Business & Politics Forums to Silver Subscribed? | FerrariChat

Business & Politics Forums to Silver Subscribed?

Discussion in 'Ferrari Discussion (not model specific)' started by rob lay, May 26, 2005.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

?

Business & Politics Forums to Silver Subscribed?

  1. Leave as is.

  2. Move to Silver Subscribed.

Multiple votes are allowed.
Results are only viewable after voting.
  1. rob lay

    rob lay Administrator
    Staff Member Admin Miami 2018 Owner

    Dec 1, 2000
    59,404
    Southlake, TX
    Full Name:
    Rob Lay
    Only Silver Subscribed, Rossa Subscribed, Moderators, Consultants, Sponsors, and Honorary users would be able to view and post to the Business & Investments and Politics & Religion forums.
     
  2. El Wayne

    El Wayne F1 World Champ
    Staff Member Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Aug 1, 2002
    18,043
    San Marino, CA
    Full Name:
    L. Wayne Ausbrooks
  3. JH

    JH F1 Veteran

    Nov 14, 2002
    5,014
    Odense, Denmark
    Full Name:
    Jonas H.
    I think this is a good idea. And a new rule, what happens in P&R, stays in P&R. If something is taken out of P&R and out on the regular board, ban the person who did it. (If it is personal attacks, assaults and so on.. just generally what happens in P&R) .... It should have been moved a long time ago.. It has hurt the board more than did good.
     
  4. Napolis

    Napolis Three Time F1 World Champ
    Honorary Owner

    Oct 23, 2002
    32,118
    Full Name:
    Jim Glickenhaus
    Very Good idea. Ending P&R even better. IMO adds nothing to FCHAT and lessens value for Sponsors. (P&R)
     
  5. mike550

    mike550 Formula Junior

    Aug 20, 2003
    859
    California - LA & SF
    Full Name:
    Mike G
    The poll options are not complete. I say eliminate the P&R section. That is where 99% of the problems arise. The other non-Ferrari sections like Business, Off topic, etc are valuable and do not stir the emotions.

    Or we could limit individuals (enter your favorites here) to starting a maximum of 100 political party bashing threads per week.

    Seriously - drop the P&R section and penalize for leaking P&R into other forums. It does nothing but cause trouble. 99% of the problems would go away.
     
  6. mike550

    mike550 Formula Junior

    Aug 20, 2003
    859
    California - LA & SF
    Full Name:
    Mike G
    Moving it is not the answer. It would only stop people like TVRFreak that have over 3,100 posts but will not subscribe. Then again - maybe that alone is worth it.
     
  7. El Wayne

    El Wayne F1 World Champ
    Staff Member Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Aug 1, 2002
    18,043
    San Marino, CA
    Full Name:
    L. Wayne Ausbrooks
    I think that we're privileged to have Rob offer non-automotive "bonus" forums (P&R and B&I) but that the priviledge is too often abused. I agree with making them available to subscribed users only and then permanently yanking access from those that continue to abuse the priviledge.
     
  8. amenasce

    amenasce Three Time F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Oct 17, 2001
    33,014
    Full Name:
    Joe Mansion
    I dunno. Maybe a 100 posts limit before being allowed in ? I certainly dont want to lose the P&R forum as its very very interesting for me, i learn quite a lot in there .
     
  9. mike550

    mike550 Formula Junior

    Aug 20, 2003
    859
    California - LA & SF
    Full Name:
    Mike G
    I agree with the B&I section. However the P&R section will have the button pushers in it whereever it goes. Art has a free subscription. However AsianBond and TVR Freak have not paid. So as a money maker it may work - as even AsianBond and Freak might pay to keep up the hyperbole. However, the same problems would be back eventually.

    Get rid of P&R. It spoils the board and creates bad feelings which then overshadow potential friendships and turn off potential sponsors. Politics and religion discussions easily get too heated. We even have a sponsor calling for the end of Catholicism and for the Pope to die.

    Or perhaps try a 90 day trial without P&R.
     
  10. FarmerDave

    FarmerDave F1 World Champ
    Consultant

    Jul 26, 2004
    15,774
    Full Name:
    IgnoranteWest
    I voted yes, move to silver.

    However, I should note that it was the Business and Investments topics that personally moved me to subscribe. I was so impressed by the amount of valuable knowlege being given that I was moved to subscribe as a way of supporting the infrastructure.
     
  11. bpu699

    bpu699 F1 World Champ
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Dec 9, 2003
    16,210
    wisconsin/chicago
    Full Name:
    bo
    Well, the political section IS a lot of fun to read...its a nice diversion to reading JUST about ferrari's... I don't see how sponsors are harmed by having that section - look at how many posts appear in that section! And each HIT of course displays a banner ad, CHA-CHING $$. Just because something is rowdy, does not mean it is bad for business or should go. Other wise what would the world do with all of its strip bars ;)?

    Regarding the Business Section - this is one of this boards best assets...quite frankly. It is unique, and the folks on this board have wisdom and knowledge to offer - great net working tool. Making it available to subscribers only would probably be OK. If you can't afford the membership...I probably don't want your input :).
     
  12. whart

    whart F1 Veteran
    Honorary

    Dec 5, 2001
    6,485
    Grandview NY
    Full Name:
    Herr Prof.
    I do think P & R serves a purpose, even if it is only to act as a steam valve for the pressures of daily life- I find it amusing, sometimes informative, often provocative. I do agree that it should be confined to folks that put up a subscription fee, since that acts as a natural filter; granted, anybody that has a hardon for posting there can ante up the fee for the pleasure, and keep on posting or flaming, but i think we'd actually see more bull**** leak into the "normal" threads if it was eliminated. If it's a limited access board that can only be read and posted to by subscribers, why should the sponsors take issue? I mean, there are alot of boards that offer semi-porn and still have sponsors; at least it takes a little thought, some of the time, to post to P & R and while nookie is entitled to 1st amendment protection, p & r is even more so.
     
  13. Kds

    Kds F1 World Champ

    I voted yes.....and it's a good idea I think.......simply because it allows only those community members who contribute to the board either financially or in a non-cash manner to participate in the two areas of the board where there is the most potential for trouble........which keeps said trouble from spilling over to the other areas. And.....it may make the business section even more interesting because people may talk about more stuff now that just anyone can't post and read it anymore.

    As to sponsors reactions.....well.......I for one wouldn't want a sponsor who objected to us talking politics amongst ourselves.......
     
  14. sjb509

    sjb509 Guest

    Perhaps a compromise would be to ban specific users from P&R and B&I if they cannot behave themselves. Another option would be to make it read-only to banned users, becuase you just know there will be threads about them..

    The sad fact is that the worst offenders are not necessarily unsubscribed users. In addition, some of the worst venom is in Other OT, not these two sections.
     
  15. zjpj

    zjpj F1 Veteran

    Nov 4, 2003
    6,124
    USA
    It would be nice if P&R could be gone altogether. Problem is it would just show up in Off Topic. Assuming it can't be removed altogether, which I think is the case, it's best to be as cordoned off as possible.
     
  16. Perfusion

    Perfusion F1 Rookie

    Oct 16, 2004
    4,151
    Marietta, GA
    Full Name:
    Aaron
    I would support that 100%... Making B&I a subscriber-only thing, OTOH, I dunno...
     
  17. Schatten

    Schatten F1 World Champ
    Owner

    Apr 3, 2001
    11,237
    Austin, TX
    Full Name:
    Randy
    I have to agree on this too. It might cut back on the lurkers and increase a bit on the subscriber list.
     
  18. marco246

    marco246 Formula Junior

    Mar 25, 2004
    288
    Hawaii
    Full Name:
    Mark
    I don't care. I've stopped going there. It reminds me of daytime TV--a vast wasteland.
     
  19. SrfCity

    SrfCity F1 World Champ

    If the goal is to slowly kill it off then moving it to silver subscription will do that.....IMO. Part of the reason it gets as fueled as much as it does is because those participating have a wider audience.
     
  20. MarkPDX

    MarkPDX F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa

    Apr 21, 2003
    15,111
    Gulf Coast
    I would be happy if the P&R section remained right where it was. It is obvious that it's a popular discussion topic and unless there was a heavily enforced ban on political discussion in the "other off topic" section I suspect there would be a lot of spillover.

    It has already been noted that some of the worst offenders are already subscribed and although the policy is that both paid and unpaid users should be treated the same there is always a bit of pause before banning a subscribed member. It is unfortunate that a number of otherwise excellent members seem to lose all self control when politics are involved. It sucks to ban somebody who makes valuable contributions in other areas of the board so there is a lot of stuff that doesn't get dealt with until it is way out of hand. And once it gets way out of hand then we get the situation we are at now.... people calling conspiracy and all of that.

    What I would really like is the ability to ban users specifically from the P&R section. Send those folks unable to keep things under control back to talking about what this site is about.
     
  21. Schatten

    Schatten F1 World Champ
    Owner

    Apr 3, 2001
    11,237
    Austin, TX
    Full Name:
    Randy
    interesting points Mark.

    to add to that, if specific forums were blocked from new users, I'd also put in the request for anything under the off topic section to require a filled out profile or an age of forums or even a minimum post count before the ability to post in those forums. but that's just my take.
     
  22. dm_n_stuff

    dm_n_stuff Four Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    I say leave it alone.

    The current format works, and making it pay to play in P&R or B&I will not encourage new members, it will only discourage the current ones from hanging around.

    If P&R offends you, stay out. Same goes for the bikini thread, which I don't see getting talked about here but which may be at least as offensive to some as the P&R. (not me, BTW)

    Why mess with success? If you want more subscibers, why not add some new services that will entice them. Discounts with sponsors, buyer's guides, monthly downloads, high res photo gallery, or some other services.

    MAYBE YOU COULD ASK THEM, "WHAT COULD FCHAT DO TO ENCOURAGE SUBSCRIPTIONS FROM CURRENT NON-SUBSCRIBERS?"

    DM
     
  23. wax

    wax Five Time F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa

    Jul 20, 2003
    51,458
    SFPD
    Full Name:
    Dirty Harry
    Silver lining

    Period
     
  24. Fastviper

    Fastviper F1 Rookie

    Nov 20, 2003
    4,525
    Texas
    Full Name:
    Dash
    I think p @ r gets very crazy so maybe.

    B and I whats the problem there? I dont see it except for once and awhile someone asking for money.

    I think they are two totally different things. So please dont group them together.

    just my 2 cents
     
  25. FasterIsBetter

    FasterIsBetter F1 Veteran

    Jul 22, 2004
    5,844
    NoNJ/Jupiter FL
    Full Name:
    Steve W.
    Do you really think that moving those forums will stop people from posting opinions elsewhere? I doubt it. Unless you are willing to police FChat for non-conforming posts, they will just move their comments to the discussion forum or technical or regional or someplace else.

    If the issue is getting people to subscribe, there are other, better, more direct ways of doing it. Some suggestions:

    -- limit the number of posts per day/week/month. Two posts per day. 10 posts per week. 50 posts per month. 20 posts per month. Whatever.
    -- stop all posting by non-subscribers. Allow viewing only of certain forums unless subscribed.
    -- prohibit non-subscribers from viewing any pictures, ads, member profiles, etc.
    -- And if you really want to force subscriptions, don't allow ANY access to the site unless they subscribe.

    So make up your mind. If the goal is to get people to subscribe, do things that actually effect people who don't subscribe in a major way. Otherwise, leave well enough alone or you will only force the non-subscribers to adversely effect the open forums that they do have access to.
     

Share This Page