When you are entering your profile, you will see certain fields are required to be completed. In your profile you will see a page called Edit Settings/Privacy. In this page you can determine which members can view your profile and last name.
You will receive an automated email sent to the email address you entered in the sign-up form. You must confirm receipt of this by clicking on the link contained in the email..
GayOutdoors uses cookies as a part of the login process. Your internet browser must be set to accept them. If you are not sure how to check and/or do this, refer to this link: http://help.expedient.com/browsers/cookies.shtml
PayPal will approve payment once your bank confirms that there is money in your account. This may take up to 24 hours. Once we get this approval, we will update your profile.
Absolutely! Make the $25 check payable to GO and mail it to 676 Upper Mad River Road, Thornton NH, 03285. Be sure to include your user name so we can upgrade your account.
Click on the PayPal Icon at the bottom of this page to access. You have to create a PayPal account or use your existing one. Then there should be some sort of ‘subscription button’ to select.
We're sorry to hear you are having problems with PayPal. Your other option is to send us a check for $25 payable to GO and mailing it to 676 Upper Mad River Road, Thornton, NH 03285...make sure you tell us your user name. Thanks so much for your financial support by becoming a full member.
There has been a real rounding out of the gay culture. Previously, when other hikers ran into our group [we sometimes stand out if we have a large group of men hiking together], we would tell them we were friends. Now that there's been a shift in public opinion, there's a lot more stuff that gay people feel comfortable and safer doing. Today, we tell them we belong to a club called GayOutdoors and that we are all gay.
Thanks for your desire to renew your full membership! PayPal should be confirming first that you wish to automatically renew your full membership. A few days later they should be charging your account.
You'll need to login to the site and click on the Sustaining Membership page. At the very bottom you'll see the link to PayPal. Thanks for your continued support.
Our policy is not to list 'for profit' trips however if someone reaches out to us beforehand we do try to make this happen to have a richer events calendar for members. We are looking for the trip organizer to take extra steps for GO members who sign up to have opportunities to connect with each other during the trip such as a 'Meet 'N Greet' specific to GO members the first night of the event, make an effort for members to have meals together, and have a wrap up get together specific for GO members. We also take into account how much 'profit' is really to be gained and in this particular trip, this is more of a labor of love/hobby for the trip organizer...it's not really a business and all he is really looking for is to break even.
You'll have to login to your PayPal account to determine if you selected the automatic renewal option...the automatic renewal option would only work if you decided to create a PayPal account. If not, then pay online after logging in by accessing this page http://www.gayoutdoors.org/page-connect.cfm?typeofsite=membership and clicking on the "Pay Now" icon at the very bottom. Thank you for your continued support!
The personal information in your profile at the site is public information...available to anyone even if someone hacked into the site. Data, such as credit card information, with becoming a full member is kept in a separate server maintained by a reliable third party, PayPal. We've been around for over 15 years and never got hacked. Thanks for your concern and it's something we can look into at the next site upgrade.
Thanks for your support by becoming a full member! Did you become a guest member first? A guest membership must be on file to process a full membership.
GO really is nothing more or less than the sum of the energy and enthusiasm that all of our individual members contribute - the greater and broader that energy, the greater and broader will be the enjoyment that we derive from GO. By injecting your own involvement and enthusiasm, you will be contributing directly in that formula.
In addition to seconding your personal goal of participating in a GO event sometime soon, another thing to consider doing is to actually organize and post a GO event yourself, in your area. Whether it's camping, hiking, a beach or paddling outing, biking, a cookout or something else, there are many GO members in your area who might be interested in meeting and joining you. As you likely would surmise on your own, the key to a rich event calendar lies with those first few people who are able to step out in front and get the ball rolling. Click Here To Post A Trip
You can certainly pay for a multi-year membership! Send us a check and we can update your profile manually from this end. Make your check payable to GO and mail it 676 Upper Mad River Road, Thornton NH, 03285. Thanks so much for your sustaining support!
That's right, you get a free GO decal upon request when you sign up for a full membership. Contact us with your mailing address and we'll mail one to you. Thanks so much for your sustaining support!
You can allow automatic renewal next time you pay provided you have a PayPal account. Once you do we will send you an email 7 days before you make a payment in case you changed your mind and want to change your settings.
Thanks for asking! Login, click on MY PROFILE and scroll down to bottom to find out when your sustaining membership will expire.
Sorry to hear you are disappointed however we respect members privacy so they have the option to block their profiles to everyone. Many members select the option to only have members view their profiles and very few actually block their profiles to everyone. We are open and geared toward outdoorzy men of similar interests but we have to respect everyone's privacy.
Due to issues we've had in the past with allowing members to change their User Name, this had been discontinued. Your only option is to delete your profile and create a new one. By doing this, you will have to recreate your buddies list and any record we've had of you attending & coordinating events will be gone. Please note that if you have a Full Membership, that status will be removed.
To logout, click on MY PROFILE and in the left column you'll see the link to logout.
To change your password, click on MY PROFILE and in the left column you'll see the link to Edit Profile.
If you are using a mobile device, the person icon in the green navigation bar at the top will give you the login page. This icon is the standard means to direct people to a login page using a mobile device.
Yes, that is exactly why. Please change your user name to resolve the issue.
We don't have a function that displays the emails you have sent. You can receive emails from other members.
I just added a photo album to my profile. While I had no problem uploading the whole process may be unnecessarily complicated. Something we need to fix.
1) Click on photo album on your profile page
2) Click "add album"
3) 2 text areas appear, one for the title and one for a description. This is the step where it becomes counterintuitive. Instead of having a "Browse" button right here where you can select pictures, there is nothing. You should be able to select pictures which will be uploaded once you press "Save Album".
4) You need to click "Save Album" first, before you can upload pictures (why would I want to save an album without any pictures?)
5) Once saved, hover the mouse over the new icon just created. There are 3 choices, one for uploading, one for editing and one for deleting.
6) Clicking the uploading symbol, you would expect you can upload pictures now, but no, it just goes to another page
7) On this page click "add photo" (why not plural "photos"?) and finally another window pops up with yet another browse button (in my experience, this button should be available in step 3).
8) Click this browse button and finally another window appears where you can browse for the pictures to be added.
Yes! We have lots of ways: Member Profiles, Searches, Trip Listings, Trip Reports where you'll see a "Send Email" button, "Email All Your Buddies" button via Your Profile, "Send Email To All Participants" button for any trip you've signed up for.
If you check members only to view your profile, that does include guest members.
If you have an idea for an activity but don't have all the details worked out, a date chosen, or would like some input, you can post a trip idea. Once you have enough information you can turn it into a real activity by posting it in the Trips/Events Calendar. Hopefully you'll hear from some interested members who'll help you put things together so you can turn it into a 'real' activity, and off you GO! >>Post A Trip Idea
We welcome suggestions at any time, Contact Us
To change this setting, login and then under the MY PROFILE tab in the far right of the navigation bar, you'll find a link in the left column called EDIT EMAIL/PRIVACY. Click on this link then on the next page near the bottom there is a section called " Profile Viewing." Here you can choose "Who Can
View My Profile":
By default, nobody can see your last name. To change this setting, login and then under the MY PROFILE tab in the far right of the navigation bar, you'll find a link in the left column called EDIT EMAIL/PRIVACY. Click on it and on the next page at the bottom there is a section called "Profile Viewing." Under there you can choose who can view your last name with the "Show my last name to settings":
Note: When you view your own profile, your last name will appear in all settings, because that is a field you can edit. If you selected having nobody view your last name, it will not appear.
We are one nationwide chapter for social events and fun trips. Our structure is such that our website is the central clearinghouse for all things gay outdoors: membership profiles, trips, trip ideas, trip reports/photos, articles and overall communication. Local chapters are not needed because we only send new trip notifications and reminders to members who live near the location of where the trip will be held. Loosely-knit and informal groups have developed in certain areas of the country through the efforts of a few members who regularly run trips and social events. As a result, they have developed a core group of members who have become good friends and plan future GO trips together.
Click on a member's name and you should reach their profile page with their information. In that page there is a button/link "Send Email" for you to click on.
Unfortunately, the system is not designed for you to search for folks outside your area or outside your age group. The way to get around that is to enter the zip code of Austin in your profile and change your date of birth to the age group you are interested in. You'll then get the answers you need.
The name of your file must not have spaces or periods. All pictures must be either in .jpg or .gif format. Your photo cannot exceed our limit size of 10MB. If you are still having problems send us the picture and your GO User Name. We'll take of it for you.
The personal trip report notifications are driven by the zip code entered. Members will then receive an email notification based on their settings...150 miles of the zip code, 300 miles of the zip code, or all. For example, based on my settings, because you live so far away, I did not receive an email notification.
I have seen instances, that our program might not recognize a particular zip code [usually if there has been a zip code change since we last updated our table which was probably 2009] so when that happens, I recommend trying a different zip code.
Guys join GayOutdoors to meet other outdoorzy guys. We're devoted to life-long friendships both during and after trips. Connect with other GOers ~ both before and after a trip ~ in a few fun ways.
Social Events ~ We host ongoing parties all year long, in cities across the country. GO Rendezvous is our popular party and everyone is welcomed!
Social Networks ~ You can search for other members who live near you. Ask them to be your buddy and appear on your buddies' list. Contact them to plan a GO group trip together or do your own adventure together.
Trips ~ Check out our Trips/Events Calendar and find an activity you'd like to do. Sign-up, show up and enjoy. Every trip has its own page that lists every member who is participating. Find a member to carpool with you. Carpooling is a great way to meet members. Post a trip report or upload the photos you took of the trip. Post your thoughts about the trip under What Member's Are Saying About This Activity. Send an email to other participants to meet up afterwards.
Post A Trip ~ GO is really nothing more or less than the sum of the energy and enthusiasm that all of our members contribute ~ the greater and broader that energy, the greater and broader will be the enjoyment that we derive from GO. By injecting your own involvement and enthusiasm, you will be contributing directly into that formula. In addition to seconding your personal goal of participating in a GO trip sometime soon, another thing to consider doing is to actually organize and post a GO trip yourself. Whether it's camping, biking, hiking, skiing/snowboarding, kayaking/canoeing, cookout, potluck, slide show, gay bar meet up or something else, there are many GO members in your area who might be interested in meeting and joining you. Once you post a trip, members nearby are sent an email providing them all the details and inviting them to join you. And it will appear on our website. After you post the trip, you'll be able to edit the details of the trip, contact all participants in one email, and manage the active/waiting lists.
As you would likely surmise on your own, the key to a rich Trips/Events Calendar lies with those first few people who are able to step out in front and get the ball rolling in their area. To get a further perspective on the in's and out's of organizing a trip, click here for some help or read the questions/answers in our FAQ next time you have moment.
If you are unsure about interest in a particular trip you are thinking of doing, then post a trip idea to gauge interest and obtain comments from members regarding dates/itinerary. Once you've filled in the details with the help of other members then post it as an official trip on the website.
Will you always have a full trip? Will lots of guys always sign-up? No, not always. However did you have a great time when you went? Did members have a wonderful experience? Quality is more important than quantity. Keep posting trips with consistency and eventually you'll begin to establish a core group. The more you lead trips, the more you'll begin to establish a solid core group!
There's been a real rounding out of the gay culture. Previously, when someone asked us how we all knew each other we would respond that we were friends with each other. Now we reply that we are part of a club called GayOutdoors. It due to a shift in public opinion. There's a lot more stuff that gay people feel comfortable and safer doing.
Outdoor recreation is a counterculture sport that rewards individualism and is consequently gay friendly. But it is fair to say that some gay men in these states don't want to associate with a gay group for the fear of being harassed and bullied. That said, we've had events in such states. And the straight outdoor recreation community was very welcoming to us.
We get asked that a lot. It would be very exciting to see the day, that gay men didn't have to take extra steps to find one another. But I do know that identifying who is gay in the general public is not that easy. There always will be a need for gay people to meet and spend time with each other.
Mike Boisvert created GayOutdoors and launched it on Labor Day weekend in 1999 with a simple goal: to bring gay and gay friendly men together to experience the incredible fun of outdoor adventure and to create an atmosphere that leads to life-long friendships. It all began in Waterville Valley NH, but before long, we started growing and attracting members from across the USA. Today, we're the world's largest gay outdoors club, with more than 8600 active members in every state and 17 foreign countries. We're growing every year, and you're invited to come join the adventure!
Who's you? Why WE are you! GO relies on participation from all the we's, even you. The Trips/Events Calendar is here for you to post trips that get members out and about. If you're waiting for something to happen, you're probably not the only one. Soooooo...if the trips won't come to your town, start one. Click on Post A Trip. 'Nuf said :)
This is the time of year when you're itching for an outdoor adventure, but maybe you haven't recruited a friend to join a GAY OUTDOORS trip with you. But should you just go ahead and come by yourself? Yes!!!
On every trip we host, outdoor enthusiasts arrive without knowing anyone else in the group. GAY OUTDOORS is designed specifically for folks in that situation, so trust us: there's nothing weird about showing up solo.
GOers join the club to make new outdoorzy buddies in a safe, comfortable atmosphere. From the first moment to the end, our trip leaders are on hand to coordinate group activities and help you connect with a fun-loving crew of outdoor enthusiasts.
But are GOers actually friendly? Yes. Very. But don't take our word for it. Read our testimonials.
And, if you've never taken a trip with us, check out this cool explanation of how GAY OUTDOORS works.
Gay Outdoors is here as a simple Internet Bulletin Board for all of us (Your President included!) to have the opportunity to get outdoors and Make New Buddies. Nobody should be charged anything to do that! (The only "fees" you pay are the costs of the event ---gas, tolls, parking, hotel fees, camping fees, and so on.) I do have to pass along a ton of thanks to ALL the members who post and run events (without you where would we be?), the Board Members (for volunteering to help with approving trips, taking questions from the Help Desk, and outreach efforts), and others who have participated in making GO a fun, vibrant way to get out into the gay outdoors! All of these people do it because they want to, and they volunteer their time to do it. Thank them by taking them up on their offers----get out on events, hit up the Board Members for information, and bug me when you have a question. It's our participation that keeps this thing goin'!
We also owe a ton of thanks to ALL our Full Members who financially support us because without them, there would not even be a club to begin with. If you would like to support us, become a Full Member today.
Please don't! Please, please, please don't!!! We each get a ton of email every day. And we read each one. It's important that we know the email coming in is for club business so we may give each message the attention it deserves. Thank you!!!
We're all over the place for demographics. The average age is probably 46-55 but there are sooooo many people younger and sooooo many people older that it's really hard to draw a line anywhere. We all just have fun regardless. It's a mix of gay, bisexual and straight men. Our members are from all over the United States, Canada, Germany, France, Australia, Italy, Spain, Netherlands and more. Over half of our members are from the Northeast, with concentrations in the Southeast, West and Southwest.
You can send us an e-mail. We'll do our best to answer your question or concern.
Your President and Board get a lot of requests for information and recommendations of all sorts. We help when we can, and a few suggestions leap to mind, such as checking out all the helpful info we have under our Learn tab and Links. We have a wealth of information such as gay campgrounds, gay beaches, gay resorts, etc. You can also search on the 'net'.
Plenty of ways!
- Become a Sustaining Member so you can reading our newsletter, Trail Mail!
- Attend the activities we've got running.
- Bring a friend along on the next activity.
- Find members who live near you by becoming a Sustaining Member.
- Become a GO Champion by telling your friends about our awesome club!
- Run an Activity.
- Join our Meetup Group.
However you’d like to get involved, you’re always welcome.
Absolutely. There are plenty of websites out there if members which to expose nude pictures of themselves. We make it clear when creating/editing a profile that nude pictures and inserting an email address/website is not allowed in the profile descriptions themselves. We have a zero tolerance for noncompliance and the profile is immediately deleted without contacting the member. If you ever see a nude picture or an email address in a member's profile, please CONTACT US and let us know their user name.
First, congrats on signing up! Second, go ahead and sign up for an event that you want to attend. You can e-mail the trip leader and ask any questions and/or express any of your concerns. Everyone wants to be sure you have a good time and the trip leader is there to help you out.
Yeah. :-) Well most of the website is anyway. We are a non-profit community for gay outdoor enthusiasts. We depend on Sustaining Member memberships to pay our bills. If you are a Sustaining Member, THANK YOU!!!
If you participate in our programs, use our site as a resource, or contacted someone listed in our profiles, please consider becoming a Sustaining Member at $25 per year. Sustaining Memberships sustain our operations, website, website development, newsletter, and other overhead costs.
Sustaining members have access to enhances features of our website like having a Sustaining Member Badge appear with their profiles, enlarging more than one picture of members, viewing member home pages and which ones are online at the site; finding which members have viewed your profile, and receiving top ranking in member searches with unlimited member searches. Sustaining members also receive our bi-monthly newsletter Trail Mail, are entered into occasional drawings, obtain a number of gear and lodging discounts, are invited to Sustaining Members Only events, and sent a GO decal upon request.
Become a Sustaining Member by clicking on the link below and consider setting up automatic renewal via Paypal. It's safe, secure, and you know how it works!
We're always happy to process Sustaining Memberships by check. Checks can be made out to "GO" and sent to:
GO 676 Upper Mad River Road Thornton, NH 03285 Please make sure to provide us your User Name so we can update our records. Thank you!
The reason is that people visit the site to learn about events and we want to encourage everyone to become a sustaining member to financially support our club. MOTM is a recognition program for our trip leaders who are highlighted in our newsletter and on our Member of the Month page of our website.
There has been a lack of interest so until we hear there is enough people willing to buy one, we'll order another batch. We are also thinking of a new design. Again, your feedback is essential regarding interest in purchasing GO stuff.
Hardly! All activities must be run at cost (can include small, reasonable expenses).
The GO Gathering has always been a good time. It is always great to meet old/new friends; and share stories, tales and outright lies to impress when need be :-) Stay tuned to our Events Calendar to find out when it will be held.
We’ve reached out to GO members to run a GO Gathering in your state via our newsletter and website without any interest. We agree that GO Gatherings are a smashing success. GO is only as strong as members willing to step up and run activities/GO Gatherings. If you would like to run one, Contact Us.
GO really is nothing more or less than the sum of the energy and enthusiasm that all of our individual members contribute - the greater and broader that energy, the greater and broader will be the enjoyment that we derive from GO. By injecting your own involvement and enthusiasm, you will be contributing directly in that formula. In addition to seconding your personal goal of participating in a GO event sometime soon, another thing to consider doing is to actually organize and post a GO event yourself, in your area.
Whether it's camping, biking, hiking, skiing/snowboarding, kayaking/canoeing, social event [cookout, potluck, slide show, gay bar meetup] or something else, there are many GO members in your area who might be interested in meeting and joining you. Once you post a trip members nearby are sent an email providing them all the details and inviting them to join you. And it will appear on our website. After you post the trip, you'll be able to edit the details of the trip, contact all participants in one email, and manage the active/waiting lists.
As you likely would surmise on your own, the key to a rich event calendar lies with those first few people who are able to step out in front and get the ball rolling.
Will you always have a full trip? Will lots of guys always sign up? No, not always. However did you have a great time when you went? Did members have wonderful experiences? Quality is more important than quantity. Keep posting trips with consistency and eventually you'll begin to establish a core group. The more you lead trips, the more you'll begin to establish a solid core group in your area!
To get a further perspective on the in's and out's of organizing an event, click here for some help or read the questions/answers in our FAQ next time you have a moment.
Activities most members enjoy in order of most to least interest are as follows:
Yeah. :-) Well most of them. You'll have to pay associated costs like gas/tolls, hotel, campsite, gear, entrance fees, food, and so on. If you'd like to get involved with GO, just donate a few hours of your time to coordinate and run and activity for the others out here. That'd be awesome! For information on doing so, click on Trip Leading Tips.
If you've taken a photo with a high-resolution camera most likely the reason is because the picture is too large. We have photo size limitations. Reduce the photo resolution to 72 dpi.
After you login, go to the trip page under GO Trip Reports/Photos. You'll see a link called ADD YOUR TRIP REPORT/UPLOAD PHOTOS above the list of members who attended.
After you login, go to the trip page and you'll see a link SEND EMAIL TO ALL PARTICIPANTS above the list of members who attended.
I've enjoyed viewing the pictures and reading the trip reports. For the featured picture, in the trip report segment, at the very top you'll see the button to upload the featured picture. If it does not work after you've uploaded the picture, then the size of the picture is too large and you must reduce it for our system to accept.
Zero. We are a club so only GO members can attend. When a member posts a trip it's like saying, "Hey, I'm going to be doing this activity at this place/time, and you can come along with me if you like." Simple as that.
GayOutdoors is full of fun and interesting people who enjoy GO-ing Outdoors and Making New Friends. Everyone just kinda fits in---it's weird that way, but I don't question it. Pick an activity you'd like to do, buzz the person running it with any questions you have, sign up, then show up! Social activities (which people post from time to time) are good ice-breakers, but so are lighter hikes and other "light" activities. Although most people don't believe me, Your Ol' President here has always been somewhat shy, and doing all this GayOutdoors stuff is completely out of character. But I've been doing this up for almost THIRTY YEARS and all its brought me is chance after chance to meet and talk with great people as we're doing some snowshoeing, hiking, backpacking, camping, kayaking, skiing, chillin' or ...well, you get the idea! Perhaps I'm not so shy anymore because I don't want to miss out. :-)
Be on time and prepared. An afternoon walk on the beach obviously requires less preparation than a week long backpacking/camping trip. Plan accordingly.
Email the activity coordinator if you have any questions.
It's up to those attending. Sometimes everyone goes out for some chow, sometimes a few guys head back home instead, sometimes everyone just heads home. No pressure, just let guys know what you'd like to do.
Members ask this all the time. Have a look at our trip reports, and you'll see young men, older men, single men, and married men. Because GO keeps the focus on the activity and the safety and comfort of those attending, it creates an enjoyable atmosphere for everyone involved. Yeah, we try to keep it light on the easier activities, and that's fine, but keeping an eye out for everyone's safety is really "key" for all activities.
Yes, and it's great. Generally, we have one or two new members on every trip.
Generally there are NO REFUNDS, but that depends on the place that's taking the money. Some give refunds, some don't, and for some it depends on when you request the refund. If you have already paid and there's no way to get a refund, you can try to find someone to take your place and get the money from him, but that's about the best you can do. The trip leader cannot be responsible if you make a reservation, put money down, and then bow out.
You bet. If you've got a smile, a sense of humor, and you're focused on the activity and looking out for your safety as well as the safety and comfort of the others with you, then you'll be right at home. Sorry, sense of humor is not optional. If you don't have one, we have some spares, and then you can keep it for next time! :-) Please make sure that you can safely complete the activity, however. You must be in appropriate shape, and you must be properly equipped. If there are ever any questions about an activity and how difficult it is, please ask the person who's running it (and you can do some research on your own as well).
YOUR SAFETY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING --- PERIOD. If you get to an activity and things "don't feel right" for whatever reason, let anyone there know what's up, and DRIVE AWAY. Meeting strangers can be difficult, and maybe that's why we do some social stuff, so folks can get to know each other.
Login, go to the trip posting and select REMOVE ME as soon as you know you won't be able to make it. It's common courtesy for one, plus it'll stop people from waiting around a little extra for someone who won't be showing up! Remember that some activities have limited attendance, so by notifying the person running the activity, a spot will be opened for someone else.
Who's "you"? Why, YOU is "you"! GO relies on participation from all the "yous", even you. This website is here for you to post activities that get people out and about. If you're waiting for something to happen, you're probably not the only one. Sooooo...if the circus won't come to your town, start one. Visit the website and under POST A TRIP, click on Post A Trip. 'nuf said. :-)
For gear, basic apparel includes a synthetic t-shirt, shorts, comfortable comfortable underwear, and hiking shoes. As long as the weather is fair, the above clothing is all you’ll need to wear. Pack the rest of your equipment and spare clothes in a day pack big enough to hold it all. Here’s what you’ll need: long sleeve synthetic shirt, rain shell, baseball cap for sun protection; insect repellent and emergency gear: map and compass, First-Aid Kit, smartphone, whistle, headlamp and swiss army knife. At least a quart of water, lunch, and snacks. Many folks like having hiking poles.
Study your trail books (available at your local bookstores). For education, you can learn from other GO enthusiasts. Then to start, first know yourself. What shape are you in? What do you feel you can do? Is your doctor OK with this? Then start small. Don’t do anything too strenuous. Do a long walk in the woods, something relatively flat with small hills, and break in that gear and get a feel for it. Then look for activities that’ll get you a little altitude and work up to them. It’s always fun to watch someone who’s not been to any kind of altitude before --- like a kid in a candy store while mesmerized by the views! Pictures can’t do it justice; you really have to be there. Worth every step.
Generally, yes, but please have them become a Guest Member and sign up. Otherwise, make sure you let the person running the activity know about it.
Ideally, its best for trip leaders to cancel a hike a couple days before so members can make alternative plans. If the weather is uncertain leading right up to the trip, the trip leaders can send participants an email at least a couple days before that they may cancel and will send an email to participants regarding their final decision the night before the trip. Constant communication to participants about possible changes is always the best practice but sometimes trip leaders are busy and/or have limited access to the website making this difficult to do.
Yes, we were disappointed as to the lack of interest and usage by other clubs/organizations with this feature we introduced last year. Our polling indicated that this was of interest but when it came down to members of other clubs or even gay adventure travel companies taking the initiative to post something, it did not materialize. As a result, we had to spend a couple of hours each month doing it ourselves by visiting the sites of various gay clubs and gay adventure travel companies to populate it...after one year of doing this and not having much interest...we gave up.
So now, for other clubs to post a trip at GO, they can do so, but without providing a link to their site for registration within the trip description or in the comments section.
The liability release is added to any trip posting automatically and is in effect by signing up for the trip.
Generally yes, as long as it's OK with your other club and it's being run in the same spirit that GO activities are run. We do a number of trips "in conjunction with" other clubs and that should be noted in the description. If you allow women and children to attend, that should also be disclosed since we are an all men's club. You can post a trip in our Trips/Events Calendar as long as you don't post a link to your club's website for more information or to register. Our fantastic registration is all you need. GO members should not be required to pay your club's membership fee to attend.
When someone joins they must check a box indicating they have read and agreed with our terms and conditions that includes them being 18 years or older. With that said our board allows trip leaders to make their own decision regarding allowing non-members to attend their outings [women, children, teenagers, etc.]
What I do is use the Send Email to all Participants button before the list of members attending and I ask all participants to take themselves off the trip if they are undecided, can't make it, or have not secured a ride. I let the list take care of itself with the hope that guys will take themselves off the list if they cannot make it. Sending separate emails to all participants asking them to reply separately to you defeats the whole purpose of our system. It's designed to make it easier for you to run an outing.
If from past experience, you've had issues with certain guys who have signed up on a trip such as a 'no show'; you can either delete them or move them to the bottom of the waiting list. Go to the trip details page and near the top below Sign Up To This Event who will see "Coordinator can click here to edit or delete this activity." Click on that link. You will see icons beside each member that allow you to either remove member or move to waiting list.
For a member who actually is a 'no show', go to the trip report page after the trip and at the bottom click on the "Trip Leader Edit Activity/Attendance Report" button. Here you denote each member who attended versus was a 'no show'.
Be absolutely sure that the ending date is older than your starting date [a common mistake]. What I do is use the small calendar icons beside each field. A small pop-up calendar will appear where you can select the start date and end date. If you don't want to use the calendar icon, the format requires you to enter, for example, a start date of 08/07/2010 and an end date of 08/08/2010.
You need to backspace starting from the last character and working your way to the first character. This deletes the entire field. Then you enter the numbers with colon all over again in the same format: 05:00.
Unfortunately, these sort of situations sometimes occur, Based on what you've told me, I would remove him from the trip and put the ball on his court...have him contact you. :-)
To remove someone, go to the trip page and under SIGN UP FOR THIS EVENT/TRIP you'll see a link in the box, "Trip Leaders can click here to edit or delete this activity." At the very bottom you'll see a list of participants and click on the corresponding X to remove.
If you would like to run an outdoor excursion, our first rule is that you cannot charge any trip leading fee or have members register thru a personal website. All costs associated with the excursion would have to be shared between the members attending based on your estimate and collected by you...members should know beforehand that they may owe you more money after final expenses are tallied or that even you may owe them money!
Next, is you need to become a GO member and create a profile. It's free: http://www.gayoutdoors.org/page-connect.cfm?typeofsite=memberregister
Finally, once you are member, you need to post your outdoor excursion: http://www.gayoutdoors.org/page.cfm?typeofsite=events-insert. You will notice that zip code is required to be entered...you can either enter 00000 to reach members outside the USA or choose a USA zip code.
Since this is an international trip, include in your trip description shuttles to use to reach Chamonix from the airport, what hotel to meet you at, and a meet up time for the entire group to meet you later in the day.
For shared expenses, you can state something I saw posted on another trip.“Shared costs for the campsite of ??? will be split up between the number of people attending. Maximum allowed on the campsite is 4 so the lowest it could be is $$$. Details for the payment will follow by email.”
Your trip could have been rescheduled before the event start time by logging in, visit the trip page, and in the box on the top right "Sign Up To This Event/Trip", click on the link in the last sentence, "Trip Leaders can click here to edit or delete this activity." Your trip has not been deleted from the Events Calendar but archived under TRIPS&EVENTS/GO TRIP REPORTS/PHOTOS. You'll find your trip listed there and on the trip page, you can use the button 'Send Email To All Participants" to contact everyone who signed up. The site is not designed to have a trip that has been already run to be used again and re-posted on the Events Calendar; however you can copy the verbiage from the archived event when you post it as a new event.
We're sorry about this but this happens when members don't read our posting rules carefully. Especially if its being cross-posted with another club. The usual reasons is that either the trip description indicated a website address to register thru [our registration system is top notch to facilitate trip coordination/communication and should be used so don't post a website address ~ indicate you'll email each person who signs up to make payment arrangements], or the trip description did not indicate the costs associated with the event and the club running it, or the trip description did not indicate that women will be attending [we are a men's only group]. You can certainly post your trip you just have to abide by our rules that is posted on the Post A Trip page. Thanks for your understanding and I hope you can follow our rules to post your fantastic trip!
To make a trip idea an official trip, you have to repost as a trip, setting dates, provide additional details and include driving directions to trailhead and/or lodging.
You bet! Go to Post A Trip. Got questions? Ask the Board!
There are four board members approving trips and we try to get to these as fast as we can.
First off: THANK YOU from me and the 8,948 other (fabulous) GO enthusiasts out there. Generally once you have enough details, you can post it in the Event Calendar. All member nearby will receive an email notification about the new trip.
A "trip idea" is one that has just enough details. It maybe missing one or two things that interested people helps to fill in. An example would be a strenuous hiking trip --- the member wants to find out who would be interested so he can assess whether he should formally post it on our Events Calendar. Once there is enough interest and arrangements are nailed down, the "trip idea" is then posted in the Events Calendar for even more people so see. Are you interested in one of the "Trip Ideas"? Got ideas for one of them? Like the event and respond.
Unfortunately, our website is not designed to be a bulletin board to post events, fee or not, to just anyone. One of our members must post the event, but not only that, but form a sub-group of GO members within the event as to camping together, meals, hanging out, etc. From what you stated, I don't think you are prepared to do that.
Posting activities is in the spirit of GO. GO is here to provide a way for folks to GO Outdoors and Make New Friends. It’s an opportunity to teach and to learn from others. And it’s fun. By short-circuiting the Events Calendar, you could be shutting out some of those new friends --- people who’d like to come along with you on your next outdoor gig. Posting stuff is a win-win. Always remember: You can limit the number of people along on any activity, so you won’t over-book!
In Profile box under your thumbnail picture, click on the Edit Email/Privacy link. This page gives you options on receiving our email event notifications and newsletter.
You decide how you want trip notification emails sent to you via your profile settings. We send you trip notifications/reminders and trip ideas via email for any posted within 150 miles of the zip code you entered by default. You can expand this notification or not have any email notification sent at all by editing your profile information.
Go to the My Profile tab on the green navigation bar and click on Edit Email/Privacy link. Under Email Notifications you can choose the range of miles within your zip code to receive the event email notifications:
*150 miles
*300 miles
*All
*None
To update your email address, after you login, in the green navigation bar at the top, click on MY PROFILE tab on the far right. Then in the left column, click on 'Edit Profile'. Enter your new email address in the E-Mail field and click on the Save Profile button at the bottom.
Please read our privacy notice. We do not send any mail to your home address. We'll only send the GO sticker if you request it. GayOutdoors does not send SPAM or sell email/home addresses! You can sign up for our e-newsletter but this something separate from our website.
Your last name is not appearing for others to see. You will see your last name posted when you view your own profile because that is what is in our database. If you want to double check, logout and view your profile.
