I'm not tired of the site, I am not bored of it. I don't have the black LC any more so don't ask many questions about creaking or groaning but still very much enjoy the social side of it.
I do't want it to stagnate from an interface PoV. "The other site" is stagnant from a software PoV and has no investment. We moved up from the free stuff to the, arguably, very best forum software. I would like to keep that going.
Very glad to hear that Cris. Firstly may I say that you have done a great job to make this forum what it is today
, and I hope that you are able to continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Really appreciate your time and efforts.
This forum to me feels much more like a club than a forum....
Chris, your right this is a 'club', built up by and for people who have an interest in Land Cruisers. I like to think that we're a good bunch of guys and girls on here, from all walks of life, that bring considerable knowledge, expertise and experience to the table.
As has been said, it is the members that make and shape this club, we are the people that have grown and contributed to the club being such a great resource, and the host of the biggest and best gatherings of LC's in the UK. But, the forum is the heart of this club, without the forum the knowledge and experience laid down for all to see would be almost lost, and the majority of people would be cut off from each other. So without the forum operating, and operating well, the clubs growth would be stunted and what we get out would suffer. Cris has done a superb job of getting us to where we are now, I couldn't do it. He has given his time and his own money to fund and provide the forum that we all enjoy, because he wants to and hopefully gets a warm fussy feeling inside. As with everything else in this world, nothing stays the same and Cris can no longer justify the money that is required to keep the heart of our club in good order. So we the members need to decide how we'd like to fund our forum, to assist Cris and stop him from having to fund from his own pocket.
I can see the valid points for both sides of the arguement and no doubt whatever we decide, it won't be everyones first choice, but we have to decide a course of action.
Subs: I can see why the subscription option has cause a reaction, annual subs are like entering into a contract, if you pay money for something you expect something in return, and I know we get a lot from the forum but at the moment we haven't had to fund it, and people do not like having to start paying for a service that up to that point had been 'free' to them. Entering a contract is formal, it can change the relationship and I think that is whats causing some issues.
My suggestion therefore is for Crispin to indicate the total sum required and then to reduce this as donations come in (I am happy to donate). If there is a shortfall, then maybe look at sponsorship and advertising but my personal prefernce would be to steer clear unless unavoidable.
I am also suggesting that we as members with equal standings and privileges maintain that status - i.e. no special access for paying subscribers/donors/contributers.
My preference is similar to Andrew's, donations are how I'd like to go. I know it doesn't give Cris security of predicting the amounts coming in to fund the overheads, but it keeps things informal. If you feel you need to give something back you donate. I know this has worked in the past (I'll hold my hands up that I didn't donate, I think I completely missed the request
I think I was out of the country on a trip), with that in mind I'd suggest pining the request to the top of the forum and PM'ing people to let them know funds are required. As has been said, it may be the same people donating each time, but it maybe worth a go. After all many people seem happy to fund the forum in one way or another.
I have no idea of the forum overheads, so perhaps Cris could give us some data to put us in the picture. "Guys I need to buy some plug in's for £100, our current funds won't cover it, so could I have some donations please?" Something like that, and then let us know if we don't make the required funds.
If we were to generate a surplus of funds, I personally would have no issue with Cris taking back the financial debt that he has incurred thus far.
Ad's & Sponsorship: I don't like ad's that break up the flow of posts, like MUD. Other methods of recommended suppliers advertising on the forum wouldn't bother me, but one of my concerns with this method is that it may generate a lot of work, consuming precious time to obtain and manage the advertising. This would add to Cris's burden and work load, possibly complicating the matter.
As Cris has said, we are tied into a contract for the time being, which Cris has entered into with the forum and clubs best interests at heart. This allows us to enjoy the stable platform that we all enjoy. Going forward, perhaps when we reach the end of the contract we could look to moving the forum onto one of the free hostings offered by club members, in an effort to reduce the overall forum running costs. If this is a practical suggestion?
Whatever we decide, I'm happy to contribute to the running cost of the heart of our club.
Maybe we'll end up with poll to get a consensus of opinion and course of action? But that course of action needs to be workable and viable for Cris.
SOLUTION FOUND:
