Probably leaving the forum

I don't see why people are getting in a huff about this site asking for money occasionally whether they call it a donation or a fee. Personally I'd rather have this site asking for money once a month than the hundreds of scam emails I receive trying to steal my money. Wikipedia asks for $3 once a year it seems (they have 255 MILLION views per DAY) but I don't get offended, write to them to complain or tell everyone I'm never going to use their information again. Wikipedias opening line asking for money is very similar to what many have received here and very similar to what many organizations say when they request donations.

People may want to check out r/choosingbeggars on reddit.

Just like any business, of which vanlivingforum.com is, they need to make money. Do you go into a new store that has changed owners and complain to the new owner saying "I've been getting free popcorn every time I come in here ever since I can remember, why are you asking me to pay $ for the same bag of popcorn? This is an outrage!"
or, do you think "I've been getting free popcorn here (cheaprvliving.com) forever, I guess the new owner (vanlivingforum.com) calculated that it costs something to make popcorn, and now they're asking IF I want to pay for the popcorn, that it would help out everyone including those still getting free popcorn.

PhilD1954 said:

i also got the DM. the only way to pay is paypal and i avoid them like the plague.
so i did not support the channel.

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The must have changed it. I recently paid via credit card.

It's not the amount of money, or that a website 'has to make a profit'.
Sending DMs is pretty crass.
Those are usually for messages between members, or a notification of an infraction or explanation about why a post was deleted if coming from an admin or mod.
This was none of those.

I checked yesterday and couldn't find a way to delete my account. Unless It's in some super obvious place I cannot locate.

Don't know how this site is configured but many places, deleting an account doesn't destroy the data you accumulated, it just removes your access to it. (Maybe someone who knows more can improve on that comment.) May be better to just leave it there and ignore it? I have finally gotten to where I only make myself miserable checking facebook once a week ...

PM the site administrator to inactivate your account and log out.
I don't understand all the drama.

My guess is that some of the more knowledgeable members will just drift off before long, The supporting members will continue to monetize the forum with their financial contributions, and at some point this forum be sold again at a profit where this cycle will continue to be repeated. Some of us will feel that there is nothing wrong with this and others will feel it is a sell-out. Growth & retention of the membership will tell us much.

I'm retired and trying to make it on just a little over $7,000 a month, and $20 is too much of a stretch. That's 3 days of Starbucks for me. Not a hard decision to make...

Just quit logging into the forum. What you posted previously is now public property. You can't take back what you posted. You are not actually equiped with an eraser head. There are no do overs.

$7000 a month? I wish I had your problem. LOL

Anyhow, I see nothing wrong with the site owners asking for a donation - but now we've got some people with the pretty green "supporting member" badge and the rest of us who haven't donated have the scarlet letter, so to speak - everyone knows we haven't donated. Shame on us? It is almost like being coerced so we can stop looking like poverty stricken non-generous people.

travelaround said:

$7000 a month? I wish I had your problem. LOL

Anyhow, I see nothing wrong with the site owners asking for a donation - but now we've got some people with the pretty green "supporting member" badge and the rest of us who haven't donated have the scarlet letter, so to speak - everyone knows we haven't donated. Shame on us? It is almost like being coerced so we can stop looking like poverty stricken non-generous people.

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I don't feel that way at all, I have that as you call it "pretty green badge" and whether you have one or not is none of my concern. I could afford it at the moment, next month probably not. I don't feel that if you don't have one you are neither "poverty stricken or non-generous" maybe next time it will be the other way around and you will have it and I won't, I hope you are not that judgemental that you would judge me if I don't have it next year.

Just telling you my feelings as a person without the special green badge. It really divides the forum between the givers and the non-givers. It doesn't make me feel like giving as if I did I wouldn't want to display my donation status for everyone to see.

I realize that in doggyTics you get all kinds of wild unsubstantiated facts that both can't possibly be true at the same times. I'm suggesting keeping on the one topic of living in vehicles and the bureaucratic regulations handed down regarding living in vehicles only. I know people have been trained in elementary school to think that there is no such thing as truth and that all these arguments are meant for changing people. In that way "truth" is nothing more than a weapon to change the world. You can declare everything subjective and then say anything. I get that.

I just think that knowing where things are getting worse or better matters. If that means that deleting the angry part of communicating subjective opinions brings about a sense of civility then that is just part of the process. It's the information like local laws forbidding living in your vehicle that need to be known about. They don't like it when a light is shown on them and what they are doing. That new forum, a huge money maker BTW, could help in that effort. I'm not in the business of making a profit from a web forum. Perhaps I'm just making up a fib.

beavergod1 said:

I'm retired and trying to make it on just a little over $7,000 a month, and $20 is too much of a stretch. That's 3 days of Starbucks for me. Not a hard decision to make...

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I'm hoping that's a typo. Or maybe flame bait? I made about that amount when I was working...but now that I'm retired and on SS, not even close.

The reason I tossed a few bucks in the tip-jar was simple: I enjoy the forum and the people on it, and I hope it stays around for awhile. I won't miss not having two or three Starbucks. But if the forum vanished, I WOULD miss that.

$20 a year seems reasonable.

AtlantaGuy said:

The must have changed it. I recently paid via credit card.

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Donations are only Paypal. The Supporting Membership upgrade can be PayPal or CreditCard.

Thank you to all those that have decided to contribute with $$. And welcome to stay and post to all those that did not.

I have no income at all and am accustomed to living on less than a grand a month after somebody else pays my rent.

I would be more than willing to code-switch to throwing $3.99 PayPal payments into the virtual "guitar cases" of the mentors I so desperately need but.....

We have already made our choices in life. My own voice is strident, loud, discordant and annoying.

I need the 4 bux 4 gaz and (collective) you need me gone. Most of the time. It's working so far, anyway.

Things are way too political right now for any of us in the US to express our true feelings of love, solidarity, and compassion for each other because we simply do not have the tools.

Sorry for crapping all over your internet, world.

tradesman said:

I don't see why people are geting in a huff about this site asking for money occasionally whether they call it a donation or a fee. Personally I'd rather have this site asking for money once a month than the hundreds of scam emails I receive trying to steal my money. Wikipedia asks for $3 once a year it seems (they have 255 MILLION views per DAY) but I don't get offended, write to them to complain or tell everyone I'm never going to use their information again. Wikipedias opening line asking for money is very similar to what you received JP-SLC and very similar to what many organizations say when they request donations.

People may want to check out r/choosingbeggars on reddit.

Just like any business, of which vanlivingforum.com is, they need to make money. Do you go into a new store that has changed owners and complain to the new owner saying "I've been getting free popcorn every time I come in here ever since I can remember, why are you asking me to pay $ for the same bag of popcorn? This is an outrage!"
or, do you think "I've been getting free popcorn here (cheaprvliving.com) forever, I guess the new owner (vanlivingforum.com) calculated that it costs something to make popcorn, and now they're asking IF I want to pay for the popcorn, that it would help out everyone including those still getting free popcorn.

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I'm neither "in a huff" or "offended". I was careful to recognize it was minor and nit-picky and wanted to offer constructive criticism.

travelaround said:

$7000 a month? I wish I had your problem. LOL

Anyhow, I see nothing wrong with the site owners asking for a donation - but now we've got some people with the pretty green "supporting member" badge and the rest of us who haven't donated have the scarlet letter, so to speak - everyone knows we haven't donated. Shame on us? It is almost like being coerced so we can stop looking like poverty stricken non-generous people.

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I don't know beavergod, but Im pretty sure his tongue was firmly implanted in his cheek.

Southbound said:

Donations are only Paypal. The Supporting Membership upgrade can be PayPal or CreditCard.

Thank you to all those that have decided to contribute with $$. And welcome to stay and post to all those that did not.

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For some of us, it would be a no-brainer to write a check. Others of us simply haven't thought much about Elon Musk and might not be aware of who their friends actually are.

Most of us have already made our choices in life. Thanx 4 lissenz.

/ me

I look at the $20 bucks like buying the hosts and moderators a cocktail and I think they deserve it. This is a nice site.

tx2sturgis said:

I'm hoping that's a typo. Or maybe flame bait? I made about that amount when I was working...but now that I'm retired and on SS, not even close.

The reason I tossed a few bucks in the tip-jar was simple: I enjoy the forum and the people on it, and I hope it stays around for awhile. I won't miss not having two or three Starbucks. But if the forum vanished, I WOULD miss that.

$20 a year seems reasonable.

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Not a typo or flame bait. Just being a little facetious. I'm too cheap for Starbucks, but $20 would pay for 3 containers of Maxwell House coffee from Walmart, which I do drink. I do pay for Allstays and such sites that give me a real return on my money, but forums are a dime a dozen. I agree with Cozin Eddie, they make money off our visit's. As far as the green banner, it reminds me of our voluntary HOA in my neighborhood that puts out a quarterly newsletter and lists all the contributing members, (which I am not part of), to "shame" us...