Premium Member - features and functions

I've noticed you put a limit on the amount of time we have to edit posts. I think that is counter-intuitive and reduces the overall quality of the forum. being able to go back and correct mistakes makes the content easier to read and also gives us the ability to improve on our posts as we see fit. please bring that feature back.

FU

 

that's too bad, since as much as I would like to, being a supporting member is not in my budget. and who's to say a supporting member won't get a bug up their but and delete all their content?

FU

 

I comment on Engadget articles all the time, and they have a 10 minute window for making edits, likely for most of the same reasons. I think 10 minutes for comments is fine, but I'd say maybe 24 hours for regular member posts. Maybe a month + for premium? Though, I'm thinking of my parts-for-sale post and how old it is, and how I went back to edit the first post (the sale list) rather than re-posting a list for people to hunt down. That's the only reason I can think of for why I'd say make them editable forever - unless you can make that based on post-type or post-area.

 

if it were me, I would allow members who have a very high post count or have been members for a minimum amount of time (say 2 years or more), ones who are likely to stick around because they have been active and around for a long time, the ability to edit their posts.

FU

 

Also, I donated on a recurring monthly basis. The way I saw it, I felt I could more than afford to give up eating out for lunch once a month to offset what I'm sending Sno's way. I'm paying more for Netflix, and this site is way more educational than that.

 

I don't have Netflix. we had a 9.99 for two dvd's a month account once and we found we weren't even watching the movies we were getting. so we canceled it. can't really afford it right now anyway. I am going to cancel my basic cable too, since we hardly turn on the tv, and I can stream most shows now anyway.

FU

 

Yeah, I cut the cable a number of years ago. Now I only have internet and streaming Netflix (the 8.99 plan). And I watch YouTube on the Xbox.

On the plus side, it sounds like he's not going to make it unusable if you don't donate.

 

Just my 2 cents:

I think a post edit limit shouldnt be much of a problem at all personally. You should only need three max edits to fix spelling mistakes and such (and thats generous), unless someone wants to try and remove false info they have posted, i cant see why you wouldnt be able to just post corrections in a new message within that thread.

I'm all for premium membership, the information on this site is too valuable to let disappear due to cost restrictions, and ive definitely saved enough in mechanics bills to owe it to the site.

As long as the option remains for unpaying to users to create accounts, post threads/messages, upload pics and vids to threads, and send personal messages, then i think the general user not willing to pay for premium will still use the site and it wont become a "pay only" club, because I think that there should definitely be room for the average joe who just wants to look a couple things up and not necessarily participate in the forums.

 

Jeez Sno, I know it's been a long cold winter out in the 'Peg', but "takin it out in trade". I never would have guessed!

 

so, I have been pondering this whole premium membership thing. I am a long time member of a forum (the best forum for sprinters worldwide) http://sprinter-source.com/forum/index.php.

it occurred to me that this forum is funded totally by ad spots and doesn't require or even ask for donations for added benefits and is still a stellar forum. you (snosherif) may want to look into what that forum owner is doing to fund his site. there is also a cool header that showcases pics of forum members vans, and all they had to do was send a pic to be added to the rotation. my van actually appears in two different poses.

it would be really cool to see all of our members bikes in a rotating slide show at the top of each page.

FU

 

Sno - you ever do naked beer runs on a snowmobile?

 

That's a horrible way to start a night of drinking.

 

Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.

To help increase demand for Premium, maybe take away links in unpaid signatures (assuming that isn't already the case)?

Here's some stuff I found after doing a quick search for privileges on other sites:

• More private message storage, if there's a limit here, I don't know.

• Private Premium-Only section of the forums. I don't know what Hogs and I would talk about, though.

• Unlimited posts per day, meaning non-premium would get limited.

• Ability to create polls.

• Post calendar events, like clinics or rallies.

• Ability to create posts in the "For sale" area, meaning non-premium wouldn't be able to do that anymore. They'd only be able to reply.

 

Oh, and I'd like to offer that design I showed you as a patch or sticker, and we could give out a sticker/patch with each membership... depending on how the pricing works out.

 

I'd suggest posting "For Sale" for premium members only. You're not Craigslist.

 

I'm not a fan of private forums for paying members. The other sites that I've been on with that feature eventually end up with the private forums being full of toxic behavior. I'd rather everything be open for comment. I can see where a moderators forum would be useful, but a membership driven area seems too exclusionary to me.

 

I am with you, I am on a couple forums that are completely free without any "premium benefits for forum supporting members" they are by far, the best forums imho. they are also some of the busiest forums I know of. the ones that I am on that have "premium offerings" are not ones that I find beneficial, and as such I don't frequent them much.

I am also saddened to see this forum go that way as well.

when you start limiting ability and access, potential helpful members just go away. when I come across a forum that requires paying membership to see content, I just move along to somewhere I can access content without having to pay for it, and I am sure I am not alone in the world.

FU

 

Yep.

Yep. Unless I'm beyond desperate for the info. Which happens. A lot. With me.

 

I am rarely "desperate" for info, (google is my friend and this forum is not the only source of info in this world) and having been a member of this forum for several years now, (google is how I found this forum) it saddens me to see the progression to "premium" membership. it is degrading to the objective of the forum and not a good idea in my opinion. like I have said before, there are a lot of successful forums that don't require "pay to play".

if the forum owner can't support the forum with advertising, then the forum is doomed to be a small contingent of people who are willing and have the funds to pay the price. sadly I am not one of them.

FU

 

so, I was just perusing new posts and came across an old post that has my old sig. now a couple weeks ago, I could have edited the post to make it more in line with the current situation. which would make it more readable and less confusing to any new members. but because of current changes, I am no longer available to do that.

just another way this forum is going down the tubes. just sayin'.

FU

 

Sorry for side tracks, Sheriff... One post per month seems low if that includes replying to others' ad listings, ect. Sometimes they may need to ask for more info and there is a certain amount of go between with sellers and buyers However, if this limit is on the number of threads a non-premium member can start, that seems fair. A user could list multiple items in one sale listing with an instruction to Private Message if interested. I mean, how many yard sales can a person have in a month, right?

 

I don't think asking people to pitch in is

When you give somebody a ride to work, and they give you money for gas, has that ruined your car? However, if people like FU decide to leave, or potential new members decide not to join due to costs, then the forum will start to decline. I am going to step up and become premium because I have gotten more than a nickel worth of free advice here. I don't want a free ride, and the Sheriff has to earn his keep too!

 

I will be the first to say I have benefited from this forum, but I also am not in a position to pay for access and I do what I can to give back to this forum. but if my access is going to be limited because I am not a paying member, I will do less to give back. bike parts are expensive and I, like a lot of others here are on a budget.

this forum could sustain itself, there are a lot of other forums out there that are evidence of this fact.

FU

 

But your signature isn't really a "signature" in the forums. It's just the same text you type at the end of all of your posts. You can set an automatic signature in your profile settings, and it'll update everywhere you've posted. Just like changing your avatar.

 

no, I mean the way I sign my posts. before, it was CN, now it's FU. and my sig line is taken up with my 2 bikes, when before it could have been a lot more. like I said before, this forum is quickly going down the tubes.

FU

 

I strongy disagree.

If the bills aren't paid this site goes away altogether.
That is the harsh reality.

 

You didn't really mean that did you?
One of the joys of this community is helping others.
Premium Member or not.

Snosheriff has every right to do as he sees fit for this sight.
We either assimilate or leave. I like it here and get great information with the bonus of being able to share my knowledge and help others. . . .

I am flat f%#^* broke (been looking for work since December) no Premium Member status for this guy.
But I won't stop being who I am.
In the past I have made a small donation to this sight because just like Matti, I've gotten more than a nickels worth of info here.

 

public television does this all the time, buy something and become a member. travel mug, t-shirt, ball cap, mouse pad, anything. the idea of paying for a web site is one thing but if you get something too, that's different.
or
i think everyone has something they've been keeping that they know they will never use. every so often open a for sale forum, proceeds go to XJBikes, seller keeps shipping charges. it wouldn't have to be for a xj or even a bike for that matter. kind of like a xjbikes yard sale

 

I read a lot of talk about 'Premium Membership', but between the "Premium', 'Showcase', and 'Ads' threads I see nothing about price for this "Premium Membership'
Things are also a little convoluted with info spread across 3 threads, I know it wasn't intended that way but that is how they have progressed. I love this site, and the info I have received here has been instrumental in rehabbing VooDoo. I do get a little concerned when talk of memberships begin limiting participants interaction or access to site areas. Yes I know others have done it, but every forum I have been on that went to a heavy handed pay-to-play has evolved one of two ways; Very static with little new content, or the deep pocketed 'members' with arrogant attitudes, begin posting (often with little tact) like their payment entitles them to spew their opinions like law..... I doubt we have many, if any, members here that would fall in that second category, but those are the changes I have seen, and I would hate to see either one here.
I appreciate all Sno has done here, I have administered websites in the past, and those became a black hole of time, so I can only imagine how a forum would suck time! I would suggest that premium memberships ADD value to site membership, rather than non-paying members lose current value. I will be the first to admit I have been sorely lax in my financial support here, something I intend on rectifying on short order. I will say, I have been most active on this forum of all the ones I frequent mostly because of the great members here, and I strongly believe the great members are a direct result of the free community access.
JMHO

soo... is there a price for the 'Premium membership' that I missed??

 

50 divided by 365 equals 0.1369863 divided by 2 (cuz I'm here TWICE a day now!)=0.06849315. So that's like 7 cents a visit. Not too bad IMHO... I pay waay more for my tv than that, and I've never seen an XJ there!

 

Yeah, they break down to 90, 60, and 50 dollars a year, respectively, depending on what bulk discount you want.

 

It costs me $50.00 per month to have my garbage hauled away. $5.00 for premium access to stuff that I actualy want seems like a good deal.

 

no I didn't, I was trying to make a point and I wasn't being very articulate. yes, I enjoy coming to this forum too, it is the first place I go when I turn my computer on. but when or if I start feeling too excluded, because I am not one of the "premium members" and I cannot access something as a result, I am going to be less and less interested and eventually just go away and find something more interesting. I do appreciate what snosheriff has created here and I believe he deserves to be compensated in some way. there are lots of forums out there that are very successful and don't have any kind of premium membership or even a donate link. they make all their money through advertising and page load numbers, from what I understand.

I am sorry to hear you are having trouble finding work. I am swamped with work and I still can't seem to make ends meet. I myself have just started a 4 year debt relief program, because my debt to income ratio is out of whack. of course that is mostly my doing and I don't really want to get into it here.

I will certainly never stop being who I am either.

I have never donated or paid to be a member of any forum. the forums I belong to that I frequent however, I do my best to only post viable content and be as helpful as I can, so that others may benefit.

FU