Invitation
Birthday party
February 27, 2004 I opened a group on MSN and started working on a meetingplace for Albin Ballad sailors. I went through a couple of names, logos, and other ideas, and worked out an introduction in three languages. Thanks god my wife is German. Willemijn van Damme in Holland translated the introduction into english, and thus the introduction was available in four languages.
I did this because I felt the activity was a little low on the websites of the different national Ballad clubs. And the technical questions were all in the same forum, except of course there was one forum for each club, so you really had to move around if you were trying to find something. And most of these technical questions and answers were without pictures.
My hope was to attract the attention of all websurfing Ballad sailors to a technically better way of using the internet for exchange of Ballad information of all kinds. Hoping at the same time that a technically better service and a larger number of participants would create more activity.
Well it didn't quite develop as hoped, but it did develop, and I am quite satisfied. First of all, Ballad Exchange has so far only been able to attract contributors writing in English. English speaking Ballad sailors didn't have any other forum on the web (as far as I know) and now they have, so that's good. The two very large Ballad nations Denmark and Sweeden have shown some interest, and some have joined, but we haven't really been able to tap into the vast amount of Ballad experience that exists in these two countries. Personally, since I am danish myself, I have used the danish Ballad Club website technical forum, and received help with my heater in form of an incredibly detailed and well illustrated manual on how to restore same heater. The accompanying correspondance was very helpfull too.
Imagine hundreds of Ballad sailors with 20 or 30 years of experience. What a bank of wisdom! Unfortunately, assisting someone technically in a foreign language is somewhat different from being a tourist, and the Ballad sailors I have spoken to, did in fact feel the use of the english language, was an obstruction. Anybody is welcome to use their own language, but apparently the need for a new web based forum for Ballad Sailors in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Holland and Germany, is not very big.
Through the Danish Ballad Club I offered Ballad Exchange to BODA (Ballad One Design Association) which of course is not really a club, but it is the international organisation regulating the design of the Ballad for racing purposes. Not because I wanted to get rid of Ballad Exchange, I would still like to be the webmaster of it, if they would want me to, but because I want Ballad Exchange to benefit as many Ballad sailors as possible. I haven't heard from BODA, nor the Danish Ballad Club on this offer, and it is still open.
In the same way I just recently offered the Ballad sailors in the UK to have a UK forum inside Ballad Exchange. Other special interest groups are welcome too, to have their own corner of Ballad Exchange. This would make it possible for them to send messages to those who have an interest in such a sub-forum only.
Today I checked the members list, and it has grown to 102 members. Postings occur almost daily. The Albin Ballad World Map has pins inserted in all corners of the world. Pictures are posted ever so often, and Willejmin and his friend finally found a place on the web for their interesting hobby of collecting pictures of each and every Ballad ever produced. So far they have 34 pictures so they still have some 1466 pictures to collect. Please help them if you can ("Ballads by the numbers", in the photalbum). I think Ballad Exchange is living and growing, and slowly but surely it is collecting invaluable knowledge and experience for all of us to benefit from.
And the potential of Ballad Exchange is yet hardly discovered. One thing for example, that I haven't seen used yet, is our own private chat room. And therefore I am now officially inviting you to take part in the one year birthday party of Ballad Exchange taking place in the chatroom.
Dear Ballad Member
You are hereby invited to take part in the
One year Birthday Party
of Ballad Exchange
at
The chatroom in Ballad Exchange
on Sunday the 27th of February 2005
at 18:00 hours GMT
(US and Canada pacific time: 10:00)
(US and Canada central time: 12:00)
(US and Canada eastern time 13:00)
(Canada atlantic time: 14:00)
(UK, Portugal: 18:00)
(Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany, Holland, France: 19:00)
(Greece, Turkey, Finland 20:00) (Japan: Monday 28th of February 03:00 (sorry Sato, bad timing for you))
(New Zealand: Monday 28th. of February 06:00 (You can make it before going to work, John!))
I will be present in the chatroom for one hour at least, so if you can't make it on time, just come on in a little later.
The chatroom never closes.
Anybody wanting to practice using the chatroom, or prepare festive contributions, can meet me there for an hour, 24 hours before the party.
Any festive contributions such as poems, speaches, songs, pictures, jokes, videos or music, will be highly appreciated.
Your International Albin Ballad Information Exchange webmaster
Jesper Milling
