I payed my $6.53 using paypal about two days ago and still am unable to post, i emailed the administrator too and that was no help, anyone else having problems?

 

i am a mod there.. email me and i will talk to the admin today.

 

that's odd iwas able to post in like 2 hrs?!
Hummm god luck hope to see you back over there soon.

 

still no luck

 

po sucks

 

ditto


[Modified by del_parker, 3:56 AM 8/25/2002]

 

You know, with 18,000 member, even if only 1/3 pay the $6, that is $36,000, sounds like a little bit more than server costs

 

I didnt even think of it that way dam that is a lot of $$$.But any way i paid and was able to post in like 2hr's my self.

 

how many members are duplicates, how many are trolls, and how many will actually sign up?

the $6 may sound like a lot, but I bet they have less than 1000 sign ups so far; it covers them in case fewer people are willing to pay.

Any PO.com admin want to validate my bet?

 

there is no way a board with only 1000 people posting costs $6k a year. maybe with 18k people posting, but I doubt that is even that much.

 

Look up how much it cost to handle 480 gigs a month in bandwidth...anyone?

 

I sincerely doubt 1000 people use 480 gigs a month

 

before the change inmembership that's what they were using, and you have to realize everyone is still browsing the forums...so it's still high enough. Just don't be so quick to judge. Either pay the $6 and enjoy the site or knock it off.

Personally I could care less what they do with the money...hell they could be buying crack and hookers with it, but I felt that what I get out of the site is worth $6 a year.

 

I never stated that I care where or what the money was used for, it's not mine, and will never be, all I did was point out an observation I made

 

I see a trend forming here...

 

I agree

 

there may be 18,000 registered members, but just what percentage of that are active members, and how many of that percentage have or will pay the money?? a lot of people register accounts with these discussion boards, but many aren't active at all. they may browse here and there, make one post in 6 months, or none at all. the registered member count doesn't mean anything. i'm sure PO.com has lost quite a bit of its active members when they became a paysite.

 

I think that you underestimate the costs of running a board. They don't merely include the hosting costs and whatever the creators have to pay others. What about the time they spend maintaining it? if you have 1 person maintaining it and he spends 2 hours a day doing so at $10 an hour, that seems to be a higher cost than $6k.

( 2*$10*365 = $7300>$6000 )

Let's not say their time isn't worth anything or they are donating their time. Everyone invloved has a value associated with their time, an opportunity cost associated with running the board rather than flipping burgers or whatever it is they do for a living.

I think that under full load or high load, a minimum of 2 hours a day of moderation and other site maintenence is not only reasonable, but probably less than minimal!

As much as you might think it's sneaky or just have a weird feeling about it, think for a moment about how much you think your time is worth, and if you would want to be compensated for spending your time maintaining a board for others.



[Modified by kotetu, 12:33 AM 8/27/2002]

 

FWIW the administration at PO.com should post some figures detailing how much cash they've collected, and how much the expenses with the site are. If they are doing it at a net profit, the operator of the site should be very aware of complications that could arise in a hurry with the IRS. If it can be shown the site is aiming to run at a 0-sum, I suspect more money will follow.

A real community site should take some of that money and get a non profit set up. Nothing against small business, but it's not being advertised as one, either.

I'll shut up now.

Steve

 

I agree!!!
Come on guys, it's only 50 cents/month and you enjoy a forum that's fast and reliable...