Probably leaving the forum

[Calaverasgrande]

Its been a few months since the forum was sold.
Now I'm getting direct messages asking me to contribute to keep the forum viable?
(More than once I might ad)
Sorry, that chore is on the owners of the forum.
If people want to pay money to gain access to value added features that is great. I am all for that business model.
Or getting revenue from ads that show up on the header, footer and gutter.
But lets be real, this is not a cause to donate to. I am pretty sure it's not a 501C(3).
So my 'donation' will not be tax deductible.
I'm hardly here more than once a week.
So no big loss.

 

[scaredycat72]

I just replied "no thank you" and that was it. If they start charging to participate, then I'll leave. Until then, I'm good.

PS Upgrades are $20 a year, $10 with the current discount. Even if the upgrade was tax deductible, a $20 deduction on taxable income is not going to help anybody's taxes.

 

[peteg59]

Forums cost money to run.
Advertisers $$ only goes so far.
For those that can help out financially, $20 isn't the end of the world.
For more frugal folks, the "lights" are still on for them here as far as I can tell...

 

[CosmickGold]

My policy has long been to give $20 once each month to whichever software or website has helped me the most (not giving to the same one twice in a year). I realize that if everyone did that, good software would truly THRIVE while staying free for those of us who are too poor to afford even $20. I don't see a reason to care about "tax deductable" or 501C(3) status. I give it so they can continue to give to us (which they do).

So guess why you see a green "Supporting Member" under my name. (Hee hee hee.)

 

[JDub]

Honestly? I'm still waiting to decide if I'm going to stick around... I was pretty disappointed with things the first go round... If I do keep "Gracing" the forum with my presence ROFLMAO I'll probably contribute...

Cheers!

 

[frater secessus]

Now I'm getting direct messages asking me to contribute to keep the forum viable?

I also found the auto-DM distasteful when I received it. I figure they make enough money off my content and the forumyield-20 referral suffixes they apply to stripped Amazon links we post.

Forums cost money to run.

Forums are pretty cheap to run. Having a paid staff and wanting it to turn a profit is what costs real money. No one forced them to get into (and stay in) this line of work.

 

[Calaverasgrande]

I've been admin and moderator on forums myself.
It's extremely similar to Wordpress in the way both (usually) rely on PHP to put a front end on a database.
With cloud products proliferating faster all the time its not like you need a physical server ina COLO facility.
Ad revenue and referral links easily pay for operating costs.

As far as supporting this site.
Well last I checked it's not supported by Tapatalk. So that is a negative for me.
It also doesn't generate original content like DPreview or Macrumors.
It does have plenty of ads. I'm seeing ads even with Ghostery enabled. So I'm sure they get paid.
I guess the folks that bought it want to see a return on the investment.
Perhaps they overrestimated the influencer population here.

 

[tx2sturgis]

XenForo (this forum) can support the Tapatalk add-on. I have no way of doing that myself, but if several users would like to see that feature maybe we can talk someone (higher up than me) into adding it.

As far as ads...I dont have any current info on that but XenForo does cost money and so does the server space.

 

[user 22017]

This forum is great (aside from the ridiculous 'guns' category).

We get to meet others who are also living out of vehicles/RV's. The help they have given me regarding my truck, TC and more has been invaluable. Not to mention all the info about solar, hygiene, cooking, modifications, heating, on and on. The site is chock full of info for nomads and campers.

That said, the DM blast was a good reminder that I should contribute to the site.

 

[RVTravel]

everybody wants to be a millionaire

 

[Gypsyjoe#1]

Not only have they been trying to make this forum great again, but there are expenses along with time spent keeping this forum good but they do it with minimal advertising that you have to look at, you can turn most of it off with in your control panel. I think that asking for a little donation once in a while is perfectly acceptable.

 

[eDJ_]

Interesting to see this. There are a lot of RV forums that aren't fee bearing. The whole idea of this was to give the down and out folks a clue as to how they could get into a vehicle and live in it to avoid homelessness. I look at the threads here (like living on $700 a month etc) which tend to address the needs of those who don't have $20 to spare.

In real estate now there is a big surge in speculators buying properties such as apartment buildings and trailer parks and jacking up the rent on the tenants. Credit card companies are now jacking interest rates from 18% apr up as high as 28% apr. Those who have been living on their plastic and have several thousand dollars of debt will likely never recover.
(and I would bet there are more than a few on this forum)

If you want to read a new book that discusses this phenomenon, read "Jackpot: How the Super-Rich really live --- And how their Wealth harms us all" by Michael Mechanic.

https://www.amazon.com/Jackpot-Super-Rich-Really-Live_and-Wealth/dp/198212721X

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Asking for a donation is not the same as demanding payment for use. Anyone can use this forum with the only cost is a device and data.

gizmotron: lots of forums to choose from if you want a free for all.

 

[RvNaut]

My take is that this site is getting revenue by our participation and the advertising they mount on the site. I am on SS and the pennies add up. If I win the lottery (because someone gave me a ticket) I will reconsider.

 

[Gypsyjoe#1]

My take is that this site is getting revenue by our participation and the advertising they mount on the site. I am on SS and the pennies add up. If I win the lottery (because someone gave me a ticket) I will reconsider.

The whole thing is my message wasn't twisting my arm or threateningme with being kicked off the site or anything of the sort. It was a cordial request for some help, I feel that I receive enough from the site that I made a donation. I don't have a spare $20 either as I am one of those that is on a fixed income as in the $700 per month, actually I get almost $800 to be honest. So since I don't have a spare $20 I won't say how much I donated but it was less than $20 and I am happy with it. I guess what I am saying is what is the big deal, if one of you was in dire straights and I could afford to donate a couple of bucks I know how to use Paypal and have done such in the past. Quit making such a big deal out of it and if you can't afford, don't but don't quit a forum which is helping many.

Cheers as they say so often on here so often stay safe stay cool and if your in trouble drop me a DM and if i have a couple bucks it will be on the way.

 

[frater secessus]

Asking for a donation is not the same as demanding payment for use

What is your understanding of this language from the DM:

• we do need help to continue this
• a few bucks a month ensuring the community stays online.
• We have a lot of greatness and we want to make sure it stays that way.

To me it reads like "Nice forum ya got there. Would be a shame if something happened to it."

 

[Cousin_Eddie]

As far as online goes... everyone knows...​

If it's free, you're probably the product!​

 

[RonDean]

1. I would love to just skip any of us using the trigger words that some use to sneak in their politics. Ie: Cancel, Woke, etc. As has been pointed out, there are other forums for that. Especially, if I can't fire back in kind. And, NO, I won't pay to see this become a political wild west. I can do that elsewhere, for free as well.

2. I will probably contribute as soon as I see a way to send money I am comfortable with. Although, I do look at the ads occasionally. I guess I could argue that is a form of payment. I am not oblivious to the work involved in running a forum or maintaining any website. Even one that wasn't developed by someone else and had to be paid for.

I once ran a gaining website with an associated forum. Since I was charging for the game, it never occurred to me to ask for "donations" for the forum. I was up-front about charging for my time. I didn't call it donations, I called it fees. or charges. The funny thing is, NOBODY ever complained. Not once! And I was providing a game that was free elsewhere. I simply offered extra support and customization that the free sites didn't. My customers knew there was a fee involved and they chose to pay to play. So... can this site say the same?

 

[PhilD1954]

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.

 

[mbrasseau]

I received that request too. And my initial, internal, knee-jerk reaction was also deep abiding annoyance... because life is really hard right now, and at literally EVERY turn is some one who does not even know me, feeling entitled to stick their fist in my pocket for a cash-grab.

But when I take a breath and get past that initial, internal, knee-jerk response... what are my real feelings?

I really love this site. And I love what it has to offer everyone... anyone. And I understand that it takes resources to provide a resource. And anyone who would offer such a thing must be a lovely person(s). And such a lovely person bears no resemblance to the nasty cash-grabbers who have me completely over-sensitized at the moment. And such a person certainly does not deserve such harsh a response meant for another.

Like any community, we will have those who can contribute in $$ and others who can contribute in other ways, and those who just need support for a while. It's all good.