Forums that charge for access - would you pay?

puddleduck

puddleduck

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Andy Drake
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I notice that Nikonians - where I have been a member for years, are starting to charge for access, and will be deleting unpaid accounts from Febuary 9th.

Just wondered what folks stance was on this - I tend to be a forum "giver" ie I tend to answer and give help, rather than request it myself so I'm a bit miffed that essentially I wil no longer be able to post or read there, especially to answer questions which could - in all honesty - be answered by Google anyhow!

Is anyone else a paid member of a forum? Do you feel that - if you essentially provide free content as a user - you should be charged for the privilidge?
 
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I would never pay for membership to a forum - how elite do they think they are to start charging for membership? That would really annoy me.
 
that means more people will come here :) TP dont charge and are the best forum anyway :D
 
It's certainly the best and busiest photo forum that I've come across!
 
Good members make a good forum, so people not paying means less users, which ultimately to my mind means a lower standard of forum. I wouldn't pay. I don't mind making a donation, but paying subs? They can go **** 'emselves.
 
the only downside is we will be swamped with nikon users :O quick MAN THE WALLS! they shalt not pass!
 
:bat: Bring 'em on.
 
I wouldn't pay.. I try to contribute in my own way.. If I get flushed i might hit the donate button . or if i stop contributing and just take then i might be more inclined to hit donate... more inclined if its my choice....

But at the end of the day forums should be free and the argument that they need paying for..well yes they do and thats up to the creator to figure out when he started it.. just like i figured out cameras and lenses would cost money when i started my hobby :)
 
im a member there as well Andy ,,,the account wont be deleted right away ,,,,it will be kept for a certain time in case you want to pay at a later date . i was unsure , but i think i will pay , i spose it costs money for servers etc , and for £20 i can live with it .
dont know where you are in the country ,but are you coming to the ( nikonians ) london meet sat the 24 th ???

Andy...
 
Amythyst said:
I would never pay for membership to a forum - how elite do they think they are to start charging for membership? That would really annoy me.
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It's not about elitism, all forums cost money to run. Some are funded by donations (like TP), some are funded through advertising and some through subscription.
 
fabs said:
It's not about elitism, all forums cost money to run. Some are funded by donations (like TP), some are funded through advertising and some through subscription.
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Furry nuff, but surely subs are the least preferable option? A motoring forum I use is funded by advertising and donations. The site isn't swamped with banners, nor do you get pop-ups.
 
ChrisMClark said:
Furry nuff, but surely subs are the least preferable option? A motoring forum I use is funded by advertising and donations. The site isn't swamped with banners, nor do you get pop-ups.
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It's each to there own I suppose. For some it's probably the easiest option if they're not confident of enough in donations or don't want the hassle of selling advertising space.
 
donutagain said:
im a member there as well Andy ,,,the account wont be deleted right away ,,,,it will be kept for a certain time in case you want to pay at a later date . i was unsure , but i think i will pay , i spose it costs money for servers etc , and for £20 i can live with it .
dont know where you are in the country ,but are you coming to the ( nikonians ) london meet sat the 24 th ???

Andy...
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No, I'm not much of a "meeter" and I'm usually out shooting weekends.

I visit a lot of forums (same username everywhere) so those £20's would add up if I had to pay to post.

But actually for me - its not the money, its the principle really!
 
I am not a Nikonians member any more since they started to charge.

The only forum I pay a subscription to is APUG. It's not compulsary, it just lets you have a gallery and post classifieds. You can still take part in the forums by being a non subscribing member.

The amount of shared knowledge made me think it was worth it.


Steve.
 
yeah i agree it should be volentary... because people like me couldnt pay as have no job and only dole money...
 
I certainly wouldn't pay for access, that would totally turn me away as a first visitor and would certainly annoy me as a current member.
 
Not a chance and I think Nikonians will be worse off for it....maybe not initially, but come on - who would shell out money when there are forums that are the quality of this place about?
 
KIPAX said:
But at the end of the day forums should be free and the argument that they need paying for..well yes they do and thats up to the creator to figure out when he started it.. just like i figured out cameras and lenses would cost money when i started my hobby :)
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It's not that simple really KIPAX, as things do end up evolving and growing. I bet when you started out in photography you never thought you'd end up paying out as much money as you have...? Well it's the same with forums.

There are many hidden costs associated with running forums, depending on subject matter and the audience of course, but I can assure you it costs more than any amount of voluntary donations received.
 
I’m not familiar with the site you mentioned but I guess it depends on why they are charging?
Someone has to pay for the hosting etc and these days if your site doesn’t have the extra bells and whistles it’s not going to get a lot of users.
So it does and can cost, most sites will try and gain a little sponsorship to pay for the running but if you have to many adverts popping up here and there that will put people off too.
It’s a difficult one, but for me the answer is there are plenty of web sites out there and if one is not working for you do a search and try another.
 
i was a member on there but at the free level, don't really go on there much but recieved an e-mail today as it happens telling me that because i was on the basic ( free) level that i had had enough time to explore the forums and that my account had been deactivated, However they would reactivate it if i up-graded my membership to a fee paying one ($25).

Not even any warning that they were going to do it. I have to say i am not really bothered anyway as i don't go on there since finding this place as it ROCKS:banana:
 
This where activities like the raffle come into play, that and donations are a good way of saying "thanks" to the TP management :)
 
i got the email today too, to say i was shocked is an understatement, i have since deleted my nikonians bookmarks
 
out of my dole i have to pay 30 pounds a week, thats 60 pounds a fortnight, 30 pounds for my phone contract once a month thats 90. the rest i use on bus fare to job centre and on prescriptions for medicine, seing as i take 7 types of pills a day, (18 tablets in all a day)
 
Ashers said:
out of my dole i have to pay 30 pounds a week, thats 60 pounds a fortnight, 30 pounds for my phone contract once a month thats 90. the rest i use on bus fare to job centre and on prescriptions for medicine, seing as i take 7 types of pills a day, (18 tablets in all a day)
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£30 a month for a mobile phone and you're on the dole?? :cuckoo:

Anyway, don't you get free prescriptions if you're unemployed.......:suspect:
 
I think that if I enjoyed using the forum, I would pay a reasonable amount. I also am a member of Nikonians - but never really hung around too much. I am also a member of nikoncafe and enjoyed being there until they suspended the for sale forum. I had no idea the for sale part was so important to me.

There is a value to everything. Some people buy Sky TV, some pay to stay in a forum they enjoy.

Chris
 
oh i had problems with 3 and threats to take me to court etc.

and mine is t mobile, 170 pounds to use every month however i want
 
I'm a member there ,but don't go much, shan't pay.

If shove came to push I would pay to come here.
I was a member of another forum where I Really enjoyed going to,and they said it needed to start getting some dosh in as all the gear they had was breaking down.

I was ready to pay a small fee and everyone else was .

The only sticking point for me was it was a USA site and the owner wanted direct debit payments,
A good few of us offered to pay with Paypal ,but he came up with some excuse and said D D was the only way.

Well I left as no bu##er is getting my bank details for a online
site......:shake:

Just out of interest though, I would really like to know the percentage of people on here who do donate ,and if it is anywhere near enough to help.

:shrug:
 
towershot said:
Just out of interest though, I would really like to know the percentage of people on here who do donate ,and if it is anywhere near enough to help.

:shrug:
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I am sure you mean those who donate here on talk photography, which of course I can't comment on - but on my forum which is a similar size, I get many kind members voluntarily donating but for my site at least, it's nowhere near the costs of running a large forum. There are lots of things that go on behind the scenes on many of the larger forums; most are very time consuming, most are kept out of public eye, but some cost money... lots of money.

I really do wonder on times why I have kept my site going given some of the hassle I and my excellent team of voluntary mods go through. I am sure it is similar here.
 
Straight pay for access - NO WAY. That seems like a recipie for disaster IMO.

However, I have paid a forum for "gold" access but for that get special deals and no advertising. I was happy to pay for that as the benefits were worth many times what they were asking, free software, discounts with related suppliers etc.
 
It's an odd strategy to use, but charging to access a forum can work, I guess :shrug:

Personally, I wouldn't be happy to be pushed into paying even though it's a really good forum which I don't visit :p
 
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