PAID?!?!.... Really?

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PatientZero

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#1
I just wanted to voice my displeasure with the current PAID membership situation. I realize I'm not a fixture in the online-reef-culture, but as an average "Joe" trying to get a tank up and running I find it kinda lame that the members are getting asked for $$ when they are the reason the forum exits. I count 28 banners in the Sponsor section, is that not enough to pay for server space? Why not rely on the people who make money off this site to keep it running?

I don't mean to sound like a jerk, but I just don't like this financial paradigm shift that seems to be looming about.
 
primetime

primetime

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PatientZero said:
I just wanted to voice my displeasure with the current PAID membership situation. I realize I'm not a fixture in the online-reef-culture, but as an average "Joe" trying to get a tank up and running I find it kinda lame that the members are getting asked for $$ when they are the reason the forum exits. I count 28 banners in the Sponsor section, is that not enough to pay for server space? Why not rely on the people who make money off this site to keep it running?

I don't mean to sound like a jerk, but I just don't like this financial paradigm shift that seems to be looming about.
Click to expand...
+1
:congrats:
 
wishntoboutside

wishntoboutside

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i have to agree on this one too.. in these economic times the sponsors of the site should be covering all cost. if not he is not charging sponsors enough. i do think some sponsers have donated things prizes or corals to cover there fees but i dont know all. it is just really hard to give money to the site when i support two clubs.. IEMAS, SCMAS, this is a nice site but i can not see being a premium member here. i do no other sites do this but i dont think it is successful as one things. ie r2r premium member prises. rc membership gives you a search engine for reaseach. but supporting that site is even hard due to there politics. Yes this site is changing and mike and the mods are doing lots of things maybe at a later time i could see a justification of this but not right now.
 
EyeReef

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I respect you guys input and appreciate your comments. Once again though, being a supporter of this forum is not a mandatory thing! If you don't, that is fine. I still value you as a member as much as the rest including the supporters. Like I said before, all the money that is going into RD account is going right back into the site. I will be honest, the monthly potm prize, server fee, domain fee etc is not a big deal to me and I could cover that with my own money. The support money is going straight into future development for this site and yes I do feel bad for giving you that option of becoming a supporter, but that is why I am giving away free t-shirt. As many of you know, SCR/RD was seen as a "garage sale" forum and still and the mods and I are doing our very best to change this image. With the money I could add more features, raffles, etc to help draw more members to the site and help it grow to its full potential For e.g. the flash banner cost me 250, and without money from the site and sponsor, I would have been able to do that. I am not expecting to get rich off this site, or else I would be charging sponsors a lot more money. What I charge them in a yearly basis is what other forums charge sponsors monthly. I charge just enough to cover the cost of the host, service, prizes etc on a yearly basis. I have lots of plans for this site, and I believe the money from the support will help me accomplish this.
Running this site is a lot of hard work and I could not tell you how many test I performed poorly on or how often I neglect my gf because of it. I am not trying to make you feel sorry for me because I love this site. I have seen it grow since from the beginning. I just hope you know that I am not here to sit here on my fat butt to collect you guy's money so i could pay off my tuition. I am trying my hardest to build you guy's a respectable and legitimate reefing website that you could call your home.
 
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barometer

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Can't agree here guys. It's not a forced issue and the site's unpaid member experience has not been affected at all. To me it's just like a thread, if it's not for you, just pass it. If you want to keep using this site free like always, you're welcome to.....no questions asked :)
 
nahtanoj

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i agree with Mike. being a former mod, i know how much time is put into this thing. if he wants to ask for money, and people are willing to give, i think it is deserved. he is not requiring it. the site is looking great, and you can tell he is trying to make it better every day. hat's off to you Mike. great job.
 
EyeReef

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sorry for all the typo guys, as you can see writing is not my strongest subject.
 
chipcount

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nahtanoj said:
i agree with Mike. being a former mod, i know how much time is put into this thing. if he wants to ask for money, and people are willing to give, i think it is deserved. he is not requiring it. the site is looking great, and you can tell he is trying to make it better every day. hat's off to you Mike. great job.
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+1
well said
 
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PatientZero

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I understand it takes time and resources on your end. Perhaps instead of having "premium members" and regular ones, why not raise money by selling the shirts and raffle tickets? That way people wont feel discluded. It's still optional and people may be willing to buy more then 1 raffle ticket for any given raffle/prize.
 
Letsgotothezoo

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PatientZero,
You don't have to pay for the membership. You can still use this forum.
But you think that this forum is great and would like to donate, then you can.
If not, you can still use it.
You don't need to start this controversial thread at begin with.

Like other forums...RC, Nano-Reef, Reef2Reef, and other sites. YOU DON'T HAVE TO PAY TO BECOME A MEMBER. It's FREE.

:stoned:


PatientZero said:
I understand it takes time and resources on your end. Perhaps instead of having "premium members" and regular ones, why not raise money by selling the shirts and raffle tickets? That way people wont feel discluded. It's still optional and people may be willing to buy more then 1 raffle ticket for any given raffle/prize.
Click to expand...
 
EyeReef

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PatientZero said:
I understand it takes time and resources on your end. Perhaps instead of having "premium members" and regular ones, why not raise money by selling the shirts and raffle tickets? That way people wont feel discluded. It's still optional and people may be willing to buy more then 1 raffle ticket for any given raffle/prize.
Click to expand...
Have thought it before, but wasnt too sure of how successful these raffles would be. I figured this membership idea would be the easiest approach in raising money.
Like I mentioned in the original thread, the last thing I wanted this whole thing to do was to make members feel excluded. But I needed a way to make them feel appreciated also. That is why I opted for the orange name and support tag. Maybe I should take those away:conf44:

Im going to emphasize this one more time. I value as a member and yes you guys are the reason why this site exist. "Paid member" or not, you guys are all supporting this site one way or another.
 
ReeferChick85

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well like Mike said,it's just an option. This site has gone through some major changes from the original Socali site and it has come a long way! I like it all so far and it still feels like the original site but with a little more perks :) Do you guys make the shirts in boys size as well or just in mens?I like my shirts to fit right you know :) That could be the deal breaker for me in becoming a supporter or not...hahahaha totally kidding!!:ciao:
 
EyeReef

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Letsgotothezoo said:
PatientZero,
You don't have to pay for the membership. You can still use this forum.
But you think that this forum is great and would like to donate, then you can.
If not, you can still use it.
You don't need to start this controversial thread at begin with.

Like other forums...RC, Nano-Reef, Reef2Reef, and other sites. YOU DON'T HAVE TO PAY TO BECOME A MEMBER. It's FREE.

:stoned:
Click to expand...

Thanks for your input also. But I am glad this thread was started. I know that a few if not a lot feels the same way as patientzero and I am glad this is all out in the open. I am bad at expressing my thoughts in writting, but hopefully some of my points got acrossed.:beer:
 
chipcount

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the free tshirt is what pushed me over the edge :) and I became a premium member. I wanted one anyway, so 2 birds with 1 stone.
 
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bigian

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Letsgotothezoo said:
PatientZero,
You don't have to pay for the membership. You can still use this forum.
But you think that this forum is great and would like to donate, then you can.
If not, you can still use it.
You don't need to start this controversial thread at begin with.

Like other forums...RC, Nano-Reef, Reef2Reef, and other sites. YOU DON'T HAVE TO PAY TO BECOME A MEMBER. It's FREE.

:stoned:
Click to expand...
This pretty much sums it up....
 
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