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  1. #1
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    Membership Idea

    My wife and I were discussing the current membership issue, especially with regard to the idea of cutting off potential new recruits before they have a chance to see what this site is all about. She had an idea which seems good enough to share :

    Allow guests to read posts but not see pictures or post messages. Perhaps they could be allowed to visit the Gallery and see images there. I don't know if guests can be identified and blocked by their computer address but, if so, they could be limited to a certain number of visits (I say 20 ; my wife says 10) before they must join.

    There could be a trial membership whereby they would be allowed view pictures but still not post. Then, after a certain number of visits as a trial member (again, I say 20 ; my wife says 10), if they do not sign up as a paying member, they're out .. perhaps limited only to viewing the Gallery.

    Of course, as Keith fears, a scamp could re-sign again with a different nickname but, having to do that constantly would get pretty old for them and I believe they would eventually fall away. Perhaps full membership could be set at $9 or $12 to cover the guests and trial members. ..Still a bargain.

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yonak Hawkins View Post
    My wife and I were discussing the current membership issue, especially with regard to the idea of cutting off potential new recruits before they have a chance to see what this site is all about. She had an idea which seems good enough to share ....
    Yonak, thank you and tell your wife thanks. Great minds must think alike, as I also had thoughts along those lines.

    But that scenario and others have been put forth.
    Keith, et al. have pondered over the advantages and disadvantages of the various scenarios. Given the parameters he is willing to undertake as the owner he has decided his current direction is what works best.

    If one wants to see a different direction then one needs to be willing to change the parameters.
    If someone were to approach him with an offer to administrate the technical aspects needed, or to sign on as an advertising salesperson, or to obtain a site sponsor, I could imagine he may reconsider.

    Failing that, nothing will have changed, and the outcome remains the same.
    Comments made here are my own and, according to my children, do not reflect the opinions of any other person... anywhere, anytime.

  3. #3
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    I hosted a forum and the problem is that the software does not let you do whatever you want. To block someone’s access after “x” attempts means you would have to do it manually. There could possibly be a way to time limit by entering an expiration date, but again that would be very manual. My forum got hundreds of spam attempts per day. An admin spends a lot of time already denying all the fake login requests. (By the way, on my forum, most of the hack attempts were from Russia, Romania, and China.)

    So, having to manually monitor new members and update their access while also trying to weed out the spammers would be difficult.

  4. #4
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    Charlie, but such an offer of professional guidance was made by Chris Fairbanks in post 155 over in the "I don't have permission" thread . . .. which Keith soon thereafter closed by locking the thread . . . .

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Patrick McCarthy View Post
    Charlie, but such an offer of professional guidance was made by Chris Fairbanks in post 155 over in the "I don't have permission" thread . . .. which Keith soon thereafter closed by locking the thread . . . .
    I skimmed that post during that thread, but rereading it now it really sounds to me that Keith should reach out to Chris to discuss his ideas.

  6. #6
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    Malcolm is right, it is a job every day just reviewing new accounts to try to weed out the spammers. It's also frustrating not having the kind of configuration options that we would all like to have available. We recently tried to eliminate the editing block in the Classifieds Forum and found it was impossible to edit the options for just one particular forum.

    As you can imagine I am receiving lots of email and private messages these days from people with good suggestions. Some don't understand what our software configuration options are and some are innovative suggestions that we are considering. I am way behind answering both email and private messages due to my normal workload here and my sign shop schedule but I will respond to everyone who has offered their ideas ASAP. Nothing is cast in stone here, we will evaluate any option that will help us to remain online and financially healthy as long as I can support the workload.

    The "Permissions" thread was getting a bit rowdy otherwise it would still be open for posting.

  7. #7
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    Thanks Keith.
    "Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t - you’re right."
    - Henry Ford

  8. #8
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    Thanks Keith. Behind the "Creek" all the way wherever it meanders!

    Jim

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Keith Outten View Post
    ... we will evaluate any option that will help us to remain online and financially healthy as long as I can support the workload.
    Thank you, Keith. That's all anyone could ask.

  10. #10
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    Great to hear Keith! I hadn’t heard that you were still evaluating things, I thought thinks were set in stone. Keep us up to date!

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matt Day View Post
    Great to hear Keith! I hadn’t heard that you were still evaluating things, I thought thinks were set in stone. Keep us up to date!
    There is no doubt in my mind that there will be a subscription required going forward, but how best to handle things like attracting new members can and is being tweaked. That's a combination of "what does the software allow" as well as what is the best compromise that limits abuse, such as constant changing of registrations to gain a few more days of "free" access if that's ultimately on the table. I'm sure that Keith and Aaron will come up with something that works technically as well as practically.
    --

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

  12. #12
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    It seems to me that the users/members/subscribers here actually believe this site is more important than the owner/operators. What I mean is that the user community has high expectations and it seems the site is withering. There should be a fulltime IT guy /admin running this place, making improvements, updating software, managing users, fixing bugs, etc. Also needs a fulltime person managing business issues. Way bigger than mom and pop shop as it currently operates. Sorry. Just my opinion based on last year or more.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Pat Barry View Post
    There should be a fulltime IT guy /admin running this place, making improvements, updating software, managing users, fixing bugs, etc. Also needs a fulltime person managing business issues. Way bigger than mom and pop shop as it currently operates. Sorry. Just my opinion based on last year or more.
    That would cost in the neighborhood of $60-150K a year...and that's just for the IT person. Who pays for it?
    --

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

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Pat Barry View Post
    There should be a fulltime IT guy /admin running this place, making improvements, updating software, managing users, fixing bugs, etc. Also needs a fulltime person managing business issues. Way bigger than mom and pop shop as it currently operates. Sorry. Just my opinion based on last year or more.
    Haha! That's funny.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Pat Barry View Post
    It seems to me that the users/members/subscribers here actually believe this site is more important than the owner/operators. What I mean is that the user community has high expectations and it seems the site is withering. There should be a fulltime IT guy /admin running this place, making improvements, updating software, managing users, fixing bugs, etc. Also needs a fulltime person managing business issues. Way bigger than mom and pop shop as it currently operates. Sorry. Just my opinion based on last year or more.
    Mmmmm....
    Pat, Thanks for the suggestion. If the finances are there or a model is put forth whereas the additional personnel can be funded I am sure Keith will look at it.
    However I don’t think your first sentence was very well thought out. I would hazard a guess that neither you, nor anyone on this forum have put as much time, effort, and finances into the Creek. Indeed, probably if you, or anyone else, were to donate the equivalent of what Keith and his family have done this would not even be a topic.
    Just my opinion based on my last 14 years.
    Comments made here are my own and, according to my children, do not reflect the opinions of any other person... anywhere, anytime.

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