Join this club...

[69Sman]

I believe we should DEFINITELY make this forum a paid forum....at least partially.

[dskeller]

I wasn't even aware you could use this resource without being a paid supporter. Pay to play . . . there is no free lunch.

[popowitz]

In addition to the restriction on posting images I would add that if not a member then you cannot sell parts or cars here.

[luke-44]

In addition to the restriction on posting images I would add that if not a member then you cannot sell parts or cars here.

Agreed, not only post images, but view as well. And not just sell, but also even view the classifieds...along the lines of the PCA site. Some would say this put undue restrictions on the size of thee audience for our paid members who have posted classifieds, but PCA solves this by offering a temporary subscription for those who are looking to buy a P-car or parts but aren't yet members. A serious buyer would gladly pay a reduced fee to see what's in the For Sale section imo.

[Chuck Miller]

To answer David’s question:

The ratio between registered message board users (you can see the stats at the bottom of the front forum page) and the paid S Registry club members is roughly 10%.......Of course that’s NOT including 60% more ‘guests’ than registered users at ANY given time on this board.

The main goals of this board has always been to expand the knowledge base and opportunities for our small community… and so far we think we’ve done a pretty good job.

Well, through long past due recognition of our cars (with their accompanying financial escalation) this once small community has sky rocketed exponentially.


We will take all these suggestions under consideration………

However, until then, I suppose the only tool we have to rely on is our non-paid message board user’s sense of fairness…

Cheers

[deluxeco]

I'm a multi-year paid member. First of all, big thanks to Chuck, Mike, John and crew for all their efforts. I think you've done a fantastic job. This is a great resource for anyone interested in 911s and related topics because of the depth and breadth of information available, including the pictures and the classifieds. If the pix or classified were restricted to paying members, I'd expect to see much less of that content, and over time the value of the site would decrease for me. As I see it, the cost of membership is a great bargain, even with the free-riders. I think the free riders bring some value to the site when they post information or classifieds. Without sufficient traffic and content, its hard to sustain a site. In a just world, everyone would join and pony up to support the site, but in the here and now that seems not to be the case, so maybe site traffic is up to a point where some on-line advertising could help pay the bills?

[Chuck Miller]

First of all, big thanks to Chuck, Mike, John and crew for all their efforts.

We can't forget our 4th advisor Fred Trueman, the keeper and up-dater of our great data base.......

Without sufficient traffic and content, it's hard to sustain a site.

I tend to agree ...

In a just world, everyone would join and pony up to support the site

We can only hope...

maybe site traffic is up to a point where some on-line advertising could help pay the bills?

We are diligently working on this.......


Thanks for your input and support Ian...

[ajwans]

However, until then, I suppose the only tool we have to rely on is our non-paid message board user’s sense of fairness…

Chuck, why is there such resistance to making a members only area or other members privileges (photo viewing, posting in classifieds, PMs)?

This suggestion comes up every time we're asked how the site could be improved for members and it's never been addressed.

The technical difficulties in reconciling the paid membership with the online registrations seem manageable, I for one volunteer to help if this
is what is preventing us from having an elevated privilege level for club members.

andy

[mvboy]

Chuck,

I was the first person to respond to this thread and erring on the side of caution, I kept my opinion to myself. There are you FOUR doing an absolutely stellar job, then 2,216 active members with a total of 10,865 members. I am assuming "active members" means dues paying of which I have paid for 3 years now.

I totally agree with Andy as why is there such resistance to having a tiered level membership? Further, Luke-44 mentioned how the PCA offers temporary subscriptions. Well, why not? Pay to play.

You could restrict photos, only reading the 1st page of a thread, no ability to post questions or ask for selling advice and so on. Paid members should have their own big sandbox and you can't get there without paying.

I would be willing to bet a case of Brad Penn that the usual suspects on most of the leading threads are paid members. If I understand the statistics correctly, that means about 8,500 people are unpaid and not financially supporting the club. In my opinion, if nothing is changed, then next year and the year after......you will be seeing pretty close to the same levels of paid vs. unpaid.

It's not a money issue with me. Shoot I'm lucky enough to own a Porsche and I have the $40. I just don't think it's right or fair for 20% of us to support the club and the other 80% glean the benefits of this fine website.

That's my 2 pfennigs worth.

David

[Veronica87911]

Well, I've been reading this board for a while, and enjoy the give and take, the knowledge, and the cars. I just joined with an associate membership for my son, who will eventually have my cars. I don't have an early car yet, just a sweet 87 named Veronica; however, I do i intend to buy one in the next year or two; I look forward to being here for the future.