Active Users:265 Time:29/03/2024 12:36:09 PM
You want to charge people for functionality every other forum on the web gives them for free? Werthead Send a noteboard - 14/07/2010 08:47:32 PM
I fully respect the amount of time, money, energy and effort that goes into running a forum like this. But I don't think this premium account malarky is the way of going about it. Most other forums use advertising (Google Ads, Amazon links and other ideas) to support themselves without ever having to resort to charging their members directly for content, and certainly not for basic content.

* No adverts

Seriously, as long as they don't crop up mid-post (some forums do this, but none that I frequent regularly), I don't have a problem with adverts. They work well on just about every other message board in existence, especially SFF ones, and will generally cover hosting costs with little issue.

* A profile image (up to 300x300 pixels)
* A signature image (up to 50x50 pixels)
* Add posts to a list of favourites
* Ignore threads from users on the messageboards
* Ignore posts from users within a thread on the messageboard
* Up to 10 Messageboard Buddies
* The ability to use links inside of posts
* Custom timezones
* Custom date format

Sorry, but these are all basic functions that are expected of any modern message board in 2010. I don't expect to be charged for them any more than I expect there to be an entry fee to my local supermarket.

* A larger profile image (up to 400x600 pixels)
* A larger signature image (up to 200x80 pixels)

Large profile images take longer to load and aren't really necessary. There is a reason most forums limit them to 100x100 at best. Signature images are an invention spawned directly from Satan's Book of Lame and make browsing a forum an absolute pain in the backside, although thankfully you are limiting the size of them.

In addition, adding profile and signature images radically increases the amount of bandwidth the site is using, which appears to be self-defeating given you want to apparently keep bandwidth costs down.

* Helping to support the site just that little bit more

This is absolutely fine, and sticking up a PayPal box, employing advertising and Amazon links and so on are all great ideas. But asking people to pay so they can put links in their posts? Or just have a small avatar? You might as well charge them to have user names. Actually, somebody should patent that idea before Blizzard steal it.

If the running costs of the board are too high and you are losing money on it, there are various other avenues you could explore on the advertising front. Contact Jason at Dragonmount or Elio at Westeros or Mark and Robb at SFFWorld and find out how they manage it, or look into different advertising programmes. But I cannot see how your 'premium content' even remotely justifies the cost.
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EDIT: Remember folks, today's the last day of the free premium accounts! - 06/07/2010 08:52:02 PM 3130 Views
Awesome job, mate! - 06/07/2010 09:03:20 PM 1179 Views
I see that you've also fixed the spelling of "received" in the noteboards. - 06/07/2010 09:08:00 PM 1221 Views
Erm... can you recheck your settings? - 06/07/2010 09:20:50 PM 1169 Views
They've not changed. *NM* - 06/07/2010 09:22:07 PM 664 Views
Default quote setting is excellent - 06/07/2010 10:02:35 PM 1228 Views
Nice! - 06/07/2010 11:51:09 PM 1008 Views
Yay! - 07/07/2010 04:32:39 PM 1040 Views
Time zone - 07/07/2010 05:23:43 PM 1024 Views
Yeah, Us/Eastern is ahead an hour too. - 07/07/2010 05:44:40 PM 1210 Views
Cool, I must locate some money to get one. *NM* - 08/07/2010 03:48:59 PM 712 Views
I all of a sudden miss Wse - 10/07/2010 01:28:00 AM 1108 Views
In a way, yes *NM* - 16/07/2010 06:43:14 AM 586 Views
Just how much bandwidth is Read and Find out using per month? - 11/07/2010 05:50:02 AM 1172 Views
So, you think Ben should pay it out of his own pocket then? - 12/07/2010 09:33:27 AM 1323 Views
Oh Jing. - 12/07/2010 08:05:31 PM 1197 Views
It's a very reasonable question. - 12/07/2010 09:29:26 PM 1301 Views
Good point *NM* - 12/07/2010 09:38:25 PM 594 Views
You want to charge people for functionality every other forum on the web gives them for free? - 14/07/2010 08:47:32 PM 1366 Views
It is exactly the same stuff Mike asked money for - 14/07/2010 09:00:55 PM 1037 Views
Why can't people even ask the question(s)? - 14/07/2010 09:22:11 PM 1179 Views
Re: Why can't people even ask the question(s)? - 14/07/2010 09:36:54 PM 1233 Views
Well - 14/07/2010 09:57:09 PM 1357 Views
Exactly. - 15/07/2010 12:09:14 AM 1129 Views
The messageboards are perfectly functional without a premium account. - 14/07/2010 09:17:43 PM 1009 Views
I see it as a way of giving people something back for donations. - 14/07/2010 10:09:08 PM 1288 Views
He does have a point when it comes to hyperlinks. - 15/07/2010 06:52:41 PM 1010 Views
There are other reasons why I don't want links in posts - 15/07/2010 08:18:53 PM 1042 Views
Why is that? - 15/07/2010 09:14:52 PM 1194 Views
Viable alternatives - 15/07/2010 01:16:39 AM 1228 Views
I have to agree with you here - 16/07/2010 06:55:43 AM 1001 Views
Advertising makes a site look like shit. - 16/07/2010 08:28:00 AM 954 Views
Only if you choose to let it. - 16/07/2010 12:17:47 PM 1249 Views
This is just the BBforum argument rehashed. - 16/07/2010 06:07:20 PM 1123 Views
But those are the very things being introduced by the premium accounts. - 17/07/2010 12:44:05 PM 1234 Views
Re: One Thing - 17/07/2010 04:24:51 PM 1126 Views
Agreed. - 17/07/2010 04:34:09 PM 1081 Views
RAFO is a lot of great things, but great-looking it is not. - 16/07/2010 02:28:50 PM 1150 Views
As I've said above... - 16/07/2010 01:49:37 PM 1207 Views
Just to be clear: - 16/07/2010 03:18:22 PM 1147 Views
Re: As I've said above... - 16/07/2010 05:58:39 PM 1166 Views
Premium Plus account does. - 16/07/2010 06:05:07 PM 1205 Views
Re: Premium Plus account does. - 16/07/2010 06:13:17 PM 1001 Views
Re: Premium Plus account does. - 16/07/2010 09:03:27 PM 1020 Views
And - 17/07/2010 04:37:12 PM 1102 Views
To be honest, that misses part of the appeal for some of us - 17/07/2010 12:17:15 AM 1098 Views
It's a start - 16/07/2010 06:37:44 PM 1120 Views
Yeah, that's the other thing. - 16/07/2010 08:59:51 PM 1109 Views
Go Ben! \o/ *NM* - 18/07/2010 02:52:30 AM 492 Views
That's the root of the problem. - 21/07/2010 01:10:56 PM 1277 Views
Question - 18/07/2010 12:02:02 PM 1297 Views
I think it's reasonable - 17/07/2010 12:33:56 AM 1329 Views
I like it, and thanks =) - 23/07/2010 12:43:11 PM 1031 Views
I don't really have a problem paying - I just dislike Paypal. - 03/08/2010 05:53:14 PM 1405 Views

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