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13 hours ago, Sarge said:

It can't possibly cost 25k a year to host a forum.

Can it?

$25 per sounds high but it does cost several thousand for hosting and software, plus it's good to have some buffer to hire expert help when the hackers attack or upgrades are needed.

Also not everybody is going to contribute so adding up helps cover the freeloaders. 

If he charged for classifieds and ran ads he'd be earning $25k off this site, and given the time involved it'd be worth it... We're getting quite a bargain.

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9 hours ago, Frankly said:

$25 per sounds high but it does cost several thousand for hosting and software, plus it's good to have some buffer to hire expert help when the hackers attack or upgrades are needed.

Also not everybody is going to contribute so adding up helps cover the freeloaders. 

If he charged for classifieds and ran ads he'd be earning $25k off this site, and given the time involved it'd be worth it... We're getting quite a bargain.

Currently there are almost 60,000 members of this forum. Charging $1 to join and $1 renewal every year would be very lucrative for Brian and a great deal for us. Also could be a much better forum, like maybe still not going down or locking up occasionally.

 But that probably won't work either because the forums are so heavily moderated. Even a dollar would be too much for some once they realize they can't truly speak their mind here. Then again if half the membership dropped out we could still afford to run an impressive forum.

Also, vendors already pay a fee to be a forum dealer so there is really no telling how much needs to be generated by members. But I am certain it's not $25 a head multiplied by 60,000.

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Just like everything else in life the few get saddled with the bulk of the burden for the masses. This forum is no different. 

I have seen other forums switch to a membership/fee structure and it usually leads to a dramatic drop in attendance. 

The only way I have seen it work is to charge a minimal membership fee to enable people to sell/trade things on the forum. But this is also not 100% effective because it just drives the sales transactions from the threads to PM's where it can't be moderated. 

Doing this would eliminate the new member post count bumping issue that currently exists for people who don't contribute viable content. It's annoying to see this happen on a regular basis by people who only want to sell stuff and flood the threads with wasteful posts just to get their post count above 50.

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Chalee, it annoys us mods as well. We try to stay on top of it, but we miss some here and there. And, while we're on the subject of classifieds, I would like to point out this part of the classifieds forum rules for everyone.

Members using the Classifieds on an ongoing basis are expected to contribute to the core mission of Brian’s Forums – the discussion of shooting. If, in the Moderators opinion, the majority of a member's posts are in the Classifieds Forum or do not advance shooting discussions in a meaningful way, classified privileges will be revoked. In short, if you're here just to sell a lot of stuff, you must either contribute to the forum's discussions or contact Brian about a Dealer Forum. This is equally true for members with Classified status (50+ posts).

Members who get their 50 posts and then stop posting almost completely in the main forum, but continue nonstop buying and selling in the classifieds is a bigger issue than post count bumping. The classfieds section is on the forum for members to "occasionally" sell their no longer needed or unused items...Not for members to use as their personal flea market without otherwise contributing to the forum.

GrumpyOne

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2 minutes ago, GrumpyOne said:

Chalee, it annoys us mods as well. We try to stay on top of it, but we miss some here and there. And, while we're on the subject of classifieds, I would like to point out this part of the classifieds forum rules for everyone.

Members using the Classifieds on an ongoing basis are expected to contribute to the core mission of Brian’s Forums – the discussion of shooting. If, in the Moderators opinion, the majority of a member's posts are in the Classifieds Forum or do not advance shooting discussions in a meaningful way, classified privileges will be revoked. In short, if you're here just to sell a lot of stuff, you must either contribute to the forum's discussions or contact Brian about a Dealer Forum. This is equally true for members with Classified status (50+ posts).

Members who get their 50 posts and then stop posting almost completely in the main forum, but continue nonstop buying and selling in the classifieds is a bigger issue than post count bumping. The classfieds section is on the forum for members to "occasionally" sell their no longer needed or unused items...Not for members to use as their personal flea market without otherwise contributing to the forum.

GrumpyOne

As a mod you guys will notice that more than most. I practically live here and didn't. I think this is good evidence maybe we need to establish a fee for classified privileges? 

 

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1 hour ago, CHA-LEE said:

Just like everything else in life the few get saddled with the bulk of the burden for the masses. This forum is no different. 

SO TRUE!

I have seen other forums switch to a membership/fee structure and it usually leads to a dramatic drop in attendance. 

BUT IN REALITY, HOW MANY OF THE NEARLY 60K MEMBERS POST EVEN OCCASIONALLY? I THINK THE CORE GROUP OF REGULARS IS VERY VERY SMALL. IT SHOULDNT HURT US FOR THE MEMBESHIP TO DROP TO A TENTH OF WHAT IT IS.

Doing this would eliminate the new member post count bumping issue that currently exists for people who don't contribute viable content. It's annoying to see this happen on a regular basis by people who only want to sell stuff and flood the threads with wasteful posts just to get their post count above 50.

AGREED!

Nice insight as usual from a regular active member!! :)

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17 minutes ago, Sarge said:

As a mod you guys will notice that more than most. I practically live here and didn't. I think this is good evidence maybe we need to establish a fee for classified privileges? 

 

The classifiieds forum exist for the main forum, the main forum does not exist for the classifieds. This is a forum dedicated to the shooting sports, not a flea market. If a fee were placed on members for their use of the classifieds, it would be flooded with people selling their wares without any contribution at all to the main forum.

There already is a fee to use the classifieds, 50 meaningful posts, and continued meaningful contribution to the forum.

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1 minute ago, GrumpyOne said:

The classifiieds forum exist for the main forum, the main forum does not exist for the classifieds. This is a forum dedicated to the shooting sports, not a flea market. If a fee were placed on members for their use of the classifieds, it would be flooded with people selling their wares without any contribution at all to the main forum.

Maybe raise the post count requirement to 150 and have me moderate it! I'll catch it.

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Call me crazy BUT....

 

It seems like the "vendors" listed above the classifieds should be able to pick up the tab easily. I propped up the site for a month... the vendors should be charged a month of hosting to be "vendors." Yeah some would drop but it would only take 12 to float the site per year. They have a good resource to plug their companies and products for their target market, seems like they are not even trying. 

Edited by 3gunDQ
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Perhaps limit people to one transaction per week or something similar. Or suggest a 1-3% of the value contribution. Or something other than requiring 50-odd worthless posts.

When you are a newbie and you need to buy and sell gear yet don't have much knowledge to actually contribute... then the 50-post limit is a deterrent to growing the sport. Think about when you started? Did you have anything good to contribute? Yet when you are starting out you're more likely in need of good gear then an established shooter. 

If you don't own a good gun, or belt, or other gear then it's hard to participate... so encouraging transactions is a good way to bring new blood in. 

Just an observation, while I came to this forum out of an interest in 3-gun, now it's got me interested in USPSA and other flavors of shooting. While I haven't tried all the other shooting forums, my general impression is that the people here are generally shooting at a higher level than the other forums and there is a lot less BS and political grandstanding, which is why it's my first choice to actually learn and improve. I don't see much broken here compared to other communities and if it ain't broke... What I have seen is where forum leaders try to do social engineering and moderate too much or too little and the forum dies with a year or two. 

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15 hours ago, GrumpyOne said:

Anyway, this has gotten far enough off topic...How about getting those donations in now?!

honestly can't believe there has only been $415 donated. Shooters are some penny pinching folks but I figured the Enos faithful would step up!?!? Where are they at? I sent mine in yesterday, I don't PayPal, so that number should grow pretty good Wednesday. It cost a pretty good penny to keep this place going and if Brian has been forking out all this money to keep us going he deserves a really big Thank you from all of us.  Thank you Brian! 

If you read this give some money to the site. Brian needs help paying for this place and it is not cheap or fair for him to shoulder it all.

 

make me a mod :) just kidding 

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This is the top left of the home page. Click on DONATE ..

Brian Enos's Forums... Maku mozo!

 

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