Like a cauldron of boiling milk, the controversy around the ‘Chennai MS meet’ has been sizzling and simmering for days. Is it a formal MS meet? Can we really have a formal MS meet? Are we allowed to lay down rules for such meets? Can we talk to the media at all? And so on. Over DP comments, M2Ms and SMSes the simmer turned into an angry boil. So much so that it prompted a ‘let’s-get-this-straight’ post from Jasmine! The boiling milk finally did rise to its crescendo on the sultry evening of 18th April 2009 and transformed into (viola!) a flavour filled, perfectly brewed, frothy tumbler of Chennai filter coffee!
It was my first ever MS meet so I was looking forward to putting some faces to the familiar names. The omnipresent Bangalore members of MS including Umesh, Maaz, Sridhara ji and Santosh (Paulose) were all there! They had driven down from Bangalore and reached Chennai in the wee hours of Saturday morning. But the adrenaline of the controversy laced Chennai Filter coffee seemed to have driven away any traces of fatigue. They looked as fresh as the fragrant malli poo (jasmine flower) that abounds in Chennai. Not to be outdone, the Chennaites came if full strength and the sultry evening transformed into a cool gathering of friends. Like a confluence of two rivers, the crowd of friends blended together and flowed as one. The sense of comfort and camaraderie was delightful. And Mouthshut was present there – larger than life! The site was live on Uncle Ross’s laptop & it was being projected right up on the wall in front.
The meeting started off with a prayer & self introductions, followed by a welcome address and then we were on to the ‘real’ agenda. Before I forget, we had amidst us a representative from Times of India, Chennai– who was totally enthralled by the crowd and confessed that he made his bike purchase decision after reading several reviews on MS! Apparently when he did a google search – all that google threw up was Mouthshut reviews. So hats off MSians – keep those useful reviews coming! And the scribe did admit that after attending this meet – he might soon become a member of MS himself. (Hurray!)
Now on to the meat of the meet! Several ‘issues’ that have already been detailed on in the pre-meet DPs were discussed. These include:
MS and social causes Should ‘Mouthshut’ begin to look outwards and become a platform from where social issues can be addressed? Meaning – that if certain members are passionate about certain social causes would Mouthshut come forward and sponsor/support them? Causes like – fight against drunk driving; high donations being asked for even at primary school levels; blood donation camps, cruelty against animals, chopping of trees to give way to broader roads – and so on. The feeling was that as individuals our voices may not be heard – but with the back-up of MS we might be able to garner some support for such movements. And our voice may reach a larger audience. Or at least we make a beginning. Plus of course, supporting such causes could add new, positive dimensions to the image of MS.
Awarding of ROTD, FMM and FPCurrently the system of arriving at these is unclear. It was felt that awarding the concerned titles to reviews/DPs and SMSes which are not current – is not appropriate. For instance why award an ROTD for a review that was written 6 months ago – why not to something that was written yesterday. Also under the same topic, it was felt that MS must consider not just the style or language of the reviews – but also the content and the earnestness with which a review is written. A person may not be a very good writer, or may not be able to write long, descriptive reviews, but that person might briefly and earnestly convey an important message – such a person needs to be appreciated and such reviews too need to be awarded ROTD.
Bring out a collection of reviews The question was raised that what happens if we miss out on useful, critical reviews? The solution was that MS brings out a collection of some of the best reviews either on an annual of half yearly basis. This could be sent across to all its members. This would be a fantastic way of acknowledging good reviews and also encourage members to write more reviews.
Member misuse Ahem…apparently there are MS members having dual identities on MS, also there are men who have feminine IDs and pose as women because it seems that the fairer sex gets more attention (!!!). There was also the feeling that the SMS feature is being misused – as there is really no control over the language that is being used.
We ended the evening with group photo sessions and an elaborate buffet. For me, it was an interesting, informative, amusing and entertaining evening. Hmmm…already looking forward to the next meet!! More filter coffee, anyone?
