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Future of the forum

General discussion on any topic which doesn't have a natural home on any of the other boards.
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Cliff Evans
Posts: 1032
Joined: 29 Dec 2019, 15:13
Location: Bristol
Contact:

Re: Future of the forum

Post by Cliff Evans »

Mark Wilcockson wrote: 13 May 2021, 11:45 I'm going to be unpopular here as I am one of the people getting "free ride" long terms member. I browse occasionally and rarely comment but enjoy the builds and take notice of the good service section and tend to support those businesses with my purchases.

If forced would I pay a subscription even at the low level of £5 - no

Would I voluntary support if asked - probably yes

For one of my other hobbies I am a member of three forums. The first one the leading forum in the UK is free and was very active. I used the classified section and as a result of selling a few things decided to sponsor the forum £15 per year and a way of giving back and recognising the benefit. Sadly the moderators/owners decided to try to cash in on the membership and started charging to advertise in the classified section. Whilst this did not affect me as a sponsor I disagreed and have cancelled my membership going forward.

Much of the long established membership also agreed and voted with their feet, left and set up a new forum on much more friendly basis. I donated to the set up costs of the new forum and continue to do so. It's totally voluntary but I am happy to support as nobody is telling me what to do to get access.

The money is not the issue to me its the principle

Now I am not suggesting this will happen here but I do feel with a subscription based access you will get smaller and smaller number of members as time passes. This hobby needs to attract more members not do things to put people off.

My suggestion would to be open with the annual costs, I have no idea what they are and have an annual fund raise. Generating a surplus to fund an event is of no interest.

Mark
I have been "open" with the costs see here. viewtopic.php?f=28&t=2923

I have already been told that prices will be going up as usage is quite high. If you look at other forums which I have done, the costs are around £15 - £20 per year for All access, yes, some ask for donations as we have been doing but, I really do not think £5 per year is a lot and it was just a suggestion that if there was a surplus we could use it to perhaps have an event or pay the tug pilots that enable us to fly at aero tow meets. My intention is not to "Cash in" but have it all as fair as possible which in my humble opinion is not what it is at present.
https://lasercutsailplanes.co.uk
https://patteaklegliders.co.uk
Mark Wilcockson
Posts: 23
Joined: 19 Mar 2015, 06:28

Re: Future of the forum

Post by Mark Wilcockson »

Cliff I was not suggesting your intention was to cash in here, I was referring to the other forum I no longer support. My view is contributions should be voluntary, the amount is irrelevant, but that seems to go against the poll so far

Ultimately its your decision, I'm only an infrequent visitor
barry h
Posts: 89
Joined: 18 Mar 2015, 20:46
Location: Norfolk. Premier slope soaring country.

Re: Future of the forum

Post by barry h »

Fine by me. That's less than 10 pence per week. Where else could you get that .
Great work Cliff. Count me in.
Barry
simon_t
Posts: 89
Joined: 17 Mar 2015, 21:45
Location: Herne Bay, Kent

Re: Future of the forum

Post by simon_t »

I am a donor but have voted against subscription - my rationale is that any subscription will likely dramatically reduce the number of forum members, and ultimately that reduces the richness of discussion and input that makes this a great forum. Would I like more to donate? Of course, but a donation is just that, it is a personal decision. I don’t really look at what I pay in terms of fairness against others who don’t donate - I purely look at it from the viewpoint of the value my donation brings to me. I do agree with previous comments though, that non-donors should not have the same access to plans, 3-views etc. that donors should.

Simon
Martin Dee
Posts: 14
Joined: 23 Mar 2017, 16:38
Location: somerset

Re: Future of the forum

Post by Martin Dee »

I suppose that as nothing will come of nothing, it is almost inevitable that a minority interest forum will need to support itself by a formalised modest subscription arrangement. It is likely that the age of free (or apparently free) information is now drawing to a close. However, in adopting the subscription route, the benefits of membership vs 'drop in' need to be significant and clearly set out. In addition, some regard should be given to the marketing/improvement of the site in terms of a knowledge capture/resource centre to attract future would be members. While the old lags may feel quite comfortable with present offer, new punters are always going to take the 'wasinit formeee?' approach

I do have to say that the past voluntary route could have been a bit more 'in yer face' I am fairly sure I did contribute something last year, but I cant remember when or how much. What I do remember is I spent ages looking for a big red 'DONATE NOW' button to press, only to find it was minute text hidden away in the small print.

It would be a sad day if this resource was lost, one hopes that the enthusiasts will continue to support and nurture it for as long as possible.
MDev
Posts: 160
Joined: 07 Oct 2018, 19:17
Location: WEYMOUTH

Re: Future of the forum

Post by MDev »

Cliff, I am of the opinion that since you do the work you should have a major say how you’d like it run, I have no argument with this site and how it’s run. If it goes to a subscription, then that’s ok by me. I do feel that if you could find a way of reducing the workload you should.
Keep up the good work.
M
Chris Hurst
Posts: 17
Joined: 12 Apr 2015, 17:10

Re: Future of the forum

Post by Chris Hurst »

simon_t wrote: 13 May 2021, 17:49 I am a donor but have voted against subscription - my rationale is that any subscription will likely dramatically reduce the number of forum members, and ultimately that reduces the richness of discussion and input that makes this a great forum. Would I like more to donate? Of course, but a donation is just that, it is a personal decision. I don’t really look at what I pay in terms of fairness against others who don’t donate - I purely look at it from the viewpoint of the value my donation brings to me. I do agree with previous comments though, that non-donors should not have the same access to plans, 3-views etc. that donors should.

Simon
I am also a donor and agree 100% with everything Simon has said above.

In addition to donations, which I am happy to continue from time to time, could some income not be generated from advertising? That too would be dependant on keeping as large a readership as possible.
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jimbo
Posts: 293
Joined: 18 Mar 2015, 21:32
Location: Cornwall

Re: Future of the forum

Post by jimbo »

Have you thought about this site?
https://www.patreon.com/
Dont be put off by the focus on creative art, i think it could apply also to other stuff. It would probably manage the collection of monies as well.
People are able to sponsor the site what they want (smaller or larger amounts) and get access to the premium content. You could create price tiers/plans etc. Enforcing a subscription seems a big hassle to recuperate the £75 per year hosting costs, which should be avoided IMO considering there is likely to be considerable decline in activity in an already declining hobby.
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Cliff Evans
Posts: 1032
Joined: 29 Dec 2019, 15:13
Location: Bristol
Contact:

Re: Future of the forum

Post by Cliff Evans »

jimbo wrote: 18 May 2021, 09:00 Have you thought about this site?
https://www.patreon.com/
Dont be put off by the focus on creative art, i think it could apply also to other stuff. It would probably manage the collection of monies as well.
People are able to sponsor the site what they want (smaller or larger amounts) and get access to the premium content. You could create price tiers/plans etc. Enforcing a subscription seems a big hassle to recuperate the £75 per year hosting costs, which should be avoided IMO considering there is likely to be considerable decline in activity in an already declining hobby.
We don't need to change anything like hosting, I can do everything from here. Not sure where that figure of £75 comes from for hosting per year! I wish! The problem we have is that we have a lot of traffic and bandwidth usage which puts the hosting costs up. I could move the site every year to different hosting and get the introductory offer, but that would be counterproductive and a real pain in the proverbial! I am inclined at present to keep as is but may have to look at changing to subscription at some point.
https://lasercutsailplanes.co.uk
https://patteaklegliders.co.uk
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Peter Balcombe
Posts: 1399
Joined: 18 Mar 2015, 10:13
Location: Clevedon, North Somerset, U.K.

Re: Future of the forum

Post by Peter Balcombe »

Hopefully a lot more forum members will respond to cast a vote as 40 out of 800+ is a drop in the ocean so far & definitely cannot be said to be a fair representation of the membership.
However, there are costs involved in keeping the forum running, so funds obviously need to be found from somewhere for it to continue.
Personally, I see the forum as a valuable resource for interest and knowledge & have always been happy to make a donation, but it does peeve me no end that most people these days seem to expect to just sit back & take.
However, that unfortunately seems to be representative of a general trend in today’s culture.

The holy grail would be to find a way to find a way to keep the forum going without losing its attraction to interested parties, but also stop the unscrupulous ones ripping off the information available.
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