Subscriptions - forum update. Please read.

[yogi]

Hey each to their own!!

I'm a member of a specialist nursery society(of the plants type)

 

[Bat21]

Star Wars forum!

May the farce be with you

 

[sae70]

I'm happy to pay a reasonable annual subscription

On another 4x4 forum I belong to (Shropshire Suzuki) they had to go through the same process some time back. It all started off very much the same with voluntary donations being offered when the active members became aware of how much things were costing the founders. They then put in place a £5 annual subscription that unlocked the ability to advertise in the classified section and read selected locked sections such as 'Green Laning', 'Trip Reports' and 'Club Events'. They also put in place a live chat room for paid members. I'm no longer a paid member on the site as I'm not so active, but I still have access to 95% of the sections when I do drop in on the odd occasion that I do. More recently and since I made the swap over to a Toyota and this Forum they have started using Google advertising banners and I have to say that they don't appear to get in the way of my viewing pleasure. Maybe there would be some way of stopping adverts from appearing to paid members. Another thing that seemed to work really well for them was to have a PayPal donate button on the front page, so when members felt they wished to make a donation they could as and when they felt the need. People then often made a small donation following selling something in the classified section. Some of the members that also ran a commercial business in relation to the forum would often hold a Dutch auction for items with all proceeds going to the club via the PayPal donate button. I once donated £150 to the club following the sale of an item through the classified section. The other thing that was done was to put a little on top of the cost of club meets for the club, so for example £5 could be added to the cost of going to Lincomb for each vehicle to be paid toward the club. Maybe organise a raffle at club events with prizes being voluntarily donated by the members that have a commercial interest in being a member of the forum as well as a personal interest.

All just ideas that I've seen used on other club based forums

The thing that concerns me the most in relation to what I've read here is what happens if Crispin does decide he can no longer fit in the time to run the club or becomes unable too due to illness or worse! Then what?!

 

[Chas]

Andy question 4 it is solely due to the amount of posts. Most forums have something similar. To me it is just another kind of post counter.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

And there was me thinking Senior Member was because I'm ancient.

 

[uHu]

I'm happy to pay a reasonable annual subscription

On another 4x4 forum I belong to (Shropshire Suzuki) they had to go through the same process some time back. It all started off very much the same with voluntary donations being offered when the active members became aware of how much things were costing the founders. They then put in place a £5 annual subscription that unlocked the ability to advertise in the classified section and read selected locked sections such as 'Green Laning', 'Trip Reports' and 'Club Events'. They also put in place a live chat room for paid members. I'm no longer a paid member on the site as I'm not so active, but I still have access to 95% of the sections when I do drop in on the odd occasion that I do. More recently and since I made the swap over to a Toyota and this Forum they have started using Google advertising banners and I have to say that they don't appear to get in the way of my viewing pleasure. Maybe there would be some way of stopping adverts from appearing to paid members. Another thing that seemed to work really well for them was to have a PayPal donate button on the front page, so when members felt they wished to make a donation they could as and when they felt the need. People then often made a small donation following selling something in the classified section. Some of the members that also ran a commercial business in relation to the forum would often hold a Dutch auction for items with all proceeds going to the club via the PayPal donate button. I once donated £150 to the club following the sale of an item through the classified section. The other thing that was done was to put a little on top of the cost of club meets for the club, so for example £5 could be added to the cost of going to Lincomb for each vehicle to be paid toward the club. Maybe organise a raffle at club events with prizes being voluntarily donated by the members that have a commercial interest in being a member of the forum as well as a personal interest.

All just ideas that I've seen used on other club based forums

The thing that concerns me the most in relation to what I've read here is what happens if Crispin does decide he can no longer fit in the time to run the club or becomes unable too due to illness or worse! Then what?!

Lotsa good ideas.

 

[Mal Eade]

Well, This raised a few off their chairs.
The info contained here is invaluable to all and the free downloads.

So to add my twopenny-worth or £12 as it is

Count me in.

A man needs a hobby not a liability.


Mal

 

[Olazz]

7 pages and 126 posts later, this is still being debated discussed

All over £12 quid/year; Human nature... go figure!

 

[Charlie]

7 pages and 126 posts later, this is still being debated discussed

All over £12 quid/year; Human nature... go figure!

And we have a choice, pay or not..... My personal choice will be not.

 

[Crispin]

A quick update:

There have been a few responses from the companies I sent emails to. Some unsurprising silences and some surprising silences. I guess their view is "well, we're getting a mention for free anyway so why bother paying" Each to his own...
Those who have responded (thanks!) will get a small sponsored banner at the top of the page, to the right of the logo. I'll probably turn this on this evening but there will only be one banner there until I can get the others loaded.
Sponsored companies will also get a special section to post new things in the "for sale" section.



The adverts:
As has been noticed, I have started trying out Google adwords for those who are not logged in. I'm trying to get the criteria correct so it mostly shows relevant ads. When I first started putting it on it was showing me Muslim dating sites.
It is now mostly showing relevant stuff but it's a WIP.
I'll also be putting in the google adverts into the main forum as well with and option to turn them off . An annual donation of £12 clears all the adverts from the site (but not the sponsored banner at the top)
They won't be too loud and obnoxious but they will be there and once turned off they'll vanish like oil from a Dutsan.


Things are moving along and I am getting to adding the bits in and trying out a few things. The keen eye might have spotted that I totally broke the forum a few days ago.. After clicking apply I started getting hundreds of emails about errors. Whoops
I'll get the rest of the bits sorted out in the coming days and turned on. Time is a bit tight for me with other work so this really is a "work at night" task at the moment.

I think the options laid out are a good mix and while I know I can never make everyone happy all the time, I can only try and make most of the people happy most of the time.

Cheers,
CP

 

[Paul]

Thanks Crispin for all your work on this, happy to go along with whatever is needed and you certainly need to be bought some beers.

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

Back to where we started then, a dictatorship, not a 'team' as we were told at the start

 

[Crispin]

A bit harsh Jon?

I laid out an idea at the beginning, there was a few aspects which were ill thought out and pointed out, I changed the idea and implementation to mostly match what what seemed to be the general consensus and ended up with a solution which resembles little of the initial idea, much of the suggestions by the members who answered and still helps with the original cause. Not much dictating there as far as I can see.
A team still has to have one person who makes the decision after listening to all the opinions.

 

[Mal Eade]

Back to where we started then, a dictatorship, not a 'team' as we were told at the start

A little below the belt that one.

A Dictatorship is where people do not have a choice, We all have a Choice and a voice and I am sure our voices will be heard and listened to.

I take it that it is a matter of principle rather than cost, but it costs money to run and one person putting in so much time and money deserves not to be out of pocket and even some extra for a beer or two.

3.28p per day or 23p per week. £1 a month is nothing. Just thing what we do spend on our trucks in a year and if paid up member are offered discounts from advertisers the we could be quids in and gain more than the £12 cost per year.

Mal

 

[clivehorridge]

Thanks Crispin for all your hard work and stress.

All I need is an idiot's guide to how to pay to clear the adverts...

Enough said on this for me....

 

[ModelMakerMan]

Excellent solution Crispin.

This way no one looses out those who dont mind paying and dont want ads can do so and those who prefer not to pay and can live with a few ads dont have to pay. Plus the companies who choose to sponsor the forum get something in return and also give back to the forum which provides so much custom to them.

Not sure why Jon sees it as a dictatorship? You asked for comments and opinions listened to what everyone had to say and came up with a solution which gives the majority what they wanted.

Thanks for all the time and effort you put in.

 

[Ben]

Excellent solution Crispin.

This way no one looses out those who dont mind paying and dont want ads can do so and those who prefer not to pay and can live with a few ads dont have to pay. Plus the companies who choose to sponsor the forum get something in return and also give back to the forum which provides so much custom to them.

Not sure why Jon sees it as a dictatorship? You asked for comments and opinions listened to what everyone had to say and came up with a solution which gives the majority what they wanted.

Thanks for all the time and effort you put in.

Completely agree!

 

[Chas]

Me too, absolutely. Keep doing the great job Chrispin.

 

[Crispin]

Thanks for the support. Will work through the bits as we go and as always, comments and suggestions welcome.

 

[Mark N]

I've kept quiet during all the discussions as all possible opinion were already being shared. I am glad that there isn't a 'compulsory' subscription fee (I know £12 isn't a lot of money no matter how many thousandths of a penny per millisecond you break it down to ) but I would like to see a donations button so that when I am able I can make a financial contribution to the site.

Most importantly though is to say thanks Crispin for all your hard work - it is really appreciated!

Mark

 

[mrdelmonti]

I've not been here long and I haven't posted much but I think this is a great friendly forum, and it's unfair for one person to bare the financial burden of an entire community, ok maybe subscriptions isn't the best idea but until someone comes up with a better viable solution it's only fair.

Everyone has a choice to not pay so if you don't like it then don't pay.