Forum Changes - Supporting Contributions

9162 Views 53 Replies 23 Participants Last post by Matt Hooper, Apr 3, 2017

Steve (Admin)

Discussion Starter · Mar 30, 2017

Further to our recent discussion here is the intended plan which hinges on regulars joining the 'supporting members' usergroup. I can then set custom privileges to this usergroup e.g. classifieds posting, no adblock detection etc...( I have already done most of this). I hope you can get onboard with this and we can put TLF on a good footing.

To summarise;

1. I have updated the upgrade page with 2 options for 'Supporting members' so you may pay monthly or yearly (with a slight discount) to support TLF. To upgrade please look in the top menu for 'Support us' or use this link http://www.thelureforum.com/account/upgrades

2. Only supporting members will have the ability to post in the classified section. I will abolish the current scheme for voluntary payment upon sales, so you will never pay separately to list or sell. New users will not have to do 'x' number of posts before they are allowed to sell (assuming they have upgraded their account).

3. I will reactivate the adblock detector in a weeks time. I have set it up so it will not activate at all for 'Supporting members'. You will not know it exists if you upgrade.

I've tried to keep this simple and sensible. If you have any questions please go ahead.

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41 - 54 of 54 Posts

Martin Vowles

· #41 · Apr 1, 2017

The thing is Mike, this all needs paying for at the end of the day. Keeping a forum online isn't free and if the forum is to remain closed to the general unwashed the time has come for some gentle financial support from those of us who use and enjoy the site.
Yes it was started with the best intentions but there was commercial backing then. We don't have that now so something must give.
The money goes into the running costs of the site.

Michael Stevens

· #42 · Apr 1, 2017

The people who set it up for free, did build it up........and then sold it, either to make money(unlikely), or because it wasn't financially sustainable for them on the free/no ads basis that existed then. If it had been sustainable, they might still be running it, but we have to be realistic. if we want it to run largely as it has up to now, then it needs £ input. £20/£24 a year is one lost high end HP. Yes the profit will go to Steve, but it doesn't take much thinking through to see no one is going to get rich here.

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Peter Turner

· #43 · Apr 1, 2017

Shaun Rowley said:
A few ideas have been bounced about and a few opinions aired.
But to keep this forum semi closed it needs funding
So how are we going to do this?

Options I can think of :
1 - pay £2 a month to loose the adverts
2 - pay £2 a month no adverts and free classifieds
3 - open it up to the great unwashed
4 - pay a membership fee and have a member's only forum
5 - an annual bumble (admission fee to go towards forum)
6 - team Bass comp (admission fee to go towards forum)

So what have I forgotten?

Do you know what? I have paid the yearly subscription and after reading through this thread I have no idea EXACTLY what I have paid for. Maybe points 1,2 & 4 you mention in your post but I am not entirely sure. I just supposed that there was a strong possibility that the forum might close due to lack of funding. A yearly fee of £24 to help secure it's future seemed relatively cheap. I aren't remotely interested in meets, bumbles or fish in's. I have always preferred to fish alone or with just one companion. I can take or leave catch reports, unless they contain some well written words to enhance them. To me, a picture of a fish is just another picture of a fish, the internet is awash with them. I doubt that I will use the classifieds. Definitely won't participate in the competitions, I don't see fishing as a competitive pastime. Sure, I like to catch and do my upmost to do so but that's where it ends.
What I am sure of is that this forum is generally one of the friendliest that I have participated in. Sure, there are disagreements from time to time but it's perfectly possible to exchange points of view without the bad manners and aggressiveness exhibited on other forums and Facebook. Not hiding behind aliases is a big part of that in my opinion. The quality of the post's themselves are generally of a high standard, certainly not the "my rod's bigger than yours..p.m.s.l." type of drivel commonly found online, particularly so on one of the largest sea fishing forums I also frequent. Coming here is equivalent to a breath of fresh air.
As I have mentioned previously, the lack of aggressive marketing of fishing tackle is also welcome. Most of the sponsored anglers have started their own blogs, Facebook pages etc and left here. Good riddance as far as I am concerned. Why is it beyond them to write about anything lure fishing related without name checking every damn thing?
I don't know wether this forum will end up being exclusive to paying members, my heart hopes that it will, my head tells me that not enough people will go with this to make it a viable option. Whatever the future of the forum, I don't mind a small contribution to ensure it's survival, in whatever form.

Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk

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Martin Vowles

· #44 · Apr 1, 2017

Peter Turner said:
Do you know what? I have paid the yearly subscription and after reading through this thread I have no idea EXACTLY what I have paid for. Maybe points 1,2 & 4 you mention in your post but I am not entirely sure. I just supposed that there was a strong possibility that the forum might close due to lack of funding. A yearly fee of £24 to help secure it's future seemed relatively cheap. I aren't remotely interested in meets, bumbles or fish in's. I have always preferred to fish alone or with just one companion. I can take or leave catch reports, unless they contain some well written words to enhance them. To me, a picture of a fish is just another picture of a fish, the internet is awash with them. I doubt that I will use the classifieds. Definitely won't participate in the competitions, I don't see fishing as a competitive pastime. Sure, I like to catch and do my upmost to do so but that's where it ends.
What I am sure of is that this forum is generally one of the friendliest that I have participated in. Sure, there are disagreements from time to time but it's perfectly possible to exchange points of view without the bad manners and aggressiveness exhibited on other forums and Facebook. Not hiding behind aliases is a big part of that in my opinion. The quality of the post's themselves are generally of a high standard, certainly not the "my rod's bigger than yours..p.m.s.l." type of drivel commonly found online, particularly so on one of the largest sea fishing forums I also frequent. Coming here is equivalent to a breath of fresh air.
As I have mentioned previously, the lack of aggressive marketing of fishing tackle is also welcome. Most of the sponsored anglers have started their own blogs, Facebook pages etc and left here. Good riddance as far as I am concerned. Why is it beyond them to write about anything lure fishing related without name checking every damn thing?
I don't know wether this forum will end up being exclusive to paying members, my heart hopes that it will, my head tells me that not enough people will go with this to make it a viable option. Whatever the future of the forum, I don't mind a small contribution to ensure it's survival, in whatever form.

Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk

Very valid points Pete, and very eloquently expressed.

Graham

· #45 · Apr 2, 2017

Good points Danny! You can download forum software 'free' and get 'free' hosting too but that's the easy bit. The hard part is getting member numbers up and regular content. Once you're up and running and exceed your 'free' limits, it isn't free anymore and if you didn't bother to read the software license before clicking 'agree' you could be in for a shock.

Should contributors be paid for their content? I've been paid back a thousand times for my content. Valuable advice willingly given by friendly members not hiding being pseudo names who enjoy sharing their knowledge and I've made two good friends who I'm meeting later today for a session, priceless!

Most of the tackle advertising on TLF is done by the members themselves in catch reports and the tackle forums. I've bought loads of tackle because its been recommended on here. I wonder how many pairs of boots Orvis will sell as a result of Bill's review yesterday? I'll wager Bill wont be sending Orvis and invoice for his commission...or will he?

For me its all about give and take. If you get something out of being a member of TLF what harm is there in giving something back to help keep it running?

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Mike Killick

· #46 · Apr 2, 2017

As Graham says if you get something out of the forum why not give something back.
Is £2 per month rearly going to break the bank?
What do you get for £2 these days?
Half a pint
One lottery ticket
2 spins on a fruit machine
Or access to a forum with masses of information built up during the years since it's been operating, with a membership of like minded folk who I'm sure would miss it if gone.

I don't post that often but try to do my bit if I catch or can give any revalent advice( I'm sure there are much more competent anglers on TLF than me).
I also like to participate in the bass team comp as it keeps me motivated throughout the year and is also usefull for a fishing excuse.

Since joining over 4 years ago I have learnt more than I thought was possible and probably spent more lol, even if it had cost £2 pm I feel like I would have got my money's worth.

Reactions: 3

Where's Wally

· #47 · Apr 2, 2017

I think you mean sycophantic!
I've had the pleasure today to fish with my son and two members from here, Paul and Graham. They are not only good anglers, but also the very finest human beings I've had the delight to meet. This speaks volumes for the forum and its members!!!

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Where's Wally

· #48 · Apr 2, 2017

Nope, I'm happy to pay my fair share. Also I have a few ideas that I will be putting to Steve to help things.
Cheers.

Reactions: 2

Matt Hooper

· #49 · Apr 2, 2017

David Barnes said:
I think you mean sycophantic!
I've had the pleasure today to fish with my son and two members from here, Paul and Graham. They are not only good anglers, but also the very finest human beings I've had the delight to meet. This speaks volumes for the forum and its members!!!

Great post david, I think that everyone needs to be supporting right now.
Steve has said that the money pays for adblocker removal and free classifieds. Thats it.
Its not some corporate conspiracy...not for the amount of money to be made, and even if it was its not a lot.

Reactions: 2

Martin Vowles

· #50 · Apr 2, 2017

gary ramsgate said:
Can somebody please tell me why Steve is running this forum if not to make a profit?

To second what Matt said above, there's no corporate conspiracy here, the hosting and running of the site costs money, there's no real income coming from this site. Steve has kept it closed from google and the outside world at our request, if we want it to carry on that way we need to contribute to the running costs. Some but not a large amount of us have so far signed up to help the forum for just £2 per month, that's probably not going to even pay all the expenses to run the site. Nobody is getting rich off this. Mick used to pick up traffic to his shop and i'm sure the tackle he sold off the back of that helped finance things a little. This is a tiny business model but it's a good one and we need to support it. There's some great guys on here and a wealth of information and while we're arguing with each other it's getting closer to disappearing for good.

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Martin Vowles

· #51 · Apr 2, 2017

gary ramsgate said:
To actively administer and moderate posts on a fishing forum surely there has to be some understanding of the issues, unless somebody is doing it proxy!

We do have moderators, and yes Steve doesn't often get involved with that. I personally don't think you need to understand the subject matter to tell if someone is being a dick or not, we just tell people they're stepping out of line and usually that's that. There's hardly any moderating on this site because it doesn't need it, that's surely the beauty of this place. If we opened it up, used pseudonyms, made it a proper commercial venture then things would undoubtably be different.

Reactions: 3

Simon Clapham

· #52 · Apr 3, 2017

At least something is keeping this forum alive

I doubt Steve sits besides his pc all day/night.......so we could ease up a little on him maybe?
Is Steve the only mod we have here now?

I've been on this forum since the very start - it was a tremendous place to visit and the craic was mighty, but things move on and people get different ideas and views.......they come and go.
Some people thump the post count; others like to read and rarely post(for whatever reason) - it's the difference that makes places interesting. We shouldn't hammer the lurkers; but encourage discussion.

Running a venture at a loss means no future; maybe a brief breakdown of the ongoing costs would ease peoples pain at the contribution amounts? I currently do not 'support' this forum and have no real reason for not my doing so. I do contribute to a couple of other (members only) forums......and get little return from them, apart from what goes on in the background (B.A.S.S) and some open and honest information which is available to read/download and posted by other members. I'll post when I have something to say or add to.........to be honest, there is only so many times you can read catch reports; I fought through the huge waves, cast 1000m along the reef edge, saw a huge boil and my rod hooped right over, 2hrs later I was exhausted and had my 50cm bass in the net.....here's my grip and grin!

I guess the ad's were annoying, if you were on here 24/7; but revenue needs to come from somewhere........I don't get ad's on the other forums; but partly pay for this privilage. Open and honest moderating will help toward a good vibe - you'll always get groups/clicks within forums......but thats what the 'ignore' button is for

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Matt Hooper

· #53 · Apr 3, 2017

The thing is the money is paying to turn off the adblocker detection tool & allows people to sell in classifieds for free.
So if a member does not turn on their adblocker app they will have no change and also if they had no need to buy or sell then there would also be no change.
The deleted posts potentially contradicted Admin steves opening contract....we are paying for services.
The classified service was by all accounts being abused ie people not paying.

Reactions: 3

Matt Hooper

· #54 · Apr 3, 2017

Also this is the only forum that has taught and inspired me to fish...more so than facebook!

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