IMPORTANT DECISION FOR OUR MEMBERS TO MAKE
- Thread starter maltrab
- Start date
Roger
Dedicated Member
I don't mean to criticise this site or the way it is run but I've been a member of many other forums in the past and have never been asked for a donation. Most forums get revenue from advertising banners which can be a bit annoying but after a while you hardly notice them. Is this something you've considered. Maybe ask some Holmfirth businesses, pubs, cafes, B&Bs ect to advertise on the site.
I can only speak for myself here, put simply any site I land on for community spirit of general discussion that includes advertising I add to a blacklist, never to visit again. Advertising--->anathema!
theatrically_inclined
Dedicated Member
One of my past occupations was for a local newspaper, so I have some advertising placement expertise.
Getting local businesses to advertise is going to involve more effort for the administrators and be of little value to the site or even the advertisers. There are a select few local businesses that would be likely to benefit from advertising "here" - like those providing accommodation and other tourist amenities - assuming they can stretch their budget.
Using a third-party to insert generic banner ads relinquishes some control of the content that could be displayed. Even if some genres of advertising were deemed appropriate and others de-selected, unscrupulous businesses will misrepresent their advert content, so you could still end up with click-baity scams and porn adverts. Placement and click-through revenue is very small per ad view.
But mainly, especially for the stalwarts here, this is a community, and like any community we all help out when needed.
I thinking navigating adverts on here would spoil the atmosphere. I was a member of a great group until one admin started getting paid to advertise a companies products, totally ruined it and many people left. I don't mind throwing a couple of quid in if it means we don't have to have adverts.
I did have the same thoughts as @Roger so completely see where he's coming from, personally I wouldn't care less if there was a small advertising banner(s) on this site. But I also respect the fact that that Terry & Co already do a great job without the extra hassle of drumming up advertisers.
I've mentioned this before, but why not declare what the site costs to run each year and any shortfall and then the members can decide if they want to plug the gap or accept adverts on the site. I'm sure we all agree, it isn't fair that Admin have to foot the bill of this wonderful site we all love.
I've mentioned this before, but why not declare what the site costs to run each year and any shortfall and then the members can decide if they want to plug the gap or accept adverts on the site. I'm sure we all agree, it isn't fair that Admin have to foot the bill of this wonderful site we all love.
Inky Batty
Dedicated Member
I'm still massively teed off at the absolute cheek of Maltrab, who clearly has a book deal signed, sealed and waiting on delivery and uses us lot in a round about way to do all his donkey work for him as far as research goes in the guise of 'quizzes' and 'question threads' and then.......asks for help with the upkeep when he's going to be a multi-millionaire eventually when the book is finally finished and published!
Don't fall for it people, it's like a win and a place!
I bet he's sitting there next to his roaring fire in Lincolnshire just laughing at us setting fire to tenners to keep himself warm.
And when finally, the 560 page super tome called "Get off me steps" is on the market, the acknowledgement section will say "thanks to me, obviously, all the pictures I took, the cast, the crew and oh, yes, some other people who helped slightly now and again".
Don't fall for it people, it's like a win and a place!
I bet he's sitting there next to his roaring fire in Lincolnshire just laughing at us setting fire to tenners to keep himself warm.
And when finally, the 560 page super tome called "Get off me steps" is on the market, the acknowledgement section will say "thanks to me, obviously, all the pictures I took, the cast, the crew and oh, yes, some other people who helped slightly now and again".
Many times over the years I have thought of different options to fund the site, I recall the very early days of running the site 20 plus years ago, at that time there were two other sites, both of them funded themselves differently, One well established site which some of you may recall run a lot of adverts, I did ask the owner, who was very helpful and gave me good advice, one being the adverts took up a lot of his time as there was always changes they wanted made and to top it all it did not cover the cost.
Another site went to a subscription route, I believe it was £10 a year, for the first year it did very well, then the numbers dropped off and the site closed after 2 years.
Pretty certain that neither site offered a forum, which I believe has given the members a great place to talk about most subjects over the last 13 plus years.
We are very lucky to have Tony onboard who sorts out all the tech issues including updates, security and various licences, he gives his time for free and if his services had to be paid for, the site could no longer function and would close very quickly, along with Tony we have two admins with Pearl & John who keep an eye on things, we do seem very blessed with not having many issues to deal with over the years, so we consider this a safe place for members, we don't sell your data and we work hard to keep out folk want to join and cause us problems.
What we cannot avoid is external running cost, server space, domain name, security software, software licences etc, so I don't see a problem asking for help with these cost, I know some folk cannot afford this, so I never post who has donated and how much, so as not to make those people feel guilty.
I do feel blessed with the generosity of the members who have helped keep the site running since I retired and I would now struggle to fund it all myself.
Terry
Another site went to a subscription route, I believe it was £10 a year, for the first year it did very well, then the numbers dropped off and the site closed after 2 years.
Pretty certain that neither site offered a forum, which I believe has given the members a great place to talk about most subjects over the last 13 plus years.
We are very lucky to have Tony onboard who sorts out all the tech issues including updates, security and various licences, he gives his time for free and if his services had to be paid for, the site could no longer function and would close very quickly, along with Tony we have two admins with Pearl & John who keep an eye on things, we do seem very blessed with not having many issues to deal with over the years, so we consider this a safe place for members, we don't sell your data and we work hard to keep out folk want to join and cause us problems.
What we cannot avoid is external running cost, server space, domain name, security software, software licences etc, so I don't see a problem asking for help with these cost, I know some folk cannot afford this, so I never post who has donated and how much, so as not to make those people feel guilty.
I do feel blessed with the generosity of the members who have helped keep the site running since I retired and I would now struggle to fund it all myself.
Terry
Terry and Tony keep this site going, John and I faff about trying not to cause an explosion or create a wormhole that would implode us all to another galaxy. I know a lot of people past and present see this site as a home from home, it gives a lot of people a lot of pleasure. I know I've made some good friends on here and I truly think that adverts would ruin the atmosphere and possibly cause more work for Terry and Tony.
That's me chances of selling my fridge freezer on here at a giveaway price up the swanny then......
Barry if you stick a LOSW fridge magnet on it, you could stick it under the thread Trading Places
I can sell you a fridge magnet.
I've got two lovely wardrobes, a china shepherdess and a fine selection of ladies hats. Anyone?
I'll swap you a lovely fridge freezer for it?
captain clutterbuck
LOTSW Fanatic
I've got two gross top of the range sunglasses direct from the man himself, Roy Bun from Tiawan, none of that Chinese tat. Now my arch rival Monkey Harris is selling them at £40 a pop but Ladies and Gentleman I am knocking them out yours for a Fiver and I'll throw in the sunshine for free to boot . Now I can't say fairer than that , everyone's a winner, Beouf a la mode!
I've got 1 GIANT GNOME for sale [unique !!!!...one of a kind !!!!...according to Auntie....who is,unfortunately prone to "untruths"]......sings " I want to be happy" in a style similar to Pinky and Perky.....IDEAL FOR ANNOYING NASTY NEIGHBOURS !!...but fear not......THE OFF BUTTON IS SITUATED ON THE BELT BUCKET........free to good home [or a bad one !!!].
x!
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