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LIVE: Thai Collective FAQ

Thai Collective Frequently Asked Questions

Here is the place to find the answers to your questions about our recent Collective held in Thailand! 

 

For problems with your account or general questions unrelated to the Thai Collective, please Contact Us on this other page.

(Last updated: 3 May 2008)

Questions:



Answers:

What's a Collective?
CouchSurfing Collectives (CSC) are held in order to bring participants together to improve the CouchSurfing website and grow our community.  Participants enjoy an exotic and fun environment, as well as free meals and accommodation.  They are invited in order to contribute towards improving the CouchSurfing experience for everyone.  The Thai Collective is CouchSurfing's 5th Collective.


When is the Thai Collective?
The Collective will take place from 1 December 2007 to 31 March 2008, lasting four months.


Where is the Thai Collective?
This Collective is being held in Thailand. For the month of December, the Collective house was located near Kata Beach in Phuket. The Collective team are now situated in Pai, a small town in the northern region of Thailand.


What's the Mission of the Thai Collective?
We're holding this Collective in order to bring together a small team of supervisors who will get our new volunteering program started, and launch our remote volunteer expert teams.  CouchSurfing has always relied on the day-to-day efforts of many hard-working volunteers, but as we grow and mature, volunteers will play an even more important role.  The hiring of new full-time employees in 2007, including a Volunteer Coordinator and a General Manager, will allow CouchSurfing to support many more volunteers and allow volunteers to contribute in more significant ways.  Our full-time Volunteer Coordinator is seeing to all the needs of current and future volunteers and organizing them into expert teams.  Meanwhile our full-time General Manager is organizing our many ongoing projects and helping prioritize tasks for these expert teams.  CouchSurfing's original full-time employee, Casey Fenton, is now focusing on creating software tools for these teams.  The Thai Collective will allow these three to recruit a small group of CouchSurfing's most motivated volunteers to build and supervise these teams.


Will the Thai Collective be different from previous Collectives?
CouchSurfing has already benefited from the contributions of participants during the four previous Collectives.  The first three Collectives, in Montreal, Eisenstadt, and New Zealand, all served the urgent needs of the organization at the time and were open to anyone who was able to come.  Starting with the Rotterdam Collective, we have been able to focus on our long-term future needs.  CSC-Rotterdam was open only to highly skilled software developers and used to improve the stability and security of the website.  The Thai Collective will also be application only, and we will invite participants who apply and have very specific and needed skills.  This will allow us to meet our future needs by building strong volunteer expert teams and to training team supervisors.  We're committed to making the Thai Collective the most productive and most accountable use of member donations yet.


Why hold the Collective in Thailand?
The basic requirements for a the potential location of the Collective, besides solid internet availability, is that it be beautiful and relatively inexpensive for CouchSurfing and most participants involved.  Solid internet and low-cost are obvious needs, but why does the location need to be beautiful?  Simply, we're expecting a large commitment from the unpaid participants, and we want to reward them with an exciting and fun place to live.  We recognize that Collective participants need recreation as fuel for the amazing things they'll be doing as dedicated participants.  Thailand meets each of these requirements, and we also already have great logistical information about Thailand that made the choice win out over other potential destinations. 


Will participant food, housing or travel be paid for by CouchSurfing?
CouchSurfing will provide all participants with housing and meals.  Local travel and some recreation opportunities will also be provided.  Long-distance travel compensation will not be provided, however selected participants may apply for a travel scholarship based on financial need. Additionally, the House Manger's long-distance travel will be fully covered, due to the larger burden of that role.  CouchSurfing's full-time employees will also be provided with long-distance travel compensation due to their larger role setting up, managing, and wrapping up the Collective and because their attendance is required.


Do Collective participants have special visas?
This has been a top priority for CouchSurfing throughout the entire process.  After consulting with multiple consulates and quite a few lawyers in multiple countries we've worked with each Collective participant about their individual visa circumstances to ensure everyone is set to go with the visas they need.


How much will the Thai Collective cost, and who pays for it?
The estimated budget for the Collective is US $10,000 per month, which includes house rental, utilities and internet access, food, miscellaneous supplies, local transportation, recreation, a long-distance travel scholarship fund for participants with financial need, and long-distance travel for employees.  This roughly totals $17 per person, per day.  Collective expenses are paid for from the general fund of member contributions to CouchSurfing.  The Collective Manager monitors expenses during the Collective.  At the end of the financial quarter following the end of the Collective, the total expenses will be made public.


How can I apply to join the Thai Collective?
The Collective is now closed to new applicants.  CouchSurfing selected a small number of highly skilled members who were able to stay in Thailand for at least two months and make a long-term commitment extending beyond the Collective itself.  Participants were chosen from the many applicants based on their levels of experience and commitment.  The participants include software developers, expert team supervisors in several categories, and the Collective House Manager.


What if I just want to visit the Thai Collective?
Collective house will not be open to unannounced visitors. We have reserved space for several short-term participants who were pre-approved based on their application.  These participants will be responsible to the House Manager for performing miscellaneous tasks to help Collective participants. CouchSurfing members who may be traveling nearby to Pai who want to visit the Collective need to contact the House Manager, Shelley Meabon, who will then arrange with you to take a tour of the house and join us for dinner.


I can't attend the Collective, but I still want to help.  What should I do?
We currently have expert team supervisors working at the Collective to build their teams. They'll need to find many volunteers who want to participate on these teams.  Take a look at the descriptions below.  If you see a team that matches your desires and experience, please fill out our volunteer application.


Who are the Thai Collective Participants, and what are they doing specifically?
The Collective house will have as many as 20 long-term participants living and participating together for the four month duration of our stay in Thailand.  Each long-term participant made a commitment of at least two months at the Collective to help improve CouchSurfing.  Supervisors in the Expert Teams category are responsible for managing their expert team at the Collective and beyond.  Below are description of the roles filled by each Collective participant.

Collective Needs Category:

  • Collective Scouting
Description:  Responsible for finding, acquiring, and furnishing the Collective house.  Set up utilities and infrastructure.  Ensure readiness for Collective participants by December 1st, 2007.
Requirements:  Intimate knowledge of Thailand geography, resources, and culture
Job Completed by:  Alisara Na-Takuatung & Nina Lewis

  • Collective Manager
Description:  Responsible for ensuring that the Collective completes each phase and meets each milestone on time and on budget.  Manages expenses.  Assigns tasks to, evaluates performance of, and collects reports from participants.  Ensures communication with the Leadership Team and coordination with other Expert Teams within the organization.  Ensures that needed supplies, equipment, and infrastructure are available.
Requirements:  Strong organization skills.  Experience managing large events.
Position filled by:  Mattthew Brauer

  • House Manager
Description:  Responsible for ensuring that the Collective meets its stated objectives and the quality of the end results.  Attends to the needs of Collective resources by maintaining healthy living and volunteer spaces, and providing opportunities for recreation.  Enforces the house rules and mediates and resolves disputes.  Responsible for dismissing volunteers if necessary due to repeated house rules violations.  This is the most demanding and most important role at the Collective.  This person ensures that everyone else can volunteer efficiently and enjoy themselves.  This person must be able to be strict, yet compassionate, and earn the respect of everyone at the Collective house.  Because of the very large responsibility of this role, the House Manager is the only position that offers compensation for long-distance travel.
Requirements:  Communal living experience.  Organization, management, and mediation skills.  Proven ability to assume role of a respected authority figure.
Position filled by:  Shelley Meabon


Technology Category:

  • Technology Team Coordinator
Description:  This team provides programming as well as server and database administration.
Requirements:  Software development skills and portfolio.  Intimate knowledge of CS code base.
Position filled by:  Weston Hankins

  • Development Team Supervisor
Description:  This team provides programming as well as server and database administration.
Requirements:  Software development skills and portfolio.  Intimate knowledge of CS code base.
Position filled by:  Casey Fenton

  • Developers
Description:  Develop CouchSurfing website code, create new features, fix bugs.
Requirements:  Software development skills and portfolio.
Position 1 filled by:  Andrew Otto
Position 2 filled by:  Andy Sanderson
Position 3 filled by:  Jeffrey Knurek
Position 4 filled by:  Naz Gassiep
Position 5 filled by:  Douglas Deleu

  • System Administrator
Description:  Administer the website servers.  Ensure the speed and reliability of the website.
Requirements:  System Administration skills and portfolio.
Position filled by:  John Lubotsky


Expert Teams Category:

  • Volunteer Coordination Team Supervisor
Description:  This team recruits, motivates, and evaluates volunteers and matches them with the appropriate expert teams and projects.   
Requirements:  Excellent communication skills.  Intimate understanding of CS community.
Position filled by:  Jim Stone

  • Volunteer Coordination Team
Description:  This team recruits, motivates, and evaluates volunteers and matches them with the appropriate expert teams and projects.   
Requirements:  Excellent communication skills.  Intimate understanding of CS community.
Position filled by:  Susy Franke

  • Project Management & Systems Team Supervisor
Description:  This team provides project management and systems expertise as needed for all projects.  
Requirements:  Project Management experience for large and complex projects.
Position filled by:  Mattthew Brauer

  • Public Relations & Marketing Team
Description:  This team creates press releases and other documents promoting CS externally.  It establishes press relationships and finds marketing opportunities.
Requirements:  Established relationships with major media outlets.  Press release portfolio.  Marketing strategy understanding.
Position 1 filled by:  Shonali Shetty
Position 2 filled by:  Charish Badzinski

  • Member Communications Team
Description:  This team creates documents to communicate with members, keeps track of member questions in groups and elsewhere, and devises communications strategies to keep members better informed of all aspect of the organization.  The team also creates website copy as needed for projects.
Requirements:  Community communications strategy experience.  Non-fiction writing portfolio.  Understanding of CS "voice" and community.
Position filled by:  Mandie McCrea

  • Design & User Interface Team
Description:  This team create designs and graphics, as well as layouts, wire frames and website navigation.
Requirements:  Online design portfolio.  Experience designing for large websites.
Position filled by:  Seb LeTuan

  • Events & Outreach Team
Description:  This team runs large scale community events and gatherings and facilitates member gatherings.  It also creates programs to expand membership.
Requirements:  Event planning experience.  Intimate understanding of CS community.
Position 1 filled by:  Cameron Mills
Position 2 filled by:  Laura Gamse
Position 3 filled by:  Diamond Braganza

  • Member Disputes & Safety Team Supervisor
Description:  This team helps members resolve disputes and provides for member safety.
Requirements:  Strong communication and mediation skills.  Intimate understanding of CS community.
Position filled by:  Rachel

  • Member Services Team
Description:  This team answers emails, performs administrative tasks for members, processes verifications, and gathers ideas from the community.
Requirements:  Strong communication and organization skills.  Detail oriented.
Position not currently filled.


Short-Term Positions:

  • Short-term Volunteer
Commitment:  Up to 7 nights.
Description:  Responsible to the House Manger for performing miscellaneous tasks to help Collective participants.
Requirements:  Enthusiasm, personality and creativity
All positions filled.  However you may still apply for the waiting list.


How long is the waiting list for short-term volunteers and how are they selected?
We have had short-term volunteers attending the Collective each week and have currently got short-term volunteers selected for the rest of the Collective. However, we have had instances where some short-term volunteers have been unable to attend the Collective, which provides us with the opportunity of selecting another short-term volunteer to fill that position. We currently have a few people on the waiting list to attend the Collective as short-term volunteers. When selecting a short-term volunteer from the waiting list, we look at the availablity dates of the volunteer, whether they have lived in a shared living situation before, and their willingness and flexibility to work on a variety of tasks as assigned by the House Manager. The professional skills of potential volunteers are also considered, however they are not a requirement in order to be selected.


Why are so many of the Collective Participants from the United States?
Each Collective participant was selected solely because she or he was the most experienced and qualified candidate that applied for the position.  Race, gender, and nationality were not at all a factor in the decision making.  The reason for the large number of participants from the US is that the majority of applicants to the Collective were from the US.  Part of the reason for that may be that a large percentage of CS members live in the US.


How can I find out what's happening right now?
We publish updates in the Collective Newsletter each month.  Make sure your profile preferences are set to receive the newsletter.  To find out what is happening in each team at the Collective, please visit the team groups:

    -     Member Communications 
    -     Public Relations and Marketing

    -     Events and Outreach

    -     Technology

    -     Member Disputes and Safety

    -     Volunteer Coordination

    -     Design and User Interface

 

Each team supervisor will post in their group at different times. Some supervisors will post in their groups on a weekly basis, while other supervisors are working on things that may take longer to complete and will post in their groups once significant accomplishments have been achieved.  

 

There is also a public group for the Thailand Collective, where some informal information is posted that can be accessed by all CouchSurfing members.



Is there a published Collective agenda available online?
The mission of this Collective is to bring together the expert team supervisors listed above in order for them to create several sustainable volunteer teams.  Unlike previous Collectives, there will not be an agenda for the entire Thai Collective in general.  Instead, each expert team will create its own agenda in order to create a sustainable team.  Because each team is different (for example, some are well established while some are new), each team's agenda will be different.  Each expert team will discuss their agenda in their own expert team group.  You can follow along with each team by viewing posts made in the team groups or looking for regular updates during the monthly newsletter.


Where can members provide ideas for the Collective?
The mission for the Collective has been set, and it will be up to each expert team to decide on the best way to achieve that mission.  Once the Collective is well underway, each team will be actively recruiting for new volunteers to join their teams.  Any member who applies and is accepted as a member of a specific volunteer team will be able to lend their ideas and expertise towards that team.


How will we know what's being accomplished?
We publish regular updates in the monthly Collective Newsletter and the team supervisors will be posting their accomplishments in their team groups as the Collective progresses. 


Is there a Collective Blog?
No, there is no blog for the whole Collective as each team supervisor is working on specific things that are being communicated through their team groups. The Collective Manager has posted updates from the Collective in his General Manager's blog.

 


What happened to the first paragraph of the December newsletter?
You may have noticed an error in one of the first paragraphs of the December newsletter.  There was an error in sending it out that we were unable to control at the time.  We've figured out what the problem is and have corrected it.  Click here to see the full text of the newsletter.


 

How often are Collectives held and when is the next one?

There is no set policy on how often a CouchSurfing Collective is held. Each Collective is planned on an individual basis based upon our needs at that time. There is currently no date set for the next Collective, however we will be updating our CouchSurfing Collectives page when information about the next Collective is available.

 


How can I learn more?  Where can I ask questions?
Please submit your questions using the form below. We will be adding answers to this FAQ page regularly to make sure members have the answers to their questions about this current Collective.  Please check back here for updates!

 


How can I unsubscribe to the Collective Newsletters?

To unsubscribe to the monthly Collective newsletters and any future CouchSurfing-wide communications, click here and select "Yes" to Disable CS Newsletters.



How can I find out more?

Still have questions? Let us know here!