Increased Traffic

[Stytooner]

This little spot on the web is a fantastic and priceless source of information and ideas. If the likes of this site are rivaled anywhere on the planet, I have yet to see it. I would love to see everyone pitch in a little to help out. The only problem with that is then the information does not come free anymore. Reading and contributing to the Forum should not require such membership. This along with all of Sam's hard work has made this place what it is today. I fear any major changes in the way things work around the site would be detrimental to the natural flow of information and membership.
I'm not sure that a emblem or icon on the members header would be such a bad idea. Unlike the stars that we initially had, the icon would simply signify that this member has paid a little to support this site and continue the tradition of a free flow of information and ideas between paying members, non-paying members and lurers alike.
You might also consider doing it like a telethon. Have a flow guage or something that shows how much of the sites annual cost has been covered by contributing members, auctions, donations and the like. This sounds like more work for you too, Sam.[B)]
I like the idea of sharing the work load. I don't know enough about any of this end of it, but with all the talent and professions on this forum, I don't think you would have to look far to find some help in that department, Sam.
I don't think I would ever want to see Ryobi have anything to do with this site other than pump out more BT3100's. I am sorry to say that what I have seen Corporate Ryobi do with regards to websites, I have not been impressed with. This site can get by without Ryobi's support. I think there are plenty of members willing to share the burden to keep the site flowing as usual. We just need to determine the way in which this is done. [8D]
Thanks Sam, for a great site and all the time that you and everyone else puts into it. I am in for a penny or in for a pound. Whatever it takes, you have my full support. (Not the althletic type of supporter, but more moral and finacial type of supporter.)[)]

[Popeye]

Well Sam, sign me up!
My 2 cents
1. Keep it free, alot of folks will drop out if it isn't.
2. Provide some easy way for members to contribute. I really don't care if I get some kind of icon or whatever. Sounds neat though.
3. Find a way to share the maint. time. I'm no help, I can barely figure out how to turn the puter on.[B)] Want a table built to set it on then I can help
4.Find some way to get Ryobi to support the site with $$. But without them haveing any control. I'm getting very cynical in my old age about corporate America. All of us that use the site owe you, but Ryobi makes money off you, and the rest of us for that matter.
5. You're doing a fine job Sam, let us know how we can best help.
Pat AKA Popeye

[Sam Conder]

Keep the ideas rolling, I'm listening. I just want to interject a couple of things...

I NEVER intend to make BT3Central anything other than a free site. I am merely contemplating giving extra "perks" to people who are willing to commit to sending regular payments for a fixed amount of time. Like a magazine subscripton. All of the content that is currently free will remain as it is.

On the subject of Ryobi supporting. In short, they won't and I don't want them to. For them it is a legal decision, for me it is a freedom issue. If Ryobi paid my server bill, I would be more inclined to make sure they looked as good as possible if you get my drift. Now, I would not mind if they bought ad space on this site, and I am actively pursuing advertising contracts. However, since the big dotcom bust, ad space isn't worth that much.

Keep on thinking, this is getting good...

[Rslaugh]

quote:Originally posted by sconder

.... However, since the big dotcom bust, ad space isn't worth that much......

Well this site is more than dotcom adspace for Ryobi so don't let that mindset get in the way.

here's my $0.01999

1) keep it out of your house Sam. I would be a neat thing to have a T1 when you're home but the other implications mentioned above far outweigh that. My neighbors run a web site design, hosting, Co-lo business out of their townhouse with some gov't agencies as some of their clients as well as corporate clients. They bought the townhouse across the street to move the business into. They have employees otherwise they would never be able to go on vacation together.

2) Co-lo seems to be the most practical solution. Do the proper planning/budgeting utilizing some of the above brains that have BTDT (and probably have the golfshirt) to advise and consult.

3) After determining the startup costs have a fund drive with the standard thermometer to show progress. People genuinely WANT to see the thermometer get to the top!

4) I know it's important to you personally that the content of the site remain free and I couldn't agree more. How about the "bus to the casino" model? Here in DC/Baltimore you can take a bus to Atlantic City for the day for $20. When you get off the bus you get $15 in cash and a $7.50 voucher for a meal good in one of the casinos. Get some corporate sponsors like Amazon, HD/Ryobi, Rockler, MLCS, HF etc etc to pony up Coupons for $10.00 off a purchase for each new subscriber. This is essentually free to them since they can't buy advertising on a per prospect rate of $10 yet I as a subscriber could get $50 of discouts which I would probably use and all for a $24 subscription fee (as examples).

5) A *Name* is a neat perk! Gotta admit I'm a bit envious of those in the chatroom!

6) Maybe have a page set up for names of fund drive contributors who contribute over $X or give them a plank icon.

Standing by

Rick Slaugh

[frankb]

Here.... Here....Hear this!

I second the opinions of Popeye and Sconder.
A walk to the bank tomorrow (will) is due.
( Can't seem to get the cross-out to work?)

Sam, money order on way for my support. US$ of course.
Keep up the good work. But with free "Family" time a must.

[SillyGoose]

Sam, I think it would help to make some of the site support options more visable. It requires several clicks and alot of scrolling to get to the tiny Amazon bar.

I'm not sure if this would help, but there seems to be alot of repeating of FAQ's New folks are not that familiar with the searh and archive features. Maybe a "READ THIS FIRST IF YOU JUST BOUGHT A BT3" section titled "Welcome from Sam and members" that has the most commonly asked stuff about set up, paint the red line, what accessories to buy. This would be a good place to introduce new members to the various site support options as well.

Also this one might take a lot of time to set up, but maybe someone can help you, How about making the auctions available to everyone. Kinda like a BT3 E-bay. This way if someone has something to sell, or part out they can do it there instead of Bargin Alerts and the site gets a 3%( or whatever) fee. This would make the whole process easier then going by who posted first or answering a million e-mails.

[Black wallnut]

Sam already knows but.....The link to make a donation via paypal is there; I'm beta testing it! Sam and the members of this site have done more for me than all ya'll will ever know! I am honored to be able to make a donation to the cause. Adding a special "thank you!" icon to paying members would be nice methinks, but not necessary for me personally. Where it may help, perhaps, is it may encourage some to contribute. That said if you choose to add this would it be possible to make it a voluntary icon where members can "opt out" if they do not want to announce their support. This topic and its' related topic under "Coffee Pot" gave me that little nudge to do something I have been meaning to do for a good long time. I only wish I could do more! [:X]

[Lefty]

quote:Originally posted by SillyGoose

Sam, I think it would help to make some of the site support options more visable. It requires several clicks and alot of scrolling to get to the tiny Amazon bar.

The goose is right. I've bookmarked the forum and only rarely go to the site proper. I'm ashamed to say that after spending so much on Amazon for Christmas, I didn't know there was a link in there for Amazon.

I'll contribute via PayPal as soon as I can (financially). I would like to see a subscription service in place, because I know I will forget to contribute on a regular basis. I owe this site at least one finger or a trip to the hospital.
Thanks, Sam.

[jhgrady]

Sam,

I think the ball is rolling. Just set up a PayPal option and suggest an amount. A lot of us will be glad to help.

John

[Woodnut]

quote:Originally posted by JeffW

This forum is the main forum I use...

There are other forums? [)]

Sam, please see my post in the clone of this thread...

[Norm in Fujino]

quote:Originally posted by Black wallnut

Sam already knows but.....The link to make a donation via paypal is there; I'm beta testing it!

Hey, thanks for the heads up! I just "beta tested" the PayPal link too! I don't know what is appropriate, but I just sent $10.00 as a starter. Maybe we need a "gauge" showing how the donations are adding up?

[APSuess]

Friends,

I've been watching this thread rather closely in an attempt to get "into the minds" of both the owner and active users. There has been some very useful information presented.

I can easily nderstand Mr. Conder's position relative to Ryobi's involvement. Asking for a$$i$tance with conditions would most definitely be a hard sell and one that, ultimately, would not be worth the effort.

The issue of the visibility of certain "revenue streams" is an area that I would have to agree with.

In a private thread Sam and I exchanged ideas on alternatives to Snitz Forum. There are indeed others, particularly WebAPP (www.web-app.org). Some of the alternatives are indeed written in PERL which will efficiently run on Windows, Unix, or Linux. These alternatives normally do not require any scripting on the part of the Administrator/Installer as most include an autoconfiguration module with site variables contained in one reference file. Granted, significant modifications to functionality would require some knowledge of PERL.

Linux, because of its UNIX parentage, statistically yields a significant reduction in site security costs relative to man-hours. The statistics bear this out from SecurityWatch.com (http://www.securityfocus.com/columnists/188) There are currently 60,000 Viruses for Windows, 40 for Macintosh, 5 for Unix and 40 for Linux.

Further, the time involved in keeping up with Microsoft bug fixes and patches, for larger enterprises can indeed be staggering. For Linux and other, it is minimal because of its "construction". Hackers come in through Instant Messaging, Media Player, and other such features that have absolutely no business being integrated into a server system. Unix/Linux do not have these items built in and, if they did, the removal or complete disabling is a fairly simple issue.

However, perhaps the delivery platform is not the issue. We must not lose site of the fact that "traffic" is the issue and not the operating system.

Premium content is an excellent idea but must be well-thoughtout before implementation. A "free-side" with little information of value would psychologically provide little motivation for users to upgrade their memberships. Their immediate belief would be that "I got nothing from the free side, wheres my quarantee that I'll get anything for my $5.00 per month."

I do not believe we should be overly concerned with gross membership numbers; they are of little value. What is of value is the number of active participants. 1400+ member sounds nice for marketing purposes. But if only 10% are actively participating in the site's growth the number is meaningless except for our own ego's.

Think of it as thinning out the inventory. An item that has sat on the self for 6 months (non-participating members, AKA "lurkers", is essentially worthless to us from a revenue viewpoint. However an item that provides revenue on a monthly basis is one that we will put our best efforts into. It goes without saying that we would not completely abandon or ignore "lurkers", but rather continue to provide some motivation for their interest in becoming subscribing members.

We frequently see references to specific items in the various forums. However, getting to those items located on other sites reques an individual to expend some additional effort as well as have a more than a basic knowledge of search engines, URL's, etc. We sometimes take for granted that the average internet user simply follows links and does not understand the intracies of running a "deep" investigation of an internet location. Jeff Balderson, in a previous posting to this thread uses the words "passive support options". These support opetions should/must be made "active support options" to be of value to BT3Central.

Having a graphic link to affiliate programs such as that offered to the left, from experience, will yield little monetary result. A section of the site offering direct links to specific items is far more effective. For example; a "Book Store" or "BT3Central Store" with the image garnered from Amazon.com and our other affiliations as well as Price, reviews, etc. will not only earn an increased percentage of the sale, but make it far easier for individuals to go directly to the item itself rather than simply a retailer's home page where a search must again be conducted. Mention or review of an item on the main site would earn it a premium link at the BTSCentral Store.

At the present time I have several web servers available to me for companies I continue to support. One particular site at Marinaro Brothers has 300MB of space but uses less than 5MB.

I would gladly set up a BT3Central Store at that location, using Mr. Conder's affiliate codes and IDs in an effort to demonstrate the value of a carefully planned, revenue generating, affiliate system.

I would insist that no mention of the domain name (marinarobrothers.com) be given and links provided only as an IP address (http://www.64.176.92.133/bt3store). Mr. Conders autonomy is important to me as well and I do not wish there to be even a hint of his supporting any other enterprise.

Naturally, this "BTSCentral Store" would be overseen by Mr. Conders and its value to the main enterprise evaluated after a predetermined period of time.

I have both the time, expertise, server space, and motivation to invest in such a "test".

Banner Ads to the BT3 Store could also be placed on the main web site.

Feedback, criticism, alternatives and suggestions, as always, are actively solicited on this issue.

Respectfully,

Dr. Suess

[BillW]

Here's an idea for an approach to Ryobi. If we make it a small nominal membership fee, a buck a month perhaps, that would retain much of the membership. Propose to Ryobi that they include in the box for every BT3K sold a coupon which would entitle the new saw owner to one years membership at BT3Central. Sam could redeem each coupon for $12 from Ryobi. Those of us who understand the value of this site gladly pay our $12/year and newbies get to find out for themselves what a wonderful place it is for 12 months before they have to commit their own money. For a straight up fee of $1200/year(or other number here) Ryobi gets to put a banner on the page that says 'Ryobi is a proud sponsor of BT3Central!'

I don't know how the membership numbers would change, but it would seem to work. Sorta like PBS - combination of private and corporate sponsorship. Ryobi may think their site has all sorts of info, but I haven't visited it in over a year now. This is the place to get help, and it's not just in the saw itself - it's woodworking, projects, ideas, problems, questions, camraderie, and life itself.

Anyway, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.

[silverfox]

This is the only forum I visit on the entire internet. I found it through the Ryobi site that seemingly no longer exists. The reason it no longer exists is, most likely, because this site is so much better. I, too, have noticed the large influx of new members here and I must say that it really pisses me off that Ryobi just sits there and reaps the benefits of this forum. I understand the worries of JeffW but I think Ryobi should be supporting this site without any management options. This forum is the best thing that ever happened to Ryobi and the BT3100. As for me....I'm like Norm was...I haven't donated a dime to this forum and I am ashamed. As Norm...I was always going to but never did. A simple appeal for a few bucks from everyone to keep this forum going is NOT begging for money. It's just a simple fact of business that will allow us all to keep coming to this happy place. I am not a rich man anymore but I will do my part to keep this thing going. For us and for Sam. Still....I think Ryobi sucks for not lending a helping hand surreptitiously with no strings.
Mike

[Raffi]

I think the best idea so far is to have a page where you could accept credit card donations Sam. Adding bonus services to paying members in my opinion would detract from the 'spirit' of this site. As, I feel, would any kind of icon recognizing donors. How about premiums for different donation levels. T-shirts, jigs and fixtures cd/dvd, mugs.

For that matter you could have a small store that could sell some of these items to help defray costs. I would were a bt3central t :-).

Though only a member for a short time I would contribute as I'm sure many others would - just make it as painless as possible.

Good luck, let us know if we can help.

Raffi