rather bemused when i went to join the abf forum and they ask you or tell you to donate x amount of money,bit cheeky in my book! thank god for free forums like fm
i fail to see how using paypal to comfirm who they are can work,as it does not request or check the payment is from the person who wants to join.any man and his dog can make payments through paypal via a friends,company account,they cant check on a persons id by taking payments this way its just not possible.thus i conclude it must purely be down to getting funds to join
The ABF (association of barbel fishers ) is not at all selective in its membership it does in fact have an "open to all" membership policy.
The donation that is asked for is to verify that members are who they say they are and only real names are allowed, its the same on BFW.
The ABF has since its inception regularly donated cash to charities that are sometimes nominated by members at other times fish ins have been held on club waters that have been donated for the day by the club then the club may or may not nominate the charity its left for the club to decide if they want to or not.
Its not just a forum, the ABF control night fishing syndicates on 2 stretches of the Trent they also have the rights to stretches on the Warwickshire Avon and the Hampshire Avon, the fishing is open to all members at an extra cost which of course pays for the fishing, I believe there is a waiting list on one stretch of the Trent.
The forum is friendly with no bad behaviour allowed, information is exchanged between members and friendships are made. I believe there are now around 500 members.
from what i understand by trawling through the net is that yes they do make donations to charity but funds for this are raised separate,i can understand paying to have access to waters they have but i fail to see how charging to join a forum encourages people to join.lets be honest here 500 members on a forum for a popular sport is very low,seems like a place for a select few to control their own needs
---------- Post added at 05:15 ---------- Previous post was at 05:05 ----------
seems to me that certain types of people who go fishing barbel and carp to name 2 are very elitist with out right snobbery i would say.what happened to it being a sport for the masses from the kid on the canal to a guy on a river? ive heard people from these groups mocking joe blogs who just goes out to enjoy a days fishing.[/QUOTE]
You certainly wont find that attitude within the ABF there are anglers of all abilities that are members, what else can an organisation do to show it is not elitist other than have an "open to all" policy?
the charity donations are a big part of why the ABF exists, what you wont find on the web are the regular donations made to charities nominated by members but if you joined you would be able to see them, as for donations being raised separately, all fish ins I have attended have had the amount donated increased from the ABF funds.
Yes some of the joining donations are used to run the ABF I see nothing wrong with that where else is the cash to run it to come from? a one off donation of as little as £5 is not a lot to ask, a lot of hard work is put into the ABF by the few that run it, all voluntary. the donation asked for is a one off payment not an annual one.
---------- Post added at 12:40 ---------- Previous post was at 12:35 ----------
I don't know the ABF forum personally but forums do cost someone money to operate. They give like minded anglers a place to communicate and develop friendships around their chosen sport. Information is generally very forthcoming which can only benefit those who are genuinely interested in that facet of the sport.
Some, like Fishing Magic, do offer a free forum but someone pays and no doubt several people give up a lot of free time to keep it going. These people should be applauded.
It sounds like ABF offer exclusive fishing rights as well and maybe they produce a magazine or offer other benefits.
Is it really too much to ask to make a nominal payment for such a thing, bearing in mind the £1000's we pay for tackle, bait, licenses and tickets every year?
Yes there are benefits from some tackle and bait companies as well as a reduction at a holiday park, the magazine is an "on line" one with articles from members and all articles submitted by members are published, the next edition of riffle will be published quite soon but is only available to members.
Forums, eh?
Been a look-to, much-thanked, sought out and invited to join by the owners stalwart of a good many in my time, coarse and fly; banned from just as many when the Got To Shut Him Up RentaNut Crew arrived and got poisoning and sniping.
Cue Mr Brightside -
I'm coming out of my cage
And I’ve been doing just fine
Gotta gotta be down
Because I want it all
It started out with a kiss
How did it end up like this?
It was only a kiss
It was only a kiss
Out of my Angling cage myself for a few very productive and happy years in the 2000s, being a life-long sharer; back in and wondering "How did it end up like this?", though, now!
i can accept that monies are required to run things so why not say that instead of the "its to check people are who they are" rubbish as quoted earlier.wouldnt happen to be part of the abf would you??
Some, like Fishing Magic, do offer a free forum
I am the Promotions and Publicity Officer for the ABF. I'm going to just set the record straight on what the ABF is and why there is a charge for joining.
The Association of Barbel Fishers is a democratic group essentially made up of barbel anglers, although most of us fish for other species too.
As an Association we hold fish-ins, social meetings, have a forum and also an online magazine. Occasionally we also have newsletters and other fishing days like a stick float clinic for example. Our meetings are a chance to share knowledge with the likes of Keith Speer, Len Arbery, Ray Walton, Bob Harrington, Phil Smith, Chris Turnbull, The Angling Trust, Action for the River Kennet and Thames Anglers Conservancy for example.
The Donation is a one off joining fee. This goes towards overall operating costs like web and IT costs. It's primary reason is not to prove the identify of any individual joining, however it does provide us with a back up of who's who and an email address. If someone were able to falsify their details through PayPal, then I would see very little benefit to that individual, so don't really see the point.
We are a non profit making group and make significant donations throughout the year to nominated charities like Macmillan Nurses, Cancer Research etc etc, which since our inception has run into several thousands of pounds.
The ABF is open to all, is in no way elitist and is based around mutual respect for it's members. It holds it's AGM annually and normally coincides with an opportunity to fish one of our waters.
All of our details (fisheries, constitution, Rules, health and safety) are available for viewing online at the ABF's website.
Nathan . If someone were able to falsify their details through PayPal said:i have no issue with using it for running costs,i had issue being told it was to check people are who they say.as far as you're quote above i never said people would falsify their Paypal details,what i said was people may have to use a friends,company Paypal.If you are going to quote please quote me correctly
---------- Post added at 09:32 ---------- Previous post was at 09:23 ----------
The ABF (association of barbel fishers ) is not at all selective in its membership it does in fact have an "open to all" membership policy.
The donation that is asked for is to verify that members are who they say they are and only real names are allowed, its the same on BFW.
.
this were the confusion started by inaccurate statement
i have no issue with using it for running costs,i had issue being told it was to check people are who they say.as far as you're quote above i never said people would falsify their Paypal details,what i said was people may have to use a friends,company Paypal.If you are going to quote please quote me correctly
---------- Post added at 09:32 ---------- Previous post was at 09:23 ----------
this were the confusion started by inaccurate statement