New Private Forum For Gold Members

[Chris Blount]

There is a new private forum setup especially for DBSTalk.com members who help us keep ad free. It's the DBSTalk.com Gold forum. To become a member, simply donate any amount to DBSTalk.com. If you donate today you get instant access to this new forum with added benefits and private interaction with the administrators. News and information will still be posted to their regular areas, the Gold club private forum is just our thank you to the folks who help keep DBStalk.com a free site for all.

[MarkA]

No offense Chris, but there are those of us not really in a position where we have the money to make donations, and by doing this you are basically making DBSTalk a pay service with a "free preview" edition. This will kill DBSTalk. Look at what something very similar to this did ThatHomeSite when they added subscription forums. Not all forums require a subscription, and it's just $15 a year, yet it has basically destroyed the site. Please reconsider this. Maybe make the site have advertising you can pay to get rid of, but don't make it a subscription forum.

[Chris Blount]

The new forum is a token of appreciation for those who have graciously donated to help keep this board on it's feet. It is NOT subscription based.

If you read my above message carefully, it says that you can donate ANY amount to have access and the access is permanant without any further obligation.

[MarkA]

So, is like $5 or $10 enough? Because I'd be willing to send you maybe 5 now and another 5 at some point in the future, but I don't have much...

[Chris Blount]

Whatever you feel comfortable sending is fine.

[MarkA]

One more detail to address... Where does one send donations?

[MarkA]

I think I'll probably send you a donation in a few weeks, I don't have the money right now, but I will in about a month

[Scott Greczkowski]

Just to clairify...

The new DBStalk.COM "Gold Club" is our way of saying Thank you to the members who support the site which in turn helps keep the site ad free.

All the admins here wish we could give everyone who donates a gift as a thank you but in doing that we would spend all the donation money on gifts. :D

All news and information you have come to expect from DBStalk.COM will be posted in its normal areas as it already is. We are not going to holdback news or information so that the Gold Club members find out first. That totally goes against the spirit of the board.

The Gold Club is an area where Donating members can sometimes better share there thoughts that they could not do in the public forums. Chat in there should be a little more relaxed and personal. Again the main reason for it is to say thank you for helping to keep us online and ad free.

If for whatever reason you decide not to donate, that's OK you will still enjoy the same news and information you have come to expect from DBStalk.COM

If you do decide to donate, thank you! We hope you will use the opportunity to really make your feelings show in our new Gold Club. Consider it a place to get things off your chest, that you normally would not want the entire world to see.

To everyone ENJOY DBStalk.COM after all thats why we are here! We look forward to your input, thoughts and comments!

Again Enjoy your stay here at DBStalk.COM

[Scott Greczkowski]

Mark,

I will post it in a better way so you can understand ;)

Think of donating to DBStalk.COM like putting a donation in the offering bucket at your church. If you decide you dont want to or can't put a donation in the offering bucket, it's ok! You will still hear the same great sermon that everyone else in the Church gets to hear.

It's the same thing here, give or don't give you will still get all the great news and information that all other members get. :D

Thank you. I am done testifying now :D

Brother Scott - Signing off

[MarkA]

LOL Scott, but yeah, I understand. See when I first saw it, I thought of you starting to possibly place new news, announcements, etc. in the "gold" forum first. That still doesn't answer my second question, if and when I decide to donate - where do I send my donation?

[John Corn]

You could email or private message Chris.

[John Hodgson]

........... you've got to be kidding, right? An exclusive Gold Club?

IMHO, you guys are making one hell ofa mistake .....

[Scott Greczkowski]

Explain John.

Im all ears :)

[John Hodgson]

Simple, (once agin IMHO), you're considering adding a forum which is only open to a select few members. Sure, anyone can join, for a price .... but call it what you may, I, (and perhaps others, but I'l just say"I"), it's still a 'good ole boy' Forum and things will be said that are not necessarly going to be said in an 'open forum'. Why? Because that is the nature of the beast.
Any you guys should know it.

Without even having access to the Admin area, I bet my left elbow that topics have been discussed that were never meant for 'public' display. And the same will take place in a 'Gold Members' Forum, mark my words. How about this: I'm don't feel it's necessary to contribure $$$ to this site, and how dare you guys keep me out of a "Gold Members Forum' because I choose not to. So you know what? I'm gonna spend my efforts trying to access this 'private area', spam the hell out of this place , flame everyone and every thread possible, and in general, become a pain in the butt on a daily basis. Oh, you're gonna ban my IP? Fine, I'll route myself out of the Balkans then using any number of ANON sites. At last count there were over 300 sites on the internet where one can get a 'free' e-mail account, so that's a non-issue as well. But, I digress .....


If I chose to donate $10.00 to this site, I'd not expect or even subscribe to a private forum. My donation whould be to support the site, not to gain access to some 'private area'. I don't need no stinking reward for supporting something I belive in for crying out loud.

YMMV

[Scott Greczkowski]

I can see your point on that, so far the area has nothing but people trying to give us ideas.

If someone wanted in so bad I would have no problem giving them access for a day to see that there really is nothing going on there of importance.

We have no need to hide anything. :)

Chris wanted to send everyone who sent in a donation a free DVD. We would never pay our bills that way. This board is just our way of saying thank you.

We will keep any eye on it and see where it goes, who knows due to lack of interest in there it may go bye bye. :)

[John Hodgson]

I hope you guys can guess from the 'tone' of my posts, I'm playing the devils advocate with this thread ....

[Scott Greczkowski]

Of course we do John. We don't mind at all. Thanks for your input!

[Chris Blount]

Thanks for your comments John. Implementing any idea always has risks. I like trying new ideas. Some work out, some don't. It's the nature of the beast.

[John Hodgson]

Chris: I applaud the intent ... question the merit .... :-)

Who was it that once said change for the sake of change is ... ?

Where's the value added? What does this do to elevate DBSTalk above all the other same topic discussion boards on the internet?

[Scott Greczkowski]

Who was it that once said change for the sake of change is ... ?

I dont know who said it but the correct answer is 3 quarters 2 dimes and a nickle. :D

[John Hodgson]

........ color me jaded - got to get out of this (sic) hobby.

[John Corn]

:lol:

How about a suggestion...

Run banner ads to defray expenses.

For those that donate, no banner ads.

IMO, you guys are already straying from your initial motives of having free and open discussions. Moderating language, dissing non-registered guests, and now private forums. Not good guys...

[Mark Holtz]

Just a word to all the detractors...

This web board is a privately funded board. and the moderators have elected not to even require registration. There are no banner ads whatsoever. (Although I have suggested a Amazon Affiliate link to help with the revenue a little bit)

Both DBS Forums and DBS Talk have dedicated systems for running the BBSes. DBSForum is (was) running off a DSL line which is currently experiencing technical ddifficulties. DBSTalk is sitting at a ISP running as a co-location, which can run into major dollars. And, the administrators are running this as a pure hobby and for fun. They have no expectations as a money making venture.

So, please, cut them some slack.

[Kevin]

IMHO, a nice, polite "Thank You for your donation" letter from one of the admins. would serve better rather than a special private forum. This way, the donator feels very much thanked and nobody feels underpriviledged because they don't have access to certain boards.

[Scott Greczkowski]

I agree with what your saying here Kevin.

The problem is Chris has a heart of gold and he wants to give the donators something (Again he was gonna send DVD's to people who donated no matter if they donated $1 or $50)

He figured the private forum would be a good thing (after we talked him out of the DVD's) to say thanks.

I for one want people to donate to do so because they want to support the board, and not to donate only to get access to a special area (a special area which really does not have anything in it anyways)

Thats my 2 cents worth on this subject.

[Steve Mehs]

First off, Thanks, Z'Loth! It means a lot! :)



Addressing issues Burnsy mentioned-

We are still keeping to out initial motives of being a place of free and open discussions. Is that not evident in the Potpourri Forum?

Moderating language- We've always done this, whenever a post has profanity in it, we edit the post and replace one of the letters in the profain word with an astrick, no big deal. We ask users to not post profanitys in their posts but if they feel the need to they can use an astrick, again no big deal. And plus it should be common curtousy not to use vulger language, I dont go other boards posting uncencored profanity and I would expect that no one would do it here, but what can I say we're only human.

Dissing non-registered guests- links to specific posts please.

Private Forums- As said over and over the private Gold Forum is ment to be a thank you for a donation. The doantion can be any amount. This is not ment to entise members to give. Its their own free will to give or not. We as administrators do not benefit fiancally from this board, we do it for fun and at this time more then ever Im proud to be on this great team!

Ad banners- Quite frankly, I find them annoying. It seems every web site on the net now a days is full of ads. At DBSTalk we dont want to do that, and plus ads can really slow down users on modems and this site is increadably fast. The members that donate do so becasue they like what we do and what to keep this ad free.

Steve,

Like I said, JMHO. Just trying to be helpful with constructive suggestions.

If the page is coded properly, banner ads should not slow down the page.

I appreciate the hard work and effort you guys are putting in. Keep up the good work.

[MarkA]

Here's an idea - make the private forum read-only unless you donate. I think that would keep the site more open and free. Like it was meant to be.

[Geronimo]

Truth be told the private forum encouraged many of us to donate. So it is a good thing. If it develops an elitist atmosphere I for one won't participate. But so far it is more chat like than anything else.

[Frapp]

Originally posted by burnsy
How about a suggestion...

Run banner ads to defray expenses.

For those that donate, no banner ads.

IMO, you guys are already straying from your initial motives of having free and open discussions. Moderating language, dissing non-registered guests, and now private forums. Not good guys...


Shoot yea.. Next thing you know they will start locking threads all over the place ;)


A "Gold Club" of sorts would be fun especially since it is not hurting anyone at all.

[MarkA]

To be fair to Chris I think he found that allowing free speech is not something you're every going to want to do when in power. He liked the idea only when he wasn't the one in power. Simple rule that's been shown true many times - power corrupts.

[Mark Lamutt]

Whoa there Mark, I don't think that your statement is fair to Chris (or the rest of us for that matter) at all. There's a HUGE difference between free speech and the free exchange of ideas and a total free-for-all. We have never opened things up to be a free-for-all. You know that, as you've been here since pretty much the beginning. And power doesn't necessarily always corrupt - if a person is of good character, with good values (like I've found Chris to be) then power has no affect on them at all. I, of course, am assuming that you are talking about our friendly neighborhood admin and owner, Chris Blount.

BTW, in your sig, if you change the html code to vb code, you're link will work the way you want it to. And your new avatar is by far the best yet. Very nice looking!

[MarkA]

I said to be fair to Chris, you never want to see things go wild. You only want free speech. And no matter what, I remember the very earliest of days for DBSTalk - it was basically introduced as a total free-for-all and has gotten more moderated. I never said this HAD to be a bad thing. But I do not believe this is the forums Chris intended to start, and honestly, I feel he's created a better place than he intended to start as a total free-for-all would go crazy. So power did ultimately corrupt his goals and ideals, but I don't think that turned out to be such a bad thing.

[John Walsh]

Mark, if you want I will donate some money in your name via Paypal just so that you can access that forum. Email me and we will work something out

[MarkA]

LOL, nah. I'm going to send Chris something. I was planning on doing it anyways. I just need Chris to email me his address he wants it sent to (which is a request he seems to have ignored or not seen so I will PM him now)

[Chris Blount]

Mark,

Ya know, I half typed a response but decided to stop. This is really a waste of time.

I will give you one piece of advice though. Try not to chop the legs off people who are giving you a better life.

Wait, let me try that again with something a little more common. DON'T LOOK A GIFT HORSE IN THE MOUTH!

[MarkA]

Huh Chris? I wasn't. I was simply saying I didn't want someone to do something like that. I owe this board something myself, have felt that way for a few months, and it as nothing to do with any "gold" benefits or not.

[Jacob S]

I think having a forum where only those that donate get in encourages donations in which there should be no problem with, it being like a club of some sorts. Nobody is missing any valuable information.

I think the no ads if you are a member is the best idea that way the site is generating money to operate itself whether the person donates or not.

[MarkA]

Well, I sent Chris a donation today, but I want to make it clear that it isn't to be part of some "gold club". I felt that Chris has been really great with this site overall, and that he deserves some compensation for his time and money. I've felt this for awhile, and was planning to donate even before the gold club came into existance.

[Mark Lamutt]

Thanks Mark! We do appreciate the financial support. We're all in this for the long haul.

[Nick]

As a confirmed elitist, I am in favor of a private "Gold Club", but for quality members only. The idea that anyone can access the club by making a paltry $1 donation goes against the well established and time-honored concept of exclusivity.

To permit entry by ordinary run-of-the-mill forum members would at some point, offend my refined sensibilities.

One final thought, and I offer this for the benefit of all mankind: If you can arrange to have dancing girls in the Gold Club, I will consider a substantial contribution to your humble operation, as long as it qualifies as tax-deductible according to my accountant.

I'm off to a game of wickets. Ta-ta!

Nick :smoking:

[Mark Lamutt]

We'll see what we can do about the dancing girls, Nick. :D

[Geronimo]

Let me let you in on a secret Nick-----there are dancing girls in the Gold Club Forum.

[RichW]

But you have to know the secret handshake!

[Maniacal1]

I hate to tell you this, Rich, but, um, er, that wasn't her hand.

[Kenster]

I'm rather surprised as at the garbage dumped on the administrators of this board, when they are providing a First Class site for free (at great expense, dollar and time-wise, to themselves.)
Yet they are drawing threats of hacking and spam-attacks? I don't get it. The tone of the members has been so great. I have asked so many newbie questions, yet not one person has ever flamed me or shown the slightest irritation or impatience. Everyone seemed interested in helping me and were even concerned enough to ask for follow up. Now, some members are slamming the guys who give us this board. They are not even soliciting funds. They are just showing appreciation for any support given. Moral support does not pay their bills.

[Nick]

I'm not surprised at all, Ken.

Such is the sad state of human nature
that most people in a society tend to
think of themselves as 'middle-class',
which is an artificial construct.

Therefor, such people deem themselves
not worthy of belonging or aspiring to
the 'upper-class'. Also, a component of
the 'middle-class' psyche is to possess
the latent paranoidal feeling of being
excluded.

Those who possess such a mental construct
will not contribute to the operation of
the site solely for the purpose of gaining
access to the coveted Gold Club. To do so
would elevate their status, thus contradict
the assumed limitatons of their own self-
assigned societal niche.

The only way for such persons to motivate
themselves to contribute is to rationalize
that the purpose of making a contribution
is solely to defray the cost of the site.
Ironically, once a contribution is made,
the contributor will feel better about him-
self and will have the perception that his
status has been elevated by the simple act
of contributing.

Having reach this point, this person can now
allow himself to feel worthy of entering the
hollowed halls of the DBSTalk Gold Club.

If there are any questions, meet me in the hall after class.

;)


The Nickster :smoking:

[John Corn]

ummm, ya , right,..............:confused:

:lol:

[alfbinet]

I don't contribute much. My favorite section is the Potpourri Forum becasue of the diversity of the topics. I would pay just to keep that section alive. Let me know how I can send a donation. I have a few bucks.

[Steve Mehs]

Hi Alfbinet and thanks for the support. If you wish to donate, there's a Pay Pal link at the bottom of every page on the forums. If you would like to use another method besides Pay Pal, just give Chris B. a PM and something can be arranged. Thanks again! :)