Member Sponsored Events (MSE)

Events that are scheduled by members, as opposed to the Flickrite Meetup Organizers, are called Member Sponsored Events or MSEs. While not "official" they are an important part of our group.

Although the organizers do not manage or oversee these events we do ask MSE organizers to be as organized as possible and will make suggestions, as we see appropriate, to help make sure you have a successful event that follow our tenets - basically that the event is open and available to all. There may be a limited number that can attend but having access to those slots is an open process.

We have a couple of "rules" that must be followed:

• MSEs cannot conflict with "official" events - check the calendar before setting your date. If your event is in the future check with me if your are not sure if it would conflict
  
• You may not make a profit from an MSE - more info down near the end of this message
  
• You may not represent yourself as Seattle Flickrites when making your MSE arrangements - see the next section
  
• Allow 48 hours for your event to be posted. Normally we beat this timeline but if you happen to send a request during a time that lots of us are busy it may take a day or two. And if we need to ask you for more information your posting may be delayed so carefully read the information below.
  

IMPORTANT - MAKE SURE YOU READ THIS PART
When making arrangements for your MSE please do not represent yourself as Seattle Flickrites. You are an individual making the arrangements and that is it. This means you shouldn't tell any person you are working with that you want to bring the Seattle Flickrites, you do not reserve rooms or equipment in the group's name, hire models in the groups name, etc. Transactions need to be made by YOU or a person. No member has the right to obligate the group in any way.

I know most of you are thinking about this from a convenience viewpoint - rent a room as Seattle Flickrites so that people can find me, make it easier for the models, etc. I understand you only have the best intentions.

But those things can backfire - someone (accidentally) damages a classroom and THE GROUP is banned from ever using the facilities again. You make a deal with a vendor but not everyone in the group gets the deal and there are issues there. It's a big can of worms.

So please don't do it. And in case you are wondering, all arrangements I make follow the same rule.

If you feel you want to make a deal on behalf of the group please contact me and we can work out the details.


Here's what you need to know to get your event on the Meetup calendar.

Send the following information to organizers - at - flickrites - dot - com

We need from you:

• Name of the event
  
• Date and Start Time
  
• If you have an end time put it in the body of the event
  
• Location, including complete address and zip code
  
• How the members can find you (if applicable)
  
• Your contact info for questions from anyone interested or attending the event
  
• The information about your event
  
• The flickr tag to be used for this event (see note below)
  
• If the event is a stroll of some type, it's nice to include information about your expected route so that latecomers can find you
  
• If there is a fee of any sort include that information in the body of the event, too
  
• If there is a limit, the number
  

In addition to those options here are some things we automatically do:

• In addition to setting up the event on the calendar we add it to the message board
  
• If there is a limit on the event we won't allow "Maybes" - these count toward the overall limit
  
• If the limit number is very small we do not allow people to RSVP for guests, if it's larger we'll allow one guest - you can give us specific instructions here but those are our defaults
  
• If there is a fee we can't put it in the "Fee" box. That triggers PayPal and all payments come to me - not good
  
• Additionally (and this is new) when the event reaches capacity, you may ask us to close the RSVPs. This would allow you to manage a manual waiting list. If people drop out their space can't be taken - you could invite the next person on your waiting list. If you don't ask us to do that anyone can take an open spot. Think about that as there are pros and cons to both.
  

Messages associated with events
we send "Announcing" only if requested.

This allows members who have been participating in any discussion about the event prior to it being set up in meetup to have a little better chance of getting a spot. The event will be announced on the discussion thread (by you the MSE organizer or at times by the official organizer who set the event up).

As long as your event has been posted at least a week prior to the date the general membership will get two reminders. One goes out one week prior and the other the day before. Events really should be on the calendar more than a week prior so in most cases two (or more) messages will go out for your MSE.

Collecting Fees
You may not make money on these events. MSEs are strictly community events.

However, you may collect fees to cover your out of pocket costs. You will need to make arrangements to collect these at the event or prior if you need to. There is no way for us to collect them through Meetup for you.

Tag Notes
Before submitting the tag you'd like associated with the event, please take a minute to think through what you use. If this is just a one time event you pretty much can use anything , however it should be a tag unique to the group - do a Flickr tag search to make sure it isn't already in use, and also think about how likely it is to be used by someone in the future. Starting any tag with "SFM" (SeattleFlickrMeetup) would probably pretty much give you free reign.

If your event is likely to be repeated or be one of a series, think about using one part that is common to the series and then add a date to it or something like that.

Additional Notes for Organizers
Please make sure to "uncheck" the two "email organizers" boxes.