Originally Posted by bignate73
Quote:
the virtual green dots are an integral part of this site. its called "brand hijacking" when your consumers latch on to a facet of your business and create a subculture around it. the minute you try to steer it or control it, you shut them off. herein lies the problem. make money by outright charging and changing the whole system where the culture was built....there goes the interest. best bet is to leave the "ain't broke" system alone since it keeps people here, looking (read: being advertised to) and spending time here or even <gasp> referring others to.
main money makers and interest generators:
supps
memberships
events or activities where you can use said free karma (texas holdem $1 a day to play etc, other gambling or bidding type situations, giveaways, etc.)
karma is the free stuff that will encourage the other stuff. take that away and now we're back to just paying for stuff. pay for the activities that are fun because you built up the karma with time . Time is just as much money and contributes to the culture and content of this board. karma is a form of ranking that sortof tells how much people have been on the board as well, those that have been around for a while obviously spend time here, and thus will be more apt to use the boards services and activities. (especially with full support and mention by mods)
just my thoughts....
next post in response to:
"Plat was here way before karma. I bet most of the customers went plat for other reasons. I paid back when it was EF Select just cause I was enjoying the info on AAS and diet. Had nothing to do with special features because all we had was a separated forum. Look at places like Glocktalk for example. Folks there pay and get nothing. Of course, there're other gun boards but it's a way of saying keep up the good work. That's how I see this and that's why I paid here and on a car forum."
but its evolved...thats why the uproar. to change it midstream is asking for alot of people's interest and "good jobs" to hold steady while taking away something that became part of the board. there comes a point where the fun is slowing down. obviously the camaraderie of sending a small K message to someone after a post is gone. so now people have to either a)outright send a pm (time consuming) or b)say a little something on the post. the rank system way of rewarding someone with K was painless, now you actually lose something so there is less little comments. you have to look at the big picture of it, the ease at which the culture grew via the system.
its like not getting chips and salsa at the mexican restaurant while you wait to spend money on large entrees. the key is to maintain the systems that people enjoy and find ways to capitalize on that (read: gambling, etc.) and also introduce new products, features and benefits that are low cost, regular repeat business, and also....could allow you some sort of progression reward for repeat business maybe in the intangible form of karma or other incentives (not available to non paying customers) ie. (ranking *note: people do care about it, more rewards, special features on the board, a free K bomb, mega blasts for a couple hours. etc). extra edit: most of which are a side benefit to the purchased service or goods but set the consumer apart from the normal K crowd. something the normal board member can't do.
Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below 
