[Ansteorra] Participation & Recruitment?

[Rose]

I may be painting a target on myself here, but are our member numbers *really* a big deal, or is this a Milpitas issue? (Or some third option?) I mostly play in the Northern region, and it seems alive and well to me. I've autocratted events, held office, etc. and the only time that I've ever have to worry about numbers is when it's time for them to count our local members. Aside from that, I don't see a problem with our membership, which should naturally wax and wane along with the economy and various other trends. Now, I do realize that historically speaking, our memberships are down, but I also know that many people that are abstaining from renewing 
their memberships in an attempt to 'drain the beast'. So at the end of the day, as long as people are participating, what does it matter if they have a blue card? (This is not a sarcastic questions. If this many people are worried, then it's a distinct possibility that I am, in fact, missing something.)


Also, in the last five-someodd years, I've really seen an emphasis on recruiting, recruiting, recruiting, and people respond with demos, by dragging people to events, and so on, which seems like an effort doomed to fail. I mean, some strategic marketing would be great, but the cack-handed way we go about trying to recruit everyone who looks our way seems silly, from a marketing perspective. If recruiting people to hold blue cards is our goal, then maybe we can think of better ways to do it.



Rose the Obnoxious
and on this issue, confused

 
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Ars longa, vita brevis, occasio praeceps, experimentum periculosum, iudicium difficile. ~Hippocrates