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Community,
In October we held our first Town Hall meeting, and we discussed the current state of the forum, issues of concern, and our future. At that time I pledged progress towards a more community-focused EMTLife, and months later remain committed to that promise.
First, I think it’s important we recognize everything some great EMTLife achievements. Since October we’ve gained over 1,000 members (welcome!), started another 1,000 threads and posted 20,000 messages! Since October many of us have found employment, and despite what we may read in the forum, we certainly have had a profound impact on the life of some of our patients. Well done!
I’m also fortunate to work with some of the best Community Leaders and friends a guy could have, and I continue to be amazed at their dedication to the community. My co-administrators have been active members of EMTLife for nearly six years now, and they’ve had a profoundly positive impact on the community. Sometimes they’ve had to play “bad cop” or carry out an unpopular action, but in the end they’ve proven time and time again to care about the community and our diverse population. Thank you!
Also, it’s important that I explain the delay in announcing our initiatives. I take sole responsibility for the long wait, and assure you that if any of the other Community Leaders were tasked with the responsibility they would have done it months ago. EMTLife is, and always has been, a personal project of mine. While I’d like to think that the community reflects my vision for a professional online EMS forum, I also understand that at times my indecisiveness and other responsibilities hinder EMTLife’s growth and development. I will continue to work on being more responsive to the needs of the community, and in turn ask that you remember that EMTLife is a complete volunteer-run community.
At the Town Hall we made changes to our leadership structure, and said that we would continue refining our leadership to ensure fairness and justice. First, we promoted Jon to Administrator. The members of the community can thank Jon for his tireless work on their behalf. Jon continues to advocate for our members and offer an additional perspective, and we appreciate his contributions to our team. In addition to Jon we asked several other members to join our team, but due to outside commitments or for personal reasons, they decided against joining the Community Leader team. We respect their decisions, and we continue to evaluate potential future members of our CL team.
I remain committed to the Community Advocate position, but have been unable to find a meaningful way to empower the position and incorporate them into the community. Ultimately I believe that additional Community Leaders will help serve their intended role.
After our last meeting we revised our community rules to reflect the needs of our dynamic forum. For the record, our current system provides a warning and then a member loses posting privileges for a number of days for subsequent offenses. It is imperative that members understand that individual Community Leaders make decisions based on the information they have and what he or she believes to be the most appropriate consequence. Obviously certain behavior will warrant immediate and permanent removal of privileges, while most behavior will follow our standard warning system. We’re people that have feelings and emotions, and while we’re committed to being fair, we can’t guarantee that you’ll always like our decisions. If you have any issue with a CL, the forum is not the proper channel to voice your grievance. You’re better served by private messaging the CL team or emailing us directly.
Our rules provide a solid foundation for the community, and they will likely not change significantly. Our rules and expectations have been amended throughout the years to meet the changing need of our community, and we will continue to update the rules to best meet the needs of our community and members.
A few of our members voiced frustration over our lack of communication, and it is our hope that our Community Leaders act as ambassadors to the community and help open the channels of communication. Additionally, I am working on creating a meaningful online survey that will be posted in the coming days. Regardless of the decisions of our Community Leaders, we will be more forward with the community and make communication a top priority.
Lastly, I’d like to schedule regular community chats to allow us to become a stronger community of EMS professionals. One of the questions on the upcoming survey will ask when the best date and time to schedule a meeting is, and your feedback will help determine when we hold the monthly chats. I look forward to seeing everyone in the chat room.
We’re a great community with a strong foundation and great members, and I look forward to all of the great things we’re going to do together!
Sincerely,
Matt
EMTLife Administrator / Community Leader
In October we held our first Town Hall meeting, and we discussed the current state of the forum, issues of concern, and our future. At that time I pledged progress towards a more community-focused EMTLife, and months later remain committed to that promise.
First, I think it’s important we recognize everything some great EMTLife achievements. Since October we’ve gained over 1,000 members (welcome!), started another 1,000 threads and posted 20,000 messages! Since October many of us have found employment, and despite what we may read in the forum, we certainly have had a profound impact on the life of some of our patients. Well done!
I’m also fortunate to work with some of the best Community Leaders and friends a guy could have, and I continue to be amazed at their dedication to the community. My co-administrators have been active members of EMTLife for nearly six years now, and they’ve had a profoundly positive impact on the community. Sometimes they’ve had to play “bad cop” or carry out an unpopular action, but in the end they’ve proven time and time again to care about the community and our diverse population. Thank you!
Also, it’s important that I explain the delay in announcing our initiatives. I take sole responsibility for the long wait, and assure you that if any of the other Community Leaders were tasked with the responsibility they would have done it months ago. EMTLife is, and always has been, a personal project of mine. While I’d like to think that the community reflects my vision for a professional online EMS forum, I also understand that at times my indecisiveness and other responsibilities hinder EMTLife’s growth and development. I will continue to work on being more responsive to the needs of the community, and in turn ask that you remember that EMTLife is a complete volunteer-run community.
At the Town Hall we made changes to our leadership structure, and said that we would continue refining our leadership to ensure fairness and justice. First, we promoted Jon to Administrator. The members of the community can thank Jon for his tireless work on their behalf. Jon continues to advocate for our members and offer an additional perspective, and we appreciate his contributions to our team. In addition to Jon we asked several other members to join our team, but due to outside commitments or for personal reasons, they decided against joining the Community Leader team. We respect their decisions, and we continue to evaluate potential future members of our CL team.
I remain committed to the Community Advocate position, but have been unable to find a meaningful way to empower the position and incorporate them into the community. Ultimately I believe that additional Community Leaders will help serve their intended role.
After our last meeting we revised our community rules to reflect the needs of our dynamic forum. For the record, our current system provides a warning and then a member loses posting privileges for a number of days for subsequent offenses. It is imperative that members understand that individual Community Leaders make decisions based on the information they have and what he or she believes to be the most appropriate consequence. Obviously certain behavior will warrant immediate and permanent removal of privileges, while most behavior will follow our standard warning system. We’re people that have feelings and emotions, and while we’re committed to being fair, we can’t guarantee that you’ll always like our decisions. If you have any issue with a CL, the forum is not the proper channel to voice your grievance. You’re better served by private messaging the CL team or emailing us directly.
Our rules provide a solid foundation for the community, and they will likely not change significantly. Our rules and expectations have been amended throughout the years to meet the changing need of our community, and we will continue to update the rules to best meet the needs of our community and members.
A few of our members voiced frustration over our lack of communication, and it is our hope that our Community Leaders act as ambassadors to the community and help open the channels of communication. Additionally, I am working on creating a meaningful online survey that will be posted in the coming days. Regardless of the decisions of our Community Leaders, we will be more forward with the community and make communication a top priority.
Lastly, I’d like to schedule regular community chats to allow us to become a stronger community of EMS professionals. One of the questions on the upcoming survey will ask when the best date and time to schedule a meeting is, and your feedback will help determine when we hold the monthly chats. I look forward to seeing everyone in the chat room.
We’re a great community with a strong foundation and great members, and I look forward to all of the great things we’re going to do together!
Sincerely,
Matt
EMTLife Administrator / Community Leader
