PAID?!?!.... Really?
- Thread starter PatientZero
- Start date
still dwelling on this subject. yes mike has done a lot of work to improve the site and always changing things. he has done a good job at this. selling t shirt to raise money is fair. i just still cannot see any justicfication on being a paid member other then maybe getting a frag from a sponsor. i am big club supporter for scmas, iemas, bar,and even have offered things to the sandiego group. that is enough for me.
not to start a flame war by any means presence in our reefing community do mike offer. i don't think i ever met him,(sorry i do no you travel and such) but i feel i know all the mods from events and presence in the community. i respect that.
there is also another local forum reefersrus. well i have seen him at max, rap, cfm, many barbeques, and even club meetings always have a presence in the community but hmm his site gets hardly any respect. he does not ask for cash just doing things with for a passion and a heart. =)
this is truly a tough call for everyone to decide if they want to directly support the cause or not. i do think we all enjoy all of the sites, sometimes thou they all blend together instead of having a point of difference.
not to start a flame war by any means presence in our reefing community do mike offer. i don't think i ever met him,(sorry i do no you travel and such) but i feel i know all the mods from events and presence in the community. i respect that.
there is also another local forum reefersrus. well i have seen him at max, rap, cfm, many barbeques, and even club meetings always have a presence in the community but hmm his site gets hardly any respect. he does not ask for cash just doing things with for a passion and a heart. =)
this is truly a tough call for everyone to decide if they want to directly support the cause or not. i do think we all enjoy all of the sites, sometimes thou they all blend together instead of having a point of difference.
I think it is rather clear that Mike works hard to keep things running smoothly here. Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate it and my intention of this post wasn't to flame anyone or make any problems. I think it is also clear VERY CLEAR that no one has to pay to be on here. I just wanted to talk about this point.
In fact I didn't feel one way or the other until I logged on this morning and the first thing I saw was your post SteveOhh. I realize you are trying to help out, but it bothered me how it was phrased. It made me feel like I am a bad person for not being a PAID member.
I only wanted to see what other people thought about this and try to make a few suggestion on how it could be done differently. That is precisely why it is in the site suggestions area and not anywhere else.
In fact I didn't feel one way or the other until I logged on this morning and the first thing I saw was your post SteveOhh. I realize you are trying to help out, but it bothered me how it was phrased. It made me feel like I am a bad person for not being a PAID member.
I only wanted to see what other people thought about this and try to make a few suggestion on how it could be done differently. That is precisely why it is in the site suggestions area and not anywhere else.
Thanks Richard. Like primetime, this forum started out free. Free to sponsors, no paid members etc, but it comes a time when you have to ask for help to fund activities. I believe primetime the owner of reefersrus won 2 potm and the prizes were straight from paid sponsors. If I did not ask for money, I know I would not have enough funds to push this site to its full potential. If we ever get to the point where we are as busy as reefcentral and other forums, I will be in lots of trouble, since some of you know hosting will cost around 150 per month.
Richard not to call you out, but I know your a sponsor on reef2reef and what your paying over there on a monthly basis is almost as much as I charge sponsors here annually. So I know I am not overcharging and getting rich off you sponsors.
I know a lot of you guys know I do not have a reef site up, and this is not due to losing my "passion" for this hobby. I have always had a reef since 2001. I went from a 72, 125, 500g, 24g, 100g, and finally to 150g all in between. I even started a business that ran out of my "garage". The last year I was out in commission due to living in my optometry school's housing. But this year, I am moving out and very eager and excited to set one up again. I know for a fact that once I get out of school that I would be more physically active in the reefing community, since cyber world does not count. I truly hope to meet all of you on a personally level and I promise to give all you guys a huge reefdiscussion discount on your eyecare. Which btw, I plan to put a 500g+ reef in the office:rock:
Richard not to call you out, but I know your a sponsor on reef2reef and what your paying over there on a monthly basis is almost as much as I charge sponsors here annually. So I know I am not overcharging and getting rich off you sponsors.
I know a lot of you guys know I do not have a reef site up, and this is not due to losing my "passion" for this hobby. I have always had a reef since 2001. I went from a 72, 125, 500g, 24g, 100g, and finally to 150g all in between. I even started a business that ran out of my "garage". The last year I was out in commission due to living in my optometry school's housing. But this year, I am moving out and very eager and excited to set one up again. I know for a fact that once I get out of school that I would be more physically active in the reefing community, since cyber world does not count. I truly hope to meet all of you on a personally level and I promise to give all you guys a huge reefdiscussion discount on your eyecare. Which btw, I plan to put a 500g+ reef in the office:rock:
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mike. yep you nailed on the hat. if you read between the lines. as far as reef to reef i pay a lot more. i chose that site for its broad market and not just socali. and this was chosen before hmm you went national as well. i think you have gone far in the 744 days..hours and mins since this has been on line. the site has grown your vision has changed and going forward being a national site you should be looking for more sponsors and not just the local ones, or even charging them more due to larger market. spending one day at max or rap with a sales promo packet you could book many sponsors especially for what you charge. the could spend 2000 at max for 2 days exposure or hmm one tenth and get exposure for the year. you ask me which is the better deal its a no brainer(nothing against max or kev, just used as an example. i think this way would be much better to fund the site provide prizes.. like hmm some have done for the last few months. i just think until you get your own point of difference membership does not make sense. if you like me pm me your number and i will happily talk more on this offline for ideas. but charging 25 and getting a shirt is nice but getting hmm 10 to 15 new sponsors would be better for you and the site in the long run. i hope you understand my point of view a lil clear now. =).
to make it even better mike. .come to RAP shake my hand i will give you cash for a year sponsorship and introduce you to a few others that may consider the same. =)
to make it even better mike. .come to RAP shake my hand i will give you cash for a year sponsorship and introduce you to a few others that may consider the same. =)
last note... to those 382 hits that this has gotten today i give you all the finger! if you have something to say.. just say it. reading the thread over and over again you really need some drama in your life. this part of the forum is for suggestions and such. i am not attacking anyone just trying to help improve the site with suggestions and such.
thanks mike for your response.
thanks mike for your response.
I think this is a great thread and has been quite civil so far. These kinds of issues need to be talked about as there are so many varied opinions. Of course the free/paid argument will probably exist 'til the end of time much like the halide vs. t5 or mix vs NSW arguments. Some great ideas have been presented and I'm sure this is valuable information for Mike. I paid because I wanted to support a resource that I use and find fun, informative and valuable (signed up before the free shirt offer 
). I'm also helping the staff for the same reason. Granted, some of the suggestions in this thread could generate much more cash and exposure and I hope Mike benefits from them, but since paying is not mandatory and the free peeps still have the same site as always I don't quite understand why having a paid member option as well is a bad idea :conf44:
oh yeah, I definitely don't think choosing to pay or not to pay makes anyone any better/worse FWIW. We're all just trying to have our piece of the ocean
). I'm also helping the staff for the same reason. Granted, some of the suggestions in this thread could generate much more cash and exposure and I hope Mike benefits from them, but since paying is not mandatory and the free peeps still have the same site as always I don't quite understand why having a paid member option as well is a bad idea :conf44:oh yeah, I definitely don't think choosing to pay or not to pay makes anyone any better/worse FWIW. We're all just trying to have our piece of the ocean
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Well I normally try to stay out of thread with drama but…ill start
Lol… Richard I have read the thread a couple times today and don’t know if I would pay to be a member. I know running a board and being a mod is a lot of work. But I don’t see any benefit I would receive that would be useful. I support my local club and give coral to local reefers all them time. To me the price is not the issues but I guess it is the principal of how the site started off.
Well that’s just my opinion
Lol… Richard I have read the thread a couple times today and don’t know if I would pay to be a member. I know running a board and being a mod is a lot of work. But I don’t see any benefit I would receive that would be useful. I support my local club and give coral to local reefers all them time. To me the price is not the issues but I guess it is the principal of how the site started off.
Well that’s just my opinion
Not trying to say anyone is a "bad" person for not paying, just trying to do what I can to help the site out. I don't run a million dollar manufacturing company where I can donate thousands of dollars of merchandise, but I will donate some livestock to try & make the "paid member" status a bit more appealing.
I apologize to all who took my post as suggesting they are anything less due to not being a paid member.
I apologize to all who took my post as suggesting they are anything less due to not being a paid member.
Mike, how about you ask for finiancial backers. This way when the site starts generating $$$ you can pay those people back with $$$ instead of a free tshirt. I think you started this site as a hobby(i hope) but then you reached a crossroads and had to decide whether to invest more money and make this site larger and maybe profitable. If profit is your motivation to move this site forward then go the bank and ask for a loan. Asking the members to pay a "membership fee" and get free tshirt is absurd. Are you going to give them another free tshirt next year for those dues?
LIke others have said, "I dont have to pay" so im not. Im just saying
LIke others have said, "I dont have to pay" so im not. Im just saying
Mike is tryin his best and were all here to help him. I personally see both sides of this Disscussion. On one hand if people want to pay for a membership to help out the site that's cool. But they should not get benifits like names in orange and so on. Or contests for paid membership only, it makes the rest of us feel ... Like were not as special as the other people. I don't know it's like sepeating us. That's my 2cents
Financial backers for a reef hobby website? Seriously, that makes no sense.
No one is twisting your arm and forcing you to be a member. Its just a way of SUPPORTING the forum. If you dont want to support then don't, you can still do everything a paying member does. Mikeee isn't trying to make a million dollar website, he just asked for SUPPORT if you want to help support.
Geez some people are taking this too extreme.
No one is twisting your arm and forcing you to be a member. Its just a way of SUPPORTING the forum. If you dont want to support then don't, you can still do everything a paying member does. Mikeee isn't trying to make a million dollar website, he just asked for SUPPORT if you want to help support.
Geez some people are taking this too extreme.
I think what would help this forum is if everyone contributed by actually making legit threads asking for help and suggestions INSTEAD of just coming here only to buy and sell.
I notice everyone goes on reef central asking for help and making threads about general reef talk but when you guys come here its mainly to buy/sell. Thats just my 2 cents.
I notice everyone goes on reef central asking for help and making threads about general reef talk but when you guys come here its mainly to buy/sell. Thats just my 2 cents.
