FinnFreak wrote:
We've been considering different options since the beginning:
OldCowhand wrote:
12-04-2001, 2:28pm
OldCowhand
Shania Forums Veteran Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Indiana
Pop Ups -- An explanation and a question --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for your questions regarding the pop-ups that are now appearing on the site.
A majority of advertisers use pop-ups coupled with banners (you'll notice that the pop-ups match the banner on the page). This results in a better click and conversion rate for the advertiser, which is what keeps them coming back. Without advertisers, and unless users like you click on the ads and buy from them, the site can't continue to be free.
One of many alternatives that we have considered is creating a pay area of the sites at Roughstock:
1) The pay area would have special content, contests and features not available to the free areas of the site
2) The pay area would not have ANY advertisements
3) The pay area would cost around $3-$4 per month and would cover access to the entire site
For those of you who do not want ads, would you pay $3-$4 a month for access to a pay area with more content and no ads?
E-mail me privately if you have other ideas, or an answer to my question:
rodeo@roughstock.comDoug
The original owners never told the moderating team about the site being sold. The administrator simply started to "disappear" for long periods of time, starting in 2007 - around the time the purchase was finalized.
We've wondered how angered the new owners must have felt, getting a discussion board as a bonus for buying Roughstock.com... a fan forums of an artist, that happens to be on a permanent sabbatical... thus, site visitor numbers & ad revenue are DOWN... but, the costs remain. The recent media appearances, the book, TV show, Vegas... have NOT brought the fans back in, except a few "oldies" briefly returning to express their disappointment over Shania choosing Las Vegas as the hub of musical performances.
The moment Shania goes back to music, the sites will come back to life.
Question is, do the owners have the patience to wait (and pay while waiting) ..?
John -
Appreciate you're retrieving that info for us John. I remember seeing the parts about advertising in past. I think there were other discussions along similar lines, both on the board, and by private email.
I don't remember the particulars, but in 2000 and/or 2001, some of us old timers had occasional discussions on the Forums, with the fellow who I thought owned the site. A young engineering student, if I remember right. He was likable enough and thought the same way many of us did. However he was probably busy and not accessible very often. And he began to fade out, increasingly.
Seems like he considered going to Timmins for the Opening of STC in 2001. But quietly bailed out on that, when he saw who else was talking about coming from the Forums. The most colorful/iconoclastic characters were puffing their feathers, and trying to prescribe participants into their preferred ways of doing things. That caused the more reliable members to hold their breath. Turned out only 2 of us from Forums publicly attended the Opening. The other fellow was from England, I think with the Forums handle of "Shootist". By that time, I was beginning to migrate to, and participate with, the Shania Boards, because they had a sizable number of members making serious and reliable plans to go to Timmins. I met a couple dozen of them there.
Back to your topic of Forums future.
In terms of covering costs, advertising was one part. I now know from your info, that ad revenue is down, because membership activity was down.
Another part was to charge fees. I tended to support that. Your retrieved info mentioned $3-4/month. That seems reasonable to me now. But back then, I'm not sure if $36 to $48/yr would have got me to sign up.
Another way that occurred to me was to share the costs, on a pro-rated basis. A one time only, penny a post for past entries, and ongoing fee of 2 cents a post for new entries. That or adjusted amount to fit the costs, may have worked in past. Might not work now, if member activity is down. The pro-rated approach appealed to me because it might encourage serious participation and valuable content. It might also reduce the high volumes of idle chatter by emoting kids.
I don't know a lot about the costs, features and benefits for such a website. But certainly wish good outcomes for you and other members of the former Shania Forums.
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