Reviving Quanta
Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 11:36 am
Quanta - the QL user group has now been in existence since 1983 and is now hitting hard times.
It is not finance - they have a fair amount of money in the bank and are in fact looking for projects to help fund to keep the Sinclair QL alive (if anyone has ideas / designs etc)
So what do people see as the main issues with the only QL user group?
I think the main issue has to be the number of members is now appalling low, especially compared with my own QL mailing list. However, it is not easy to get the existing committee to feel enthused enough to promote Quanta (let alone the QL).
I have offered on several occasions to send an advert on their behalf to the 1500 or so QL customers on my own database (OK, not all of them are going to be users), yet they have not provided me with any wording.
Another case in point has to be the Vintage Computer Festival which was held earlier this year - it took prompting from me to get a banner from them and sample magazines to hand out, and it was left to me to print out subscription forms at my own expense. They really need someone more pro-active on their committee.
Their new website is a vast improvement, but is quickly falling behind with no updates - the last "forthcoming event" is a show in June 2010.
I am also happy to email users in a specific country / region if someone wants to look to set up a show or subgroup themselves (or even attract new blood to an existing sub-group). Quanta has their own list of members and former members with some emails, so should also be willing to co-operate in this.
Ideas welcome - more importantly, if you want to be on the Quanta committee and help make a difference - contact them directly - the nomination forms are already in circulation. As a trader and also someone that approaches Quanta with business proposals, I feel that this would be a conflict of interest, otherwise I would put myself forward happily.
In short Quanta needs you and your input - without more members, and more committee members, they are going to fold and the funds collected over the years will end up being distributed to charity in accordance with their constitution, rather than being used for the good of the QL.
It is not finance - they have a fair amount of money in the bank and are in fact looking for projects to help fund to keep the Sinclair QL alive (if anyone has ideas / designs etc)
So what do people see as the main issues with the only QL user group?
I think the main issue has to be the number of members is now appalling low, especially compared with my own QL mailing list. However, it is not easy to get the existing committee to feel enthused enough to promote Quanta (let alone the QL).
I have offered on several occasions to send an advert on their behalf to the 1500 or so QL customers on my own database (OK, not all of them are going to be users), yet they have not provided me with any wording.
Another case in point has to be the Vintage Computer Festival which was held earlier this year - it took prompting from me to get a banner from them and sample magazines to hand out, and it was left to me to print out subscription forms at my own expense. They really need someone more pro-active on their committee.
Their new website is a vast improvement, but is quickly falling behind with no updates - the last "forthcoming event" is a show in June 2010.
I am also happy to email users in a specific country / region if someone wants to look to set up a show or subgroup themselves (or even attract new blood to an existing sub-group). Quanta has their own list of members and former members with some emails, so should also be willing to co-operate in this.
Ideas welcome - more importantly, if you want to be on the Quanta committee and help make a difference - contact them directly - the nomination forms are already in circulation. As a trader and also someone that approaches Quanta with business proposals, I feel that this would be a conflict of interest, otherwise I would put myself forward happily.
In short Quanta needs you and your input - without more members, and more committee members, they are going to fold and the funds collected over the years will end up being distributed to charity in accordance with their constitution, rather than being used for the good of the QL.