Retiring from Do organisation?
 

Idly musing on a Saturday morning, and I was wondering what would make you (or has made you) retire or take a break from do organisation?

:o

I started to type a long reply to this and then thought better of it.

I'd be happy to share my thoughts with existing Do organizers/organisers via PM though. ;)

I do have to say THANK YOU to those who take the time to organize/organise Dos. It can be a thankless job and yet (thankfully) the same folks keep stepping up to the plate to do it time and time again.

I have only done dinners for FT but, for another online group of friends, I did whole weekend events. I guess the biggest reason I stopped organizing was that you always seem to be in demand and can't really enjoy the activities yourself. That and the fact that there will always be people complaining about one thing or another. They really don't realize the time and effort that you put into organizing these things, or how difficult it can be to try and arrange things that will be acceptable to the majority.

I have nothing but admiration and respect for people who step up to organize Do's. To try and organize a group like ours is probably worse than trying to herd cats... :D

While I have not attended the Do's I have heard nothing but good things about certain ones and their organization: the Seattle Do's and London Do's come to mind.

I truly do appreciate the organizers who give so much to FT.

William

I hosted several Do's in the 90's, but no more. The first few Do's were populated by some great people who were not only relatively like-minded, but also generous themselves. Then as Flyertalk became more popular the inevitable happened. People were who were not as much like-minded and not so generous started attending Do's.

So hosting Do's became less fun. Nobody wants to go through all that effort to find that some of their guests can't be happy with your arrangements. Then, in some cases, even attended Do's became less than pleasant. It's nothing unique to Flyertalk. It's just human nature. The natural evolution is that groups of people who meet on Flyertalk and like each other now have private Do's. Purists might not like it, but again, its just human nature.

can be:D, partner that with today’s common commitment-phobia doesn’t make it easy for Do organizers.

I’ve done a few, some have been great and others have fallen flat. I could imagine if I was a first time Do organizer and it fell flat, I may not be inclined try again.

To answer Jenbel’s question, While posting Do’s with me ebbs & flows depending upon my schedule, I haven’t taken a break and don’t intend to as I really enjoy meeting my Flyertalk brethren.

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I couldn't agree more.

My thanks to those who tirelessly organize DO's as our group, expert as we all are on travel ;), can be hard to please.

Just a sidebar on DO's for those who inhabit other Internet Bulletin Boards.

Is a DO unique to FT because of our mission statement as frequent travelers who know how to travel right? Or do face-to-face meets happen at other IBB's as well?

Just curious.

Kind of Catch 22. How does one meet any new FT'ers then?

I don't believe you are one of the "elder" FT'ers who believes that all the "worthwhile" FT'ers have been met

They happen other places as well. The ones I used to organize were for players of an online role-playing game (Gemstone III). We would do an annual event to the Maryland Renn festival. The company that owned the game also started having an annual event in St. Louis. Everquest (another MMORPG) also has several during the year that attract people from all over the world.

as long as people are happy with the DOs I organize and as long as there are attendants, I go on. at a precedent DO, you feel if people want more, if they claim for a next year edition ... if I had to pay for a DO out of my pocket because some FTer would try to cheat at some dinner - it would probably be the last one or at least I'd have to consider to do it in private for people I know and I can trust - and not on FT and therefor open to everybody.

I know of get togethers on other IBBs as well. airliners.net meet from time to time at Zurich and I guess that people on other IBB want to see who's behind a handle and therefor try to meet.
but I don't expect others than FTer to fly for a weekend several thousand miles :p


edited to add: I hope that some wrong directions and some stairs didn't make people not want to come to my DOs ;)

It can get a bit tiresome, there are always the inevitable complaints about some aspect - even cost (even though sometimes the event is actually subsidized (intentionally) by the organizers - and I've even had a chargeback filed because the payer (not an official Flyertalker but a friend of a FTer) forgot what the payment was for).

Another IBB that I frequent, many of the members actually travel together on cruises for vacation - this was the 5th year in a row that we've done that.

I started out chatting on BBSs in the early 90's, DOs were held back then.... they were local since everyone didn't travel. We called them GTs (Get Togethers).

I can't imagine organizing a do for the FTers. Many members are whiners. I at times stop reading the DL forum because of all the whiners. My thanks to all those who put so much into these DOs! ^

I usually only organize the Annual London Prez Weekend Dos, and did the post-Freddies LA Do, and some occasional LA dinner dos. They're fun & you get to see people you know & meet new people who all travel and/or have this crazy interest in travel.

Having said that, it does take a lot of organization (something I don't think all attendees really realize), and there are invariably a few complaints (some so minor you want to shake your head; some such a pain that you want to say ok, then YOU do it next time).

And of course then you get the folk who short on dinner and/or other things, such as rsvp'ing & not showing when the host had to outlay some $$ & then not paying. I had that happen 2x (dinner short) at the London Prez weekend Dos, and even last year at the London MegaDo when I helped out another FTer who has ignored requests for repayment, and occurred at Freddies post-LA Do. Hmm, maybe I need to rethink doing Dos if I'm footing the bill for some of my fellow FTers???

Re: the 'purists' getting together for their own private dos :rolleyes: Just sounds like a group of folk who have met through FT & like each other & like traveling together; I don't think at that point it's a Them Do or FT Do. And doesn't necessarily mean they don't attend FT Dos, as I've seen some of the said 'purists' at dos. And really it's not that big a deal because while they're not fond of all other FTers, not all other FTers are fond of them either so they're not necessarily missed ;) :D And there's such a variety of Dos at all times of the year at all parts of the globe; there's something for everyone.

Anyway, with each Do I organize I try to learn from previous ones - tighten up the parameters so no misunderstanding, pick places that you can do individual bills, and 'God grant me the serenity to know what I can change & not change' or whatever that saying is :) .

I do want to give a shout-out & kudos to sandiego1k, jenbel & wingnut for organizing the London MegaDo. Dos of that scope just boggle the mind, and I wouldn't blame all 3 of them should they decide to retire (but hope they don't & that we'll see another one in a couple of years).

wingless asked my sister a few years back, 'so what do you think of your sister being involved w/ FT?'. My sister, 'don't know. never heard of it. is it a cult?' :D Well yes it is, and I'm proud to be a member of it, so yup you'll still me attending some dos & probably even organizing a few. (Note: my sister is now up on FT, so when I whine about my mileage balance declining she tells me to do a mileage run :eek: ).

Cheers.

Well, I thought I retired after the last Catman DO (in 2001.)

That one was a lot of work and organization (thanks to help from some friends it came off) and some drama. When it was over I said "can't top that one so why even try." Plus there will be plenty of other organizers and DO's down the line.

I had visions of a possible Catman DO 4... If the last one has 84 attendees I could pass 100 or more. That's a lot of people to handle. Some could get lost in the background. Now putting together a big event is close to impossible for me. time wise. I have a business that I can't just shut down. I have friends I want to see. I want to spend time with my Eddie.

It's a lot of time and effort. Not that I couldn't do another CMD but I rather not.

For awhile I did retire from the F-T scene. But then I kind of missed the company of F-T friends and meeting new ones. SO I put together Soup Do's and other little events in the NYC area. These are smaller events where everyone gets a chance to talk and be heard and I can talk to people.

They are also easy to do: pick a place, make a reservation, make an F-T post and hope someone shows up! :)

I salute and give PAWS UP to those who can do the bigger events.

Jenbel, I'd be interested in your thoughts on this, as you are one of the stars of Do organization.

I have murmured from time to time that FT might become a victim of its own success. What do I mean? The turnout that some Dos get - and the professionalism with which some are run - could intimidate folks from hosting.

When Captain Mike and I hosted the 2001 San Diego Do, I had only met 3 FTers. I remember leaving work that day, wondering why I was giving up my weekend to throw a party for 60 strangers. It turned out brilliantly, and was a lot of fun for both attendees and hosts.

We had 40 folks at the Saturday night dinner. It was quite a challenge finding a restaurant that would book a private dining area for that large a group. Now, we have Dos such as London where we've had more than 200 attend, and 125-ish at the Saturday dinner. I honestly don't know where I'd look for such space in San Diego, other than a boring hotel banquet room.

There are several dilemnas for the party throwers:

1. You have no idea how many will attend. It could be 5 to 200 (record so far). It's easy to organize for 5 or 10 or 20; it's not for 50 and more. And when you don't know going in how it will draw, you can't figure out if you even have event space in your town that's appropriate.
2. Do organizers have set the bar high. I salute the Zurich and SFO Do organizers, the last big events. Wow! If you followed either thread, the sophistication with which they were their events was amazing. They had events worthy of professional party planners.

Both of these can intimidate folks.

As an organizer, I've found that the great majority of folks who come are very appreciative of the organizers' effort. I've always liked the shout outs folks give after the event. I was new to FT in 2001, hadn't expected the accolades, and the appreciation made the effort worthwhile. There are always some who grumble, particularly as events are being organized. You simply have to have a thick skin.

For those who are considering organizing an event, a local dinner is a great way to dip your toes into the water. Start a list of every handle you see from your home area. Send out PMs to folks (as many never come into Community). We've had some delightful San Diego dinners, pulling from 20 to 40 folks.

Meeting other travel junkies face to face is an enormously rewarding part of FT. It certainly has enriched my life.