To George spellwin.

[George Spellwin]

Explain, how does it? i assume you have your own server? i know quite a bit about the web etc having 4 sites of my own, how does it "cost so much to run" and dont hit me with bandwidth, if your saying that it costs so much to run then your doing something wrong, the price for a plat membership is rediculous and I dont think ill renew, afterall you get nothing special, you can still get banned, you can ban other people - which i think is wrong anyway, ive asked several times for a new forum which i believe is part of the plat membership and yet NOTHING!! your so-called george given powers dont work and in fact this site is by NO means a democracy because you classify people into the ones who donate to your pocket and the ones who dont, further you suruptitiously try to convert ordinary members to plat members by threatening the ordinary guy with bombs, ive never seen such shit politics on any BB forum - you are a complete control freak.

H

Ouch! Tell me how you really feel.

I understand that 28 cents a day can add up. But I would respectfully disagree that you get nothing in return. Platinum features include a 5000 PM mailbox, live chat, the stealth site ExpertPCSupport.com, unrestricted search, your own discussion board, the private Platinum Boards, full size pics, no ads, bonus reports, and fun stuff like Karma, glowing stars, and bombs.

Digger can better answer the question of why it costs so much to run the site, but I'll give it a try - Digger, feel free to pitch in.

1. The site is WAY to large to run on just one server. Currently it takes eight servers to run Elite plus additional hardware to load balance them.
2. We have a consultant who does nothing but manage the forums' code base - because it needs lots of attention. We have another guy that handles the galleries. And two more guys that do systems admin and database management.
3. We provide customer service. Many other sites do not provide any, but you can call us toll free at (888) 613-8959 at any time if you're having trouble with your account.
4. Like any other business, we have a lawyer, accountant, customer service reps, office, phone bill, utility bill, and such.
5. Our ISP bill is huge. We are located at a tier 1 facility that can provide us with enormous amounts of burstable bandwidth, tech support, redundant power, dry fire suppression, advanced security. You may remember, we were online throughout the 9/11 crisis and the New York power outage.

Regarding your suggestions for a physics board and a drug rehab board, I would feel more comfortable adding these if you had two other Platinum Members that would help you moderate them. My concern is that traffic to them might be limited since there are so many other sites that do both physics and substance abuse so much better than we could. But if you find the other Plats to help out, we can give them a try. We are looking to create a new Platinum forum for Personal Trainers though and would welcome your help in moderating any of our existing Platinum boards - just let me know which ones.

Thanks for taking the time to post your comments and I appreciate your support as a Platinum Member.

 

[George Spellwin]

I agree with you completely. There are some out that may not like the fact I am a gay male, and they may drop a bomb on me, for that reason alone...I dont think it would be fair to me or others who have different views on life...

We have always welcomed our gay members, something many other bodybuilding sites have never done. In fact, we have had an HIV and Anabolic Steroid forum since almost day one - ten years ago.

Remember, it take 4 bombs for anything to happen at all, so I don't believe there is much chance of your views being suppressed. But if it happens, let me know so I can step in.

 

[TheAssholeFomerlyKnownAsDBBT]

I agree with you completely. There are some out that may not like the fact I am a gay male, and they may drop a bomb on me, for that reason alone...I dont think it would be fair to me or others who have different views on life...

.

 

[George Spellwin]

I agree with you completely, i dont care if your gay, so fuck we are now in 2005, even as a plat ive had my views suppresed, my opinion deleted. I hear ya bro.

H

If you would be kind enough to let me know the title of the threads where this happened, then I can look into it. Our mods do a great job, but it is possible that an error was made.

 

[shortstack]

We have always welcomed our gay members, something many other bodybuilding sites have never done. In fact, we have had an HIV and Anabolic Steroid forum since almost day one - ten years ago.

Remember, it take 4 bombs for anything to happen at all, so I don't believe there is much chance of your views being suppressed. But if it happens, let me know so I can step in.

well just hope no newbies take any trips over to the cc and c forum.... those guys are outta hand... with nick names (under the id name) like "the bomber!"

 

[bluepeter]

We have always welcomed our gay members, something many other bodybuilding sites have never done. In fact, we have had an HIV and Anabolic Steroid forum since almost day one - ten years ago.

Remember, it take 4 bombs for anything to happen at all, so I don't believe there is much chance of your views being suppressed. But if it happens, let me know so I can step in.

I would hope it won't happen because someone is gay but it is being abused. People are getting bombs on a daily basis because a platinum member didn't like what they had to say. I doubt that was your intention as to their use. An example was a non-platinum member with the handle Allon. He was bombed repeatedly for expressing some views that were unpopular. One of the platinum members bombing him made some racially offensive remarks for which there was no recourse. I don't think you can trust some of your platinum members to responsibly help you moderate. I would suggest you leave the bombing/banning to moderators and if further help is needed, to some mature senior members you and your staff know well as conscientious people and contributors to your site.

 

[mrplunkey]

First of all, I've posted before that I don't think plats need a "bombing" ability and I also think mods should never modify or delete a post unless 1) It has noting to do with the forum or 2) It compromises a source or member's identity.

Now... getting past that:

I see these posts periodically (not just this one) screaming about plat upgrade costs and/or sponsorships by specific companies. They always end up with the inevitable conclusion that it's all about greed and selling-out.

Did I miss something? When did making money become a bad thing? Do we deposit our paychecks at a bank that's about to go bankrupt? Do we buy a new vehicle from a car manufacturer that's about to go out of business? Businesses have an obligation to make money. We should be celebrating business that make money. Businesses that make money have the resources to give their customers the products and services they want.

Look at it from an owner's perspective: If you are making good money, you'd never kill the goose that's laying golden eggs by not upgrading servers, insuring high bandwidth and providing good customer support.

Now, before we get all paranoid about a company making "too much" money, consider this. How hard is it to setup a message board? How hard is it to set up an internet connection? How hard is it to find some moderators? This board doesn't have an exclusive hold on the AAS community -- it has to compete every day. I worry less about them making extraordinary returns and more about them generating a revenue stream that is compelling enough to keep the boards fast and reliable.

Anyway... i'm off my soapbox now. Just wish this damn winny shot would settle down. Maybe that's what's got me riled-up.

 

[bicepts101]

I agree with you completely. There are some out that may not like the fact I am a gay male, and they may drop a bomb on me, for that reason alone...I dont think it would be fair to me or others who have different views on life...

come on bro, no one cares if you are gay. and no one will bomb u for it....the rainbow thing is pretty annoying though...lol

 

[H-isBack]

come on bro, no one cares if you are gay. and no one will bomb u for it....the rainbow thing is pretty annoying though...lol

Yeah be gay be happy but dont force it down our throat, personaly i never swallow anyway HAHAHAHAHAHA

 

[babybodybuilder2.5]

come on bro, no one cares if you are gay. and no one will bomb u for it....the rainbow thing is pretty annoying though...lol

Well, if was not to used it wouldn't be on the smiley list. Besides, why is it annoying to you. I'm very proud that I am a gay man. It's not cramming it down your throats . If that was the case then everyone who uses the smiley icons, in the same affect would be cramming their smiley down you throat as well.
It's all cool with me....