RSPB going to phase scannable membership cards from September 2023 (1 Viewer)

[Mono]

It automates the checking of card validity. I have never had anyone look at my card to check it has my name on it, let alone check the expiry date. I doubt there is going to be any real-time checking of "this member is already in the reserve".

It does allow for analysis of travel distances to reserves and suchlike but it will only apply to the flagship reserves that actually charge for non-member entry and many of those have public footpaths that run through.

In day to day running of the honeypot reserves it will take some load off the Welcome staff, allowing them to sell more membership renewals. It will provide a heap of data that might give some insights.

 

[Mike Crawley]

In "honeypot" reserves there’s often at least one Fund Raiser on duty whose job is to sell memberships. Obviously ordinary Visitor Experience staff are making members too, as are the day-to-day volunteers.

 

[Farnboro John]

What brings people in and back is customer service, and that involves helping them to meet their objectives, not yours. If you are running a bird reserve then enabling people to see birds as effectively and efficiently as possible will get you more new memberships (is anyone else's RSPB membership renewal not on a DD?) than hard sell.

John

 

[IAN JAMES THOMPSON]

Some are not going to like this after reading some posts at the weekend. But thos that don’t like this, they will have to decide what they want to do! The National Trust membership numbers haven’t been affected with this and neither do the Wetland and Wildfowl Trust membership number have been affected either!

 

[IAN JAMES THOMPSON]

Should the RSPB start scanning RSPB membership cards at RSPB reserves?

With both the Wildfowl Trust and the National Trust now scanning membership cards at reserves and property's, isn't it about time the RSPB started scanning RSPB's members, membership cards at RSPB reserves where non members pay an admission charge? Ian.

www.birdforum.net

I thought I should post this from quite a few years ago about a thread I started with the question: Should the RSPB start scanning RSPB membershio cards at RSPB reserves. Some of the replies were a bit childish and being funny. That often happens on various forums. But it just shows what has happened. So I’ve posted a link to that thread just to show some of the replies to that thread! It shows how being funny and sometimes hurtful. But now what I suggested is about to happen! That thread I started was in 2015!

 

[Farnboro John]

Its not the scannable membership card I mind, its selling on my personal data.

John

 

[IAN JAMES THOMPSON]

Should the RSPB start scanning RSPB membership cards at RSPB reserves?

With both the Wildfowl Trust and the National Trust now scanning membership cards at reserves and property's, isn't it about time the RSPB started scanning RSPB's members, membership cards at RSPB reserves where non members pay an admission charge? Ian.

www.birdforum.net

I tho

Its not the scannable membership card I mind, its selling on my personal data.

John

Well you will have to decide what you want to do! That’s up to you!

 

[IAN JAMES THOMPSON]

This is one such reply in that thread from 2015! And there are other similar replies like that in that thread as well. Well now what I asked is about to happen!

 

[Jos Stratford]

Check the small print for little snippets of them selling their user data to other 'providers'. Opted out. Way out.

Can you please link to this small print where the RSPB says they will sell user data?

I read their privacy policy and I saw quite a different message:
(a) Personal data is collected for various reasons, eg membership services, their own marketing, promotion campaigns by the RSPB. And they provide the possibility to opt out of this.
(b) They specifically state "We respect your privacy and will not sell your personal data to any third party"
(c) If you have consented to providing data as in (a), they may share (not sell) data to trusted partners for purposes of providing the services, etc, mentioned in (a).

Unless I am missing something, the reality is absolutely not selling data for getting money as has been suggested on this thread.

 

[Jos Stratford]

.When the RSPB says data "such as" email, address etc it doesn't rule out "dates and times of use of RSPB facilities" so I agree with Ratal and I don't like it.

The RSPB also state you can at any time change your consent preferences and opt out. Also if they wish to use data for additional purpose to that already stated, they also seek your consent

So I would say this thread is basically full of misinformation - and given this could potentially damage the RSPB and thus bird conservation, I think a pretty poor show..

 

[Prestdj]

so no more buy an annual pass and get the next year free shame

 

[IAN JAMES THOMPSON]

so no more buy an annual pass and get the next year free shame

Exactly! And that is good! That is why I’m pleased the RSPB is going to launch this!

 

[Swindon Addick]

Its not the scannable membership card I mind, its selling on my personal data.

John

They already do that. Pretty much all large charities do. There's an opt-out, and anyone who objects should absolutely use that opt-out, which any well-run charity will comply with.

They aren't proposing to sell information on who visits which reserve, but if they ever changed their mind about that, anyone who had already opted out of information being passed to third parties would already be excluded from that.

 

[Mono]

The soul proviso for sharing personal data laid out in the privacy policy is allowing social media companies access in order to allow for targeted publicity.

eg RSPB wants to show a legacy promotion on Instagram. Rather than send it out to everyone at increased cost and minuscule take up, the RSPB lets Instagram scan members email addressees to draw up a list of RSPB members on Instagram, thus allowing the promotion to go only to them.

This is the only reference to sharing personal data I could find.

 

[Farnboro John]

I've now had a careful read of how the RSPB intends to use my personal data and I have no quarrel with much of it.

However, they make specific mention of creating membership number identifiable profiles of where I go when. This of course could be useful to a criminal organisation as it creates a record with trends of when I am, for instance, not at home. As the RSPB cannot have a staff vetting process even as effective as government and police forces and those habitually unintentionally hire those of a criminal bent who use their positions for gain or other criminal acts, I see them as insecure and vulnerable to criminal abuse of data. Given their substantial membership I consider it likely that they would be thought a worthwhile target for such abuse. I shall be telling them so and asking that they do not use my data to profile me or quantify visiting habits, create trends and record those matters (especially if incoming data is added to the record in real time: that has to be completely unacceptable).

If they wish to use the incoming data to create anonymised aggregated data about visitors then I have no problem with that, but the scannable card datapoints should not at any point be used in connection with my membership.

I don't use social media such as twitter, facebook etc. As such I don't see why the RSPB should think it acceptable to expose my email address to those organisations as part of a membership list. There does seem to be an assumption that because they want to do stuff its up to me to find every little loophole and stop it, whereas I think they should ask me in each instance if I want to opt in. They should make it a lot easier to find and access a comprehensive opt-out page on their website that I can use without having to contact their data protection staff. If anyone on here has found such a thing please provide a link: all I could find was to ask them to send a template to complete and send back. That isn't good enough.

John

 

[IAN JAMES THOMPSON]

I put this post in a thread about the RSPB plans to introduce membership cards going to be scanned and I said it would take up to 5 years before any announcement was made. At that time all the remarks about the possibility of scannable membership cards was rediculous and after that post I was made fun of and I would say made to feel stupid the way I was being made to feel. Here is that post in that thread any new member can have a look at the later replies after that. I knew it was going to happen but as usual silly jokes at that time and really hurtful.

 

[IAN JAMES THOMPSON]

Here is one of those replies from that thread and this was one of many and it’s not the first time!

 

[wheatearlp]

OK, you've posted two screen-shots from an older thread to this one, which itself has been inactive for four months. I have to ask why? Is there further info. to come on this?