SNOWEST FORUMS: Member Comments on "Letter to All Members"

[backcountryislife]

You will still be able to search and read for tech info as a non-paying member.

From what I understand (I could be off obviously) that's not the case, but even if it was, you can't ask a question. If you look at the fact that most folks can't figure out how to search effectively to find what they're looking for, not being able to ask a question is a bit of a problem.

Tell you what, make the current sled forums & the local area forums free & charge the people that want to yap in powder & modified & the other useless forums.

 

[jameshofo]

Its understandable that eventualy we'd have to pay for such a good thing.

The only few things I'd personally change is give guests the ability to PM, and REPLY ONLY in the swap meet forum ONLY AFTER they've posted a set ammount of times like 100. Overclockers did this to their forum and it helps keep out the riff raff, scammers, and leaches. It also adds value to the paying members that want to sell their stuff.

This is also an increddibl opportunity to get the forum involved in the magazine, tastefully. Adress certain cumbersome topis in the magazine like I want to do XYZ mod to my seld what do you guys think? It'd be a great opportunity for the experts to take it an run with it.

 

[blurredelevens]

Paying to use a forum? That is retarded.

Take off all the stupid add-on **** you have, and sponsor the forum with advertisers that know of your traffic numbers. There are forums WAYYY more popular than this one that have continued to stay free.
Take this one for example-
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/
202 THOUSAND members

Making your members pay is a joke. Keep exploiting those who made you.

As someone who knows quite a bit about internet forums, this is ridiculous.

I suggest the hardcore longtime members here start their own forum and have everyone jump ship.

We did it several years in the ski message board world when we all bailed on powdermag boards and went to TGR.

 

[Angermangement890]

So long as there is Harris Publishing and SnoWest Magazine, there will be a SnoWest Forums.Unless the corporation closes it's doors, we will not be going anywhere.

The thought that life is going to continue merrily on while you pilot a hurtling car towards and possibly over a cliff is an arrogant statement to make.

The answer recieved is not what I asked, my question is, if the Forum detoriates to the point it generates minimal hits per day and posts take days or weeks to get answered, what recourse does a paying subscriber have? You talk about the value this site is, in its peak (pre messed up changes and crazy mods) I would have happily paid the $10, now I am forced to evaluate whether the value you talk about just signed in on another forum to contribute (for free). Granted, not everyone will leave, but will what remains be enough to go forward or will Snowest descend to the myspace of young sledders?


You seem to be ducking the issues of membership rates projected, revenue from advertisers departing if membership drops etc. If you drive the core advertisers away, becasue the customers they were reaching leave this site, what is your plan to recoupe the lost revenue? Rate hikes?, And why are you Buying expensive hardware that becomes obsolete at a rapid pace vs. leasing and renting the latest and greatest?

I think if you want the idea of a pay site to go over better, you better put more thought and information into your posts. We are not all 15 here, there are successful business owners on this site that can see the problems you WILL encounter. Yet you dismiss many of the concerns they have as petty, insignificant and push them off to the side.

 

[dragonfire]

Thank you Snowest

I am happy to pay the cost of a subscription to a Snowest Forum. Here are some reasons,Years ago I would try aftermarket products along with different setups only wishing that I could share ideas and other peoples experiences to get your sled running better alot quicker. The wealth of information on Snowest is superb,along with the ability to market your extra parts on the swapmeet amongst many other services. To manage a website of this magnitude .costs money. Nothing is free, Thank you Snowest for offering this service to us and I will gladly pay the price of a beer and burger for a years subscription to Snowest forum

 

[RXB-1]

Ok so speed I like, but dont notice much problem now (a little)
The other 17 items do not mean squat to me.
This point may have already been made but lets say you retain 10,000 paying members at $14.95 per year so that is $149,500.00. So anywhere in the hundread thou a year incoming could buy a ****load of extras. most of witch I do not want or need. On the high end of membership much more... Yes some will choose the 2 or 3 year option and the numbers could be all over the place. What is the cost of new servers?
I would say ( IF IT HAS TO CHANGE) go with a one time fee that is small enough for you to not loose all the peps. Also if you subscribe to the mag it should be free.
Others will replace you if this goes the wrong way.
Just my 2 cents
Time for a cold one
O yea ITS SNOWING

 

[Vertical Edge]

I will gladly pay,I'm not on very much but it's still a great place and a huge value.I think my Dad sold $450 worth of parts on here in the last 2 weeks.

 

[NorthMNSledder]

I know I’m a mod so my thoughts and opinions will not matter to some. Oh and I live in MN so some others will hate me for that.

But what the heck…..

I have been a member here for two years and have spent more hours of my life here then I care to share. The people here are what make the forum and I think everybody realizes that. The tech information and the great threads like the XP pinecone and the NMFH are the reason I stayed and kept reading. The entertainment this site provides is incredible.

I understand the point that people are making about paying to give information. But here is how I’m looking at it (my personal opinion). I’m willing to pay for a place that I can hangout and not be judged because I have to have my snowmobile fix 365 days a year. Yes I’m paying to share my information, but in the end I’m getting more information and entertainment then the $10 a year I will pay. So to me it’s value, maybe it’s not to you.

And yes whether the moderators are required to pay or not I will. I feel that’s the right thing to do as I use this site far more then I moderator it. Plus nobody can tell me that I’m getting a free ride as a mod.

Note that every member here will have a chance to see the full site up and running perfectly before they have to pay a cent. So why not wait and see how things are in a couple months before saying you are done?

But hey, I already know some of you have made up your mind and that is sad to see.

 

[80arrow]

I was going to read all the posts before I commented but I just can't do it. Lots of people don't figure they should have to pay to use the site. I'll pay becuase of all the info I can get at 9:30 pm when I run into a prob. while working on my sled. Hopefully I've been able to help others in return I do think we should have one swapmeet spot tho. I like the old one but lets just get to one, one or the other. Hopefully I didn't miss something epic in the last 13 pages, but now I'm going to read something more fun on here, Clint

 

[snow-junky]

I'll pay , its not that much money. I pay more than that for some of my local forums anyways.

P.S. I didn't read the whole thread,I don't have time to read 27 pages, but I'm sure that there is many valid points.I like this forum and most of the changes.

RYAN

 

[blurredelevens]

You guys do know that when signing up to pay those who are here to exploit you, you're also actively participating in not keeping the internet free, right?

Think about it. There are forums with a s h i tload more traffic than this one that stay free.

The people in charge of this site are either-

a) incompetent in finding sponsors who don't see the value in the specific target group that posts here

OR, clearly in my mind

b) charge the people who make this site valuable WHILE keeping the advertising dollars. They're turning this into a business. Now is your time to show them YOU and the people who post on this forum ARE the value.
They haven't paid you to post and make this place what it is.
These forums can go anywhere.
Don't be a corporate TOOL. Speaking of which, I'm positive somebodies tool boy on here will respond with the typical blah blah blah. Save your breath, and post the numbers here. You know, like hits per day, bandwidth, who and what you're paying for hosting, storage, etc.

They won't though, that's your sign.

PS-you people saying you'd pay make me SICK.

 

[KMMAC]

So long snowest. All about the money and a more confusing web site............................................................................................

 

[IShartd]

If this was a PROFIT CENTER and was throwing off cash for the last 11 years, then you would be dead nuts right.

But its not, and it hasn't and there is no real expectation that it will.

Your analogy might be better like this.

The school building and facilities have been owned and operated by Harris for years,

The teachers have been their rooms to teach at their leisure and the students have had free admission.

All the while Harris has been paying for the building that everyone has been enjoying.

And now, after 11 years, they are asking all the students to pay a very small fee to cover all of the costs of that building, maintenance and upke

Dude......... How Dare you! You may be better suited to re-think your analogy. Your "School Building and Facility" has made it easier for Harris Publishing to sell subscribtions over the past 11 years. "The Students and Teachers" are one in the same their called "MEMBERS" and they have willingly given the content to the Snowest forum, for you to have the oppurtunity to pimp out the site for gain. I respectfully advise you to remember what has made this a great Forum. THE MEMBERS or as you refer to them, Students.

 

[HOBB-Z]

Originally Posted by christopher View Post
So long as there is Harris Publishing and SnoWest Magazine, there will be a SnoWest Forums.Unless the corporation closes it's doors, we will not be going anywhere.

The thought that life is going to continue merrily on while you pilot a hurtling car towards and possibly over a cliff is an arrogant statement to make.

The answer recieved is not what I asked, my question is, if the Forum detoriates to the point it generates minimal hits per day and posts take days or weeks to get answered, what recourse does a paying subscriber have? You talk about the value this site is, in its peak (pre messed up changes and crazy mods) I would have happily paid the $10, now I am forced to evaluate whether the value you talk about just signed in on another forum to contribute (for free). Granted, not everyone will leave, but will what remains be enough to go forward or will Snowest descend to the myspace of young sledders?


You seem to be ducking the issues of membership rates projected, revenue from advertisers departing if membership drops etc. If you drive the core advertisers away, becasue the customers they were reaching leave this site, what is your plan to recoupe the lost revenue? Rate hikes?, And why are you Buying expensive hardware that becomes obsolete at a rapid pace vs. leasing and renting the latest and greatest?

I think if you want the idea of a pay site to go over better, you better put more thought and information into your posts. We are not all 15 here, there are successful business owners on this site that can see the problems you WILL encounter. Yet you dismiss many of the concerns they have as petty, insignificant and push them off to the side.

Lets not forget people this site made NO money for 11 yrs, but the overhead
was also fairly small.

Now they are spending money like its falling out of the sky, 30,000 in up grades and probably at least twice that amount 60,000 pr year for the GOD FATHER.

If this gamble doesn't work out, do you really think they won't scrap snowest,
and whats worse if it doesn't work out there will be nothing left to salvage.

 

[christian]

pay to be part of a forum??? NO WAY

slednw.com/

 

[STAFFORDIRT]

Well Put

Sad that $30.00 can make such an uproar . I'll pay GLADLY for more speed and less whiners .

We all are a part of a very expensive sport, I will gladly pay $15 a year to get useful info and suggestions, hopefully this subsription gets rid of all the BS. I see this as a snowmobile forum not a place for loosers to get attention. Just like Brad Paisleys song "so much cooler online".

Q: Is there going to be a BS filter on this site with all that new software?

 

[RedKitty]

you've heard it all already

I started reading this thread this morning and was shocked by the acrimony of many of the members against this whole "pay to play" idea generally and Christopher more specifically. Do I think this is a good idea?.... no. Is it too much money?... no.

I don't post much, I don't have the knowledge a lot of the other members do, so losing me wouldn't be much of a loss to snowest. That being said there are a few members that WOULD be a great loss if they didn't return because of personality/financial/general principle issues. I and many others like me come to this site where I am exposed to advertising not because of the cute bells and whistles or cutesy tools on this site. I come here because I can post a question and in a matter of hours have answers from some pretty knowledgeable helpful people who want nothing from me. I'll probably pay at least once up front, but if you lose those smart guys posting in the arctic cat 1m section that I have come to depend on then it will be the last money you ever pry from my hand.

I hope this whole thing works, and I wish you the best. I'm going to choose to believe that you are making this move out of an honest effort to improve the forum. If you are doing this out of greed may your belt break and your spare be home.

P. S. I really do like that new 1m section of the forum http://www.snowest.com/forum/images/icons/icon7.gif

 

[blurredelevens]

We all are a part of a very expensive sport, I will gladly pay $15 a year to get useful info and suggestions, hopefully this subsription gets rid of all the BS. I see this as a snowmobile forum not a place for loosers to get attention. Just like Brad Paisleys song "so much cooler online".

Q: Is there going to be a BS filter on this site with all that new software?

I hope you donate to Google everytime you search for something....you know, be a good little boy cuz LIFE is expensive.

 

[blurredelevens]

I started reading this thread this morning and was shocked by the acrimony of many of the members against this whole "pay to play" idea generally and Christopher more specifically. Do I think this is a good idea?.... no. Is it too much money?... no.

I don't post much, I don't have the knowledge a lot of the other members do, so losing me wouldn't be much of a loss to snowest. That being said there are a few members that WOULD be a great loss if they didn't return because of personality/financial/general principle issues. I and many others like me come to this site where I am exposed to advertising not because of the cute bells and whistles or cutesy tools on this site. I come here because I can post a question and in a matter of hours have answers from some pretty knowledgeable helpful people who want nothing from me. I'll probably pay at least once up front, but if you lose those smart guys posting in the arctic cat 1m section that I have come to depend on then it will be the last money you ever pry from my hand.

I hope this whole thing works, and I wish you the best. I'm going to choose to believe that you are making this move out of an honest effort to improve the forum. If you are doing this out of greed may your belt break and your spare be home.

P. S. I really do like that new 1m section of the forum http://www.snowest.com/forum/images/icons/icon7.gif

IT IS a slippery slope.

Still in awe of all of you saying "I'D PAY FOR THIS INFO"!!!

It's just unbelievably ignorant.

Keep the internet free.

 

[breakingsomum]

I sit here just laughing at these posts!!!! And all this new stuff Did I miss any yea these were worth loosing the old forums.

So here's a question for ya???
If you switched the old site back on could it be free again?? Cause it seems to me that is a big waste of space.
With all this new crap it seems that snowest has possibly loss some members, I know that I don't check it out as much since you did the change its too clutterd and that stupid chat stuff is anoying!!! Can you remove that from the forums pages???

I am however going to check out that back country sledder site maybe it will remind me of the way snowest was before the changes that have made it need new servers and all this stuff, its quite frankley becoming a junk site for me, after 15 years of mod sleds and 31years ridding, I just can not justify the fee for them making a profit off of me and others knowledge, and then having to pay also , just makes no sence at all

just my .02 here's more of your new feature thingies