Your input is requested!

[Paul]

I think the forum is great but agree that charging a membership may put some people off. Supplier banners is a good idea. How about some overseas suppliers?

I know that I have certainly shown interest in other suppliers sites and products. I know that the postage can be a problem with them but you never know - if it helps them gain some more customers then they may be a little nicer with their overseas pricing (probably talking rubbish here but ahh well). This could also help with more people joining the forum as overseas suppliers could inform their customers of it.


Sorry if i am talking c**p but you did ask for feedback.

Keep up the good work guys - paying for membership or not I am here to stay!!!

I think this is good idea. this forum is in Uk but is for ALL PEOPLE! as sublimation in every country is this same.

I agree with liitle add on top.


donation button is grat idea. well done John!

[John G]

Hi All,
Well I must be in the minority as I think charging for certain levels of memership is a good idea. Website forums like this don't run themselves for nothing - the free ones are generally good at the start but don't last long as they are labour intensive and soon the love gets lost a little. I'm not saying to charge on basic membership, as we need as much traffic as possible, but certain levels, tutorials, special offers, file swapping threads, pm'ing and members info/websites should be limited to paying members only. Look how many members are registered then look how many have actually shown there websites. Alot of folk could come on here and get ideas for free, stealing the hard work someone has put in to generate a new product. I think thats why only a few have bothered to show their www. and paid membership would sort this problem out.

As for knowing where the money goes to - I think that's a no brainer. This forum should be run like a business, your customers don't ask where the money goes to when they buy a t'shirt/mug etc do they.

Regarding advertising on the forum: I hate it with a vengance unless its related to the actual forum and subli printing itself. A better way would be to charge all the sublimation suppliers, that you have listed, for advertising their websites and services. Give them a small space on the index page to advertise their products, or monthly special offers, and a link to there site. I'm sure that they'd be interested in backing this forum with a little bit of revenue - afterall, we all buy subli materials, ink etc so where better to advertise.

Not struck on the donation button - asking for a donation is asking for trouble. You might get a few quid - you might get a few hundred or thousand quid but to keep this website running, and not only surviving but making it profitable, you need to know exactly how much money to generate. What happens in 10 years time - you might have different ideas on life, your family, or even your business which would make running this forum a chore rather than a pleasure.

Cheers John

[Paul]

As for knowing where the money goes to - I think that's a no brainer. This forum should be run like a business, your customers don't ask where the money goes to when they buy a t'shirt/mug etc do they.

Cheers John

sorry John I can not agree with that. do you know why we all in here? becose last "subli forum admin" decided to run forum for busines. and we did not like it. as lot of us post somethink like 1000 posts so someone can make money on "OUR" knolage! not his. on us!
I hope this make sens.


Paul

[JSR]

As for knowing where the money goes to - I think that's a no brainer. This forum should be run like a business, your customers don't ask where the money goes to when they buy a t'shirt/mug etc do they.... not only surviving but making it profitable,

I'm not sure I'd like the idea of the forum being run as a business and for a profit. As soon as that happens, we stop being members and become customers.

I didn't join this forum to be a customer, I joined to be a member and to help out my fellow members whenever I can. If the forum turns into a for-profits business, I'm out of here.

If someone's making money out of the forum, then you start on the slippery slope of members saying "I'm not going to help you solve that problem unless you pay me." And you could see why that would happen. Solutions and answers from experienced members will suddenly become a commodity of which only the forum owner is making profits from. Why should people give their time and resources freely if someone's making money off their good intentions?

What happens in 10 years time - you might have different ideas on life, your family, or even your business which would make running this forum a chore rather than a pleasure.

At the moment, Justin and the mods run this forum because they'd originally offered to take over the PPP forum when it was dying, but they got the cold shoulder treatment. If it stopped being fun in a few years time, then I'm sure there'd be someone from the "current generation" at the time who'd be willing to take it over. If it's not a business, it'll be easy to hand it over to someone else if that time comes. If it becomes a business then you end up having someone running the site who does it only for the money. When the pleasure goes out of it, they'd hang on to the forum for as long as the money keeps coming in, but would do nothing to help the forum or its members.

When the bottom line is money, creativity and enthusiasm dies at the hands of the accountant. For, if the forum makes x% profit but, by putting it on the cheapest slowest lousiest server in existence it could make three times the profit, then that's what the business sense would have the moneymaker doing. We'd all still be paying the same money, but we'd get a reduced service for the privilege.

When it all becomes about money, how soon before "more money could be made by selling everyone's email address"..?

In short, if this becomes a profit-making business, you won't see me for dust.

This is all just my two-penneth, of course. I'm probably in the minority with this opinion. 8)

[JSR]

As for knowing where the money goes to - I think that's a no brainer. This forum should be run like a business, your customers don't ask where the money goes to when they buy a t'shirt/mug etc do they.

Cheers John

sorry John I can not agree with that. do you know why we all in here? becose last "subli forum admin" decided to run forum for busines. and we did not like it. as lot of us post somethink like 1000 posts so someone can make money on "OUR" knolage! not his. on us!
I hope this make sens.

Paul

I couldn't have put it better myself.

What put me off "the previous forum" was the lack of transparency. It seemed like we never knew what was going on. And now the site's been gone for weeks.

[Paul]

[quote="JSRThis is all just my two-penneth, of course. I'm probably in the minority with this opinion. 8)[/quote]

I dont think so mate


I would agree with little site linked to forum with times guides and some user templates for small fee. but I mean small fee. i dont know.. maybe £1 for a year??

we should not run this forum for profit!
we can get some suppliers have links on this site so instad for money they can pay for forum bandwith etc... i dont know... let us know what you think...

[JSR]

This is all just my two-penneth, of course. I'm probably in the minority with this opinion. 8)

I dont think so mate


I would agree with little site linked to forum with times guides and some user templates for small fee. but I mean small fee. i dont know.. maybe £1 for a year??

we should not run this forum for profit!
we can get some suppliers have links on this site so instad for money they can pay for forum bandwith etc... i dont know... let us know what you think...

Yes, thinking about it some more, if someone signs up and pays their money to a business-oriented forum then they'd expect something in return. They'd post a question and, if an answer isn't forthcoming immediately, they'd say "hey, I've paid my dues, you're raking in the profit, why won't you answer my question?" They'd make demands and possibly sue those they've paid money to for not solving their problem.

It's not a support forum or a business platform, it's just a bunch of likeminded people who are willing to share their experiences with others. It's one thing for everyone to dip into their pockets and pay a quid or two in order to ensure that Justin isn't out-of-pocket, but it's quite another for everyone to be the butt-end of a cash-cow.

[Paul]

100% agree with you JSR!

[John G]

thought that might stir things up a little. That's what's great about forums, everyones got there own opinions - and are entitled to them too.

Running the forum non profit - In my opinion it just doesn't work. Like I said a few years down the line priorities change and the forum runs to a stop. Other like minded people, from the forum, take it on and think they can run it better but soon find out what they've let themselves in for - then someone else takes it on and it continues to get run down to the ground. A paid for forum makes it worthwhile for the people that run it/moderate it - it also keeps them fresh and creative and make the forum evolve.

Why would people sue if they didn't get the right answers after paying to be members its a forum for likeminded people not a paid for answering service. You get this kind of info with your inks and subli supplies - that you pay for.

A small donation of £1 wouldn't even pay for the hosting never mind the upgrades in software/hardware over the years and the running costs involved with keeping a successful forum up on the internet.

Cheers John

[Paul]

A small donation of £1 wouldn't even pay for the hosting never mind the upgrades in software/hardware over the years and the running costs involved with keeping a successful forum up on the internet.

Cheers John

so if £1 wont be enough for 74 members forum we can place donation buttom on the bottom so you can chuck extra £100 and others can too


regards

Paul