Tentative list of membership options.

Making people pay to use the BOI is bad for business all around.

Well, we'll see, won't we?

it is very good for bussiness for the owner of the site, CHAAA CHING

Time and time again I have heard people say "Oh the BOI has saved me money" or "The BOI is an INVALUABLE service" or "The BOI has done more then anything else to help clean up this business".

Well, time to put your money where your mouth is.

And quite honestly, look at this from a business standpoint. If you had a service based business, what do you charge for? Do you charge only for the services that are not in high demand and people just use them because they are there, or do you charge for that service which is of the most value to everyone who walks in the door and the MAIN reason they stopped by? If I ONLY charged for those ancillary services, what exactly do you THINK would happen?

I kinda agree with Adrian in the fact that I think the BOI will be less effective once it becomes a membership site. I think using the term scammed a second time or scam in anyway related to the fee is ridiculous though. Posting is a priviledge regardless, and if Rich wants to make it a membership site it is a choice not a scam. I also think that calling people that disagree with the fee for BOI posting "cheap" is probably not anywhere near the truth. Some people feel that once you have to pay to post your experience, positive or negative, they will just not post. I feel that this will probably be the case, but time will tell. I also feel that with all the honor points and the new good guy list, it just seems like a big group hug type membership site than anything. Even having to post this in the BOI for people to read kinda shows that some of the other forums, besides creating more work, are just not needed.
I have so many questions about the future of Fauna, but I'm too tired to even think about it, and I dont think they were ever even answered the last couple times I tried. Well see what happens, and I will probably end up contributing eventually, just once the waters settle. :-)
Tom Baker

And quite honestly, look at this from a business standpoint. If you had a service based business, what do you charge for? Do you charge only for the services that are not in high demand and people just use them because they are there, or do you charge for that service which is of the most value to everyone who walks in the door and the MAIN reason they stopped by? If I ONLY charged for those ancillary services, what exactly do you THINK would happen?
__________________

I think of it like a shopping mall. You create a nice clean environment for people to come and enjoy food and shopping, maybe some stuff for kids to play on. If its nice enough you will rent out every single space. If you started charging admission, I dont think it would be too busy... The only time people would come is when they definitely need something, which would lose sales in the food court and the impulse buys which would lead to store owners closing shop. I hope I'm wrong, but that is kinda my prediction.
Tom Baker

Originally Posted by Python Dreams

I have so many questions about the future of Fauna, but I'm too tired to even think about it, and I dont think they were ever even answered the last couple times I tried. Tom Baker

Sorry Tom, but I think you can see how much time I have already put in trying to answer most questions posted here. I just flat out cannot put in a 26 hour day trying to cover every one of them. THIS is not my life, you know?

Originally Posted by WebSlave

Time and time again I have heard people say "Oh the BOI has saved me money" or "The BOI is an INVALUABLE service" or "The BOI has done more then anything else to help clean up this business".

Well, time to put your money where your mouth is.

The BOI has saved me not one single cent in business transactions therefore it is not what I would consider an invaluable service to me in that regard. The so called "value" I derive from this site is one that cannot be stated in monetary terms. So tell me, where should I be getting all this money that I supposedly saved from my use of this site in order to put it where my mouth is?


Adrian

Originally Posted by Python Dreams

I think of it like a shopping mall. You create a nice clean environment for people to come and enjoy food and shopping, maybe some stuff for kids to play on. If its nice enough you will rent out every single space. If you started charging admission, I dont think it would be too busy... The only time people would come is when they definitely need something, which would lose sales in the food court and the impulse buys which would lead to store owners closing shop. I hope I'm wrong, but that is kinda my prediction.

That is a very good anaology. The BOI is what draws people to this website on a regular basis. Once the people are here for a while enjoying what they find then they make use of the other services provided. That is what the advertisers bank on when they decide they want to INVEST their money into this site. Take away that incentive for people to come here and you lose attendence. Without enough people coming here and simply using the site, why should any advertiser want to risk wasting their investment here? They will go where the money is.


Adrian

Originally Posted by Wraith

The BOI has saved me not one single cent in business transactions therefore it is not what I would consider an invaluable service to me in that regard. The so called "value" I derive from this site is one that cannot be stated in monetary terms. So tell me, where should I be getting all this money that I supposedly saved from my use of this site in order to put it where my mouth is?


Adrian

Well that is an incredibly simple answer. If you don't need to post in the BOI, nor in any of the other forums and classifieds that require a $10 payment, then you don't need to pay for a paid membership.

So what exactly is that "value" that you speak of? And exactly what is it worth to you in dollars and cents? How does this compare to what my time is worth to me in order to maintain this site and manage it? MOST of my time involves around issues on the BOI. So from that standpoint alone, just why shouldn't I charge people for accessing the area where the majority of my workload will come from?

Quite frankly, you will have a choice to make. If those functions you have to pay for are not worth it to you, then don't. If they are, well then you pay for them. If a fair number of people decide that this site IS worth paying for to keep, then it stays. If they don't, well, too bad, I guess. I have a good chunk of my life back that has been frittered away for nothing here of any value to anyone else.

Simple, wasn't it?

Ok...some very valid points!
What if there was some sort of compromise, and you changed it so that anyone could at least view the BOI but not everyone could post?

Also on another note (and this is just my humble opinion) We all know that you are getting burned out on all that has to be done at fauna, I Think I sorta know what you are going thru, (having run a 12,000 sq ft Retail store for 25 years and getting so burned out that I basically just closed it in So. CAl. & moved to N. Idaho)...Wheeeew!!! Anyway I think there are things that you could do to streamline your responsibilities! To make your life more "manageable" And there is one definite thing I see as a waste (remember in my opinion....it could be a huge money maker...I seriously doubt it) GET RID of some things first and foremost HerpWantAds! Other things may be the new classifieds...either switch to the new completely or dump it! It's just to confusing, not to mention time consuming to go through all these. ONE OR THE OTHER!!! Im sure there are other things that you may have been thinking about! Look the less you have to think about when you wake up each morning the less drain of time and energy it is on you!
Now in saying that I really don't give a rats ass what you do I will pay whatever, because I know it's worth it....I've been here!!!! It's the new people that you have to worry about, they are the ones that will continue to keep Fauna going...you will always need new blood.....think about it it's like breeding reptiles!!!