Please comment below once you have access. Nice to have you guys here. -Chris
Welcome all! I must admit I had been skeptical about the ISTA when it was first mooted, simply because most of the suggestions seemed unworkable but full marks to the mods for actually getting down to doing something with the idea. In any case it’s nice to be here and I hope this experiment is a success.
Experiment might be the best word for it I’m afraid. These days it seems like damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
Been reading through years past post ,I guess what I am after is a mission statement. What goals need achieving? Or is the purpose just for pubic information.
@cstokes4 - maybe, but you can’t let that stop you and I respect you having a go at this - I never took it on and you deserve credit for the experiment - whatever it leads to, or if it leads nowhere nothing has been lost. I see this thing as being a place without the ‘what are you having for breakfast’ clutter and for people that know what they are talking about to talk amongst themselves. Forget the elitist nonsense, why shouldn’t this part of the site exist? Because some people don’t like it? That’s not a good reason. It can only be what the members make it. Give it time.
Hello All! One idea I’ve been tossing around would be for the ISTA to eventually own Snuffhouse. That way it would turn into a member owned, rather than a commercial site. I think the first step in that process would be to charge periodic dues from the ISTA members and take over the maintenance cost of the site. Eventually, perhaps, we’d have the funds to buy the site outright (assuming Dave is willing to sell). Also someone would have to be elected treasurer. Thoughts?
I’m in. Hot diggity. The only thing I’d suggest for this side of the forum is that we don’t neglect the other side. I’m okay with this being an elite club as long as we don’t become so elite that we ignore the noobs and peons. 
No, of course not. If you were ever in the Boy Scouts, perhaps you were aware of the Order of the Arrow. It was an elect group of elite scouts, but their purpose was service to the greater scouting community. I would like to think of us as similar.
@Xander, I was never a Boy Scout. I lived out of town and likely spent more time doing outdoor stuff than any 3 Boy Scouts. I do however get the point. I agree with shaman, we need a sort of mission statement. Nothing elaborate, just a base idea what we want to accomplish.
I’m in, glad to be here! I’ve never been in an elite group before…
It would be great if we could all contribute to a mission statement and such. I’d like this to be one big collaboration!
“The ISTA aims to promote the enjoyment of traditional nasal snuff and the study of it’s history, practices and manufacture. The association members are snuff devotees who through their knowledge, experience or expertise are able to further the understanding of this ancient tobacco form amongst fellow members and enhance the pleasure of it’s use” There was something like this in the old snuff blenders association booklet (defunct trade association from the 60’s - 80s), but I can’t find it at the moment - I’ve probably stolen bits from that. It’s bloody hard to come up with the right wording when you get down to it and I’m certainly not suggesting this as the finished article.
Great to be here. Thank you for the generous acceptance into the ISTA. I look forward to contributing!
That’s a good start, Nigel. Anyone else want to contribute to it. Wordsmithing is usually best done individually, but collaboration can add missed points.
I’m actually anxious to get a mission statement prepared, because we’ve had a bit of an unexpected backlash against the existence of the ISTA, mainly I think for being elitist. We need to make it clear to the general forum what we are, and what we aren’t.
Hello all, I’m happy to be part of this group. I think that preparing a mission statement is a great idea.
Hello all. @Abraxas - suggestion for a slight simplification of your statement: “The ISTA aims to encourage the enjoyment of nasal snuff and the study of its history and traditions. ISTA members hope to achieve these aims by making available their collective knowledge, skills and experience.” Hopefully that says the same thing in fewer words!
Agreed, much more succinct.
“The ISTA aims to encourage the enjoyment of nasal snuff and the study of its history and traditions. ISTA members hope to achieve these aims by making available their collective knowledge, skills and experience.” I like this, lays out our aims well with the minimum of fuss.
“aims to encourage the enjoyment of nasal snuff” I wonder if this sounds like we are pushing it onto people. Could we say this a different way? The ISTA aims to ( educate ) people on the enjoyment of nasal snuff and the study of it’s history and traditions?