Upgrade and new features 9/09

Well, it's really easy when you know how! :wink:

 

"Air"..there's tonnes of it, some better quality than others, but all free and essential for life..

Steve...

 

Well, I for one read it. I also have to agree with everything said.

Did you know? Of the 47 main headings you can post in, today only 21 have been posted in. That means 26 which is over half of the site have been ignored.
Now if less than half of the forum has had posts, would not making compulsory donations for certain areas or options make it even more off putting for new members? Surely this forum needs more active members, not less.

 

"Of the 47 main headings you can post in, today only 21 have been posted in. That means 26 which is over half of the site have been ignored."

How do you mean ignored? You just mean that no one has posted in those forums today.

The various forums exist so that relevant material can be posted in an appropriate place.

Too many and the site becomes a maze ...

... too few and you can't see the wood for the trees - follow that theory to its conclusion and there will only be one forum and everything will be in it.

Just-right and quite a few of the "more obscure" areas won't be posted in very often.

I don't read any of the "non gardening chat" type forums. Others clearly enjoy the community in those forums. So what? If you enjoy them then participate, if you don't then don't bother. Simples.

 

May I suggest you re read the whole of my post again, then post your thoughts on the whole of it, not just part of it. As if you only understand half you do not get the whole picture, you only get half.

 

I had a day off and come back to all change,and ever since i cant upload any photos to my album

 

"May I suggest you re read the whole of my post again, then post your thoughts on the whole of it, not just part of it. As if you only understand half you do not get the whole picture, you only get half."

I did read the whole, but I only had a comment on the part I referred to.

 

But that is like saying "The dinner was horrible" when you actually only did not like the "pud".

But since you seem to want it spelled out, I will. (That way you get the whole picture)

It was suggested (Not by me) that perhaps certain parts / options of GC be charged for / to use or access. I then pointed out (With statistics) that less than half of the GC forum is "used" on a regular basis.

So if a charge was applied to use / be a member of GC. It would in my opinion drive people away, not bring them in. If more people used the forum than they do now, averages would say that all (Or at least more than is the case now) sections would have at least one post / day.

So I am saying don’t even think of charging to use any part of this forum, I think it will drive people away.

 

"But that is like saying "The dinner was horrible" when you actually only did not like the "pud"."

On the contrary. I was specifically explaining about the "pud", as you put it.

"It was suggested (Not by me) that perhaps certain parts / options of GC be charged for / to use or access"

I missed that suggestion. Can you point me to the proposal to charge for certain parts of the system please?

 

It was me that mentioned it, not as a recommendation it be done necessarily but that I know a lot of sites do do this and people still use them happily. For example the MG car forum you have to pay for to be a member at all... people still join.

I was only suggesting that a lot of sites ask people to pay a donation which gives them extras. Whether it be access to additional forums, more space for photos, or whatever.

The way I look at it is, that its certainly cheaper than buying gardening magazines and a lot more useful/helpful to me and prob a lot others too. Plus if it saves me money from buying the wrong plants or killing what I have ... well then I save money there too ... so why not give a little back ?

 

Thanks; I saw your post, but didn't infer any suggestion from it that you proposed a part of the site becoming "privileged" i.e. only available to subscribers - which is what I think water-garden is referring to.

My recollection is that the only proposals have been that subscription would suppress adverts / donation requests, and possibly enable some extra Arcade games.

 

Thanks Kristen I was merely saying that a lot of sites ask for donations and saying how they get people to donate easily

I personally do not know who owns Gardeners Corner, but obviously they are paying the fees to host the website and keep the domain name active. I guess we should all ask ourselves what we would do should they not be able to afford to pay these fees anymore and Gardeners Corner was to go offline ? A couple of quid here and there from people would help pay these costs (therefore keeping the site online) plus obviously pay for people to come in and fix problem when they occur.

I dont know about forums as such, but I know our website at work costs probably in excess of £400 a year between renewing the domain name and hosting fee's. If it does cost that much for a forum, then thats a lot of money for one person to pay out of their own pocket .... for everyone else's enjoyment.

Kristen, I remember a while back there was a problem with not enough space for your photos etc and this limit was increased for you, as a valued member. Now I know you have already said you are happy to pay the donation, so should it include some extra photo space, for example, this would give you something back for your money, yes ?

Anyway, someone give us all a nudge when the donation thing is all set up and working and I am more than happy to donate. If some people dont want too then thats fine too. I am sure there are enough people here that are willing to send a few pounds to help continue the site

 

Thanks Marley, will add my donation now then if its all up and working

I know the limits were increased already - was just using it as an example of how you could 'encourage' people to donate

And yes I am loving the new facilities. The 'new posts' section is so much better and makes us much much easier to make sure I have read everything of interest.

 

All done ... very easy to donate too