Ask the Directors

Debate directly related to English Chess Federation matters.
User avatar
Michael Farthing
Posts: 2069
Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2014 1:28 pm
Location: Morecambe, Europe

Re: Ask the Directors

Post by Michael Farthing » Thu Oct 06, 2016 11:57 am

Of course, had the Board rearranged its finances to avoid the recent surplus some here would have been equally unhappy since this would be tax avoidance :?

Simon Brown
Posts: 798
Joined: Wed Oct 08, 2008 8:38 pm
Location: Sevenoaks, Kent, if not in Costa Calida, Spain

Re: Ask the Directors

Post by Simon Brown » Thu Oct 06, 2016 1:00 pm

Michael Farthing wrote:Of course, had the Board rearranged its finances to avoid the recent surplus some here would have been equally unhappy since this would be tax avoidance :?
Why? Tax avoidance is legal, so had the Board found a way of reducing the tax bill whilst maintaining reserves it should have done so. However none of the suggestions earlier in this thread would achieve that. Given that there is a tax specialist advising the Board you might conclude that there was nothing sensible to be done. Or someone could Ask.

It's tax evasion which is not legal, as we know from another thread. If the Board were entertaining tax evasion schemes, we should be unhappy.

User avatar
Michael Farthing
Posts: 2069
Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2014 1:28 pm
Location: Morecambe, Europe

Re: Ask the Directors

Post by Michael Farthing » Thu Oct 06, 2016 1:06 pm

Clearly irony is not my strong suit :-(

User avatar
John Upham
Posts: 7179
Joined: Wed Apr 04, 2007 10:29 am
Location: Cove, Hampshire, England.
Contact:

Re: Ask the Directors

Post by John Upham » Thu Oct 06, 2016 1:46 pm

Michael Farthing wrote:Clearly irony is not my strong suit :-(

Kenneth Williams made a similar point in Carry on Cleo:

"Irony, irony, they've all got it..."
British Chess News : britishchessnews.com
Twitter: @BritishChess
Facebook: facebook.com/groups/britishchess :D

User avatar
Michael Farthing
Posts: 2069
Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2014 1:28 pm
Location: Morecambe, Europe

Re: Ask the Directors

Post by Michael Farthing » Thu Oct 06, 2016 1:50 pm

Now I'm puzzled. The actual quotation is

"Infamy, infamy, the've all got it in fa' me."

Mike Truran
Posts: 2393
Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2007 3:44 pm
Contact:

Re: Ask the Directors

Post by Mike Truran » Thu Oct 06, 2016 1:56 pm

Perhaps John was being ironic...... :?

User avatar
Michael Farthing
Posts: 2069
Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2014 1:28 pm
Location: Morecambe, Europe

Re: Ask the Directors

Post by Michael Farthing » Thu Oct 06, 2016 2:09 pm

Recognising irony is clearly not my strong suit either.

User avatar
John Upham
Posts: 7179
Joined: Wed Apr 04, 2007 10:29 am
Location: Cove, Hampshire, England.
Contact:

Re: Ask the Directors

Post by John Upham » Fri Oct 07, 2016 12:25 pm

Can anyone lead me to the location of the DoFs response on the ECF web site?

I selected
"Where we think a question and answer will be of general interest we may publish them on the ECF website in an anonymised form. Please indicate if you agree to this? *"
or whatever the wording was.

Many thanks for your help.
British Chess News : britishchessnews.com
Twitter: @BritishChess
Facebook: facebook.com/groups/britishchess :D

Roger de Coverly
Posts: 21301
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 2:51 pm

Re: Ask the Directors

Post by Roger de Coverly » Fri Oct 07, 2016 12:32 pm

John Upham wrote:Can anyone lead me to the location of the DoFs response on the ECF web site?
They haven't published any. As a substitute for emailing the relevant director, I'd imagine the system works reasonably well. As a replacement for a public forum, not at all.

User avatar
John Upham
Posts: 7179
Joined: Wed Apr 04, 2007 10:29 am
Location: Cove, Hampshire, England.
Contact:

Re: Ask the Directors

Post by John Upham » Fri Oct 07, 2016 12:36 pm

Roger de Coverly wrote:
They haven't published any. As a substitute for emailing the relevant director, I'd imagine the system works reasonably well. As a replacement for a public forum, not at all.

I'm assuming that a judgement has been made that none of the numerous responses are of value to ECF customers (i.e. players).

Perhaps MT could enlighten us on this matter?
British Chess News : britishchessnews.com
Twitter: @BritishChess
Facebook: facebook.com/groups/britishchess :D

Roger de Coverly
Posts: 21301
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 2:51 pm

Re: Ask the Directors

Post by Roger de Coverly » Wed Mar 08, 2017 1:31 pm

Mark Jordan wrote: The application has been developed after lots of thinking and discussion and will be monitored by the office and any teething problems dealt with. Questions and answers that are of more general interest will be published on the website in anonymised form. We also hope to use this to work towards creating an FAQ page on the website which will lessen the need to answer the same questions over and over. Why not give it a chance rather than predict failure before it's even been up for 24 hours?
This is from nearly a year ago at the time the ECF closed its in house forum.

Should we conclude from the absence of any published questions and answers in the elapsed year that all the questions were of no general interest whatsoever or that the answers were partly confidential?

David Sedgwick
Posts: 5249
Joined: Mon Apr 09, 2007 5:56 pm
Location: Croydon
Contact:

Re: Ask the Directors

Post by David Sedgwick » Wed Mar 08, 2017 2:53 pm

Roger de Coverly wrote: Should we conclude from the absence of any published questions and answers in the elapsed year that all the questions were of no general interest whatsoever or that the answers were partly confidential?
I suspect that very few questions have been asked.

I commented previously that I couldn't see the point of that facility. If I want to ask a Director something, I email that Director.

That remains my view and I imagine that it is shared by others.

Angus French
Posts: 2151
Joined: Thu May 15, 2008 1:37 am
Contact:

Re: Ask the Directors

Post by Angus French » Wed Mar 08, 2017 3:12 pm

David Sedgwick wrote:
Roger de Coverly wrote: Should we conclude from the absence of any published questions and answers in the elapsed year that all the questions were of no general interest whatsoever or that the answers were partly confidential?
I suspect that very few questions have been asked.

I commented previously that I couldn't see the point of that facility. If I want to ask a Director something, I email that Director.

That remains my view and I imagine that it is shared by others.
I don't know. I think if Directors won't respond directly to points raised on this forum (as is currently the case with the Director of Membership on the proposal to abolish game fees) then having some other means to publicise views/positions should be useful.

Roger de Coverly
Posts: 21301
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 2:51 pm

Re: Ask the Directors

Post by Roger de Coverly » Wed Mar 08, 2017 3:27 pm

Angus French wrote:I think if Directors won't respond directly to points raised on this forum (as is currently the case with the Director of Membership on the proposal to abolish game fees) then having some other means to publicise views/positions should be useful.
It's not an alternative to a forum if director responses are never published.

Michael Flatt
Posts: 1235
Joined: Tue Jul 02, 2013 7:36 am
Location: Hertfordshire

Re: Ask the Directors

Post by Michael Flatt » Wed Mar 08, 2017 3:40 pm

The purpose of posting on an Open Forum is to generate discussion and comment on topics of general interest to chess players and in doing that this particular forum is providing a valuable service.

The ECF 'Ask a Director' facility doesn't offer the same opportunity for debate since all questions submitted and their responses are private.

I have found that posting here generally provokes a response from at least one ECF Director although that isn't necessarily the intent of my posts.

Post Reply