Reef Keeping Clubs
- Thread starter joeoliver
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ndrwater
2500 Club Member
I know what I think and I sent a message to Keith to say exactly that. I won't give you all the gory details but I will say that I wasn't 110% happy the way the SoCal reefing scene was described by Greg.. he called SCMAS (which Greg is President of) a now mostly national club, which is true, because HE's 100% online. In my message to Keith I did say it was slightly disingenuous since Greg lists himself as a member of SCRM (SoCaliReeferMeetup) which is our local in person club, which ironically, Greg is in regular attendance.
I would be interested to hear from Keith AKA @ReefBum, to hear his thoughts about my unfortunately long-winded reply on Instagram. There is obviously more to this story, but I'm not going to get in a p****ing match because that doesn't help anybody. It is always about the hobby and the people there in.
I would be interested to hear from Keith AKA @ReefBum, to hear his thoughts about my unfortunately long-winded reply on Instagram. There is obviously more to this story, but I'm not going to get in a p****ing match because that doesn't help anybody. It is always about the hobby and the people there in.
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mescobar
Community Member
I caught a little bit of the steam live, I agree with Ben. The in-person meetings were dismissed quite a bit, in favor for online meeting. I get it, the reach is greater and barrier is much lower when you meet online. The panel of speakers were a bit biased, since they were mostly motivated to elevate their own online reef clubs (surprise surprise).
I do understand where Greg is coming from though, the SCMAS online community was grown during the pandemic. It would be a bit inconsiderate to leave them hanging in favor of in person meetings. Many of these people live in states or cities where the reefing presence just isn't accessible. They should have a place to meet with like minded reefers. But people like myself would prefer to meet in person, and there's nothing wrong with that. Theres room for both type of clubs to exist. I appreciate the in person meetings, they give a greater sense of community than online club does. And the benefits are also much more tangible, deals of frags/trading, field trips, bulk buys, etc. There's just no real way to achieve this with a virtual setting imo. I hope SCRM gets to the point where we can get rentable equipment, that would be a cool benefit. Although, they did bring up some good challenges regarding theft and lost equipment...
I think I missed the rest of the stream, but I heard they talked about engagement, volunteering, and getting new members/people into the hobby. My two cents, the hobby is just too dang expensive to entice young and often times cash-crapped individuals. The barrier to entry and learning curve is just too high to get more people in the door. And most people who do get into the hobby don't even last 1 year due to tank crash, boredom, and/or finances. Online videos are getting better and better to educate people, but most people aren't going to be become marine biologist just to keep a tank full of fish and coral.
I do understand where Greg is coming from though, the SCMAS online community was grown during the pandemic. It would be a bit inconsiderate to leave them hanging in favor of in person meetings. Many of these people live in states or cities where the reefing presence just isn't accessible. They should have a place to meet with like minded reefers. But people like myself would prefer to meet in person, and there's nothing wrong with that. Theres room for both type of clubs to exist. I appreciate the in person meetings, they give a greater sense of community than online club does. And the benefits are also much more tangible, deals of frags/trading, field trips, bulk buys, etc. There's just no real way to achieve this with a virtual setting imo. I hope SCRM gets to the point where we can get rentable equipment, that would be a cool benefit. Although, they did bring up some good challenges regarding theft and lost equipment...
I think I missed the rest of the stream, but I heard they talked about engagement, volunteering, and getting new members/people into the hobby. My two cents, the hobby is just too dang expensive to entice young and often times cash-crapped individuals. The barrier to entry and learning curve is just too high to get more people in the door. And most people who do get into the hobby don't even last 1 year due to tank crash, boredom, and/or finances. Online videos are getting better and better to educate people, but most people aren't going to be become marine biologist just to keep a tank full of fish and coral.
ndrwater
2500 Club Member
I do agree with you Miguel on many points, but being that I was a very big part of SCMAS for many many years I know a little more about the behind the scenes than the average person, which is why some of the comments or lack of comments struck me the way they did.
The interesting points that you make about cost and engagement with online clubs is valid. Which is why, in my opinion at least, an in-person club can be invaluable to new or old reefers alike, who don't know who to trust or where to turn. Having someone engage one-on-one and face-to-face, and be able to point to other people in the same room to come to a common consensus to whatever that new person's problem may be, in my humble opinion at least, is of much more value than anything I read on an online forum or even listening to on an online " club".
I also do agree with you however, that some of the people in the online club do not have access like we do here in Southern California. I can completely and wholeheartedly agree with the value at that point on its face. As I have said many times in the past and I'm sure we'll say many times in future, it's always about the hobby and the people therein.
The interesting points that you make about cost and engagement with online clubs is valid. Which is why, in my opinion at least, an in-person club can be invaluable to new or old reefers alike, who don't know who to trust or where to turn. Having someone engage one-on-one and face-to-face, and be able to point to other people in the same room to come to a common consensus to whatever that new person's problem may be, in my humble opinion at least, is of much more value than anything I read on an online forum or even listening to on an online " club".
I also do agree with you however, that some of the people in the online club do not have access like we do here in Southern California. I can completely and wholeheartedly agree with the value at that point on its face. As I have said many times in the past and I'm sure we'll say many times in future, it's always about the hobby and the people therein.
ndrwater
2500 Club Member
By the way Joe this is a really great topic. But I am a little biased... ;)
I would very much like to hear more from others about what it is they think we all, in person Clubs, or online, could do better.
I think there is real value regardless of the source. I'm old enough to remember getting any and all info that you could from books. Having people that you know and trust to help through our reefing journey is incalculable.
I would very much like to hear more from others about what it is they think we all, in person Clubs, or online, could do better.
I think there is real value regardless of the source. I'm old enough to remember getting any and all info that you could from books. Having people that you know and trust to help through our reefing journey is incalculable.
