Welcome to the new JMS Hockey website!
by barbaragarn
We have redesigned the look and upgraded the features. The site will load much faster now and it won’t get bogged down when lots of users access it at the same time. The Games Page display will give you more information up front, with each game’s in-depth page just a click away.
Part of the redesign is to optimize viewing, whether on mobile device or desktop. Check us out on the go and you’ll see how nifty things look… large or small.
We also have a new Terms of Use for the program/website. We’ve had to make things official just like any other business, but it’s mostly just codifying common sense stuff that is already understood or in place.
We had to add or spell out some items that have been grey areas so far, mostly because they only apply to less than 1% of JMSers:
+ misrepresentation will result in removal from the program; JMS is parity hockey. If you want something else, go play in a league where you choose your own level. People who game the JMS system to get a certain level, instead of answering honestly on the survey, will face censure and likely removal from JMS. The JMS players are here for parity and we’re not going to let someone ruin their game just so he can score 10 goals a night.
+ goalie moral contract; if a goalie signs up for a game, it’s understood s/he will show up or get in touch with JMS. Exceptions happen and will be evaluated on a case by case basis. We’ve had a little uptick in goalie no-shows lately and the skaters deserve better.
+ formalizing disciplinary policy; three strikes and you’re out. JMS is managed hockey, not some random pick-up. People tell us they appreciate when captains or admins tell the guys who hook and slash to knock it off–keeps the game clean for everyone. We’re keeping better records from captain to captain and someone who is too aggressive will be told to change twice and the third time will be removed. JMS skaters are here for fun, clean and safe hockey.
Two new items in the Terms of Use:
+ changing quotas close to icetime; the new multi-level Community Sessions have been around for a while and we’re ready to try something new with them. If a game isn’t full, we’ll relax the quotas a bit as we get close to icetime. It shouldn’t be enough to drastically change the game, but it should help with getting enough numbers for a good session for everyone.
+ inactive accounts funds; we have a number of accounts for people who have not played a JMS game in a long, long time. Some of those accounts have a few bucks on them. JMS can’t keep paying taxes every year on the same $3 — that adds up just as we’re trying to keep the costs down in the face of yearly ice price increases.
So: JMSers who have an account with funds on it, but who haven’t played a game in a year, will then be contacted three times (by any of the contact info they entered on their account). If people ignore the contact or if we can’t reach them, then the funds will roll into the JMS puck fund.
We have structured this as a long process before the funds change–over a year. We want to get the funds back to the skater, but we recognize that won’t always be possible, and we need to be able to move funds from the truly inactive accounts out of limbo–this TOU change lets us do that.
We don’t want people to panic and think JMS is going to take their money–that’s why we specifically are mentioning this update where folks will see it. We have selected a very long timeframe for the process and will try to contact people multiple times. The most important thing is getting funds back to the skater, but we recognize that won’t always be possible and we need to move the funds out of limbo… so they’ll be used to buy more pucks to use at JMS games.
We hope JMSers understand this is mostly an accounting change. Want your money back? Just let us know. But if you moved away and don’t care, we’re going to use the few bucks so folks still here can have supplies for their games.
We’ve spelled out and updated the JMS Terms of Use for the same reasons we updated the JMS website: to make things operate smoother and better for everyone. Thank you for being a part of JMS!
Two final changes: the forums are now brand-new and totally redesigned. But, this means the old forums are completely gone. We couldn’t save the old ones without porting over the quirks, like displaying the wrong user next to a post.
So, we’ll work on retrieving and retaining the knowledge from the old forums (any volunteers?), but for now you get to play in the nice clean snow of brand-new forums.
Finally, our blog has moved to WordPress. It integrates better with the site, allows for more features and pic displaying and better mobile viewing.
There’s a lot of useful upgrades and cool new features in this V3 of the JMS website, executed as always by Andy Baird and assisted by Eric Jorgensen. We hope you like it! Questions? Just send us a support ticket with the new handy feature!
JMS Hockey Blog 