Some changes to the forums

John Kennett · 01 April 2004, 17:34

First of all, thank you to everyone for making the RIBnet forums such a great place. It is a constant source of wonder to me the way the group has grown, and it is geat to see more and more people getting together to make it more than just a virtual community.

In November we celebrated our 1000th registered member. Now just a few months later the numbers have increased by almost a third!

As the scale of the site increases, so do the costs. I also want to (at last!) rework the rest of the site, especially the directory section which is shamefully out of date, as well as upgrading the forum software to the latest version which has a load more features.

I don't want to have lots more advertising, but the site really needs to start to pay for itself now. So I am planning to bring in limited paid memberships to the forums.

Before there is a mutiny though(!), I'd like to make the following points clear:

This will not be compulsory, and will only affect the "Buy and sell" forums.
Everyone will be able to read these messages, but only paid members will be able to post.
There will be no other charge for using the "Buy and sell" forums.
Access to the rest of the forums will remain free.

The membership levels that I am provisionally suggesting are:

Silver member £30, valid for 6 months
Gold member £50, valid for 12 months
Platinum member £100, valid for 12 months
- for anyone who feels that they would like to contribute a bit more!
Trade member £100, valid for 12 months
- for anyone using the forums to benefit their business

Member titles will be displayed in profiles and on posts so everyone can see who's doing their bit!

Other possibilities (which I am less keen on) could include restricting the use of the PM system to paid members, and only displaying attachments (ie pictures) to paid members.

These are all open to discussion, and I would appreciate your thoughts (even if you hate the idea!)

Fire away!

John

Jono · 01 April 2004, 17:57

For Christ's sake don't charge by the "post", or you'll bankrupt some members....*looking South*....

swginn · 01 April 2004, 18:10

Seems a very good idea as the site is a great resource and it would be a shame to limit its potential because of funding. Only thing I would disagree on would be limiting attachments to members only as this will limit the picture content on the site. Also pictures are very handy for diagnosing problems, but this may not be possible for someone who only makes a few posts every now and then and doesn't wish to join up as a paid member.

seaskimmer · 01 April 2004, 18:11

please !please! please!- keep this site free for the occasional user like myself, i really enjoy surfing this site, and reading the threads, even on subjects that don't affect me. i have gleamed some very usefull info on subjects that i am interested in, and have passed on some of my limited knowledge to other users.
but the real attraction of this site is that it is informal and friendly, by all means charge a small fee for trade users, and/or the use of pics, but please keep "the guts " of the site free.

be carefull for what you wish for, as you may lose what you already have.

Dirk Diggler · 01 April 2004, 18:12

Perhaps you could have a sliding scale for "post charges" depending on their usefulness. MeMe and Manos would take a bit of a hit, but I'm sure we could all live with that!!!

You could also go for the double Whammy in Manos's case and charge for spelling mistakes!

Anyone know what the date is today?

simmons0 · 01 April 2004, 18:16

Quote:

Only thing I would disagree on would be limiting attachments to members only as this will limit the picture content on the site.

These are the first free forums ive ever come across that allows you to attach pictures.

John Kennett · 01 April 2004, 18:31

Quote:

Originally posted by Dirk Diggler
Perhaps you could have a sliding scale for "post charges" depending on their usefulness. MeMe and Manos would take a bit of a hit, but I'm sure we could all live with that!!!

I'd have to widen the drive to fit the second Aston Martin in

Quote:

Anyone know what the date is today?

Damn! I've been too busy to think about that, but I reckon I could have got some serious mileage out of it! This isn't a wind up though . . .

John

John Kennett · 01 April 2004, 18:32

Quote:

Originally posted by seaskimmer
please !please! please!- keep this site free for the occasional user like myself

I hope I've made it clear that that is exactly what I am doing

John

Red Fox · 01 April 2004, 19:33

I use another site like this frequently and it has just gone down the advertising route. The adverts don't ruin the site, they just take a bit of getting used to. I would like you to look into this way first...there are a number of busineses reccommended by RIBnet members and I dont see why they can't cough up some cash for you...many have year long subscriptions to various magazines and don't think anything of parting with a few quid as the payback is greater than the outlay. They could put special offers etc on site first for example, and some of the rib makers may see it worth their while along with marina/slip owners. So if you are out there benefitting from this forum, it would be good if you could approach JK to save him having to write to you. I think that pay sites soon become a cilque club that lose more than they gain in the long run.

Daniel TD5 · 01 April 2004, 19:51

why don,t you make rib net a club and charge say £20 a year
membership. make it free to look at the site but you must be a registed member to post that way you can see whats on offer.
if you what to raise funds for rib net try mutual back scatching
a member say gets rib net car stickers/mugs/ printed for you at cost you sell them to us we all get a nice mugs to remind us of ribs

Manos · 01 April 2004, 19:53

JK if you look at PNEUBOAT (the French RIB forum) and Schlauchboot-online (the German RIB forum) you will find that all these sites are free for all.
However, the way these sites keep up with costs is by people advertising.
I think you should explore this avenue first

Richard B · 01 April 2004, 19:56

Quote:

Originally posted by simmons0
These are the first free forums ive ever come across that allows you to attach pictures.

Ssshhhh! Don't tell him that!

Seriously though, Boatmad and HotRIBs don't charge for piccies.

OK how's about this for an idea... charge for multiple postings of the same picture of a Falcon?

Ian · 01 April 2004, 19:56

I think you should be able to cover your costs and make a profit to improve the site in the future (not that it needs improving now). The forum isn't the place though IMHO, the trade directory is the place to charge. If you're listed/advertising in these you should pay for it.
Most people post on the forums with interesting info. and pictures for all to read and view.
As trade are listed to attract customers they are the ones who should pay. Charge for entries on the events listing, as well as the banner ad's.
Just have a trade membership and use this to cover the costs. There are sufficient forum members involved in marine industries to create a substantial members trade directory which would benefit all forum members and guests as they may not be aware of what services are available through people on here.

nickjaxe · 01 April 2004, 19:58

Looks like I will just be reading in future, £30.00 for 6 months to much for me, I dont have a prob with adds.

Nick.

Ian · 01 April 2004, 20:05

Restricting the PM use to 'paid up' members isn't a good idea. A lot of PM's are used to send an address or phone number, rather than publicise it to all, for ribsters to get together on the water. This would cut the contacts made and therefore reduce group cruises.

Manos · 01 April 2004, 20:09

Quote:

Originally posted by Richard B
OK how's about this for an idea... charge for multiple postings of the same picture of a Falcon?

Keith Hart · 01 April 2004, 20:27

JK

Go for paid advertising on the site. Keep it free to use. The magic sites I use are all free. As a magic dealer I pay to advertise on them. I probably wouldn't do so if there was a charge to use the site. People obviously don't mind seeing the ads as I get most of my business through them.

I can send you some examples of the sites I am talking about if you wish.

Being a free site is what encourages new members.

Keith (for heavens sake don't charge per posting as I'd go bankrupt) Hart

Dirk Diggler · 01 April 2004, 20:45

Quote:

Originally posted by Dirk Diggler
Perhaps you could have a sliding scale for "post charges" depending on their usefulness. MeMe and Manos would take a bit of a hit, !

Oops, forgot about him, Keith Hart as well.

Aston Martin & villa in south of france here we come.....

Go Jonni Go!!!!!!!!!

Steve Care · 01 April 2004, 21:01

Charging to post would be a bad idea as you may read a thread have a very good answer BUT not be willing to pay £30.00 to give a member the answer he needs.
If by paying you reduce the fully paid up members to less than 500 and the rest defect to another forum suddenly the competition to ribnet that remains free becomes a lot bigger and more appealing.

Look into advertising from some of those big rib/engine manufactures that at the moment get talked about for free

Saying that sign me up for platinum

Richard B · 01 April 2004, 21:03

Quote:

Originally posted by Steve Care
sign me up for platinum

Flash git!