Focus

[Electrocuted]

So, I presume now families are all individual members we still only get one copy of Focus per family? How does BOF choose who to send it to? I'm just interested why they chose to send it addressed to our 7 month son. They could have least made it a board book version....

[andypat]

Ha yes mine came to Caitlin age 5...

[Mrs H]

This would be quite amusing if it were not for the fact that our only copy was addressed to Young Neville (AKA Dan) who is currently on a year's working holiday in New Zealand. It was in a basket of stuff awaiting us upon our return from visiting him yesterday and I just stuck it in his bedroom as I only open letters to him from the bank, tax man or student finance company or anything else that looks like it might mean trouble if not attended to.

I assumed it was some membership documents and we would get our own in due course.

D for Dan is the earliest alphabetical initial in the family but I'm guessing C for Caitlin isn't I'm struggling to find a logic here. I shall email BOF membership and complain. I even paid everyone's membership fee

[aiming off]

Just realised I've forwarded mine to a family member who will not read it.

[Electrocuted]

Definitely not alphabetical. Our son is the last alphabetically.

[DavidJ]

Interesting. One of my daughters (now aged 23) has recently joined BOF as an individual as a member of BAOC but is using our address as hers as she is still moving around during training. She really should get her own copy (which I would forward on to her) but only one has arrived so far for me.

[PhilJ]

I think it is pot luck, the membership renewal was sent to Sarah and focus to Charlie nothing for me yet

[DavidJ]

Just checked the BOF membership website which states:
As a member you will receive:
• Four copies of the British Orienteering magazine, Focus, which includes the junior magazine Ozone.
This suggests that all members (even when at the same address) should receive a personal copy. Perhaps there should be an opt-out but the statement is quite clear.

[King Penguin]

Eldest son (separate membership since we broke the system 7 years ago trying to have one family membership but with different members in different clubs) got his late last week, but no sign of one for me, Mrs KP or younger son (also independent member now) yet.

[Tessa]

I think it might be done on address. We've had one copy yet two separate individual memberships, different clubs. Not complaining actually, it's sensible in our case.

[smf]

Definitely not alphabetical. Our son is the last alphabetically.

The club membership returns are also listed in what looks like a strange order, but our Membership Secretary told me that the first name in each family membership unit seems to be the last name on the membership form. This would generally explain why children are being sent the Focus magazine.

[Mrs H]

Does't really add up either as Dan is the eldest of our three children and his BOF number is slap bang in the middle of a block of 5!

[PhilJ]

Due to all this confusion, something else has dawned on me, daughter now at uni at joined the local club, makes sense so she can get to know the locals and hopefully carry in o'ing, but when I renewed her I left her address as the home one, so that means if a focus does turn up it will get delivered here..not much use for her. On many on-line sites you having a billing address and delivery address, maybe it is time to hold 2 addresses on the BO database? The only reason I say this is I suppose I could have put her halls address as her main address, not the home one, but as she will be out of halls in June, then home, then in some digs from sept, alot of faffing calling BO to get her address changed all the time, hence the default as home. If there was the option of 2 addresses then the member could login in and maintain these addresses themselves and decide where correspondence could be sent to.

[RS]

Perhaps it's time for an on-line version?

For those who have received their copies, how about a bit of positive discussion on Mike Hamilton's article?

[Mrs H]

Phil - is it likely that the BOF membership database could cope with two addresses when it can't manage 2nd club membership?

I'll have a read of MH's article when I've finished unpacking.