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Thread: What is a subscriber based forum?

  1. #76
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Canada, eh
    Posts
    108
    Jim,
    Late to the thread and looked but did not see an 'official' subscription rate posted. I have seen the following numbers bandied about: $6/yr to $1-2/month ($12-24/yr).

    I'm assuming I missed it? If so could you point me in the right direction? Thanks.

    I'm guessing I am not the only one who is a bit confused over the actual subscription rates. A 'landing page' notice would help clarify this topic for a number of people and might get them onboard sooner? An official outline of what's happening at SMC in the near future and when, a list of subscription rates, how long that is good for, what access it allows you etc.

    Having bits of info tucked away in a thread or two really isn't helping the issue.

    Again, if I have missed the official post outlining everything, please direct me (and others?) there.

    Kind regards
    D

  2. #77
    Quote Originally Posted by Dirk Lewis View Post
    Jim,
    Late to the thread and looked but did not see an 'official' subscription rate posted. I have seen the following numbers bandied about: $6/yr to $1-2/month ($12-24/yr).

    I'm assuming I missed it? If so could you point me in the right direction? Thanks.

    There's a 'Donate' button at the top of the page. I agree that it could be a bit more emphatic. "Subscribe Now Or Die!", something like that.

  3. #78
    Quote Originally Posted by doug dawson View Post
    there's a 'donate' button at the top of the page. I agree that it could be a bit more emphatic. "subscribe now or die!", something like that.


    rofl!!!!!!


  4. #79
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    Virginia
    Posts
    1,209
    Read the “Read Me First” thread that is posted in every sub forum. It indicates the subscription rate is $6/year.

    Quote Originally Posted by Dirk Lewis View Post
    Jim,
    Late to the thread and looked but did not see an 'official' subscription rate posted. I have seen the following numbers bandied about: $6/yr to $1-2/month ($12-24/yr).

    I'm assuming I missed it? If so could you point me in the right direction? Thanks.

  5. #80
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    It's the monetization of subscriber/user data.
    Yes, there is that too. The other 'heavy handedness or restrictions' do exist and it's not fun. Being free of all that has got to be worth something.
    Last edited by Wayne Watling; 03-30-2019 at 3:41 PM.

  6. #81
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Posts
    1,561
    Blog Entries
    1
    I belong to a few other forums.
    SMC is less than half their going rate.
    Here a guy/gal has access to some of woodworking best minds, not to etion a host of other subjects.

  7. #82
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    N Illinois
    Posts
    4,602
    Quote Originally Posted by Rick Potter View Post
    Late to the party here, but I must say I simply do not understand why there should be any argument here. But I am willing to throw in my thoughts........

    I have been around since Badger Pond. I use the Creek as my main WW site, my ONLY social media site, and the off topic section is simply amazing for it's depth of people who seem knowledgeable on ANYTHING. I once asked a question about steering wheels on the conning tower of WWI German submarines, and got a knowing answer almost immediately (yes, there was one).

    Without elaboration, this place, obviously, is a treasure trove of information about woodworking. I have learned much, and even shared a bit.

    I do not care if Keith makes millions from this site, I wish he did. In reality, I wonder why, with a family and business to support, he bothers with all of us. I really appreciate the way the site is moderated, and does not allow rants to get out of hand, on any subject. It is refreshing to not have to deal with the asinine comments so many seem to feel necessary to make elsewhere.

    I agree it was a mistake to not auto-renew our contributions. I also feel that it would be good to allow guests a limited number of visits before becoming members, and for members to have limited ability to post, before becoming contributors.

    Money? We are arguing about raising the price from $6 to $12? A YEAR? In my world $6 is exactly what two large Cokes cost at Carl's Jr.

    Sorry, but I cannot worry about transparency, whether the site makes money or not, or people who just need something to complain about. What I do worry about is when Keith will just decide we are not worth the effort.

    Whew, I feel better now. Off to Carl's for lunch.
    Well said, Rick...Fully agree....Much ado about nothing...Simply need a little more $$ to keep ship running.
    Jerry

  8. #83
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Greater Manor Metroplex, TX
    Posts
    264
    Actually, I want to thank you for the thread.

    I had been a contributor, but then life happened and I allowed my contribution to lapse. I was always going to "get around to it", but this thread got me out of low gear to renew my monthly contribution to the site. I get multiple hours/month of entertainment from the site plus it is one of my go to sites for accurate information. Given the value I get from it, I have no issues paying for it.

  9. #84
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Albany, NY
    Posts
    68
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    1) There has also be discussion in the past about the various ways that might help reduce operating cost such as moving it to the cloud, but invariably, the operating cost is more because of the significant bandwidth this forum requires to operate the way it does. Hosting isn't the big cost...bandwidth is
    Generally, if you pick the right provider, bandwidth is the main thing that will be cheaper in a datacenter. My recollection (which could be wrong) is that SMC is run on a server in Keith's house (or business) somewhere in rural Virginia. I would not be surprised if bandwidth there is expensive. For a comparison my business pays $400/month for a 25 Mbps symmetric (up and down) link (with pretty solid uptime guarantees). If I did my math right that's 6 TB per month. What we pay is not cheap compared to some others that I know (but we are "almost rural" - direct fiber connections only became practical in the past few years).

    I'd be very curious to know what the current available bandwidth for SMC is.

    In the mean time, if Keith want to make being a contributor more valuable and reduce his bandwidth costs, just disallow viewing of images for people who aren't contributors. Being able to view images is the only reason I'm even logged onto SMC.

  10. #85
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Posts
    1,561
    Blog Entries
    1
    Not my call, but I also agree with having a free trial membership. Perhaps based on a number of posts or such.
    I was reading an article on another site last night. I thought it was just a news agency. It turned out to be a "members only" site because when I finished reading an article I saw another that looked interesting. When I clicked on it I got a very stern message saying "This is your last read. Either log in or apply for membership".
    As John might say, YIKES !!!
    I saw no indication that it was a forum. Was not layed out like any I've belonged to...just scientific news.
    I wasn't offended, but that does not seem like the way to welcome newcomers. JMHO.

  11. #86
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Piedmont Triad, NC
    Posts
    793
    Quote Originally Posted by Rick Potter View Post
    Late to the party here, but I must say I simply do not understand why there should be any argument here. But I am willing to throw in my thoughts........

    I have been around since Badger Pond. I use the Creek as my main WW site, my ONLY social media site, and the off topic section is simply amazing for it's depth of people who seem knowledgeable on ANYTHING. I once asked a question about steering wheels on the conning tower of WWI German submarines, and got a knowing answer almost immediately (yes, there was one).

    Without elaboration, this place, obviously, is a treasure trove of information about woodworking. I have learned much, and even shared a bit.

    I do not care if Keith makes millions from this site, I wish he did. In reality, I wonder why, with a family and business to support, he bothers with all of us. I really appreciate the way the site is moderated, and does not allow rants to get out of hand, on any subject. It is refreshing to not have to deal with the asinine comments so many seem to feel necessary to make elsewhere.

    I agree it was a mistake to not auto-renew our contributions. I also feel that it would be good to allow guests a limited number of visits before becoming members, and for members to have limited ability to post, before becoming contributors.

    Money? We are arguing about raising the price from $6 to $12? A YEAR? In my world $6 is exactly what two large Cokes cost at Carl's Jr.

    Sorry, but I cannot worry about transparency, whether the site makes money or not, or people who just need something to complain about. What I do worry about is when Keith will just decide we are not worth the effort.

    Whew, I feel better now. Off to Carl's for lunch.
    I have to agree 100%. Good assessment.
    "Only those who have the patience to do simple things perfectly will acquire the skill to do difficult things easily.”
    Friedrich von Schiller (1759-1805)

    "Quality means doing it right when no one is looking."
    Henry Ford

  12. #87
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    McKean, PA
    Posts
    15,596
    Blog Entries
    1
    Quote Originally Posted by Doug Dawson View Post
    There's a 'Donate' button at the top of the page. I agree that it could be a bit more emphatic. "Subscribe Now Or Die!", something like that.
    The donate button does not show up in the mobile version, you have to switch to full site mode to see it.
    Lee Schierer
    USNA '71
    Go Navy!

    My advice, comments and suggestions are free, but it costs money to run the site. If you found something of value here please give a little something back by becoming a contributor! Please Contribute

  13. #88
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Hayes, Virginia
    Posts
    14,762
    Lee,

    I saw your post about your free web site being removed. I imagine that your site had banners on it to pay for the cost of hosting. I wonder if the reduction in advertisement views per month have anything to do with the elimination of free service. Some may remember what happened at PhotoBucket awhile back, these types of changes are coming and will be widespread in time.
    Last edited by Keith Outten; 03-31-2019 at 8:29 AM.

  14. #89
    Quote Originally Posted by Lee Schierer View Post
    The donate button does not show up in the mobile version, you have to switch to full site mode to see it.
    What percentage of users access the site on mobile? That's a common statistic available thru cPanel etc. If it's significant, then the lack of a "Donate" button could be a real problem, that is an immediate fix.

    I was serious about the Donate button being semi-obscure to newcomers, BTW.

    An iPad, ok. I still can't imagine anyone reading the Crick on a phone, though. It would look like a postage stamp.

  15. #90
    Join Date
    Aug 2018
    Location
    Michigan, USA
    Posts
    548
    Quote Originally Posted by Doug Dawson View Post

    An iPad, ok. I still can't imagine anyone reading the Crick on a phone, though. It would look like a postage stamp.
    I don't use my phone a lot for web browsing, so I'd never looked at SMC on the phone. Just did, and it's actually quite easy to read. I've looked at the mobile versions of a few other sites I normally look at from my laptop, and I'd say SMC's mobile version is very good by comparison.

    But Lee's right - the donate button isn't there unless you switch to "full site" mode, and when you switch, it gets very inconvenient to read.

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