How many users is the "right" size for FerrariChat.com?

I respectfully disagree.

 

hey, as you see we are working hard on it!

 

that's the reason for the name of our european event "FerrariChat Rally Europe 2004". also to get publicity and do promotion for ferrarichat.

 

I agree with henryk's line of thinking here with the further clarification that "only owners and/or dues paying members may post" in technical and other forums, perhaps with the exception of Off Topic. The whole world can view.

I think it's coming time to do it -let's decide how much the dues to post should be. OOPS!! That is up to you, Rob, but I suggest $100, more or less. Ten bucks might limit some of the trolls until they get their allowance...

 

Come again? Tons of people have suggested it be a pay site. The 'Charge for access' thing.

I'll go a step further and say I think pay-to-post wouldn't work either, because I think many overestimate the value the bystanders would place on being able to post.

I think by far the best solution is to pay for additional features. At the Corvette forum, you could pay and get an avatar. At the Viper forum, you can pay and get access to some more racy sections of the board, and access to members-only boards. At other sites, you get a 'contributor' under your name. Don't underestimate the value people place on such things.

 

I disagree with almost all of that. So, let's settle the issue, and poll the members as to the question of pay to post.

The serious members, and the actual owners will, IMO, pay to post.
The others will, of course, vote no.
Paying for an avatar is nonsense when most fcar members have paid $50-$500k for their rides.

There is *Way* too much junk to wade through in general & technical anymore, and I believe henryk has the right idea.
Perhaps non members could still post in OT, although that would probably
beg the same problem.

 

In my relative newbie opinion (but happily an owner):

1. It's not about money and making Rob a dot-com gazillionaire... it's about using membership fees to limit the number of posters. Simply charging a fee for an avatar or "top-secret" sections of the board doesn't necessarily improve the quality of the postings. In fact, it probably just drives the high-quality posts into a seperate forum.

2. Everyone should be able to view/read everything. Obviously, that's the most sensible approach. Nobody will pop for membership fees if they don't know what's awaiting them on the inside.

3. Proof of ownership seems too exclusive. There are plenty of non-owners here with tons of great information (racing, vintage, etc) that I'd sorely miss if they're excluded.

4. Here's a wild (and potentially stupid) suggestion: Let's try out the pay-to-post model. How about if Rob collects the fees and puts everything into an escrow account? Depending on how much he's collected in 30-60 days, we activate the feature at that time. If not enough has been collected (perhaps 30% of the total membership maybe?) the amounts are refunded. You've got plenty of time for all this administrative crap, right Rob? Perhaps a PayPal account or something would work...

Just my 2 kwanzas

-Daniel

 

That means, no more creative, helpfull, intelligent posts, lots of voyeurs = peep-show. No thats not the answer or solution!;-( Try harder!

@Rob, I spoke to our FCD today - get in touch with the gents they are waiting for your mail/call. I will see the crew on Friday, advice me if you need any more infos regarding:
http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6911&page=1&pp=20

Wolfarossa
FORZA FERRARI

 

Uhhh, I don't get it... why?

 

..pay for each post 1$

Wolfarossa
FORZA FERRARI

 

With over 10,000 posts to his credit, NNO is clearly a member of the "idle rich" class, who can easily afford membership! How else to explain the amount of time he's devoted to the forum? (just kidding) Actually, here's a better idea: Anybody with 7500+ posts at the time you institute the fees could be given a free 1-year membership.

But enough talk.. how about some action? Setup a PayPal or something, and I'll put my money where my mouth (er, keyboard) is.

-Daniel

 

Ouch! Imagine the firestorm of messages of people trying to rack up to that magic number.

I still think a simple base fee per user per year would do the trick. Full access to everything, whether you're an owner or not. Easy to manage for Rob as well. The bigger question is IMHO: How much?

 

I think a pay to post defeats the purpose of the community. If I want to show some information to the community or help a fellow board member I don't think paying to post helps this along.

I still feel the issue is keeping the quality of the site high. Charging a nominal annual fee to decrease the noise level and improve quality works.

 

Guys... I do NOT think anybody is proposing pay PER post... the billing alone would be a nightmare... and we don't want to discourage quality posts.

The phrase "pay to post" means you have to pay an annual fee to become a member in order to post messages. That phrase is distinct from "pay to view"... which like "pay per post" has nobody promoting.

I think the questions are:
1) What is the annual fee? $10? $20? $25? $0?
2) Do we offer a 5-year or 10-year discounted fee? $50/10years?
3) Does Rob want this? (Even if we are all for it; this becomes a burden for Rob that he has to be willing to take on.)

 

Rob, it's sounding better....

$14.95 is the cost of a pizza. I vote bottom around $50 - that's just my opinion, and contrary to what some may think, I'm no longer all that well off.
9/11 may have put a permanent end to my current line of work.

It's still a *great* board but it's getting more to where you need to have wings to stay above the childish BS, and time to burn to find the good stuff.

 

LOL...! i would... Maybe we could work out a bulk rate...

 

Damn! Ferraris are expesive enough, now I have to pay to talk about them too?

 

I like the basics behind Rob's last post, and hell, I would love a T-shirt!!!

 

Not out of GFD and OT! Instead of that, I recommend you add one additional forum called "Free". Anyone can post there. Have a sticky note there pointing out that some of the regular members will visit and answer questions, but many will stay away because of the trolls, excessive traffic, and so on that are generally avoided on the regular forums. I'm sure some regular members will enjoy being helpful experts on the free forums... but many (like myself) will never go there.

In contrast, if you do what you suggested, GFD will turn into "Free" (many regular members stay away), and then for lack of anywhere else to post general Ferrari stuff, Technical will turn into "paid GFD". Then someone will request a "Really Technical"!

I think adding a "Free" ends up fairly ideal... as the newbies can not only read everything, they can also try their hand at posting, with the understanding that they are doing it in the "unprotected" free zone where many of the regulars never go.

One other suggestion... no pennies... $15 and $50.

Lifetime sounds a bit risky to me... you're committed forever... if it was me, I'd do 10year... HOWEVER, as a user, I'm fine with Lifetime as that's what I'll do.

But make sure you make it clear that Lifetime doesn't mean "no rules"... if you get banned, you get banned, no refund. (You have to specify no refund... if you allow refunds, then people who want a refund will go out of their way to harass the forums so that they get banned and can get a refund.)


Brian

 

this is the best open discussion we have had as a community in a long time. great ideas here. i have no problem paying, although i would really REALLY rather not have to use PAYPAL at all.