I haven't finished reading the entire thread, but I will pause to post a thought. Unlike the majority of the people here, I am not an owner. I manage the awards, engraving, and sublimation department for a larger sign company.

Therefore I cannot personally authorize the cost of membership, I would need to get it approved. The people I work for are notoriously cheap, so it's about 70/30 I could get them to go for it with the weight toward a big fat, "No." Or rather, "We don't feel that's a justifiable investment at this time."

Consequently in order to maintain a membership it would need to come direct from my pocket. I ended up buying my own personal membership to Dephi when we were over there. $75.00 a year isn't much as a business expense, but as a personal cost for an underpaid employee like me, it's up there.

So we'll see how convincing I can be when the time comes, but if when we go pay I drop off the face of the earth, you'll know why.

Sei

Brian,
This is what I have been asking for also. If you look back a few posts you will find one from David Takes that outlines a broad "vision" of possibilities.... when/if this goes pay.
Should half of those ideas become a reality, it would be worth the money, but only if content does not become stagnant, which I don't think it will.
One thing I am convinced of is the "intent" of David L. His desire is to improve the over all industry, through networking, education and association. Will it all pan out? Hell, I don't know, but as Anthony Robbins says..... try it. If it doesn't work, try something different, if THAT doesn't work try something different..unti you find what DOES work.....
For example, changing servers and software. Good idea, didn't work. Here we are back. Starting an "ethics" committee. Good idea. Didn't work. Going pay? Good idea? I don't know. Will it work? won't know until we try. If it fails will we come back to this? More than likely.

Just my two cents. Want change?

I guess I wonder if what you are suggesting is a good idea......Some people that find it difficult to pay for on a personal level will be able to write an article to get access? Will this option apply equaly, or will each article have a different value. What if you are inundated with articles...will you refuse some, or will each and every article earn access?

your statement makes it feel more like a club, with the internship of writing an article (wink wink, nudge nudge). Some will be able to get in that way....some won't. Right now no one is getting any value for their contributions on the forum.......Is that any different from an article contribution? Look at some of the posts by Rodney Gold......Many of his posts could easly be articles....does he get a free pass then? Does every member that posted helpful information in any length get a free pass? I can think of a dozen people that should be on that list, perhaps even more. Writing for membership could be a slippery slope....

What say you?

Thanks, David. It's good of you to say that. It is something I had considered. I just worry, with only three years of experience under my belt and zero training/seminars/ or classes, how much I have to say.

But, then, when you get right down to it, I guess I have something for everyone with two years or less under their belt. ;) 

Sei

You certainly like playing the antagonist, don't you?

You are a far greater pot stirrer than even David. :P 

Or are you just overly cheap? :P  :O  :-) 

[See you do not have the patent on pot stirring.] (devil) 

Philadelphia, PA (Really Bensalem)

Harvey's Tips Page When you finally understand it completely... it changes.

BTW Harvey,

I donated $200 dollars worth of product or services to the logo contest because I value this forum.

Cheap I am not.

Where do I say or imply that they are building it from scratch?

I will let the others, David L, David T, or Harvey answer the specifics changes that have been made. I know that David L is a total novice when it comes to code and that is one of the reasons for the need for a programmer/designer.

Dave

David,
I enjoy the forum and probably get much more from it than I give. Having said that, most experienced people in the industry could easily get by without the forum if need be. For me, it is entertaining and informative, but not essential.

I believe that you will lose more of the experienced people than you think. You will also have difficulty getting newbies to pay for something if they do not know if there will be adequate value in return.

Throw the switch, see if the lights come on or if it is dark.

I'm getting dizzy here guys. Things are going in circles ....

Some comments...

Sei .... just because you haven't had training or attended seminars does not mean you do not have valuable knowledge. You could attend a training seminar and discover you know far more then the teacher due to your work experience.

Rallyguy.... your question has not been answered. How many of you purchased your equipment without knowing what you paid for or looked at the specs? He is asking a valid question.

Michel

Michel,

No one ever said how the paid format of the website and/or forum would be presented. Based on the comments here, it would be a good idea to give folks a sneak preview once it is developed.

There is another thread (Website Wish List) that was started to give everyone the opportunity to contribute their thoughts as to what features and benefits would be most beneficial to them.

I want to apologize for even asking the original question or posing the suggestion.

Had I known it would become all of this I never would have...... I think I hear the recess bell. Lets go play in the sandbox......

Chuck,

I think the questions are good for the thought process. Your suggestion was a good one, and should be considered. (I assume it will be if I know the people that run this forum well enough). Don't mistake tough questions for criticism. I think we all want the same thing here....a great forum. Sometimes the self examination of why we do things and what we want to do to make them better can be painful. In the end, I see a better forum out of all of it.

Brian G.