Get Into the Tree

Board of Directors.

Posted to Business on Tue Mar 17, 2009 at 07:56:46 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.

The paperwork's in, shop's up, and the account's open. Let's do this thing.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Trolls, Sockpuppets, Bots, Spiders and Web Accelerators everywhere, it gives me great honor, great pleasure, great relief, and not a little trepidation to announce the First Ever Membership and Funds Drive of Trees and Things, Incorporated.

For almost three years now, this site has been governed by an initial Board of Directors that has been unelected, and accountable to the community only to the extent that we didn't want to drive anyone away. The membership drive we start today marks the first step in the final stage of the organization's maturation. At the conclusion of our first Annual Meeting, planned for July 1, we will truly be the self-sustaining, self-organized community that we have been striving to create.

But before we can hold a meeting, we need to get members into our organization. It would also be good if we could get some operating funds as well. Here is how we will do it:

To become a member of the Trees and Things organization, it costs $30 for yearly dues.
If you wish to become a member, you can send a donation via the PayPal link at the bottom of this page.
We are required by law to record the name and address of all voting members of our organization. We don't care whose real name is attached to which TnT forum account alias, and we will neither request nor record this information.
Remember that membership in Trees and Things, Inc. is not a requirement for participation in this site! If you just want to hang out and talk and don't care about voting for the Board or any of the other internal politics, you're not going to be booted if you don't give us anything.
If you just want to give us some money and don't want the membership, we won't complain. We can even send you a receipt for your tax purposes.

But don't think that for your $30, you're only going to get some cheapass feeling of participation and an early stake in a unique organization that is unprecedented in its openness and access on the Internet. We've also got COFFEE MUGS!!!.

A $30 donation will get you a demure 3.75" tall mug.
A $40 donation will get you a hearty 4.75" tall mug.
And for a $50 donation, we offer you a little something that we like to call the MayorBob.
People interested in becoming members should send their donations to us through PayPal, and Logan will tell CafePress to send you your mug. If you order it straight from the store, we won't be able to accept you as a member because CafePress doesn't give us the addresses of people who order from them.
If you want a special message printed on your mug, make sure you let us know when you donate!
And of course, if you just want your mug or any of our other fine wares without all the Membership drama, you can order straight from CafePress.com and not deal with us at all.

Thank you for bearing with us all these years. I remember telling Josh back in 2006 that I didn't see anything stopping us from incorporating in January 2007. Needless to say, I've learned a bit since then. Trees and Things has enormous potential for growth, and it keeps getting better every day as we meet new contributors and add new features. I am proud of what we've done, and I can't wait to see what will happen to the site in the years to come.

- Rich Dubielzig, Chairman and Incorporator

P.S. Don't forget to

Those that want to join the old fashioned way should make checks payable to Trees and Things, Inc. and send to:

Trees and Things
3730 Southview Drive #445
San Diego, CA 92117

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Tags: edited by Port1080, written by Board of Directors, meta, membership drive, voting, annual meating, treesandthings.com (all tags)

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This story: 18 comments (3 from subqueue)

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1	Thanks! port1080. Tue Mar 17, 2009 at 08:40:37 AM EST 5.00 (sexy)

Thanks to all the board members for all the effort over the last few years, and for finally getting this all together. I just sent in some money for a membership (& a mug!) and I hope that everyone who values this site will do the same. Donations are good too, but to have effective, legitimatizing elections we need people to step up and become voting members (and to run for the BoD - I hope many members of our current board will stay on, but realistically we have to expect that some will want to step down after doing this for three+ years now). A question for the Board - any more information yet about how the elections will be run, or is that still somewhat up in the air?

And, one final question - what's up with the sexism! I see TnT boxers, but no TnT thongs...

Allons-y!

2	Thanks for all the hard work, folks!! T Slothrop. Tue Mar 17, 2009 at 08:56:10 AM EST 5.00 (nifty, brewed)

The paypal link worked fine for me and and my money should be on its way.

Liberal, conservative, echo-chamber packs or lone voices of dissent, this has got to be just about the coolest group of people I have ever seen come together on the net. Even during the times I wasn't posting at all, my day was not complete until I had my TnT fix.

I honestly hope that I have the chance someday to buy each of you a beer or three.

[I'm not that guy.]

3 2	Re: Thanks for all the hard work, folks!! Lou. Tue Mar 17, 2009 at 11:36:50 AM EST none

Nicely said

You just want to cut a fucking tomato and get on with your day

11 2	Re: Thanks for all the hard work, folks!! pO157. Wed Mar 18, 2009 at 02:44:13 PM EST 5.00 (brilliant)

I honestly hope that I have the chance someday to buy each of you a beer or three.

Perhaps we could start a service where those GPS dealies on our cell phones notify us if we're in the area of another TnTer? I can think of a time when I was at a bidness conference and it turned out I was relatively around the corner from a prolific poster on here yet did not know it until it was too late to claim my beer. So unfortunately I spent my down time on educational tours and museums.

Maybe we should agree on no drinking at meetings?

13 2	Hear, hear!! permazorch. Wed Mar 18, 2009 at 06:05:18 PM EST none

I honestly hope that I have the chance someday to buy each of you a beer or three.
I'd like to extend a somewhat limited time offer: I work at Liberty Hall, in Lawrence, KS. If ever you want to see a movie and you happen to be in town, give me a heads-up through our messages. We show typical art-house/semi-indie material (Let the Right One In/Slumdog Millionaire), and we have a full bar. I'll go a couple of rounds with Free State beer (on tap, served in a glass) for any of y'all, which is quite tasty (rombuu will vouch for its quality). However, I am slowly but surely burning out on my job (video-store manager/box-office flunky), so come before I turn to ash and blow away.
-Douglas Out.

----- The earth may fail, but we will quiver

13

Re: Hear, hear!!

zyxwvutsr.

Thu Mar 19, 2009 at 10:20:41 AM EST

4.00 (foamy, carboniferous)

I was in Lawrence last summer on business. I stayed at some hotel down on the river that had a train running thought it. (The hotel, not the river.) There was a lot of odd-looking whitish foam blowing around off the surface of the river just below the dam. The foam was in parking lot, on the windows of the hotel, in the trees, etc.

I had dinner at Free State Brewing. The service was mediocre (at best) and the steak was really, really chewy.* The Ad Astra ale was quite good as was a red ale (don't recall the name). If I ever find myself in the area* * I'll stick to drinking the beer at Free State and get dinner elsewhere.

* Terrible steak - a colleague I was traveling with also had the chewy steak. We were both so hungry and the service was so bad we ate the steak without complaint. When we were paying for dinner I mentioned to the waitress that the steak was tough (I mean, what the hell, isn't Kansas known for its beef?); she thought we were trying to get it taken off our bill and copped an attitude. "No, no, no," I said, "I'm going to pay for the whole dinner, but I thought someone might want to know that the steak sucks." Sheesh.

* * By the way, what the hell is wrong with the highway? There's an off ramp but no on ramp.

14

Re: Hear, hear!!

permazorch.

Thu Mar 19, 2009 at 11:58:48 AM EST

4.00 (apologetic)

I bet you stayed at the Marriot Springhill Suites? Yeah, that place is the perfect location for a minimum security prison.

I'm sorry the beef & service were crappy at the Free State. I don't think we have a really top-flight steakhouse in town, anymore. I think almost every restaurant in town is mediocre, taste-wise. I find it more distressing that the waitron was rude to you.

By the way, what the hell is wrong with the highway? There's an off ramp but no on ramp.
Sounds like I-70. It's a work in progress, is my blanket response. The detailed Q & A of the particular exit/entrance would bore you, I'm pretty sure. Come back soon, I'll buy you a beer, find you some decent food, and gossip freely about the minutia. Also, a movie!

----- The earth may fail, but we will quiver

13

Re: Hear, hear!!

3fingerspointback.

Sat Mar 21, 2009 at 06:14:51 PM EST

none

I'm in San Diego. If you ever want to meet, well......I guess you know where I am already, don't you? Do try to send me a message before you show up, though.

(is 3fingerspointback)

4	Re: Get Into the Tree port1080. Tue Mar 17, 2009 at 01:40:59 PM EST none

If the numbers are available, it would be nice to keep this updated for the next few days to see how many people are signing up and/or donating money...

Allons-y!

5 4	Re: Get Into the Tree zyxwvutsr. Tue Mar 17, 2009 at 01:50:49 PM EST 4.50 (indicative, stimulating)

Yeah, it's an important economic indicator.

6	Mugs moo. Tue Mar 17, 2009 at 02:14:13 PM EST 4.75 (agreed, agreed, awesome)

I prefer my stuff to have a simple and iconic look. How about a mug that is almost completely red with just the white tree and the name? And all the shop stuff should have treesandthings.com on it, of course.

I can really picture the girls gushing all over me and my stylish mug. They would whisper: What is this web site all about? And I'd say: Treesandthings is the Metafilter it's okay to like, for educated people of good breeding!

7 6	Re: Mugs zyxwvutsr. Tue Mar 17, 2009 at 02:18:03 PM EST 5.00 (agreed, astute)

How about making available a high-res version of the logo under the least restrictive license possible? Mugs? Youse are thinking too small.

8	Re: Get Into the Tree pO157. Tue Mar 17, 2009 at 03:37:38 PM EST none

I just wanted to say you all did a great job getting this done. You should be commended.

Maybe we should agree on no drinking at meetings?

9	Check will be in the mail by the weekend. MayorBob. Tue Mar 17, 2009 at 04:24:41 PM EST none

But you needn't send me anything. Just use the money totally to support the site.

Tending to final details.

10 9	Re: Check will be in the mail by the weekend. pO157. Tue Mar 17, 2009 at 04:26:21 PM EST none

You don't even want your eponymous beer stein? wow. How magnanimous.

Maybe we could raffle it off instead. Double down on the fund raisin'.

Maybe we should agree on no drinking at meetings?

12	Re: Get Into the Tree DEMachina. Wed Mar 18, 2009 at 03:20:15 PM EST none

Great work y'all.

I have every intention of donating once I'm, y'know, employed. Hopefully that won't be too far off.

But seriously, glad to see things are progressing and expanding.

Q: What do you think of western civilization? Gandhi: I think it would be a good idea.

17	$460 so far! 3fingerspointback. Mon Mar 23, 2009 at 11:00:17 AM EST 5.00 (profitable)

We have four new members who have signed up through electronic transfer, plus one anonymous donor who has mailed in a large donation.

Also, if you have donated, we are assuming that you want a mug unless you say otherwise: That is, if you want something else of an equal value from the CafePress store, or you don't want merchandise at all, please let us know with your donation.

(is 3fingerspointback)

18	pledged donation wetkarma. Wed Mar 25, 2009 at 08:13:05 AM EST none

Paypal is acting weird for me, but I promise to make a Mayorbob donation in the next few days.

"The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money."

This story: 18 comments (3 from subqueue)

Post a Comment

Board of Directors.

Posted to Business on Tue Mar 17, 2009 at 07:56:46 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.

Thanks!

port1080.

Tue Mar 17, 2009 at 08:40:37 AM EST

5.00 (sexy)

Thanks for all the hard work, folks!!

T Slothrop.

Tue Mar 17, 2009 at 08:56:10 AM EST

5.00 (nifty, brewed)

2

Re: Thanks for all the hard work, folks!!

Lou.

Tue Mar 17, 2009 at 11:36:50 AM EST

2

Re: Thanks for all the hard work, folks!!

pO157.

Wed Mar 18, 2009 at 02:44:13 PM EST

5.00 (brilliant)

2

Hear, hear!!

permazorch.

Wed Mar 18, 2009 at 06:05:18 PM EST

13

Re: Hear, hear!!

zyxwvutsr.

Thu Mar 19, 2009 at 10:20:41 AM EST

4.00 (foamy, carboniferous)

14

Re: Hear, hear!!

permazorch.

Thu Mar 19, 2009 at 11:58:48 AM EST

4.00 (apologetic)

13

Re: Hear, hear!!

3fingerspointback.

Sat Mar 21, 2009 at 06:14:51 PM EST

Re: Get Into the Tree

port1080.

Tue Mar 17, 2009 at 01:40:59 PM EST

4

Re: Get Into the Tree

zyxwvutsr.

Tue Mar 17, 2009 at 01:50:49 PM EST

4.50 (indicative, stimulating)

Mugs

moo.

Tue Mar 17, 2009 at 02:14:13 PM EST

4.75 (agreed, agreed, awesome)

6

Re: Mugs

zyxwvutsr.

Tue Mar 17, 2009 at 02:18:03 PM EST

5.00 (agreed, astute)

Re: Get Into the Tree

pO157.

Tue Mar 17, 2009 at 03:37:38 PM EST

Check will be in the mail by the weekend.

MayorBob.

Tue Mar 17, 2009 at 04:24:41 PM EST

9

Re: Check will be in the mail by the weekend.

pO157.

Tue Mar 17, 2009 at 04:26:21 PM EST

Re: Get Into the Tree

DEMachina.

Wed Mar 18, 2009 at 03:20:15 PM EST

$460 so far!

3fingerspointback.

Mon Mar 23, 2009 at 11:00:17 AM EST

5.00 (profitable)

pledged donation

wetkarma.

Wed Mar 25, 2009 at 08:13:05 AM EST