I'd like your feedback on a couple topics: Search, Subforums, Banner Ads

I know of a number of other forums that have a “search the forum with google” menu bars for everyone to use while restricting the use of the integrated search function to those who help to support the sites.
 
dawsonbob said:
Spark, I detest banner ads and pop-up ads (and I'm in the ad biz — go figure). Having said that, I also have to say that they're simply a fact of internet life nowadays. I like the idea of them being only visible to registered members. Those of us with paying memberships support the site one way, and registered users can support it another.

To all that you've said, I say go for it: all the way!
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This is clever! I'm too old-fashioned to have thought of that.

If the site isn't paying for itself, I see nothing wrong with seeking other revenue streams.

There. I said it. I'm sure I'll eventually regret it.:( And even when I do, I'll still be here.:o
 
I think banner ads for the non paying users is a smart idea and improved search function for paying members only would keep the search as an incentive to pay. I believe we have more than enough sub forums.
 
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Spark, I like your ideas, especially the cooking forum. Would be nice to have a place to talk about camp cooking, proper knife technique when cooking and other stuff like that.

Heber
 
You brought up three primary issues, so let me address them each in turn:

1. Search - I love the search function. When I first logged on nearly a decade ago I found search invaluable. It allowed me as an ignorant knifenut to learn about knives that had piqued my interest, as well as seek out the thoughts of those specific members whose opinions I valued. As a registered user not having the search sucked quite frankly. The site's utility was greatly reduced. However, I don't see the need to give all users the same search capability. I think paying members should have all the search options available to them. Non-paying members could perhaps enjoy a limited search, only by topic or poster, much like the way a search within a thread works. This could provide an incentive for them to upgrade to paying membership, support the site and get full access. And non-members should not be able to search the site.

2. New subforums - Good idea. Let's keep in mind that this site is called Bladeforums, so it would be nice to keep the new forums knife-related, even if only tangentially. This site targets people with a certain interest, and I don't think it has to expand to accomodate everyone's tastes, after all this isn't Yahoo! Groups.

3. Banner ads - I also hate them and I love the idea of them being mandatory for registered users and non-members. This community isn't free and everyone should support it in one way or another. Just in case others don't feel the same way I do towards banner ads I would make it a feature that you could turn off for the paying members. Some might leave the ads on, while others like me would prefer the cleaner look of a webpage without them.
 
First off, thank you Spark for all that you do to make this a great site/forum. We all really appreciate your efforts! You the man!

Spark said:
The main problem with using Sphinx is that we'll lose a couple features, namely sorting by last post time, which I don't think anyone actually uses.
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If this means that you can not sort by date then I'd say that that is an important feature that will be missed. I thought that was a common field to sort by. I've not yet heard of Sphinx but I'm sure there are other solutions that could provide sort by last post time/date. I believe that Google appliances, etc. might be something you might want to look into.

Spark said:
If the search performance is increased while server loads are greatly decreased, I see no reason not to open search back up to all members, not just paid subscriptions.
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I agree.

Spark said:
With that in mind, if the server loads are lessened, I'll see no reason not to open up a bunch of new subforums. So, if you have specific suggestions, I'd love to hear them. Be reasonable.
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Great idea on all parts. We don't want to get too crazy with the topics. Keeping it related to knives in some form or fashion I think would be appropriate. But then again, we all have many interests and I'm sure we all share a large amount of them. It might be worthwhile to get a vote from paid members on this topic.

Spark said:
Please give me your thoughts on putting in banner ads that would only be visible to registered users (members without paid subscriptions), and unregistered guests browsing the forums, and not to members with paid subscriptions.
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I personally do not like advertisements or unnecessary distractions, etc. When I think back to why I like this forum so much I think that a big factor is the lack of advertisements and such. I pay for Sirius satellite radio subscriptions just for this very reason too.

Although I am not one of these people, I do believe that there are many folks that do not mind banner ads, etc. and actually like being given options for finding new things that they may not have known about. With that being said, you might want to make it an option for paid members to select whether they want ads or not.


I look forward to the new improvements to this site and am glad to have been given the option to express my opinion.
 
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I like the ideas, particularly the banner ads only visible to non-paying members. Even with the ads, my suggestion would be to keep them reasonable and not plastered all over the place, and definitely no pop-up boxes with ads. A kitchen cutlery subforum would be nice too. While I haven't had any problems with the search function, a faster one seems to be needed, so I say go for it.

- Mark
 
Banner Ads for Non-paying Members is a fine compromise. :thumbup:

The Search function would be nice, I know you may have already thought of this but;

- Would several folks doing searches slow the site down overall?
- How many long dead threads would then be resurrected (either on purpose or by accident) - would this add to clutter or slow things down?

Also, on the subject of New sub Forums - I think you may free up some space by removing some existing Forums that are not being utilized - or perhaps create a rule for any Forum that requires at least one new Thread per week to remain active..?? Currently there are several ""Active" Forums that are lucky to get one new thread a month, some a quarter and some not even that often.

Just my thoughts.
 
I like the idea of banner adds for non paying members. However, I first came to this site and I used the free registered user for a year. I was attracted to this site because it was not cluttered with adds and did not tire my eyes like some of those 'other sites'.

If you do go with banner adds, make sure that they are not the flashing kind with the agressive bright bold colors. These adds may scare off future users, which are potentially future paying members. Otherwise I see no reason not to use advertising, running a site like this takes money and resources.

If there needs to be a small increase in membership fees, I see no problem with that either. 5 or 10 dollars a year more isn't going to be a burden, especially if we see improvments to the site.
 
Regarding banner ads, if it brings you income and only unpaid subscribers have to see them, that seems like a great idea. The subscription rates on this forum ARE VERY REASONABLE CONSIDERING THE AMOUNT OF TIME MOST OF US SPEND ON HERE. If someone isn't willing to pay $10 for a year's worth of enjoyment, I see no reason why they should complain if a banner add appears on their page and that banner ad allows them to keep enjoying this forum for free.
 
You could make search available to all members but the new cool sub forums only available to paying members. This will help all members find what they're looking for but still allow benefits of paid membership.
 
I mentally/visually block most banner ad from my mind after a while. :cool:

Would the ads be seen in the BF RSS feed?

Would they be static or dynamic (like the Google Adsense ads)?

Is a guy more likely to fork over 10 bucks to get rid of banner ads?
or to have search capabilties?
I would say search capabilities..IMHO

More subforums?
Sure, why not?
I like having CHOICES :thumbup:
Put them all in:
Photography
Schrade Trading and Selling
Christian Knife Lovers
Cooking
The Economics of Knives
Knife Literature
New Member Introductions............

If you get a new system====>
I would like to see one with RSS feeds for EACH subforum, if possible
I'm pretty much RSS feeds only on most of the other knife forums I am on:)

I've also found that the Google BF search "gadgets"/"widgets" do not give the same amount of search results as the internal search engine

What ever you gotta do to remain solvent, Spark. BF has the most information out there on the net of all the knife forums I am on :thumbup:
The main selling point for me, when I 1st discovered BF, was the search function. It's nice to know you can find some obscure knife at the swap meet. Come home and search for information about it on BF. And the info is there!!

You can get rid of the search tag cloud too. Does anyone use it? Why is ZT Knives so BIG?:eek:

I like the "share" feature
I.E. Digg, StumbleUpon, Google Bookmarks
There are a few more you should add.........
 
As a non-paying member, I say that banners would be fine. They really do not bother me much at all. Besides, Spark deserves the extra revenue considering the great service he provides by running this site. If the banners start to bug me then I'll just pony up the $10 for membership.
 
I use the search feature off and on; generally, I use the user name lookup feature and then "find all posts by that user." I assure you all that I don't pay for a membership for that. I pay because this is the greatest classroom in the world and I owe tuition to you all.

If search was offered to registered users again, I suspect very few subscriptions would vanish. Really: no one here is willing to pay $10 and up for that, when they can Google faster and for free. I'd be curious to see if more than five people pay for the search feature here.

New subforums? Eh. I think there's too much to follow as it is, and rely on the mods to route threads that might interest me to the subforums I do read. As it is, the archived list of old subforums at the bottom of the main page take a LONG time to load on a web phone. I'd almost hate to see that increase in number. Personally, I'd like to see less, but would not want to be the one who decides which go and which stay!

Banner ads for non-paying members is a solid idea. There's a really great chance that if people get annoyed with them, they'll pony up a subscription rather than coast on free rides here.* And if you can't afford a subscription here, you'll agree ads are a small price to pay and good incentive to save up. There's nothing like seeing that old lady with the wrinkle cream picture to make you want to peel a sawbuck out of your wallet.

*CaffeinePirate has exactly the correct attitude! :thumbup:
 
- Adds for the non-paying, yes.
- Switch to a search engine that uses up less resources, yes.
- Thanks to you, Kevin, for working to make this a better site and extending your care to the point that you ask our opinion before making the changes.
 
Two suggestion subjects:

First, the banners and searching. Solve both issues at once: open up the Search feature to everyone, and hide banner advertisements for paid members to encourage memberships.

Second, make it easier to find the specific Collectors forum. Should not be a sub-category in the Manfacturers' sponsored forums. How 'bout like this:

General
- various subforums
Manufacturers' Forums
- Buck
- Busse
- Etc.
Collectors Forums
- Schrade
- Camillus
- Randall
- Additional brand collectors forums
 
Great idea having banner ads to help keep our "home" alive! Wonderful idea having them only for non-subscribers! Like a majority of the others whom have responded in this thread....I HATE THEM!!! That (IMHO) is what makes this place so fantastic! Lack of banners.
As far as the other issues I have no qualms, I'm along for the ride!!!
Just my $.02!
Thanks for reading and asking our opinions Spark!:thumbup:
 
Hi Spark. Thank you for asking our input and for all you have done to keep this the best forum on the web.....:)

Banner ad's for non paying members......Definitely.
If it helps you keep the site in the black and paid members are not effected..... why not. I know that the banner ad's would not have bothered me when I first joined.

Search.......Personally I think that search should be reserved for basic members and up. I mean come on 83 cents a months?:confused: Search is a small but important incentive to support the site.......

Related Subforums........Yes as long as they are relevant and well supported.

Jaxx said:
Spark Also... If you find that you have the room, after the move and once things are settled, a larger PM box scaled per level of membership would be most appreciated if it's possible. :)
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Excellent suggestion Jaxx:thumbup:


Thanks again........Steven
 
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i like the idea of a larger PM box as well. Spark whatever you have to do to stay in the black i say do it. i am sure this place take a ton of your time which i doubt you are paying yourself for, right? as for ads i wouldn't mind something that isnt flashing, something small similiar to the BF logo in the upper left corner would be cool. you could make 5 or 6 across the top.
 
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