Anyway, here's my feedback on Meeting 3...
Discussions about communication seemed to take up a huge segment of time during the meeting I thought, with people debating on whether we should use mics or keyboards. Frankly IMO, I don't think it's that hard to keep up with both if our communication is well structured, and I think that's the huge disconnect here.
I think hands down Blackbible was the most vocal person in the meeting, and to a degree I think that's very good, he's passionate about what he talks about, is very charismatic, and makes solid points, it's definitely something we need. I think it's unrealistic to think though that all of us can bring the same to the table. I know at least as far as I'm concerned, from observing my own behaviors over the years that I tend to do my best as the "right hand man" so to speak (I'll be the first to say I'm definitely not "management material", and don't really want to be it's just not my style).
Right now, in all honesty, I don't really feel that I've got much to contribute at all during these meetings, I just kind of sit in the corner and wonder if anyone hears me if I chat in the midst of large amounts of cross-talking, or reads the text I type when I don't feel that my mic chatting is getting across. After a while of this, I tune out, and yes, I stepped out not once but twice during the meeting for a cigarette, just listening to the commotion on my BT headset.
So... I have a recommendation on that front.
We're starting to do more of a round table seating structure now, and I think it's perfect for this kind of communication. It's very simple, everybody comes prepared to discuss the agenda at the meetings, and when it comes times to go through a topic, we do a 2 pass round table discussion. We go around the room, everyone gets a turn to discuss their views on the topic and the rest of us listen while that person is speaking or typing, and I would ask that we be mindful of time and keep things straight to the point. On the second pass, that's where we make rebuttals to arguments and open up the discussion (at that time we can do cross-talking).
That out of the way, on to my next topic of feedback.
We talked a lot about planning different events (Poker night, Warhawk clans, etc etc). This is very good I think because it helps us keep a strong bond with our members. I think something that would definitely be helpful is for us to have a public Event Calendar for our events (I'm sure there's some opensource tools we can use, I don't know how much we can do within forumotion but I've got a Linux server I can always utilize for a supplemental calendar), that way everyone's on the same page with regular recurring and also special events. We also need something official with our clans, member listing (not just whoever attends the clubhouse meetings), etc.
So, am I on the right page here or am I smoking crack? Thoughts? Opinions? I think if we keep chipping away at this with refinements that we're going to have a really good structure in place that'll help everyone get a chance to participate and will also help us build a stronger foundation as a group.