How About a Marty Fan Page

[Snow Miser]

Bob,
I like the idea! It would be nicer if it was part of the OBS website like I think you mentioned earlier. But if they don't have the time to devote to it, and understandably so, then a separate site would be nice. It would also indirectly send traffic to their site anyway as people would be interested in going there to see more about where the cats have and do live.

Also, I think those of us on here that would really like to see it happen, just wanted the OBS' blessing so to speak. If you are going to put it together, I am sure many of us will help in any way we can, i.e. photos, videos, etc. I'd even donate some money if need be.

[mtruman]

Since I was the one who originally suggested the Marty Fan Page I have to chime in. I also offered to set up the Facebook page and maintain it. I understood when the OBS staff said that they wanted to keep any of these kinds of sites managed officially by the OBS. I also understand that there are many priorities and as much as many of us would like this there are more important things in the queue. I think we should respect their wishes and not continue to put pressure on them for this.

[reppy]

MTruman:

Well... thankyou for being so starkly honest about the wishes of the staff... I wasn't aware there was such resistance to the idea or any new ideas for that matter, and even debating the topic is viewed as applying undue pressure...

I honestly thought sharing ideas and being able to freely express new ideas was what the forum was all about in the first place.. It's occurring to me now that this one might be just a bit different. Have to admit: Not quite what I was expecting.....

In light of your relating the staff's desire to cut off further debate on the matter, the offer to host such a site is hereby withdrawn.... The fun would have been to create and share a Marty site. Too bad....... too many "roadblocks"... doesn't appear to be much fun anymore .....

Anyways, without having to donate time to hosting a Marty site, that frees up more time and company $ donations spent supporting the local animal shelter's site where it is obviously far more appreciated and does a lot more good for poor cats in real need....

So thankyou... in a roundabout way, you turned this into a blessing in disguise as it were for the local shelter cats.

Synchronicity in action again ? I think so !

.end

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Bob

[JimS]

Anyways, without having to donate time to hosting a Marty site, that frees up more time and company $ donations spent supporting the local animal shelter's site where it is obviously far more appreciated and does a lot more good for poor cats in real need....

So thankyou... in a roundabout way, you turned this into a blessing in disguise as it were for the local shelter cats.

Synchronicity in action again ? I think so !

.end

_______

Bob

Certainly a good way of looking at it. The observatory takes in a shelter cat for companionship, but also to help keep the rodent population in check. But certainly taking in shelter cats is not the mission of the scientific organization.

If you want to donate time and money to stray cats...there are indeed great ways for you to do so...

...but I hope you also continue to support the observatory's true mission, which they do quite well with the limited staff on the summit!

[mtruman]

Bob -

Please don't misconstrue my response as trying to shut you down or stop the free expression of ideas on the forum. I am not in any way directly affiliated with the OBS other than being a member and supporter of their mission. Like I said, I had originally volunteered to do the same thing you were and I think it's a great offer. There are so many wonderful people here that are will to lend their support to the OBS in many ways and the staff has expressed their gratitude for that time and time again. I hope that you'll continue to participate in the community and provide your support to the OBS. I would surely never want to be the cause of turning anyone away. I also think that what you're doing with your local shelter is a wonderful mission.

[Snow Miser]

This was a great idea to toss around here on the forums. Unfortunately, it's just not the right time and place. But, who knows what can happen in the future. For now, myself and I'm sure others will look forward to any Marty content the OBS can offer up to us.

[Anna LeBlanc]

This was a great idea to toss around here on the forums. Unfortunately, it's just not the right time and place. But, who knows what can happen in the future. For now, myself and I'm sure others will look forward to any Marty content the OBS can offer up to us.

Amen Bob!
And if we are lucky enough to have any news,pictures,etc.about Marty we can easily share the info amongst ourselves.

Thank you Reppy for a great idea tho.Keep supporting your local shelter too.
___________
Anna

[fifteendays]

Hi everyone,

Looks like this is the appropriate time for me to weigh in on the issue...

First of all, I really appreciate the enthusiasm that many of you share about Marty, the latest in a very long line of felines at the summit, dating all the way back to the earliest days of the Observatory. There is no question that among the Observatory's 4,000 members and 1.6 million annual web visitors, the cat is quite popular. He's certainly a favorite among staff and summit volunteers as well. (My staff took great pleasure in putting a Marty poster on my office door, by the way...)

The notion of creating a relatively static fan page on Facebook is a good one. In a response to what's been discussed here in the forums, plans are in motion to do just that. And yes, I would prefer that it is set up and maintained by Obs staff. For all of you who wish to post comments, stories, photos, videos and links on his fan page (once it goes live), fire away!

Where I need to draw the line is whether our staff commits valuable work hours to establishing an active Facebook, YouTube, MySpace or Twitter presence for our cat. That is simply not a priority at this time.

The relationship that many of you have with the Observatory is through this website. While we may look like a large, thriving nonprofit organization on the outside, in reality we are about as bare bones as we can possibly be.

The economic downturn, the loss of investment income and the reduction in charitable giving forced us to cut two full time positions last year at this time. Also, a key member of our senior staff retired this summer, so we are also dealing with a very significant transition in how we operate off the mountain. Because we are short-staffed, I have to make sure that everyone, across the board, is focused on the highest priority items: weather observations, maintaining the climate record, maintaining our technological infrastructure, fundraising and managing the business aspect of the organization.

I should add that while plates are very full, we are actually doing fairly well this fiscal year. Membership is strong, annual giving is solid, retail has been outstanding and we're keeping expenses down. I'm optimistic that we may be able to add back one of the full-time positions in the spring.

So that's where I stand on the issue. We need to be good stewards of the generosity of our members, donors and sponsors. At this time, I just can't justify the creation of an active cat Facebook page and the long-term commitment of staff time that page would involve.

In the future? Quite possibly.

Thanks once again for this spirited discussion and for supporting this remarkable institution.

My best,

Scot Henley
Executive Director
Mount Washington Observatory

[Anna LeBlanc]

Scott,
Thank you very much for taking the time to post your feelings on the subject.

I'm sure knowing that plans are in motion for a static Marty fan page on Facebook will please many of the members who have been tossing the idea of a fanpage around on these forums.

Believe me,we all know how tough these economic times are.I think many of us just thought that this would be a way to generate new memberships for the OBS as well as something the visitors to the website would enjoy.In no way would we want to have this interfere with the true meterlogical and climactic mission of the OBS.

We'll be looking forward to the fan page when it's started up officially;and I think many of us will be able to add to it ourselves.Again thank you for addressing this matter.
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Anna