Forum donations

[Corn king 60]

I have to say that when I found the site if a fee would have been required I probably would have been turned off. But after following along for awhile and joining I could be ok with some kind of membership fee. I do believe first timers could look away

 

[Gerald Martin]

Aren’t you donating every time you add content that engages others and brings people here to see the ads?

Adding content that brings pennies to offset what costs dollars doesn’t exactly fit the description of long term financial viability.

Real world costs exceed the income produced by ads.

 

[Wildabeest]

Just create a forum topic called “Post your honey holes here!” and put it behind a paywall. You’ll have more paying customers than you know what to do with, and the rest of us can ignore that forum.

 

[Gerald Martin]

My biggest concern is if we start contributing financially around here and Randy takes the windfall and blows it all on DQ ice cream and grouse hunts, would we be considered enablers?

Momma always taught me not to facilitate someone’s addictions.

 

[LuketheDog]

My biggest concern is if we start contributing financially around here and Randy takes the windfall and blows it all on DQ ice cream and grouse hunts, would we be considered enablers?

Momma always taught me not to facilitate someone’s addictions.

We'd have to start another donation drive to get @Big Fin back in shape after all the Dilly Bars...

 

[Gerald Martin]

We'd have to start another donation drive to get @Big Fin back in shape after all the Dilly Bars...

He can add Razr advertising to the site by producing road -hunting,ground sluishing,grouse videos.

 

[LuketheDog]

He can add Razr advertising to the site by producing road -hunting,ground sluishing,grouse videos.

If he has a Rzr with the half-windshield he could rest the shotgun on that while still holding a Dilly Bar with his left hand and knee-driving, I'd watch it...

 

[kenton]

I would be more than willing to pay but keep in mind that Non-members have to be able to see the value in becoming a member. Putting everything behind a paywall would eventually end the forum (imho). Like Tommy Boy's dad said, "you're either growing or dyeing, there ain't no third direction".

 

[MTGomer]

I’d pay a donation. I wouldn’t want to to be mandatory because I think that would eliminate some of the informational stuff that ends up on here from being posted and seen. Think of the recent outfitter bills in Montana. How many people that wouldn’t have paid, got to read that and contribute?
My vote is to take voluntary donations, but it’s not my website and if they are mandatory I would fully understand and happily pay them.

 

[Sagebrush1]

This site has been of great value to me. I would have no problem at all giving something to help mitigate costs.

 

[rtraverdavis]

I’d pay a donation. I wouldn’t want to to be mandatory because I think that would eliminate some of the informational stuff that ends up on here from being posted and seen. Think of the recent outfitter bills in Montana. How many people that wouldn’t have paid, got to read that and contribute?
My vote is to take voluntary donations, but it’s not my website and if they are mandatory I would fully understand and happily pay them.

This is a great point and one I hadn’t considered when I voted. I get so much value out of this site that I’d happily pay a yearly fee, but a donation would work just as well and still make the site accessible to first time or infrequent users. I like the idea of some kind of buy-in to be able to use classifieds though.

Besides, the first-time posters looking for honey holes provide a lot of entertainment in the way of the roasts that follow...

 

[OntarioHunter]

And make it so you can’t see anything on the forum unless you pay to get past the pay wall.

I don't think that's a good idea. Let people look all they want but maybe make them pay for membership if they decide to post. It's my understanding that views stats are what mean most to sponsors $$$ so it's best to keep those numbers up if possible.

 

[Pucky Freak]

I chose “donate” and I’ll explain why.

Briefly consider what the user/guest profiles might look like for this site (my guesses) per month.

25 fly-by-night posters (honey hole miners or item for sale).

50 high volume users who are on here every day and post several times a week.

200 moderate volume users who are on several times a week.

7000 regular lurkers, or members that very rarely post (3-4 visits per month)

10,000 occasional lurkers (less than 1 visit per month)

A fee sounds great until you consider how few persons would be willing to pay it. The 25 fly-by-night posters are gone and us regulars would celebrate. Maybe 45/50 of the high volume users pay up, along with 120/200 of the moderate users. But after that it really drops off. Let’s say 2% of the low volume users are willing to pay up. After all these dropouts, traffic falls 50%, and so does your ad revenue, easily eating away whatever you just earned by charging a fee.

When you google “NM unit 7 elk” or similar I believe HT is the #1 site that shows up in search results for this kind of info. It’s an invaluable resource for people wanting to get into public land DIY hunting, especially NR’s.

A donate button is one idea. Maybe we could look into a donation drive of some sort. Make a donation and enter a drawing for gear? I know states have very specific rules regarding drawings, so that may or may not be feasible depending on the specifics.

 

[rwc101]

Free to view, pay to post seems like it would weed out the scammers even if the fee were low.

 

[Bambistew]

Participation in forums is dying... add a payment option and it will be done. New people are going to sign up for a forum. Although maybe they would co sidelong hoe many subscribers there are to all the "inside/odds" services there are. I'm just not sure there is enough content here to warrant a subscription. Other than the political and public land issues, there really is little to learn here that can't be found elsewhere or researching on your own.

 

[ida homer]

This is such a good resource for folks, limiting the reach would also limit conservation efforts, season setting initiatives, etc. I'd definitely be in for a monthly. I get more value out this site than Netflix.

Just my opinion, I’m sure Randy has the metrics. What could be limiting reach is the “not looking for intel, just need gps coordinates for a 350 bull” threads floating to the top.

And the 505, LWCF, self guided and public land advocacy threads being pushed to page 3.

 

[ChaosOneZero]

I’d be willing to pay a one-time fee, monthly, or via Patreon.

I think a Patreon page is probably the most appropriate approach, but also acknowledge it won’t get at the problem of spam, hackers, etc., like putting the forum behind a paywall. Putting up a paywall, even with a minuscule fee (<$5) would probably work wonders in getting rid of the riff raff, but I also think it would create some perception issues (“Look at ol’ @Big Fin charging money for a forum!”).

I do think @Ben Lamb makes a valid point with the Patreon page opening up some interesting opportunities for additional content, giveaways, etc., while also allowing us to contribute to rising operating costs.

 

[mtmuley]

[QUOTE="Bambistew, post: 3173280, member: Other than the political and public land issues, there really is little to learn here that can't be found elsewhere or researching on your own.
[/QUOTE]
Exactly. That's a lot of the reason I frequent here. Lots to learn. But, I don't need anyone to tell me how or where to hunt, or what rifle to use etc. mtmuley

 

[noharleyyet]

Where else can you get the quintessential government employee perspective? A lot of candy for a nickel....

 

[VikingsGuy]

I voted "donation" for two reasons. First, like said by @ElkFever2, I doubt there is sufficient engaged traffic to make a subscription model work. Second, if it is a paywall, then folks will have a sense of entitlement and it will make it harder for @Big Fin to police threads that get out of line. I like the "BigFin's house, BigFin's rules" of the current state. I know the terms of service could still allow that technically, but once folks start paying, the tone of that will necessarily be changed as folks assume their $$ buys them more latitude.

@Ben Lamb hit it on the head with some type of Patreon model. A little extra content/access for those that pay, but no loss of broader public platform and less of an entitled twist by a paying audience.