286 replies to this topic

[Covert]

[EunUCh]

Is this thread goin south or what ? , sure , no one likes to pay for a free lunch but with all the humor aside the upgrades one should 

imagine would cost to keep things a little "secure" , there is another Forum that changed to a similar base but needed to

be continually upgraded for some reason , but that aside given the # of members a small fee to keep things going might just

ease the financial burden and free time by the boys in blue spent to  keep things tidy ?

 

How would it work , got me frokt , maybe those who chip in a bit could have their name "up in lights" by some sort of banner that

reads "sponsored by members" as well as the paying adds. that appear.

 

From a simplistic point of view , as long as at the end of the day the running exp. acc. & costs equal zero profit , what  can go wrong?

It would mean a bean counter would be needed and the bean counter would be responsible and trusted for posting some sort of "record" (shy of a carton or 2 of course .

 

[EunUCh]

 ti2.jpg   13.11K   3 downloads

[Tyre biter]

I wonder whether a 'Premium Sponsors Section' isn't they way to go (like a number of forums) in order to sponsor this site.

I know Tiny isn't a fan but I am unsure why.

The sponsors get to administer their parts and control things - the risk is passed on - the work is passed on - the forum remains free for members.

These are the pro's to this approach.

Just not sure of the cons and happy to be schooled - this is a genuine question as opposed to shit stirring.

 

Yes, this place has been and continues to be an invaluable resource.

But its value equal to the knowledge it holds or can muster is its accessibility.

Take that away and what do we have - not much I suggest.

 

IMO this forum's very life rests with those who appreciate it's benefit.

And so if the forum goes with paid accessibility, this approach will work - for a little while

But, as can be seen time and time again, folks move on - life does that - Ruts, Yella 5000, nial8r, its Paul, cruiza, A9X (Welby) and seminal members like Toranavista, antelopeslr5000 and Dirtbag come to mind - they either haven't been by for ages, haven;t been by for a while or they aren't posting much if anything anymore - maybe every Torana conversation to be had, has been had, several times over and the learning is no longer new (another subject)...

 

And if the forum goes the paid membership route, what is left - a huge resource of knowledge about which a prospective member is largely unaware and therefore unlikely to pay.

 

And so I fear that a forum with paid membership will mean less membership which (in time) means less money, higher fees and ultimately, death.

If the plug gets pulled on this forum, as it will one day (everything has to end) - all of this knowledge goes - gone - done and dusted.

The trick and indeed the task of this forum is to find a way to stave off that day for as long as the information is of relevance to the members as more than a passing oddity.

 

And please, let's not consider the idea of a special member's section as a benefit to paid up members in order to promote paid membership - an area 51 of sorts.

LS1 did this and it is useless, meaningless and absolutely underwhelming when you get there.

If a benefit is promises/inferred it has to deliver but (as LS1 showed) it essentially has nothing more to show than what we already read on the Black Box of Secrets - just a whole lot of 'private' chat.

The additional elements open to members of this forum presently (as opposed to non-members) is perfect and no more levels of exclusivity is warranted.

 

And so I keep coming back to the commercial relevance of this place - the Business Section.

Hoppers, UPC, MacDonald Bros, Torana RPA, Cools, et al - they all benefit - considerably through to some extent I imagine and all (again seemingly) do so for free.

I kept RSP out of this because I think they are indeed a paid sponsor already?

Nevertheless, the point I am trying to make is there exists a commercial interest for so many business folks to be here - all those above and so many others we always blag on about - Shannons, Famous Car Insurance, HHS and so on.

This is because the forum has >7,400 members, almost 1,000,000 posts and (most importantly from a commercial interest perspective) almost 2000 member's project threads - these stats uphold the commercial value of this forum and most importantly, they could underpin the same and will do so for a long time to come.

 

Just some thoughts.

Take what you will, leave behind what you won't.

And I have to say, I've not a clue what it takes to run this forum nor what a impost a 'Premium Sponsors Section' would take to administer.

Like I said, Tiny has repeatedly said he doesn't want to touch this concept, but I am unclear whether this was from a practical or philosophical perspective - keen to find out just because I am nosy

 

Finally, thank you to Tiny and the Admin and Mod team.

I know you are grappling with this issue of cost versus deliverables and likely all my above has been well considered by you already - like I have always said, I;ve never had an original idea in my life it seems.

 

Cheers, TB

Edited by Tyre biter, 25 September 2016 - 10:58 PM.

[Tiny]

The problem with a premium sponsors section is and has always been that when a member speaks against these paying companies, immediately they Burr up and threaten the admin team with pulling their sponsorship if the post isnt removed.

 

And the thing is... its rarely fair to do so.

 

The most awesome thing has been Rare Spares and their attitude towards the good the bad and the downright ugly and they have gained a fair benefit from us in the past and indeed assisted us immensely as well.

 

Unfortunately I'm not prepared to go that route as i've seen forums implode for the same reason. 

The knowledge that is already here Stays where it is.

 

There will be a members only section, and it may well be seen as irrelevant like the LS1 one is... but we'll see what happens.

 

Bottom line is - we need to ensure the forum continues, and the cost is far too much to continue paying for one person, so I feel that this is the best course of action because i'm simply not going to be beholden to companies who think they they rule the roost because they kick the tin for the forum. (I watched the ford forum implode - had mates who ran that and was exact outcome when sponsors were bad-mouthed by unhappy customers).

 

Hope this helps your curiosity!!

 

Cheers! 

[blown308]

I am happy to pay for some of running costs as long as I can promote my charity here plus it's events..

[Tyre biter]

It does Tiny, thanks.
I get it now - the payment by companies provides them with a sense of entitlement for the Admins to moderate unkind words about them either within or outside of their subscribed sub-forum.
Does this not happen as it is or does the present arrangement deter this sort of thing entirely?
Did the FF give sponsors admin riggts for their sub-forum like LS1 did/does?
I don't have any other remedy but it seems those with the most to gain commercially from this forum achieve this for no outlay.
But maybe im looking at this the wrong way.
Maybe those with the most to gain are in fact the members in terms of quality of service and parts from goid businesses mentioned herein and warnings concetning others that go uninfluenced by the non-corporate route.
And I don't for a moment question your need to balance the books.
I remain concerned however that paid memership will diminish numbers and therefore viability.
Having said that, viability is already an issue - catch 22 I guess.
I hope this will not be the case.
Cheers, TB

Edited by Tyre biter, 25 September 2016 - 11:49 PM.

[dattoman]

There have been instances here where businesses were named and sometimes shamed

The businesses found out and threatened the admin team with lawsuits

Those businesses were in no way on the forum beforehand and only created a user name after searching themselves out on google and finding people bitching about them

Unfortunately... the admin team/forum owners are directly responsible for the opinions of forum members whether thay like it or not

[dattoman]

Yup

If you don't pay nothing changes

If you do pay... you get stuff

 

Maybe larger Av and sig limits , access to specific sealed sections... etc

 

Haven't actually decided what yet

Open to ideas though

[N/A-PWR]

Hello Neil and Chris,

 

Have you got a list of options  to pick from, or you make the program from scratch?

[dattoman]

Nothings decided yet Dave

Keep your shirt on

[Covert]

How about paid members have an option to turn the swear filter off

[Ice]

Hahahhaa that would be gold.
I would be happy with no adds tbh.

Agree

[tinkers]

How about paid members have an option to turn the swear filter off

There are members of all ages on the forum, some of you might want to remember this.

Sent from my E2353 using Tapatalk

[Covert]

I was thinking it could be turned off from our perspective, not so every user can see it.

[S pack]

I would also like paying users to not have to see "sent from my pos smartphone via tapatalk" under everyone using tapatalks post please, shits me to tears. 

Don't forget the the posts that tell you it was 'sent from an iPhone'.

Are we supposed to feel sorry for you cause you bought a POS apple product?

Edited by S pack, 26 September 2016 - 08:08 PM.

[S pack]

Says the man still firing up his 286 to get on the forum

Yeah but at least it ain't an iphonepadpodmac hahahahaha

[S pack]

Apple is the best..

The one only thing that apple does best is rip people off.

Edited by S pack, 26 September 2016 - 08:28 PM.