Editing CS Newsletter for the Netherlands 2010.2 (section)

=News from Cs Netherlands (rechterbalk)=

==Changes on the CouchSurfing Website==

Soon there will be some new features implemented on the CouchSurfing Website:

'''Report Abuse'''    

Website abuse occurs when people use the site in a way that's against the [http://www.couchsurfing.org/terms.html Terms of Use]. For some time, CS has given members the option to flag messages as spam. A new tool expands on this concept dramatically. A site-wide automated system that will allow all CouchSurfing members to participate easily in keeping abuse off of the site is being released. Let's hope that it will stop or at least reduce problems such as dating spam and advertisements. In the (near) future you will see a abuse-button on which you can report abuse. It will appear on messages, groups, group posts, event listings and profiles. While protecting the community against abuse, CS will remain dedicated to protecting members' freedom of expression and diversity of opinion. The Member Disputes and [[Safety]] Team will be carefully monitoring the system to make sure that it is working properly and isn't being misused.

More information about this feature can be found in the [http://www.couchsurfing.org/channel_read.html?gid=13449&post=5402131#gpid5402131 safety newsletter] (ook beschikbaar in het [http://www.couchsurfing.org/news.html?id=338 Nederlands])

'''Request Manager'''

This is a tool that will help you save time and stay organized when sending and responding to CouchRequests. This tool will help you browse both CouchRequests you've received and those you've sent. The Request Manager has a lot of benefits: 
* Clearer communication. When replying to a CouchRequest, a host just marks 'yes', 'no' or 'maybe'. The system will sort the request accordingly. 
* Time saving for busy hosts. You will be able to save template messages as simple as "Sure, I can host you! Here's my phone number!" or as complex as "No, I can't host that weekend, but here's a list of my favorite spots in the city." To get through your responses more quickly, just choose the template of choice and personalize it.
* More accurate reply rates. Once the day of the CouchSurfer's arrival has passed, a host can no longer reply to the request to boost his/her reply rating. If you receive a request within a week of the arrival date and aren't able to respond in time, it won't affect your reply rate. 
* Better organization. All of your replies will be threaded together for easy reference.

'''CS Bookmarks'''

To help you navigate the site more quickly, you can save a page as a bookmark and reach it directly from the navigation bar. 

'''News Channels'''

We're also launching a redesign for the News Channels. The Channels will now be more prominently featured on the website, with a more appealing layout to improve your reading experience.

'''New Ways to Donate and Get Verified'''

Up until now, members could only donate or get verified with a major credit card or debit card. In the next month we're introducing three new methods:

- ACH: a way to send a donation directly from a bank account, in the US and Canada.

- EU Debit: a way to send a donation directly from a bank account, in the European Union.

- Direct Pay (IBAN, Bank Transfers): a way to send a donation through a bank, internationally.

==Ideas for meetings==

At the last [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=64872 meeting] of the Netherlands CS organisation we brainstormed about ideas for possible meetings. Some of those ideas are already being organised and can be found in this newsletter. Some of those ideas can be found below. Do you want to help with organising any of these ideas, contact [http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/lizzie82ish/ Liza] or any other member of the [http://www.couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=5031 Netherlands CS Organisation]. 

- Rubix cube party (come in different colored clothes, leaves in the same color)

- Making up stories, tell them to each other and guess which one is true and which one made-up

- Make pubquizes

- Bike meetings, double city bike tour and meetup half way in between the cities (like Utrecht-Amsterdam, Arnhem-Zwolle, Den Haag-Rotterdam)

- Meetup at the last metro or tram stop

- Singing songs from "Kinderen voor Kinderen" 

- Theatersport/improvisation theater

- Sharades (hints)

- International invasions, to (Newcastle, Duisburg, Gent)

- Meetup where you don't know where you will end up: 2x left 1x right for a ... period of time and see where you end up

==CouchSurfing in the media==

More and more media are noticing CouchSurfing, after 3opreis, Arnon Grunberg in NRC and many more also Elsevier found out about us. 

[http://picasaweb.google.com/MyStuffToBeSold/CouchSurfing#5447683810739603538 Elsevier] recently wrote an article about a CS event in Eindhoven and 'Het Reformatorisch Dagblad' published an [http://www.refdag.nl/artikel/1468653/Wereldreizen%20van%20bank%20naar%20bank.html interview] with [http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/lizzie82ish/ Liza]

Tilburg CS was in the news twice for so far. A tv show called Campus in Beeld, whose host surfed a couch in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4aqRyTeNy8 this city] and an article in the student [http://www.uvt.nl/univers/nieuws/0910/09/onderdak.html paper].

==New 'rules' for traveling (and Couchsurfing) in India==
For everybody who is planning to surf couches in India this summer, here's something to keep in mind:

In the aftermath of the recent terror attacks & keeping in view the not-so-good geo-political relationships, the government has decided to become more stringent on rules regarding stay of foreigners in India. It comes down to a form of mandatory registration. More info below.

The Foreigners Registration Act (FRA) states the rules & regulations to be followed by all hotels, hostels, resorts, private homes (which is the category CS hosts are in), Dormitories etc. The "C" Form, which is available in all police stations has to be filled out by the visitor. The "C" Form collects the details of the passport of the foreigner, where he/she is coming from and the duration of his/her stay. The details should be signed off by the host who is accommodating them. 

If anybody is accommodating a foreign guest on a personal visit in his or her house, they should also inform the police department as per the Foreign Registration Rules. Failure to provide information to the authorities by the hosts would invite a punishment of imprisonment up to five years and a fine.

It comes down to this:
Filling out the C Form is a formality (whenever you check into a hotel they will photocopy your passport & make you sign the C form). If you don't stay in a hotel, you'll have to do it yourself. Doing this is your own choice, but the request will be to follow the law and make yourself and your host safer in the city.

Hope this brings the clarity to all those who are going to be hosts & surfers in India...

Source: [http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/priyaq/ Priya]

==Major events roadmap==

Do you like Sinterklaas in Rotterdam or Midsummernight in Utrecht a lot and are you looking for big CouchSurfing events in other countries? A couchsurfer from Italy made a google-map with a list of major events planned for 2010. See the list [http://tinyurl.com/CSRoadMap here]