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#Post#: 1326--------------------------------------------------
Re: IMPORTANT INFORMATION--Ads, censored words, etc
By: Gellchom Date: May 16, 2018, 10:24 pm
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I don't know how we will end up paying the costs, and I don't
feel strongly about any of the suggestions, but I will say that
I cannot believe that there will be a consensus for any system
in which some people can pay for extra privileges. So I
wouldn't worry about that.
Like someone else who posted, I will say that I am not bothered
by the ads that currently show up on ehell. I had to go back
and look to see if there are any at all. All I get are one at
the top and one at the bottom, and they don't flash or make
noise or pop up or anything. Is that a problem in any way that
anyone knows of? It's certainly less noticeable, let alone
annoying, than on most sites.
#Post#: 1343--------------------------------------------------
Re: IMPORTANT INFORMATION--Ads, censored words, etc
By: Judecat Date: May 16, 2018, 10:58 pm
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I am totally unwilling to turn off my ad blocker, due to the
amount of malware I have picked up from Ads -- starting in the
old days of MSN groups I'm not sure if the word "Hacked" is
really the correct word, but it seems like ads are easy to hack
and have malware added, which can harm your computer whether
you click on them or not. I can't afford malware on this
computer since I've just retired this will probably be the last
computer I will ever have. So if I have to turn my ad blocker
off in order to generate enough ad revenue for a site to stay
open, then I guess I'd better get ready for the site to close,
sooner rather than later.
On the other hand, I will donate when I can, usually a couple
dollars a month for the site to ad-free. It's worth it to me.
I can't afford to pay the whole cost of ad-free for the whole
forum, but I can pay a share of it.
Another forum where I am a member, the moderator asks for
donations to keep us ad-free. She usually puts up the please
donate thread 3 months before the yearly fee is due, and as
soon as she gets enough she will turn off donations, with a
thank you to the unnamed donors. No naming of the donors, nor
shaming of others who cannot donate. And since most of the
members of the forum are retired or disabled, or others without
large disposable incomes, no one is donating large sums of
money. We who do donate are not expecting special privileges
for the huge donation of a dollar or two a year, and we don't
really care if Susy or Joan or whoever didn't.
I also don't consider my donation to be buying into the
ownership, any more than I consider my small donation to Public
Television buying ownership. It's just a donation to keep
something I enjoy running.
#Post#: 1346--------------------------------------------------
Re: IMPORTANT INFORMATION--Ads, censored words, etc
By: guest75 Date: May 16, 2018, 11:10 pm
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[quote author=Once a Lurker link=topic=122.msg1176#msg1176
date=1526502050]
[quote author=Hmmm link=topic=122.msg1170#msg1170
date=1526500636]
[quote author=Once a Lurker link=topic=122.msg1143#msg1143
date=1526495991]
Oh I thought of something else. How much would everyone pay? Do
regular users like me pay the same amount as the administrator
and mods? Does equal pay mean equal say when it comes to
moderation and how the forum is run? Do banned users get
refunds?
[/quote]
I would actually think that the moderators shouldn't have to pay
anything because they are giving up so much personal time to act
as moderators. I'm not aware of any forums where all members
have equal say. I think of that as the responsibility of the
moderators.
And I would say no, banned users wouldn't get a refund. If I get
kicked out of a movie theater or a theme park because I violated
the rules of the park or theater, I'm not given a refund.
Hopefully, the $1 a year investment lost wouldn't be too much of
a concern for anyone.
But overall, I agree that it would be best to go with a "free"
site for awhile to see how things go.
[/quote]
A movie theater or theme park owns the space and you pay them to
use the space according to their rules. If everyone pays for the
forum then everyone owns the forum and whether it's one dollar
or one thousand you are entitled to get your money back if you
are denied access to something you own. I would hope it wouldn't
come to that but I like to know the fine print before I buy
something.
[/quote]
I might be inclined to contribute a nominal one-time amount to
help this forum get it's legs (say up to $5 for one year) and
then see how things go. For the old forum, I would much rather
see it go down in flames given the last few years than ever pay
to keep it going. Why should I pay for the opportunity to keep
being treated badly by the remaining mods (I realize I haven't
seen any other mods but those two in a long, long time, except
for one mod's brief return in the its-all-over thread)? For
this forum, I have hopes of there being rules and moderation
that make sense. While I recognize the screen names of the mods
here, nothing negative stands out for me regarding any of them,
which is a huge plus, because I certainly remember the screen
names of several posters who would really be bad ideas as mods.
Anyway, I'd also like to add that I LOVE that half the thread
title is in ALL CAPS!!! Already, that's a sign to me of a
better experience to come.
#Post#: 1355--------------------------------------------------
Re: IMPORTANT INFORMATION--Ads, censored words, etc
By: guest18 Date: May 16, 2018, 11:43 pm
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I am very much not interested in a chat room, and would hate to
see that option be added. I think it has too much risk of taking
over the discussions leaving the threads half-finished or
non-existing or (going in the opposite direction) people
dragging in things from the chat room to threads, so you have to
read both to make any kind of sense of a thread. I also think it
might make it more difficult for the mods, if people start
trolling the chat room, but are perfectly polite here.
I'm not sure I'm explaining myself well, I just see so many red
flags with the addition of a chat room and would really, really
like for that not to happen.
If a chat room isn't part of the deal, I'd be fine with making a
small donation to keep the board ad free. Like others I had no
problems with the ads on the other site (possibly because I only
ever saw them on my iPad, and few viruses target tablets - I
always use an ad blocker on my laptop), not having them does
make for a cleaner look... also, I have no idea if the ads are
as unobtrusive here as there.
#Post#: 1422--------------------------------------------------
Re: IMPORTANT INFORMATION--Ads, censored words, etc
By: Bada Date: May 17, 2018, 9:42 am
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[quote author=Once a Lurker link=topic=122.msg1259#msg1259
date=1526516039]
I don't think it's silly to expect, give or receive a refund in
the absence of other circumstances which is after all what we're
discussing. But I've always been very diligent about my money.
[/quote]
The administrative hassle of giving pro-rated refunds looks to
be enormous. And, if a person is given fair warning before being
banned (which is what we're all hoping for here), I don't think
s/he would be deserving of a refund.
I think if your budget is tight enough (or you're scrupulous
enough about where your money goes) that you would want a refund
on a portion of $1, maybe you shouldn't be giving to this forum.
The amount needed overall looks like it will be small and spread
among many. I think it would be better to let the rest of us
pay (if we even go with a paid site).
#Post#: 1426--------------------------------------------------
Re: IMPORTANT INFORMATION--Ads, censored words, etc
By: guest46 Date: May 17, 2018, 9:52 am
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[quote author=Bada link=topic=122.msg1422#msg1422
date=1526568156]
[quote author=Once a Lurker link=topic=122.msg1259#msg1259
date=1526516039]
I don't think it's silly to expect, give or receive a refund in
the absence of other circumstances which is after all what we're
discussing. But I've always been very diligent about my money.
[/quote]
The administrative hassle of giving pro-rated refunds looks to
be enormous. And, if a person is given fair warning before being
banned (which is what we're all hoping for here), I don't think
s/he would be deserving of a refund.
I think if your budget is tight enough (or you're scrupulous
enough about where your money goes) that you would want a refund
on a portion of $1, maybe you shouldn't be giving to this forum.
The amount needed overall looks like it will be small and spread
among many. I think it would be better to let the rest of us
pay (if we even go with a paid site).
[/quote]
Obviously if the forum's small print says there will be no
refunds then I wouldn't expect a refund. I raised the question
because there is no such small print here and I have in fact
received a refund (unasked) that was less than a dollar for a
service I was no longer using. In fact I have received a few
refunds over the years for amounts that were insignificant
compared to the initial payment. Hence my question since in my
experience it is neither outside the realm of possibility nor
"just silly" to question whether a refund is possible.
I have no problem giving depending on the circumstances. We are
still talking about those circumstances. I want to know what
those circumstances are before I decide to give and will
continue to ask relevant questions.
#Post#: 1427--------------------------------------------------
Re: IMPORTANT INFORMATION--Ads, censored words, etc
By: Gellchom Date: May 17, 2018, 9:55 am
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I agree with Bada. I would vastly prefer to pay more than an
equal share then to have to worry about giving refunds for small
amounts. And I have no problem with carrying people who simply
are not able to pay at all or for whom even a dollar is
difficult. My pleasure. And it appears to me that there are
enough of us who feel that way that we should easily be able to
pay for the site without anyone having a huge burden, no matter
what that means to them individually.
If that means also carrying just free riders, so what? I paid
what I’m willing to pay and getting what I wanted to get. They
are not taking anything away from me. Not to mention people who
join the forum after we meet our goal. It just isn’t that big of
a deal. I’m sure I look at other sites where people are
contributing funds. And for that matter, I enjoy the public art
and gardens that I didn’t contribute to as well as the ones that
I did.
It’s not a club. The site won’t exist unless someone pays for
it, and it’s not fair to expect LadyX to pay it all, so those of
us who can donate will, but it won’t be restricted to or
different for those who do not, and I think there should not be
refunds of donations, either. A donation is not a purchase or a
dues payment.
#Post#: 1428--------------------------------------------------
Re: IMPORTANT INFORMATION--Ads, censored words, etc
By: guest46 Date: May 17, 2018, 10:09 am
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[quote author=Gellchom link=topic=122.msg1427#msg1427
date=1526568919]
I agree with Bada. I would vastly prefer to pay more than an
equal share then to have to worry about giving refunds for small
amounts. And I have no problem with carrying people who simply
are not able to pay at all or for whom even a dollar is
difficult. My pleasure. And it appears to me that there are
enough of us who feel that way that we should easily be able to
pay for the site without anyone having a huge burden, no matter
what that means to them individually.
If that means also carrying just free riders, so what? I paid
what I’m willing to pay and getting what I wanted to get. They
are not taking anything away from me. Not to mention people who
join the forum after we meet our goal. It just isn’t that big of
a deal. I’m sure I look at other sites where people are
contributing funds. And for that matter, I enjoy the public art
and gardens that I didn’t contribute to as well as the ones that
I did.
It’s not a club. The site won’t exist unless someone pays for
it, and it’s not fair to expect LadyX to pay it all, so those of
us who can donate will, but it won’t be restricted to or
different for those who do not, and I think there should not be
refunds of donations, either. A donation is not a purchase or a
dues payment.
[/quote]
That's great and I don't have a problem with any of that. I just
want the policies spelled out ahead of time so everything is
clear. Thank you for laying this out in a clear and polite
manner.
#Post#: 1435--------------------------------------------------
Re: IMPORTANT INFORMATION--Ads, censored words, etc
By: Thitpualso Date: May 17, 2018, 10:24 am
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[quote author=Amara link=topic=122.msg1196#msg1196
date=1526507112]
I'd be happy to send $20 right now via check and know I was done
for a while.
[/quote]
I agree. I see BM&B becoming something like a magazine. To me,
it’s worth a subscription.
I also like the idea of letting the place settle in a bit before
any decisions are made. Still, it’s a good thing that these
issues are being brought up right from the start.
#Post#: 1446--------------------------------------------------
Re: IMPORTANT INFORMATION--Ads, censored words, etc
By: Gellchom Date: May 17, 2018, 11:05 am
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I think we are going to run into trouble if you see this as any
kind of subscription or club or anything like that. It’s a free
website.
Enough of us are willing to contribute to pay the expenses, but
that won’t make us owners or specially privileged members. Once
we meet the expenses, it doesn’t matter if other people want to
contribute, too; I guess that would go toward the next year or
any other features we decide we like to have that cost extra.
I believe this is the model that Wikipedia uses; is that right?
And probably lots of other sites that we all visit all the time
and never even think about it.
I do think it’s fine to think about how much you would pay for a
magazine subscription or a cable channel or something when you
decide how much if anything you would like to contribute. But
that’s just in terms of what the value is to you within your
budget; it doesn’t change the nature of this as a free website.
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