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Thread: Help the Creek

  1. #31
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Hayes, Virginia
    Posts
    14,760
    Keith,

    Ultimately our problems are with both Visitors and to a lesser extent Members. The number of Contributors is very small as a percentage of our Community which is why we provide Contributors with an easy way to turn off advertising. If the majority of our Community were Contributors or Friends of The Creek (FOTC) we wouldn't need advertising at all.

    Note that when we switch to Xenforo we won't have a FOTC module. However I'm thinking about a custom Forum that would provide easier access and be included in the Community Search routine. You would have full time access to your threads and posts to edit or make changes as you see fit.

    Ole is right about this being a major problem that is going to affect a very large percentage of the Internet. The Net has never been free, advertising has been paying the bills for a very long time and when that revenue dries up the changes will not be favorable to the masses. This is one of those times where people are cutting off their own noses in spite of their faces. I understand the reasons that people are blocking advertisements, on some web sites they are atrocious and often malicious. Its way to difficult and time consuming to block only the abusive sites so the easy way is to block all advertising. Unfortunately its also counter productive to sites that are beneficial.
    Last edited by Keith Outten; 02-16-2018 at 9:29 AM.

  2. #32
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,688
    Yes, Ole, the issue is pretty broad...so much so that many types of sites have had to put up "pay walls". Some warn about it, but permit time limited access and some just require subscription now. Honestly, in my view, many sites that are experiencing issues are not the "root" of the reason more and more folks ad-block. They are the victims of a variety of sites that just totally inundate visitors with adds...the click-bate sites, non-mainstream news sites, etc., are examples. You mention exactly that as something that caused you to employ a blocker. I did the same long ago. Folks start blocking because of getting hammered with "stuff" and then sites that have moderate and frankly tasteful advertising get hurt. SMC is an example of that. I may have already mentioned this, but I started "whitelisting" certain sites that are meaningful to me so that they benefit from modest advertising display while I control the caa-caa that other sites just throw out in massive amounts.
    Last edited by Jim Becker; 02-16-2018 at 9:29 AM.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  3. #33
    Maybe just maybe those sites with the intrusive and obnoxious ad's and popups will get the message and tone it down. Better to have ad's people see then ones that everyone blocks out.
    If the Help and advice you received here was of any VALUE to you PLEASE! Become a Contributor
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  4. #34
    I have to disagree with the majority here. I'm sorry.

    I get a great deal of value from SMC. I'm here a lot. I enjoy it a great deal. So I contribute to help pay the bills and I'll pay more if I need to. I value it that much.

    With that said, no, I'm not going to turn on ads. There are thousands of people who come here free every day. I agree with that for several reasons I won't regurgitate here, but I see the good in it. But I'm already paying "my share" by contribution. I feel that others should pay their share in whichever way they choose - the choices seem to be contribute $6 or turn off any ad blockers.

    There are sooo many Members who add a great deal to what makes this place so good. But the bills gotta get paid and as some writer once said, TANSTAAFL* (for much longer - like about 11 more months ). Keith, I'll be a charter member when you go subscription only.

    YMMV.
    Fred


    * There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.
    Last edited by Frederick Skelly; 02-16-2018 at 7:09 PM.
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  5. #35
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Minneapolis, MN
    Posts
    5,428
    I chose not to block any ads on any websites. I figure that is how they pay the bills. If the ads are too obnoxious I stay away. I also work at a company that pays some of the bills with advertising although not all ads are digital. My employer's website requires a subscription with a limited number of free visits per month.

  6. #36
    This is one of those rare things which allows all accommodation at all times. We are all familiar with watching a movie on TV.
    The last 15 minutes of film might be baked into a half hour of commercials. And the ads here are not like newspaper ads that are the star with the news being literal filler. The colorful ads here are displayed in a prominate and orderly way that does not step on the co stars.

  7. #37
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    New Jersey
    Posts
    1,347
    Blog Entries
    1

    Change the recommended contribution amount.

    The first few years I was a contributor I made contributions of $6,,,why? simply because that was the recommended amount. Why not simply change the recommended contribution to $12 or $15 or $25? After all (and I expect some heat for this comment) we dealing with a bunch of people who have, in many, if not most cases, spent thousands of dollars on toys, I mean tools.
    Again the contribution would be recommended, not required, and you would still be free to contribute whatever amount you want.
    Dennis

  8. #38
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Location
    North Prairie, WI
    Posts
    222
    This thread led me to become a contributor. While I actually have very little to contribute from a knowledge perspective, I get so much from this group that it is worth far more than the measly sum I sent in.

    Scott

  9. #39
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    5,582
    I'm listed as a Contributor but I'm not sure that's really true as I can't find records of an annual payment. I just thought it was automatic annual payment. Help! If I'm behind I'll try to catch up.

  10. #40
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Minneapolis, MN
    Posts
    5,428
    Quote Originally Posted by Pat Barry View Post
    I'm listed as a Contributor but I'm not sure that's really true as I can't find records of an annual payment. I just thought it was automatic annual payment. Help! If I'm behind I'll try to catch up.
    The system will definitely remove you from contributor status if you fail to renew. I didn't renew for about two weeks and had to live with the ads during that time. I am back in good standing now.

  11. #41
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Hayes, Virginia
    Posts
    14,760
    Pat,

    There was an administrative lock on your title that prevented it from being changed. An error on our part but I removed the lock. Your account was supposed to expire in July of 2016.
    .

  12. #42
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    5,582
    Quote Originally Posted by Keith Outten View Post
    Pat,

    There was an administrative lock on your title that prevented it from being changed. An error on our part but I removed the lock. Your account was supposed to expire in July of 2016.
    .
    Thanks Keith!
    Last edited by Pat Barry; 02-21-2018 at 8:41 AM.

  13. #43
    Please excuse my complete ignorance on this subject, but now I'm very curious as to how much it actually costs to run a website like SMC on an annual basis. $10,000 per year? $100,000? $1,000,000? I honestly have no idea, at all.

    i wonder if a large company would be willing to pay for exclusive "naming rights" ala NFL stadiums? "Sawmill Creek, brought to you by Festool" or the like.

    Also, there might just be some big fish out here who would be willing to cut a check? In my previous professional life I dealt with some of the wealthiest folks in the USA including ~15 different people whose net worth was over a billion dollars and one consistent theme was they hated being "nickel and dimed" by charitable endeavors and would much rather cut a check and then be left alone.

  14. #44
    Quote Originally Posted by Harold Balzonia View Post
    Please excuse my complete ignorance on this subject, but now I'm very curious as to how much it actually costs to run a website like SMC on an annual basis.
    Assuming no salaries for mods/admins, a decent server capable of delivering a forum this busy would range about $200 or so per month. Without knowing details, that's a (very) simplified guess.

  15. #45
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,688
    The level of traffic that a site that SMC generates requires substantial hardware with extra reliability...which needs to be replaced every few years, too. The network connectivity is also a business-level connection which is substantially more costly than any of us as individuals would normally experience except in the corporate IT realm. SMC is run "in-house" because using a hosting service for the traffic levels generated would be even more expensive and not necessarily more reliable.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

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