Closure of Oz-Clubhouse
Lions Clubs using Oz-Clubhouse should consider alternative options.
Background
The Oz-Clubhouse system has been provided free-of-charge to Lions Clubs and Districts in Multiple District 201 for a decade. It was put in place to provide a simple website for Lions Clubs, at a time when there were few low-cost alternatives.
Oz-Clubhouse was designed and built at no charge, by an Australian Lion.
In the intervening period it has been upgraded once and is currently being maintained by the Multiple District. As a custom-built system, it is costly and difficult to upgrade and it is now plagued by ongoing ‘bugs’ and has become impossible to maintain. The Lions Multiple District Council has resolved to retire the system in the coming months.
What will happen to Oz-Clubhouse and when?
On the 1st of July 2021, the Multiple District will cease to actively maintain the system, but all the existing sites and data will remain, and the club and district sites will continue to operate. You will still be able to edit your site.
- After 1 July 2021, we will no longer regularly update the ‘password-protected’ area and this means your new members won’t be able to access this content. You should find an alternative platform and download any necessary information. Existing members will be able to access the content until 31 December 2021.
- After 1 January 2022, the password-protected area will no longer be accessible.
- After 30 June 2022, the site will no longer be supported. Any coding issues will not be fixed.
- On 30 June 2023, the Oz-Clubhouse system will be deleted.
What are the alternatives?
- E-Clubhouse
E-clubhouse is a simple website for your club that can be provided by Lions Clubs International. You can find details on how to set up your e-clubhouse site here. https://www.lionsclubs.org/en/resources-for-members/resource-center/create-e-clubhouse .
- Facebook
For clubs that are seeking a free alternative for promotion and member communication, we are recommending the Facebook platform. To replace the function of Oz-Clubhouse, we recommend that Clubs maintain two Facebook sites.
- Public site: – If your club wants to promote its activities in the community, you will need a public Facebook site. A public site needs to be carefully managed and maintained, just like your Oz-Clubhouse site. The Lion who manages the site needs to regularly update and manage it, remembering that no private or confidential information should be included. You should also be careful to consider if you will allow commenting on posts. If you do, you should hide or delete any inappropriate posts and comments if they appear. Club members should be reminded that the public site is not the place for private communication between members. It is the face of your club to the community.
- Private group: – In addition to the public page, a private Facebook group can be used for private conversations between members. You can use this group to discuss your service activities with your members, notify about upcoming events and meetings, and share club photos. Facebook groups also allow you to save documents like meeting agendas and minutes for club members to view.
Each member must be approved to join the private group, and you should not give access to non-members. It is also important that you give access to all your club members to this group and not exclude anyone.
Note: Detailed information about Facebook groups and public pages will be listed in the FAQ section of the Lions Australia website in the coming months.
For more information about managing your Social Media, please review the Lions Australia Social Media Policy .
- Commercial websites
Since the establishment of Oz-Clubhouse there has emerged many simple and effective commercial offerings for your club website. With a little training they can provide a great public face for your club on the Internet.
Most of these have free offerings, although a fee is charged for higher level services. Some examples include:
- Wix – For information click here.
- WordPress – For information click here.
- Weebly – For information click here.
How you can help
The Multiple District is currently paying a fee to store Oz-Clubhouse data on a public server. If your club decommissions its Oz-Clubhouse website, please advise the National Office so that the data can be deleted to reduce costs.
On 30 June 2023, Oz-Clubhouse websites will be deactivated. Redirection from Oz-Clubhouse websites to other websites will be retained. On the 30 September 2023, all data will be deleted.
