1 day pass for the BOI?

I guess the most common complaint I have heard about the paid membership requirement for posting on the BOI is that even $10 is too stiff for someone to post a one time query or good guy thread about someone. So I've been trying to think of a compromise solution to address this failing.

What do you all think of this? How about if I set it up so that a member can sign up for a 24 hour pass to the BOI for $1? It is about as cheap as I can make it (PayPal takes a cut of every transaction) while still maintaining some semblance of credibility for the people making posts on the BOI. I know there probably isn't any real way to see if this will work except to go ahead and try it, but I'm looking for feedback to see if there are any glaring negative aspects of this that I may have not thought about.

Thanks.

Well, I say no. I just feel that this site is worth the minimum $10 a year for any posting so posting on the BOI is included in that.

I think that option would also make it worth it for trolls to come in and make a circus of the BOI. The BOI is well worth the money it costs to join!! Lets be honest, $10 is less than I spend to go watch a movie or go out for dinner. When I found this resource, I didn't even think twice about paying the money. $10 for a year of service, where else can you find that? Especially when you're talking about saving hundreds even thousands on a bad transaction!!

If someone has been accused of something, I'd question the legalities of charging them to defend themselves in a manner consistent with the way the accusations were posted. If you still offer the 30 day pass for someone to defend themselves free of charge, I don't really see a need for a 24 hour pass that costs a dollar.

I agree with what Bill said regarding a dollar being cheap enough for a troll to wreak havoc. If implemented, I wouldn't be surprised to see bogus posts similar to those made when a non-contributing member account had access to post on the BOI.

Just my opinion.

I have to echo the sentiments already posted. You are already more than generous offering the 30 day pass for those who feel the need to defend themselves, and as I've said time and time again, the $10 minimum needed to post for a full year is well worth it. I think the option of a 1 day pass would just open a whole new can of worms....but that's JMO.

I can't fault the logic of the arguments presented. But is there some way I can do this that would be fair to those people who want to just post a one time "attaboy" for someone? Yeah, the problem is how to lower the fence low enough for those people without making it too low to defeat what I wanted it to do. I think many people will have enough incentive to post a bad guy post to pay the $10, but I think the good guy posts may suffer because of the restriction just from lack of suitable incentive to pay the membership. How many transactions will the average Joe Buyer make in a year's time? Maybe not enough to be worth paying that yearly fee for....

Hmmm...

I can see both sides. Is there a way that you could have a particular "one time positive report" form that non-members could report a good experience on? Maybe it would just have a few buttons to click(kind of like the trader form for negative and positive deals) with only a short space for a few words. But it would only be for positive remarks, so would not attract trolls. If they want to report a bad deal, it would have to be the usual way.

But I have no idea if that type of thing would work on your forum, or if it would be worth your while to try to set it up.

To be honest, Rich, I don't think it is worth the hassle of trying to do it. You felt changes needed to be made, and the subscription plan was one of them. The $10 membership level to post on the BOI has been helpful toward its desired end, why undo what is working. I agree with Dennis' idea for accessing Trader Ratings, though.

hhmoore said:

To be honest, Rich, I don't think it is worth the hassle of trying to do it. You felt changes needed to be made, and the subscription plan was one of them. The $10 membership level to post on the BOI has been helpful toward its desired end, why undo what is working. I agree with Dennis' idea for accessing Trader Ratings, though.

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Yeah, I know..... But I've never been one to think I've done something the absolutely best way possible (thinking certainly I must have overlooked something obvious), so I'm always trying to think of ways to make improvements. I guess what it really boils down to is reaching the best level of compromise in any given situation. This is easy enough for me to think objectively, but subjectively things just appear less then optimal. I guess it is just the completely illogical thought that there must be some magic combination of components that will please everyone.

WebSlave said:

This is easy enough for me to think objectively, but subjectively things just appear less then optimal. I guess it is just the completely illogical thought that there must be some magic combination of components that will please everyone.

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can't be done...or maybe I'm just taking a bit of an attitude. After all, I sprung for the cash for the Benefactor level, because it offered the perks I wanted (and I enjoy this site enough to justify that $$ expenditure)...The subscription program is spelled out very clearly; and if somebody wants the benefit of posting on the BOI, they can pony up the $10. One thing just occurred to me - can a registered member do searches on the BOI? It isn't the same as posting an inquiry thread, but it frequently gets the desired information. If they cannot, I think that would be a reasonable compromise to the masses.

One compromise idea might be $5 for 6 months: inexpensive enough for an attaboy yet more that a troll probably wants to pay.
The vendors have a hand in all this also, for those selling more than the minimum, sending a $5 gift membership as a 'thank you' along with the item would net them some goodwill, and if the customer was new to reptiles get them even more interested in the hobby and thus possibly a repeat future customer, and of course the customer could leave the attaboy after receiving the gift membership.

I don't think there's going to be any significant difference in the number of people willing to pay $1 for a day vs. those that are willing to pay $10 for a year.

If vendors start offering to pay for someone's basic membership with a sale, it will be construed as "buying" a good guy thread.

Whether new to the hobby or not, people can access the site. The only restriction is on where they can post. If they can afford to buy an animal, they can afford to pay $10 to post on the BOI. If they have the ability to come here and read the forums and still can't justify the $10, then I don't think a one day pass, or $5 for six months, is going to change that.

I've supported this sight through all of the changes, folks getting suspended, and banned. I feel any further financial changes would dilute the integrity of the BOI and this sight. My vote a deffinate NO!

So far the voting appears to be pretty overwhelmingly against my proposal. I can't say that I disagree with the arguments. Anyone got any reservations about my moving this thread to the Feedback forum for some more general input?

I have no objections however, I would think that the BOI would be a better choice.

Laura Cox said:

I have no objections however, I would think that the BOI would be a better choice.

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Moving this thread to the BOI would have the same limitations that it has in the Insiders Forum. ONLY paid members can participate in it, which may be an unfair influence in the results the poll gets.

The main problem I see with the brief "attaboy" thread posting / feedback snippet is how many times have we seen a "So and So is a Good Guy!" thread followed up with 3 or 4 "Uh, I beg to differ..." threads. How would that work?

I'm in agreement that $10 is less than a quarter tank of gas or a mediocre dinner. It's pretty nominal, but does a good job of weeding out the trolls and bored children on holiday.

The first page was disappointing ......

That would be the first 4-5 posts, until I got to Rich's explanation of some of the other restrictions of being a non-member that may not serve the Fauna community well. I have to agree with both Kathy Love and Lucille. I would ask those who voted "No" to reconsider their vote, or at least posting again addressing the concerns mentioned by Rich, and which I will also mention here.
No one will dispute the value of the $10 fee for someone who wants to participate in the BOI on a significant, longer term basis, whether that be several threads or a whole year's worth. That is not the issue however. Rich pegged it at a "one-day" user fee. Here are some ideas as to where the benefits would be:
1) Someone new to the hobby is considering a $100 purchase, and has heard of the BOI. A look at existing threads yields no info on the potential vendor. That person must now pay a 10% commission just to ask "Any info on so-and-so." $1 gets them in, and may make them a $10 contributor once they see the value of the BOI by the responses that they get.
2) Sorry, but trader ratings are pretty meaningless at his point, as only customers who are at least $10 members can give a vendor credit, pro or con. Rich specifically mentioned this snag in the system, and this change would invite, rather than discourage, that number as having more meaning. Someone suggested that we could then encourage feedback more easily from customers, as if it were a bad thing. What's wrong with that? If we anger a customer, they usually have the motivation to pay the full $10 just to start a negative thread. The trouble is that the current system discourages positive feedback.
3) Trolls. I know that Rich does not look forward to an expanded role as Sheriff, but one advantage of the current efforts that he has had to make to clean things up is that it does sometimes pay. Only Rich knows if the efforts could be called "income producing". But if a "$1 troll" does join up, then they'll get caught, and fined. So what if they don't want to pay $10, since they only had $1 in to it anyway? For starters, the system is such that once suspended, you cannot even access the site, which is a fitting penalty for a troll. So maybe they come back under a different name? Well, they still have to use a PayPal account, and it becomes a real chore to continue to hide their identity just to save $9 (or likely $8, at that juncture). Rich is very much in a position to judge the effectiveness with which people may circumvent the suspension system, as he's had to deal with it plenty already. What I am saying is that the overwhelming problem with the trolls falls on management, not the members. Let them decide that issue.
4) Someone mentioned that an increase in "good guy posts" may be undesirable as "how many times have we seen someone come in and say something to the contrary"? So, "Good Guy posts" are now undesirable? What's wrong with someone saying "I disagree" to a Good Guy post?

I applaud Rich for his insight, especially when he posted his lingering concerns mid-thread. Flame wars are down because instigators have been banned, or a few of us had our wallets deservedly lightened. The $1 PayPal hurdle will discourage many of the trolls still, who used to be able to just come in off he street and post. I would ask some to reconsider their position. Thank you.

So I'm just a regular Ol' Joe member who doesnt have access to the BOI. And although, at times I would like to have my $0.02 say..I dont think the risk of undermining your good work is worth it. It'd just be too easy for rabble-rousers to come and post negative comments.

How about a system where folks like me can either send you the intended thread, or alternatively set up a "dumping-pit forum" where we can send our good-guy or bad-guy threads (obviously, this would be a blind forum where members couldnt have access to). That forum can then be screened by you or other mods and then posted in the BOI on our behalf if seen fit?