BS: if charged, would you leave...

Subject: RE: BS: if charged, would you leave...
From: GUEST
Date: 12 Feb 02 - 01:48 PM

You are entirely welcome annamill. I wish The Well wasn't such an expensive proposition, because it is a very nice forum, from the looks of it.

So I go over to the Mother Jones website, to check what their current subscription rate is, and low and behold, the special introductory offer currently running is a measley $10! I find it hard to believe that people posting here couldn't cough up $10/year.

Also, for anyone who cares--at the discussion board at Mother Jones, guests can contribute without registering, but they cannot start a thread without registering. I know someone mentioned that idea somewhere else in the guest threads in the last few days, but I can't remember where. Anyway, yes there are many ways of running a message forum on a website. I wish more folks would weigh in on the would you pay question. I tend to think you get a much better quality forum if you have pay something for it, even if it is minimal.

Subject: RE: BS: if charged, would you leave...
From: wysiwyg
Date: 12 Feb 02 - 01:45 PM

Melody Lane does it by a one-time pay-in to register. That would NOT work here.

I could not pay ten bucks a month. But I'd like to.

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: if charged, would you leave...
From: annamill
Date: 12 Feb 02 - 01:36 PM

It seemed pricey to me too, Guest. I know some of the people here would be hard pressed to stay at that price. I wonder how they do it? Thank you for responding. As I said, I was just curious.

Subject: RE: BS: if charged, would you leave...
From: GUEST
Date: 12 Feb 02 - 01:28 PM

annamill,

It is an interesting question, and one I think is germane to the type of forum you get if people pay something to use it. I mentioned in another thread today that I thought it was interesting that so many people equated free access with a quality forum.

My answer, yes I would pay. I don't have any magazine subscriptions, so I've already been thinking about subscribing to one or two online forums like The Well, to see how much I use them, and how useful I think they are.

As the whole "pay for access" idea seems reasonable if it is for a yearly subscription, one of the off-putting factors for me regarding The Well is it seems too pricey for an annual subscription. So I'd go with Stilly River Sage's idea, except closer to the cost of Mother Jones magazine for a year...more in the $15-$20 yr range.

Subject: RE: BS: if charged, would you leave...
From: katlaughing
Date: 12 Feb 02 - 01:28 PM

I agree with Bill. I do send in a monthly donation, but I wouldn't want people excluded because they were unable to do so.

Subject: RE: BS: if charged, would you leave...
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Feb 02 - 01:16 PM

Can't afford that much; when I suggested a subscription in that post earlier (from Max to Guests) I was thinking more along the lines of $25 to $35 a year, enough built in there for a small print job and postage to let people know every 4-8 weeks that they're part of the list. Subscriptions mean a lot more work, but coasting on fumes can't be pleasant.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: if charged, would you leave...
From: Bill D
Date: 12 Feb 02 - 01:16 PM

Max says he wont 'charge'...so I won't answer...it allows for donations, auctions, grants, blind luck and ...but allows the poor to be here also...I think that's the best way

Subject: if charged, would you leave...
From: annamill
Date: 12 Feb 02 - 01:02 PM

I'm curious. I was just over to the Well and they charge $10 a month just for conferencing and they are one of the largest vertual communities on the internet. Here I would have liked to go in and check things out before I joined, but you cannot. Well, except for a trial conference.

Here my question to all my Mudcat friends. Newbies please feel free to join in.

If Mudcat started asking $10 per month would you be able to remain a Mudcat member??

I have no agenda here! I'm just wondering.

Love, Annamill