[Chris Atkinson]

I know, I know....many of you are tired of the "bandwidth exceeded" messages, ghost pages, disappearing lengthy posts that you've hunted and pecked on the page, etc.

Many of you have offered up assistance in the form of support.

I've sought some consultation from someone smarter than I. I'm told that in other communities, some very successful discussion communities have offered "gold level", "silver level" and "basic" , style tiered sponsorships.

Usually they are priced accordingly and the higher the contribution, the more "stuff" the donor receives. Many times the "gold level members" get acceptance into an additional forum, only available to them, for viewing and for posting.

I'm not saying this is the direction RTF will go.

BUT....I do want to know your opinion.

Your comments matter to me...

Please take a moment to click a button or write a comment. Thanks much. I really want to know what you gals and guys think.

Your pal, Chris

 

[Last Frontier Labs]

I fully support the gold level member idea, but see no reason to have a place where "gold level members" get acceptance into an additional forum, only available to them, for viewing and for posting.
I would never want to see any area labeled as a "for members only" area.
That goes so against the spirit of RTF.

 

[achiro]

I fully support the gold level member idea, but see no reason to have a place where "gold level members" get acceptance into an additional forum, only available to them, for viewing and for posting.
I would never want to see any area labeled as a "for members only" area.
That goes so against the spirit of RTF.

I completely agree.

 

[kjrice]

I am not into the "caste" system.

 

[ErinsEdge]

Ditto on the first two posts.

 

[Kenneth Niles Bora]

I fully support the gold level member idea, but see no reason to have a place where "gold level members" get acceptance into an additional forum, only available to them, for viewing and for posting.
I would never want to see any area labeled as a "for members only" area.
That goes so against the spirit of RTF.

I agree with this
Ken Bora

 

[Randy Bohn]

dogs

From a moderators outlook why not do what's easiest for you? Unless of course your really not that busy right now!! Randy

 

[Lisa Van Loo]

I also agree that an exclusive board is not necessary. But I love the idea of tiered sponsorships. Then people can contribute to the extent they are capable.

Me, Shayne, and Jerry need to cough up Platinum membership bucks!

Lisa

 

[Tom Lott]

Sponsorship

This is my first post, and I suspect that my post will be limited in the future, but I'd gladly pony up sponsorship $$$ to get the info I get here daily.

I see not need for any exclusion from sites.

As a good friend of mine has said, "I'm just happy to be able to be here!"

 

[DKR]

Chris,

I really do not care for the idea of the idea of accessibility based solely on a monetary tier system. One of the things that make RTF great is in cyber space we are able to learn from the ones who have gone before us. The wisdom we all gain from these pages are a very valuable tool when it comes to the well being of our dogs whether it be in the training, testing, medical, or just the day to day life of these mutts we have already invested greatly into. I would hate to see someone who could be richly helped or richly contribute left out solely based on his or her ability to pay for access.
One of the great things about RTF is the diversity we have and one of the bad things about RTF is the diversity. It will always be a double edged sword but I really wouldn?t want it any other way. We in many ways are a family here and like everyone?s family there are some we love and some we do not.
I don?t have the answer to this challenge you are facing but I do know this we love and will fight for this sight in any way you need us to. If you would setup someway for us to voluntarily contribute to the sight you might be able to solve most if not all of the financial challenges.

Don Ritter
Lubbock, Texas

 

[achiro]

If you put a "pay-fer" area in, Shayne will be fully expecting to get porn for his dollars.

 

[Polock]

I fully support the gold level member idea, but see no reason to have a place where "gold level members" get acceptance into an additional forum, only available to them, for viewing and for posting.
I would never want to see any area labeled as a "for members only" area.
That goes so against the spirit of RTF.

DITTO

 

[Dave Combs]

I'm sure this has been discussed in the past and I just don't know the outcome of the conversation, but what about advertising sponsors?

With the weight this forum carries through out the doggie world, I'm sure you could find more than enough sponsors.

However, if we all had to cowboy up and give a little that wouldn't bother me either. Also I don't agree with member only access areas.

 

[Chris Atkinson]

As the field trial judge once said,

"I've gotten my answers."

My hunch on the RTF culture and the users' preferences was in line with what's posted above. I do not disagree with those of you against an "exclusive" forum.

I am not planning it, just wanted to get the feel of what's on your minds. My comment to the consultant was that "RTF is different".

I really believe that is true.

Understandably, banner ads for corporate sponsors is a likely direction. I just wanted to find out specifically on the individual member sponsor notion, how folks felt about additional, limited access forums.

Chris

 

[Buck Mann]

I agree with everyone else. Have sponsorship levels with an open forum. My guess is that most people, even ones like me that don't post often, would be a sponsor at some level.

Buck

 

[Gerard Rozas]

Would eliminating 300 pages of past threads help with the costs?

Don't see why we need that much history. Maybe 100 pages at the most.

 

[John Gassner]

Chris

I agree with the others. Keep all forums open to all. Banners are OK. I also think that many members would be willing to pony up what they can. No need for a special FANCY Forum for special members.

Merchandising might be an option. Maybe tie it in with levels of contribution and/or sell stuff online to anyone. I think DU makes a few bucks this way :wink:

John

 

[Terry A]

Chris, I agree with the others that having an exclusive forum would really hurt what you have created.

There are several options that I can think of that you could concider:
Paid Classified Adds - You could charge a small fee for creating a new classified add ( I have seen this suggested here before)
Do a Fund raiser such as hats or shirts ( this has also been suggested before)
Create a Paypal account and let people make a contribution to the RTF fund. I for one would contribute
And as you suggested Corp Sponsors

Terry

 

[shootem]

Free will offerings may be the answer; I know the information I have gotten from this site is priceless. Heck I would be willing to pay just to get in on the GDG!! I would also be interested to know what you think membership fees would be 10 or 20 dollars a year or we talking 100 or more a year. I think the dollar amount would make a big difference to a lot of people!

 

[kjrice]

...or an Honors Classified system. Basically when you sell you donate a percentage or flat rate, but you are on your honor.