Managing Co-Ops

Dave or Terry,
I have never tried to host a co-op and am unaware of the rules for the host (or if there are any), but if I did want to host a co-op I would think that I should plan to have the time to stay on top of it, checking in and posting at least once a day.
My question is, does someone in administration monitor the co-op threads to make sure the host is on top of things? In other words, are the participants hung out to dry if the host is too overwhelmed and just doesn't respond, or if there is something wrong with the host and they are unable to post?
This question may have come up in the past but I am fairly new to DG and don't know the protocol.


This message was edited Feb 13, 2005 6:06 PM

Trunnels - try this site - has quite a bit of information:

http://davesgarden.com/coop_primer/

You will find that people are basically not hung out to dry - there have been a few where people haven't been entirely happy with the results, but that's to be expected with volunteer efforts and money and third party vendors and the postal service! :-)

I do know that Terry encourages new participants to do easy co-ops (smaller variety, fewer people, less delicate plants) so organizers are not overwhelmed.

Most organizers post daily or more when things are "moving" - but, there can be lulls in the process, where it isn't necessary to continually post.

Hope this helps!

Terri, over the years we've put as many safeguards in place as possible (including the co-op primer, the application form required to initiate a co-op, etc.) But really, there's a limit as to what the administrators can do if a co-op fails. We've emailed co-op organizers when people express concerns, and we've had a few co-ops we stopped before they got too far down the road.

Once a co-op reaches a certain point (namely when money has been sent), if a co-op falls through, the only recourse is to impose consequences. Those range from simply discouraging the organizer from heading up any other co-ops (assuming the problem resulted from adequate planning or organization skills, AND that the items or refunds are eventually sent) or to ban the organizer, in the event that they refuse to send the items ordered or return the monies given to them.