sorry, that was a butchered quote from Family Guy. guess it plays better in TV Talk

hurry up and finish so i can hit submit on this paypal transaction

As a person who has been around, and has donated in the past, this is the greatest idea ever.

I definately want an avatar.

you just want to show off your muffler

Geoff - It's really easy (on vB2 at least) to allow users to keep their custom title and have a 'contributing member' designation. I can send you the link to the hack or show you how it looks on my board if you're interested.

Seems like no one wants to lose their custom title and it may be significant enough to keep some from contributing. It really doesn't seem fair to take that away when the whole point is to reward them with perks.

i was thinking along the same lines - maybe " Premium DVDTalk Legend". also, maybe instead of using "Premium" you can use something like "Collector's" or something like that, i.e. DVDTalk Legend Collectors Series"

i really hope that's not retroactive.

Can I just pre-pay for this? I don't want to overspend on my honeymoon and not be able to afford the forum.

The ads alone sell it for me. One request though... have LIMITATIONS on avatars of some kind if you allow them. There is nothing more annoying than a bunch of big crappy graphics on the left of everyone's posts. At least have the option not to view them.

Other boards I've been to have avatars and they drive me crazy, but those are mostly avatars that immature kids put up. If they are small (like 60x60 max) with little or no motion, then it would be cool. Otherwise they are worse than ads. Maybe just have guidelines and have it so mods can "ask" you to change it if people complain. I know... I'm a baby, but this is coming from someone who loves animated gif's to begin with. Just not on every stinkin' post.

also, maybe you could have a few different tiers - a basic membership which makes the forum ad-less. maybe make that $10-12. then, have another premium membership with a few more features, and have a lifetime membership.

If you are still looking for examples of forums with image hosting, check out both www.anyoneseenthebridge.com and www.antsmarching.org (both are Dave Matthews Band) fan boards. The Bridge allows anybody to view the images, but Ants requires that you be registered and logged in to view.

Current Balance: $7223.68 Got paid. Voting Closed
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Small, less than 60x60 and very subtle. What I'm talking about are all the people who put flashing Pokemon crap up.

P.S. I <i>knew</i> someone would point that out.

I know, I know. Just couldn't resist. Makes reproducing the damn thing with all its bolding, colors and the rest worth it.

I don't know if this is of interest since most people here are thinking in terms of the forum and not the other content on the site but I'm sure some of the columnists would be happy to throw in a little something exclusive now and then. Back before Cinema Gotham went on hiatus I was in the vague early planning stages of putting together a screening in NYC. Maybe premium members could have free passes to stuff like that or something like that that would be cool. I still plan to do something someday.

I like the idea of a premium service. I have a forum on my site and any donation gets you a "Donator" title in addition to the regular title and a custom title.

You should make people pay to have ANY custom title (Too many people have them here and it's like a clique)

$30 is kinda high, $15 a year is more at the highend of what the masses will pay.

Avatars are a big plus!

I wouldn't worry too much about image hosting, if you get the price down. If you stick to $30, it needs to be a big VALUE to get people to pay that (Unlimited Image Hosting, etc...) whereas $10-$15 people will do it without as much extras to help support the board.

<[email protected]
Email fowarding for Premium members would be sweet!

Depending upon how much attention you want to draw to the premium vs non-premium members you can do something as simple as displaying the username in a different color, or some sort of gleeming silvery (platinum) color...or gold and platinum for different pay levels..etc..

Nice custom title... Now I'm gonna get greedy and wanna keep this all the time...

Where do I pay my $15?...(once you add an avatar for me )

Damn, everyone's getting custom titles these days (or so it seems). Now I'm jealous.

Can Premium members throw sticks and rocks at dalvin all day?

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Even though I like the idea and trust that I will still frequent this site regardless, I still get jittery when something goes from nonpaying to paying.

To put it in perspective I am pretty poor right now and will probably not be able to afford $30/year. I try to support this site by clicking on links and telling people about it but $30 a year is too much for me. If there is a lower level of membership, say 10-15 bucks a year I will most likely join. I really don't care/don't want to pay, for avatars or pic hosting (but it is a good idea for premium service). I believe that many people feel this way. Remember that most of us posting in this forum are probably regulars and people who care. The bulk of the other users probably aren't posting here.

Some of the ideas have been really good but I beg of you NOT to disable the search function for nonpaying members. I am of the camp that thinks that this would be a really bad idea. I think that this is a basic function that should be kept.

Another thing is that I really hope that the nonpaying members will not be inundated with "unavoidable ads" (unavoidable meaning in your face) such as the final destination one. I believe that this may alienate some of your members.

Some suggestions/confirmations:

Perhaps there could be a "Member of the day" where that member would be able to post on the front of the forum. It could be a top list, something personal about them, selfpromotion, a movie review or just to say "neener neener neener I'm here an your not!"

I like the idea of exclusive contests and giveaways for paid members.

As far as the buy/trade thread perhaps you should let nonpaid members buy from the premium members but only the premium members are able to sell. This way there are more buyers. I think a trade function should be paid members only.

Maybe a "Talk to the executives" forum where paid members can post and people from the studios can get opinions. I thought too many people were posting too many ideas when there was a similar thread.

I like the different username color idea.

Agreed. We get plenty of dup posts from people who don't use search now. Imagine what it would be like if this is enabled?

Some organizations have titled such as "Sustaining Member", which means they have donated a nominal amount.

Another would be the exclusive avatar of a DVDtalk Logo, with "Sustaining Member" embodied in the logo. Various logo colors could be used to designate the amount of sustaining donations - which if gone to a Lifetime membership, would be akin to what National Geographic Magazine offers for a lifetime membership.

The cost ratio in determining a lifetime membership could be as National Geographic or the AARP did.

NG took 5 years of dues (magazine subscriptions) to determine their lifetime rate. What they do is deposit the Lifetime Dues into a very long money market fund that averages no less than a 20% return each year, which the majority of the gain is reinvested in the fund. The agenda was to use a small amount of interest to support a lifetime cost of delivering the magazine each year - and it has worked. History also shows that other business owners who have tried this approach do well, but typically end up spending both the interest and the asset... then face going broke for poor planning.

AARP only charges a small amount above their two-year rate to offer a lifetime membership. But their costs are less per member because of their volume.

As for other website forums using this same type of software, there are over 1million forums worldwide now. The few that I patricipate in that offer a paid membership all have free forums plus the paid forums - all visible in the forum menu. They use the free forums to serve members in many ways, and they also use the free forums to induce members to pay for access to their private forums. What works best is that one of the free forums is a testimonial forums of unsolicted comments posted by members who are both free and paid members.

The paid members identity is backed up by a credit card and billing info - all private - and tends to reduce the flaming down to less than 1/2 percent.

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Another forum is considering having a $1/year lower level just to acquire identity to allow them entrance to the lower level private forums. I see nothing wrong with that, and they require real names which further eliminates flaming. They can upgrade to a higher access for other benefits.

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As for the current titles that I am unsure of, such as Legend or Hall of Fame - perhaps waiving their dues would be nice because of their contributions.

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What I find amusing is that forums such as this one never before had pop up ads. I avoid forums with popups unless I have a specific reason to visit. The forums I favor are those that are either supported by their affiliate ad links or supported by other revenue that does not require the forums to go to paid site - except for the ones I mention that have specific information not available anywhere else. But DVD reviews and deals are everywhere. So why the change in adding popups? Maybe because the affiliate revenue has dropped. It can't be the forum software, as the license is under $50 a year, and it can't be the resources of bandwidth and hardware, as all of those have dropped in the last 2 years. Perhaps it's internal costs.

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Regarding image hosting, I am lost.

I always thought that hotlinking an image from another site costs both the forum the bandwidth plus the sorce of the hotlink (such as amazon dvd pics). If establishing an image server to allow members to link images is what is being asked, then the forum bandwidth of loading up the pictures is still going to cost bandwidth for the forum server. If this is more of a bandwidth issue, I suggest the owners to visit http://www.webhostingtalk.com and ask around. This is the key site where hosting owners participate. And from what I have seen, they are giving out gigs and gigs of bandwidth for next to nothing when comparing the gig cost just a year ago.

I noticed a comment about trying to get the pages to load faster. The newer resources are available to do that for probably less cost than what is currently being paid. A few years ago some forums were paying thousands of dollars a month. Now I see those same forums paying under $200 a month. It takes some research, but offering the free members faster speeds for less money would keep everyone happy.

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A member wrote:

This is an example of the unsung hero for this forum. Here is someone who uses the affiliate links and passes on word to friends about the value of this site. With 33,000 forum members, I believe the site should remain free of pop up ads and free of any cost. Other forums make larger amounts of income not by pop ups ads and banner ads, but by nurturing the email list in straight non-html text on affiliate deals. They have proved this to be more profitable than fancy newsletters and forum announcements and promotions. By emailing 33,000 members once a week on just the hot deals, members are more inclined to click on a reliable affiliate link in their email than they are to read though unrelated information - IMO.

Wouldn't two years be the average lifetime for an AARP member?

Seriously, even with no bells or whistles, $30 is a steal for this forum. I've saved many times that amount by coming here (hell, I saved that on the ET misprice alone). Whatever the final plan is, I'll pay it, but personally I'd rather see more content (special sales, reviews (like at dvddrive-in.com), or maybe a database), than bells and whistles like custom titles or colors.

No.

Members can join at age 50. The life of an average male is now approaching mid-80's, while those who are a cut above the average with good nutrition, exercise, and checkups will be pass age 100. Science is adding 2 years for every one calendar year as we approach the next 30 years.

Besides, the benefits are for the family too.

Granted.

But the deals are at many, many, many other sites (and forums) on the internet too. So when I read of the precise benefits of a paid membership, I honestly do not see anything that I cannot get elsewhere for free, except for an avantar, user title, and a few other things that are for the most - unrelated to what drew me here for DVDs. If the issue is to raise money for the site's owner, then call it that. There are many who will give because they love to give.

Or, provide more of a shopping cart for DVDTalk merchandise with the DVDTalk Logos. Make $10 on selling a ballcap or a coffee mug or a jacket. I would rather see that than adding a "class" among the members who have already been driven to the Hall of Fame because of their volunteer efforts.

(My personal opinion is all this is)