TOPIC:

Hi

Recently, we have run into a problem with members dropping out of a role very close to the meeting time. I would like to know if there is something already in existence which dis-allows role drop outs say 24 hours before the meeting. The functionality that's in existence right now is notifying the toastmaster and the VPE. But, if someone drops out from a prepared speaking role one hour before the meeting, it is very difficult to cover that if the Extra Speaking slot is empty as well.

Thank you for your time !

Your request does not maker any sense, you cannot make a person show up at a meeting or perform a role they do not want to do.

You can turn on the notifications when someone signup or removes themselves from a role.

Hi Brian

Thank you for the response ! Yes, I can definitely understand where you are coming from. I believe I left some room for misinterpretation which I shouldn't have. Does it make sense if you move the ability to drop out from a role from the hands of the member to someone like the VPE when you are 24 hours away from the meeting. What that means is, if I would like to drop out at 5 PM today and the TM meeting is at 12 noon tomorrow, I should let my VPE know 'first' that I would like to drop out and the VPE can make the necessary arrangements for a backfill immediately. I can see that the auto-notification helps to some extent but having to personally notify the VPE that you want to drop out may bring in a sense of responsibility to a member and not have them drop out an hour before the meeting.

I was just curious if something like this came up in any other TM clubs and if there is a way in FTH to do something about it instead of enforcing a moral code that 'Thou shall not drop out an hour before the meeting'. I am OK with the auto-notification at the moment.

Thank you for the time ! I appreciate it.

Sorry at this time we will not be doing what you request, If you feel strongly about it you can post it as a suggestion for future consideration.

At this time you can activate the email that will tell you if someone does drop out.

Remember life happens, people don't always have time for a chit chat when things are happening.

Hehe.. That's alright. Thank you for the time !

I actually did consider something like you are proposing but for different reasons. (An agenda "lock-down" period.)

However, the reality is as Brian is alluding to that people are going to do what people are going to do, and you can only "enforce things" so much. Just because you prevent changes to the agenda does not mean that it would force people to show up and do their roles. If a speaker is unprepared an hour before the meeting and intends not to speak, I doubt that there will be anything we could do that would change that. Also, if the person was not responsible enough to prepare for their speech or give your VPE much advanced notice, what makes you think you can suddenly make them any more responsible at the last minute?

In essence, the notification feature is the best answer I can come up with in this situation, and if we locked down the agenda, you would likely have situations where people did not do the role and you wouldn't get any notification either, since they would be locked out of the agenda, which would prevent the notification feature from working.

Thank you for the response Steve. Yes, a pseudo lock-down where the VP-E or the Toastmaster of the Day are the only people who can modify the agenda is what I was looking for. However, I understand that we are trying too much for something that is natural and human. The lock down may not be the true solution to this problem. I appreciate your thoughts on this matter !