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No, I mean everything in the forum is free. But! What will happen is every month you will be asked if you want to have a free or paid membership. Basicly your choice to make a donation or not but the point is your asked every month. And I will be making things more prominent in regards to it.
Americans: Over Sexed, Over Payed and Over here, Wat Wat!
Contact Admin: admin@forumite-chewey.co.uk
Forumite Donations Paypal.me/forumite
The way I see it the only reason this forum is still alive is because of a few people, like a little private club going here, but not really private. I only pop in now and then for some advice because I know you all are knowledgeable in some area or another. And, like it was mentioned, only the ones from this club will pay the membership. Most likely not everyone. And eventually even they will start dropping off. I have seen kitesurfing forums die out in the last few years even though they were free – it all moved to Facebook.
I think the best option (as already mentioned) would be either a Closed or Public Group on Facebook. Some of the older member on here might not be keen on FB or maybe don’t even have accounts but I’m sure they can be persuaded to give it a try and they will see that it’s not so bad.
Another option (as mentioned) is donations. And just have a meter at the top of the page that shows what the target for the month is and how much has been donated. Payments through PayPal of course. Time would show if it is going to work or not.
I dislike paywalls, I understand the need for regular £ but there’s something about a paywall that gets on my nerves.
I stump up monthly, as in the other thread I have forgotten, so a reminder would not be a problem for me. Hell a fiver a month isn’t even 2 pints! (Bet a pint in Cardiff yesterday cost £6-10 depending on where you were)
Dont wory, I am trying it an other way.
https://forumite.co.uk/forums/topic/subscriptions/page/3/#post-8532
Infact I am working on it now. Basicly donating, but more to be announced when I get my head round it.
Americans: Over Sexed, Over Payed and Over here, Wat Wat!
Contact Admin: admin@forumite-chewey.co.uk
Forumite Donations Paypal.me/forumite
Look at it in another way – it’s about the price of 1 pint per month.
Surely it’s worth that to read some of the spats here occasionally, let alone the gems of knowledge so many have here and which, I for one, have dipped into quite often.
The more you meet people the more you understand why Noah took animals instead of humans
To be bluntly honest the cost at over £600 pa is extortionate, I host forums with Evohosting and it does not cost even 20% of that (£87 pa including the domain name) and they are reliable with excellent UK support)
£3.50 per month/per member is out of the question. Other forums with many more members and much more activity are free so I can’t see many here going along with that.
I appreciate deeply the efforts made by RSB to rescue the MM forum but it has to be realistic. Subscription might work for a short while but ultimately it will fail due to the small number of contributors and the fact that there is no platform for publicising the existence of this forum in order to attract more paying members.
Deeply sorry to be so pessimistic but simply put, the cost is too great for the benefit when there are free alternatives.
It do like the idea mentioned be Tad Ka, a donation target show in percentage, if the costs have been covered that month.
I don’t mind paying, but as some have mentioned above, it would be the beginning of the end. People will slide away, and take up would be next to zero going forward.
So a more in your face donation approach may be worth a trail first.
Ok, so this is my last word on the matter. I have tried to be fare, set the price fare and I have explained my costs, this forum is like no other, unique and costs what it costs plus the shit load of hours I put in. I thought to ensure the forum continues and grows I will put some safety in place where costs were partly covered.
I can clearly see now that my efforts to be honest are waisted.
This is now what is going to happen! You will have to choose a membership level.
Free
Full access and usage to the forum. There will be restrctions to other areas of the site and this is undescided yet.
Forumite Level
As above and any new features that come in the future or any other special ideas I have.
I will say this as my last note. If you want to move on please do so now. I dont want bad vibes round here. I will cary on as usual and continue with things as I see fit.
Americans: Over Sexed, Over Payed and Over here, Wat Wat!
Contact Admin: admin@forumite-chewey.co.uk
Forumite Donations Paypal.me/forumite
I have been making a regular PayPal payment of £5 a month. I started this because I was not looking at it from a financial viewpoint, but because I value what happens here and I value the work that Lee carried out to create the site and the continuing work he puts in to maintain it. If people want to start comparing apples to oranges by pointing out that other sites are free, I believe they may be missing the point. Sorry if that offends some here, but that’s how I feel.
I would cheerfully pay £3.50 and up to £5 a month. What does one get for a fiver nowadays?
And I, like others here, am a pensioner. Why not a Standing Order, if a subscription model is used? Or a regular PayPal payment? I have cancelled my next one, having just made another and expecting a subscription: but I can reinstate it whenever necessary. Forumite, because of the ongoing work and continual improvements by Lee, is such a vast improvement upon the car crash that was MM forum in its latter stages. Let us not forget that.
A FB Closed Group would work of course. I am a member of two such Groups and it really does work, but I would much prefer to remain with the status quo and Forumite. But I also bear in mind that some Forumites have working lives.
EDIT: Lee’s last was posted before I finished typing and posting. Thinking about it.
When the Thought Police arrive at your door, think -
I'm out.I don’t think there are any bad vibes Lee. We gave our honest opinions and suggestions, not demands or threats.
It is of course entirely up to you how you wish to run your Forum. I can’t see why you couldn’t leave the donate button there for those that choose to stay on the free offering.
I for one will choose a subscription if that is what you feel will be the best way to keep things going. Another suggestion that may avoid some costs and complications. Unless you’re going direct debit for the business go standing orders for the Forum. We ran the wireless ISP business on standing orders. Whichever way you go you’ll still have to check off members vs payers.
If you need any help on the admin (of anything) I have more time on my hands now I’m not 9-5.
The subscription is there to point out you can donate, a monthly reminder if you will. This is one less job for me and no longer does the donation need to be pointed out. It is all automated hence why I want to do it this way. The paywall that has been throwen about was temp as pointed out in the post incase I could not find a way of allowing the threads to be read with out membership but upon thinking this solution does the same!
As I have already stated I did not expect the costs to be covered, just to be partialy covered. In time when I have time I’ll promote my other services that forumite offers and this should go someway to cover everything.
@ricedg What do you mean by admin exactly?Americans: Over Sexed, Over Payed and Over here, Wat Wat!
Contact Admin: admin@forumite-chewey.co.uk
Forumite Donations Paypal.me/forumite
LEE I don’t care what you call it that is between you and your grasping tax man As far as I’m concerned I’ll just continue to send you a regular contribution of £5/month. I’m fully in accord with Bob;s initial statements – but it strikes me things have got unnecessarily squirrely as you are basically offering open access to all, and just asking that a donation be considered for all the good work you do.
Just like PBS in the US you are offering a ‘bragging rights tote-bag’ of only a nominal value to regular supporters – Seems fair to me, but I’m quite happy even without the ‘tote-bag’/gold-star. above all appease the tax-man!
All I am trying to do is make things a little easier for my self. Set and Forget! Plus a membership level allows me to do other stuff to in the future and add some fun plus one benefit is automated spammers will not press a subscription button. The reasons to have it out weigh the ones to not. People have the choice to choose which level to use and costs nothing but a click to use the free one with little side affects.
Anyhow I am chilled now and I should know better from my experiances at MM not to react to persons when I can see what is coming.
Americans: Over Sexed, Over Payed and Over here, Wat Wat!
Contact Admin: admin@forumite-chewey.co.uk
Forumite Donations Paypal.me/forumite
It seems to me that a subscription model is doomed to failure in the long term if not in the short term. We are an ageing band with the majority of us having entered or entering the years when the lights can and often do go out unexpectedly.  Males enter those years around 55.  Hence, subscription would only ever be likely to progressively fall over time, even assuming it was sufficient in the first place.
The real problem is surely that of user numbers. Alas I cannot see a way to grow user numbers because this forum does not uniquely fulfil any particular niche in the market, so to speak. It is unique only to the members it currently has and simply because those users have developed a special rapport with each other and sense of community over many, many years.
I do value greatly and am indebted to Lee for the valiant effort that he has put into helping this community to continue to this point in time. But if our community is to continue I simply cannot see that this forum is the right vehicle for it to do so.
Most importantly and entirely objectively I am not sure I can with my hand on my heart encourage him to commit more time and effort to a project that if we are all brutally honest we know is of its very nature inevitably in terminal decline. It was worth a try but if user numbers haven’t leaped by now they never will.   I also feel a sense of guilt because I am certain that we have all already placed on Lee an unfair burden. I have no doubts that if he did not feel an obligation to us all he would have closed this project before now because logically it makes no sense whatsoever, does it?
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It is which ever way looked at just one button to press. I dont believe it is much of a big deal, Is It? Maybe subscription is the wrong word to use. Membership then or Maybe ermm let’s see “Just humour him” reasoning.
Please some one in simple terms explain to me and my tired poor eye’s why you are so against pressing a button. Look, the button is here Here! “Dont Click It”.
If I could fully understand this resiliance then maybe I can be convinced otherwise.
And on an other note I am going to try and grow the forum and it’s surroundings and will carry on trying till there is no more trying left in me.
Americans: Over Sexed, Over Payed and Over here, Wat Wat!
Contact Admin: admin@forumite-chewey.co.uk
Forumite Donations Paypal.me/forumite
Lee, what I meant by admin was the boring stuff that happens in the background. Not the technical stuff, although I’ve spent most of my working life doing that sort of thing, I meant the “paperwork” things like reconciling who’s paid to membership lists.
I see, thanks for offer but that will be automated. There is plenty more boring stuff to be done though but it’s time consuming and so I have not bothered to ask here for help with these jobs.
Americans: Over Sexed, Over Payed and Over here, Wat Wat!
Contact Admin: admin@forumite-chewey.co.uk
Forumite Donations Paypal.me/forumite
I’m not going to comment on anything else for now, but pop a donate button towards the top of the forum, where the Latest Replies button etc. is. Maybe have Donate £5 and Donate where you choose the amount, they should be pretty easy to set up with Paypal. I know there’s a way to donate at the moment, but I couldn’t tell you how, or where to find it.
If it’s prominent, we’re more likely to see it and click itÂ
Ok, so this subject has run it’s corse and I have enough to put up with with out the hassle here. So forget the membership. That is my last word on that.
The topic is closed and carry on as you will. Any topics that carry on the subject will be deleated.
Americans: Over Sexed, Over Payed and Over here, Wat Wat!
Contact Admin: admin@forumite-chewey.co.uk
Forumite Donations Paypal.me/forumite
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