. But as I said I plan on attending regardless.

If the numbers are correct, there were 107 people who voted for the east coast and 60 who voted for the west coast. If all those that voted for the east coast are really serious about attending, if they vote again then that coast will win, so they will have $20 of their registration fee paid a year in advance. If they don't attend, the $20 will go to a great cause, win, win in my books.

I really think the committee is trying to do the best they can to make this fair, but yes there is no way to ever make everyone happy. That's just life, in any situation. I applaud the committee for all their hard work and the commitment they have to making this an enjoyable event.