Mr. dB said:
So you think that continuing to erode the set of features that are left for non-plats is a good marketing concept? You think that will instill the kind of good will that will make people want to choose to support the site?
I vote with my pocket book. I was considering going Plat after the recent change to 40/10, especially after my free "week" Plat gift from BRR (even thoguh it only lasted five days and five hours...). But going Plat now would mean that I support the kinds of decisions that have been made this week, so I'll just keep my money in my pocket thank you very much.
What standard features do you support taking away from non-plats next?
the next things I've put in the queue are limits on posts per day... then eventually, limits on the number of posts you can read per day.. ultimately restricting it to just readinging the first post of any given thread and having to pay to see any responses.. that will really spice things up around here.
And I am kidding.
Reading and posting will always be "free." At least that is my vision. But additional features like karma, PMs, posting pictures or viewing pictures, searching, etc.. that type of thing will require some type of payment.
I wish you'd go plat bro. I went plat long before these changes. You want to know what the main motivating factor was for me? The search. That non plat google search is worthless!! It sucked. When I want to get some info on a particular supplement, I want to be able to run a fine tuned search on the posts on this board. Going plat allows me to do that.
Before the search change, I was plat for about a year. I did that because I wanted to contribute to the site. There were no galleries, search was free, I didn't care about karma. I just figured it was the responsible thing to do considering that this site helped me SO much with my training. True, it was the USERS, plat and non plat alike that made it valuable, but someone has to pay to run this place.
Once the search change was made, I went plat for life. No need to dick around with paying a month to month fee, just pay it upfront and I'm good to go. I have been in the fitness message board community for a while, I'm registered and post at 3-4 other boards, but this was my first, and its where I always end up returning. The number of posts and users makes this place the most potent source of info for fitness and bodybuilding (among other things) that I have found.
Have I always agreed with the Admin's policies? no. Are there things I think are lame? yes. But overall, there is a hell of a lot of good stuff going on, and I'm glad to be a part of it.
I can totally see things from both sides. From the side of a non plat. Someone who doesn't have money really to blow on an internet message board, or someone who doesn't use the place frequently enough to really warrant it. But if someone actually decides to stick around and become part of this community, I'd say its almost expected that they go plat at some point.. maybe a year? maybe two? I dunno.. the site has to make money too, that is the other perspective I see. Its a business, a good one, and one where everyone benefits.