When do you stop giving people what they ask for?

[ekim952522000]

Edit: I cross posted this on the roadraceatuox.com after seeing the discussion there was headed this way anyway.

Reading so many threads with people asking for things. This brings a question to my mind especially when someone suggest something and everyone seems to agree it's a good idea but it still does not happen.

When do you stop giving people what they ask for?

Seems like a simple question but then I've been thinking about it, and it's not. Is it the ITAC job to give the membership what they want?

If 20 people write a letter saying they would like wheel diameter to be unrestricted and the proposal is put into the Fastrack and no one writes in a letter saying no. Does that get sent straight to the CRB?

Does the ITAC get to simply reject what the members requested saying "nope we don't want open wheel diamter in IT" and never open it to to member comment?

How could I have a thread like this without bringing up the washer bottle thing, it seems pretty unanimous among IT racers that the thing does not need to be there so why not have the option to remove it? ( Isn't the ITAC job to represent the membership).

But all this bring back my first question.

When do you stop giving people what they ask for?

Should the ITAC step in and say NO even if all the current IT racers think a change should be made.

Disclaimer: This is not critisizing the ITAC this is just a question on how do you give the membership what they want with out letting a catergory end up like production? Does giving the membership what they want washer bottles/jacking plates/wheel diameter/cruise control/etc. really mean that IT ends up like production?

<----Mike who is bored at work and is just looking to have a good discussion and does not care that much about washer bottles and cruise control being in his racecar.

[JoshS]

At the risk of hatred from tens of people, I'd suggest reading this column I just read this morning. It's not about racing rules, but the principle is the same.

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/24...sers-facebook/

[ekim952522000]

That's a great article!

[lateapex911]

Funny article.
[Rant mode ON]

A guy I know, is got to be the most ego centric dude in the world. he updates his stupid "Bob is" thing three, four , or even more times a day. "Bob is having salad for lunch with oil dressing"....."Bob can't wait for his new model boat to arrive in the UPS shipment".... "Bob is sweating at the gym".

WHO CARES!!!!!!!!!!!!????????

"Bob HATES the new Facebook"

Bob, step away from Facebook.
Sheeesh.
[Rant mode OFF]


here's a discussion the centers around that issue from another board:

Quote:
Originally Posted by tom_sprecher
Basically, give me what I want and the system works for me. Otherwise, I see it as flawed and in need of a different basis to work from.

Like I said, selfish bastard, plain and simple.

(Tom was suggesting that the ITAC be staffed with people wha are elected to the position, to better reflect what the racers want)

my response:

Tom, that's where it gets tricky. The ITAC tries to walk a fine line between giving people what they want, and giving people what they think they want.

The ITAC has an easy job in many respects. While the IT category is large by club standards, it's not National, and with that comes the freedom of being a bit off the radar. In other words, the CRb and the BoD are more likely to let us "try" things that haven't been tried before. (Like "the Process")

Secondly, we can look back at the history of other categories in the club, and learn from their mistakes.

Which is to say: Prod.

Prod is a category that has had lots of troubled waters, and many of the issues stem from giving people what they wanted. it seemed like a good idea at the time, but the long term effects have proven to onerous, and have changed the way racing in the SCCA/Prod world is done.

(I should add that time and technology pose real challenges to racing categories and must be dealt with effectively by organizing committees. )


Trust me, we on the ITAC are always "feeling the pulse" of the membership. I've been to races and talked to hundreds of IT guys from California to Georgia to New Hampshire in just the past year or two. Guys who don't frequent web boards. From all the interface, we've boiled out some cornerstone philosophies. It's those philosophies, and the consistent application of them, that guides the category.

Replacing the ITAc yearly would, in my opinion, create inconsistency, and would ultimately (and quickly) hurt the category. People would run on "Platforms" then spend their time trying to enact their particular platform. Committee members should, in my opinion, always remember the core philosophies that guide the category/committee, and never forget that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.

I know the current system could be seen as un American and rather dictatorship-like, but I think the benefits outweigh the possible downside and perceptions.
(Further, every racing organization that hasn't been run by a benevolent dictator has failed. Every time.)
__________________

[Ron Earp]

Trust me, we on the ITAC are always "feeling the pulse" of the membership.

And I might add you folks do so pretty well.

One comment about any ITAC crew I would like to suggest is that ITAC members be CURRENT IT racers, that is, having participated in at least one or two IT races in the last twelve months to remain on the committee. Seems that a vested interest would be a good thing.

[dickita15]

A question that anyone representing a group whether appointed or elected is always do you enact the will of those you represent or do you owe those people your best judgment.
Usually the people in positions of power have spent more time thinking about an issue and listening to arguments than the average man on the street. For proof check out any news show man on the street interviews.
To vote against a populist opinion you need conviction, thought and a bit of ego, but I have more respect for someone with consistent convictions than someone who blows in the wind even if I disagree on a given issue.

[tom_sprecher]

Jeez, all I want is a couple of freakin' jacking plates. That, and a way to influence people to get what I want. Is that so much to ask?

[1stGenBoy]

And I might add you folks do so pretty well.

One comment about any ITAC crew I would like to suggest is that ITAC members be CURRENT IT racers, that is, having participated in at least one or two IT races in the last twelve months to remain on the committee. Seems that a vested interest would be a good thing.

That is one of the reasons I stepped down from the ITAC , that and I have moved on to other duties within SCCA. I did not think it was right to make decsisions on a class I was not participating in very much.

Bob Clark