The Contingency Plan/Exit Strategy

Trollheart · 07-16-2022, 08:38 AM

As an annual figure (30 dollars?) doesn't seem at all bad. I don't think I'd necessarily have a problem with that. The issue is twofold though: a) how many people want to deliberately move now, as opposed to waiting till something happens (ie how many are happy here now and happy to stay) and b) of the former, how many are prepared to put their hands in their pocket? To be fair, I wouldn't really be into the idea of subsidising a new forum for a bunch of people (even friends from here) who were happy to move, but not to pay. I think I would draw the line there. None of us are, so far as I know, registered charities.

The Batlord · 07-16-2022, 08:55 AM

I mean people leave here all the time even for just a few months, but some for longer, and get replaced by returning members or the odd newb. If we move many of those returning members are probably gonna miss whatever stickied post we leave up, and the new faucet will be shut off if we leave a forum at the top of a Google search for "music forum".

What do?

Trollheart · 07-16-2022, 10:39 AM

It is a valid point. Like leaving forwarding addresses, how many are going to bother? Also, I feel older members (look at Bulldog for instance, and Queen Boo too) had they come back and found MB gone and some sign pointing thataway, might not have bothered. For a lot of people it may be the familiarity; they know their way around, know where certain thread/areas are, and finding their way in a new place might be a bit too much hassle.

Add in having to pay to join then and, well, you know...

But then, as you say, you have to either decide to stick with the handful of remaining members we have, or try to attract new ones to a forum which at that point nobody will know about. I mean, look at Music Collector, for one. A lot of new members are just finding their feet here (clue: they're on the ends of your legs, guys! There ya go!) and trying to get to grips with a whole new, paid forum might be asking too much.

There are without question advantages in having our "own" forum; it's just a case of how many people think it's worth it, both in literal, money terms and in terms of going to all the hassle of moving? Hell, some of the people around here are hard enough to wake up, never mind get on their feet and pack a bag!

Guybrush · 07-16-2022, 06:25 PM

TH, you realize noone's ever suggested paywalling musicbanter? Just hope that's clear. Noone should have to pay anything.

If I could choose, I might set up a backup forum and then try to pressure advameg into upgrading the vbulletin version. As it is, I definitely feel like moderators especially are taken advantage of. They help keep advameg's site clean, but receive basically nothing in return. An upgrade to the forum software is a fair demand imo.

SGR · 07-16-2022, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guybrush

TH, you realize noone's ever suggested paywalling musicbanter? Just hope that's clear. Noone should have to pay anything.

If I could choose, I might set up a backup forum and then try to pressure advameg into upgrading the vbulletin version. As it is, I definitely feel like moderators especially are taken advantage of. They help keep advameg's site clean, but receive basically nothing in return. An upgrade to the forum software is a fair demand imo.

How? The only way I could see any pressure being applied is if the mods all threatened to leave.

The Batlord · 07-16-2022, 06:42 PM

To which Advameg would then say "I thought we shut that site down years ago?"

Trollheart · 07-16-2022, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guybrush

TH, you realize noone's ever suggested paywalling musicbanter? Just hope that's clear. Noone should have to pay anything.

If I could choose, I might set up a backup forum and then try to pressure advameg into upgrading the vbulletin version. As it is, I definitely feel like moderators especially are taken advantage of. They help keep advameg's site clean, but receive basically nothing in return. An upgrade to the forum software is a fair demand imo.

I didn't suggest it was. What I said was, if a number of us are going to pay for a new forum, is it fair that those people should then be subsidising those who join but have not paid? So then the fairest way would seem to me, in my amateurish way and knowing little about it, for everyone to have to pay something towards the site upkeep, either through a membership or donation, or something. I would personally not be prepared to pay to set up a site just so those who didn't contribute could just walk in and say "thanks dude" and enjoy what I had helped pay for. I hope that's clear. If that were to be the model, then I would definitely not be prepared to put up any money. I'm not paying for other people, as it were.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Batlord

To which Advameg would then say "I thought we shut that site down years ago?"

Music what?

Guybrush · 07-17-2022, 01:17 AM

To be honest, if it was me hosting it (which it isn't), I'd be happy to front the money, but I might also be happy for donations so I might set that up. But to me, receiving donations means you might also receive more than you need and it introduces a new layer of accountability. Then I think it makes sense to have some kind of yearly expense reports and community sanctioned plans for what to do with surplus monays.

So to me, getting the money is less of a deal than handling it right. People like yourself put a lot of time and effort into forums. They need to be managed properly, responsibly and with care and respect for the users. To me that also includes transparency when it comes to donations.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SGR

How? The only way I could see any pressure being applied is if the mods all threatened to leave.

Yes, either that or a strike. This is why you set up the backup first so that you can say: meet our terms or we leave. Ban any of us and we leave.

You know, unionize a bit.

Edit:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

I didn't suggest it was. What I said was, if a number of us are going to pay for a new forum, is it fair that those people should then be subsidising those who join but have not paid? So then the fairest way would seem to me, in my amateurish way and knowing little about it, for everyone to have to pay something towards the site upkeep, either through a membership or donation, or something. I would personally not be prepared to pay to set up a site just so those who didn't contribute could just walk in and say "thanks dude" and enjoy what I had helped pay for. I hope that's clear. If that were to be the model, then I would definitely not be prepared to put up any money. I'm not paying for other people, as it were.

I think the best way to do it is have donations optional, but perhaps introduce incentives like maybe things that mark you as a donor. It could be user names in bold, maybe a gold star or some privilege like bigger avatars or an email forward or whatever.

adidasss · 07-17-2022, 04:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guybrush

Eliteweb.co is supposed to have fast servers.

Price for a dot com domain: Get a .com for just $9.99/yr

Price for their most basic hosting plan:

cPanel Hosting that’s easy, reliable and lightning-fast.

$1.49/mo

Includes:
1 website
30 GB storage
10 email accounts
Unmetered bandwidth*

Price for Phpbb (forum software): 0 (it's free)

Maybe we'll use another forum, but phpbb is popular and loaded with features and themes, etc. so it seems like a valid option

9,99 + (1,49 × 12) = 27.87

So there you have it. However, it's not uncommon that there's a hidden fee or special pricing for the first one or two years. Anyways, you get an idea.

That seems like a preposterously low amount. I donate twice as much to the Guardian because I like their journalism.

Anyways, I like this idea of blackmail, since it appears they don't pay attention to any normal requests (I sent an email or two).

Failing that, I'm warming up to the idea of moving. I'd suggest to keep the same structure of the forum like what TH made but with new features.

Then we just need a bit of help from the tech savvy people of trying to get it up the google rankings to keep it alive and with new people coming in.

**Marie Monday** · 07-17-2022, 04:48 AM

Nah Charles is right, blackmail or protest will just remind advameg that they should have shut this place down a long time ago. I'm fine with having a backup option (although paying for an online forum seems a bit preposterous) but i think losing the members who check in occasionally is a serious problem with moving. As far as I'm concerned we just stay here until it dies and then we can move to another option if we want. We could even organise that from the discord when the time has come.

07-16-2022, 08:38 AM	#91 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,992	As an annual figure (30 dollars?) doesn't seem at all bad. I don't think I'd necessarily have a problem with that. The issue is twofold though: a) how many people want to deliberately move now, as opposed to waiting till something happens (ie how many are happy here now and happy to stay) and b) of the former, how many are prepared to put their hands in their pocket? To be fair, I wouldn't really be into the idea of subsidising a new forum for a bunch of people (even friends from here) who were happy to move, but not to pay. I think I would draw the line there. None of us are, so far as I know, registered charities. __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

07-16-2022, 10:39 AM	#93 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,992	It is a valid point. Like leaving forwarding addresses, how many are going to bother? Also, I feel older members (look at Bulldog for instance, and Queen Boo too) had they come back and found MB gone and some sign pointing thataway, might not have bothered. For a lot of people it may be the familiarity; they know their way around, know where certain thread/areas are, and finding their way in a new place might be a bit too much hassle. Add in having to pay to join then and, well, you know... But then, as you say, you have to either decide to stick with the handful of remaining members we have, or try to attract new ones to a forum which at that point nobody will know about. I mean, look at Music Collector, for one. A lot of new members are just finding their feet here (clue: they're on the ends of your legs, guys! There ya go!) and trying to get to grips with a whole new, paid forum might be asking too much. There are without question advantages in having our "own" forum; it's just a case of how many people think it's worth it, both in literal, money terms and in terms of going to all the hassle of moving? Hell, some of the people around here are hard enough to wake up, never mind get on their feet and pack a bag! __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

07-16-2022, 06:25 PM	#94 (permalink)
Guybrush Juicious Maximus III Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Scabb Island Posts: 6,525	TH, you realize noone's ever suggested paywalling musicbanter? Just hope that's clear. Noone should have to pay anything. If I could choose, I might set up a backup forum and then try to pressure advameg into upgrading the vbulletin version. As it is, I definitely feel like moderators especially are taken advantage of. They help keep advameg's site clean, but receive basically nothing in return. An upgrade to the forum software is a fair demand imo. __________________ Something Completely Different