Should Physics Forums Offer Premium Memberships?

[Greg Bernhardt]

I want to raise the question of offering premium memberships here at Physics Forums. The goal is to not only raise money for the Physics Network, but to equip all of you with useful and fun new features. I am interested in your opinons and feedback on the following two possible membership plans.

Silver Membership
------------------------

* Membership title
* 200 PM limit
* No ads

$25/yr


Gold Membership
------------------------

* Membership title
* 200 PM limit
* No ads
* Ability to give members reputation points
* PF IE toolbar (spell check, search references, calulators...)
* PF Journal (like a personal blog on the forums, a personal comment area for you to write in)
* Can choose from several forum skins
* PF Email (hotmail style in the forums)
* 5mb of webspace (yourname.physicsforums.com) on request

For: $75/yr or $225 lifetime

 

[cookiemonster]

Membership title: Never much cared about that...
200 PM limit: ?
No ads: Got software to replace ads with "This page cannot be displayed" anyway

Ability to give members reputation points: Sounds like a $75 toy. Besides, nothing's stopped anyone from making fun of them anyway, right?
PF IE toolbar: Wouldn't use it, and I despise spellcheck.
PF Journal: See toolbar.
Forum skins: Blah, not too picky.
E-mail: School's going to give me e-mail anyway.
Webspace: School's going to give me webspace anyway.

$75/$225: I'm trying to afford tuition whilst not starving... =\

That's just me, though.

cookiemonster

 

[jeff]

Originally posted by Greg Bernhardt
...am interested in your...feedback...

Sitting-Duck Membership: Ability to be sh*t on by paying members.

Silver Membership: Same as sitting-duck membership, except you pay $25/yr.

Gold Membership: Ability to give members reputation points.

Platinum Membership: Ability to post your psychological evaluations of other members.

Weapons-grade plutonium membership: Ability to actually order hits on other members.

 

[Bystander]

You're going to have to offer something "active" in the way of feedback/interaction with the site for even $25 --- instead of "reputation points," how about the ability to "gag" other members --- say, oh, what --- 20 members hit the "gag" button for an individual in a particular forum, said individual is unable to post until such time as he/she/it has figured out which members are gagging him/her/it, and works out some arrangement through PMs (no gag) with enough gaggers to get under the "20 gag, no post" feature.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Originally posted by Bystander
You're going to have to offer something "active" in the way of feedback/interaction with the site for even $25 --- instead of "reputation points," how about the ability to "gag" other members --- say, oh, what --- 20 members hit the "gag" button for an individual in a particular forum, said individual is unable to post until such time as he/she/it has figured out which members are gagging him/her/it, and works out some arrangement through PMs (no gag) with enough gaggers to get under the "20 gag, no post" feature.

I would think PF in and of it's self is worth $2/m The reputation system can be worked on to include such features.

Sitting-Duck Membership: Ability to be sh*t on by paying members.

Silver Membership: Same as sitting-duck membership, except you pay $25/yr.

Gold Membership: Ability to give members reputation points.

The reputation system is very flexible and feature rich. It's not as if a nutcase can destroy a persons reputation.

I guess what it comes down to is what would you all like to see and be willing to chip into PF. I don't want to have to install popups, disable latex, disable signatures, avatars... j/k

Thanks for your comments, I welcome more!

 

[jeff]

Originally posted by Bystander
You're going to have to offer something "active" in the way of feedback/interaction with the site for even $25 --- instead of "reputation points," how about the ability to "gag" other members --- say, oh, what --- 20 members hit the "gag" button for an individual in a particular forum, said individual is unable to post until such time as he/she/it has figured out which members are gagging him/her/it, and works out some arrangement through PMs (no gag) with enough gaggers to get under the "20 gag, no post" feature.

Seriously greg, the idea of allowing paying members to "officially" pass judgement on other members is just plain nutty.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Originally posted by jeff
Seriously greg, the idea of allowing paying members to "officially" pass judgement on other members is just plain nutty.

Ok fair enough

 

[wolram]

GREG if you want $ for PF, gimmics not needed, how about
information? quick fact find, alert to new papers by
subject etc.

 

[jeff]

I think that charging kids for assitance with their studies, just like one would do with a tutor, makes sense. I'm sure some parents wouldn't mind paying for such a service, especially at the prices you're talking about.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Originally posted by jeff
I think that charging kids for assitance with their studies, just like one would do with a tutor, makes sense. I'm sure some parents wouldn't mind paying for such a service, especially at the prices you're talking about.

Yeah I was reminded of a service I think google has where people bid for answers or help.

 

[Loren Booda]

How about a limited time (a month, say) for new members to try Physics Forums, after which they would pay a small, one-time initiation fee ($5, say). That would be similar (but much cheaper) to other websites we have seen. With 6,710 current PF members, the fees would accrue $33,550! The ads aren't egregious, just an annoyance, but the permanent initiation fee would render them unnecessary.

Unfortunately, this policy would void the free forum we are used to, and discriminates against those without much resource (homeless, third world, etc.)

 

[Nereid]

Originally posted by Loren Booda
How about a limited time (a month, say) for new members to try Physics Forums, after which they would pay a small, one-time initiation fee ($5, say). That would be similar (but much cheaper) to other websites we have seen. With 6,710 current PF members, the fees would accrue $33,550! The ads aren't egregious, just an annoyance, but the permanent initiation fee would render them unnecessary.

Unfortunately, this policy would void the free forum we are used to, and discriminates against those without much resource (homeless, third world, etc.)

I think you'll find it's not so much not having $$ (or €, £, ...), rather having no way to make the payment.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Originally posted by Loren Booda
How about a limited time (a month, say) for new members to try Physics Forums, after which they would pay a small, one-time initiation fee ($5, say). That would be similar (but much cheaper) to other websites we have seen. With 6,710 current PF members, the fees would accrue $33,550! The ads aren't egregious, just an annoyance, but the permanent initiation fee would render them unnecessary.

Unfortunately, this policy would void the free forum we are used to, and discriminates against those without much resource (homeless, third world, etc.)

That is definitely an option, but personally not something I could actually go through with. I want basic use of PF to always be free.

I think you'll find it's not so much not having $$ (or €, £, ...), rather having no way to make the payment.

Paypal has always be an easy way to make a payment, most currencies and credit cards are accepted.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

In addition to my previous post: What if we slit the site into two sections. What you see now will be for paying members and we can create an alternate set of forums for non-paying. The alternate set would only consist of just a few forums with very basic posting and community abilities. Would that create a revolt?

 

[wolram]

how much for paying members? do we pay by week, month, year
this forums success is due to wide audience, if we have to
pay it will end up like sky tv, this forum is unique, and
needs unique solution to stay afloat.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

In addition to my previous post: What if we split the site into two sections. What you see now will be for paying members and we can create an alternate set of forums for non-paying. The alternate set would only consist of just a few forums with very basic posting and community abilities. Would that create a revolt?

Originally posted by wolram
how much for paying members? do we pay by week, month, year
this forums success is due to wide audience, if we have to
pay it will end up like sky tv, this forum is unique, and
needs unique solution to stay afloat.

How much is an interesting question. It depends on how many people would sign up. I figure we have maybe 1000 members who return on weekly basis. So if we can get 3/4 of them to pay then the yearly rate would be extremely low, something like $10. I agree we need creative solutions, this is a good thread and hope other chips in their 2c.

 

[Evo]

Greg, you have done an incredible job on this site.

I for one would be willing to pay a membership fee to keep PF going. Even $25 annually is not much when you consider that's the equivalent of a large order of fries each month. You could charge $15 for a 6 month membership or $25 for a full year.

Of course the lower the fee, the more members you'll have.

Paypal would be a very good option, you definitely do not want to handle cash, checks, money orders and credit card transactions on your own, especially on a global basis.

Your idea of segmenting the site for paying and non-paying members sounds good to me.

 

[Monique]

Ok, so how does paypal work? Would someone from a not-so-developed country be able to use it too? How does it work for under aged people? Does it require a credit card? If so, it is only in the US that people actually own a credit card..

 

[cookiemonster]

Segmenting the site sounds kind of counter-productive to me. If there were only discussions between established members, it'd wouldn't be such a lively place. Lots of the questions and ideas come from brand new members, members who probably aren't willing to pay $15 or $25 just to ask one question.

cookiemonster

 

[Monique]

I too think it shouldn't become an exclusive site. I think it should be the responsibility of the ones who use this site most and enjoy it, to chip in some money on a yearly basis.

The way to do that, I think, is be very open about donations and giving an award for doing so. Make a list of all the contributers and make it visible, maybe give them an title under their avatar 'PF contributor'. Advertise it by sending a goody like PF on a CD (as has been done in the past). Ofcourse t-shirts would be great advertisement in the real world :D

Also, I think the extra forum features should then be a reward, rather than an incentive.

 

[cookiemonster]

PF on a CD? How exactly would you stick the constantly-changing internet on a very static CD?

cookiemonster

 

[Monique]

As an archive of the forums.

 

[Evo]

Originally posted by Monique
Ok, so how does paypal work? Would someone from a not-so-developed country be able to use it too? How does it work for under aged people? Does it require a credit card? If so, it is only in the US that people actually own a credit card..

Paypal is very easy and is available from a lot of countries. You can pay either with a credit card or from a bank account. It's available from The Netherlands! www.paypal.com

Originally posted by Monique
I too think it shouldn't become an exclusive site. I think it should be the responsibility of the ones who use this site most and enjoy it, to chip in some money on a yearly basis.

The way to do that, I think, is be very open about donations and giving an award for doing so. Make a list of all the contributers and make it visible, maybe give them an title under their avatar 'PF contributor'.

On second thought, I think your idea might be better. Greg can start by proactively soliciting the top users of the site and see how many are willing to be "PF Sponsors". There could be levels of sponsorship - bronze, silver, gold, platinum. They would get recognition for their level of contribution on their avatar.

Surely there are enough gainfully employed people on PF to help support it.

If for any reason he would still need to go to a "member pay site" the contributors would have their donations applied to membership, so there is no risk.

 

[Loren Booda]

Evo

There could be levels of sponsorship - bronze, silver, gold, platinum

Don't forget quarkonium!

 

[Janitor]

Please

Define "gainfully employed" for us.

 

[cookiemonster]

I could define "not gainfully employed" for you... ;)

cookiemonster

 

[Evo]

Originally posted by Janitor
Define "gainfully employed" for us.

You still have money the day "after" you get paid.

Originally posted by Loren Booda
Evo Don't forget quarkonium!

No one could afford that level.

 

[wolram]

10$= about 2 packs fags, 4 bacon sarnies, 3 pints beer or
fish and chips for 2, I'm bitting my nails in indecision as
to which to forgo so i can support my PF habit.

 

[Mr. Robin Parsons]

Probably the only logical split would be "adult forum content", (the 'Physics of Sex' as eg) an adult section, that is a paid membership to enter...only difficulty is age verification...after that, adults should be the ones with the money to pay for the right to cuss, and curse, and whatever else that would want to do in a 'protected from children" environment...that could also help to keep the rest of the forum up, interesting, and active!


...but do whatever you want...right!?

 

[Zero]

Can you pay an extra $5 to have someone nag you to send in your money?

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Originally posted by Zero
Can you pay an extra $5 to have someone nag you to send in your money?

haha, hire a collector? I'll form a secret service to ruff up those who aren't supporting lol

 

[Mr. Robin Parsons]

Can you pay an extra $5 to have someone nag you to send in your money?

I'll do it for $3.99 US (taxes, and, transportation, extra{s}) or less, if someone else offers lower...

 

[The_Professional]

Premium Memberships

First of all, I like the new colors and the new logo on top. The site has a very clean and smooth feel to it. Very easy on the eyes.

I also think it's a bad idea to split the site into two sections, we'll just confuse people and certainly drive them away. As far as paying for a fee, I certainly don't want to, but I'm still kinda split, some more features have to be added if I'm going to pay for something. Perhaps, some java games, a private photo gallery where we can store our photos for everyone to see, and also the ability to either make this private or public viewing.

Another idea, is we can put some tiny stars under each paying Username. Like for example, a bunch of silver stars for premium members, a bunch of gold stars for the Super duper advanced paying member and a little recognition under the name saying premium member, platinum, gold star etc..
Unfortunately, the downside to this is people would unconsciously perceive that so and so's post matters most because of that tiny rank..and stars.

As far as reputation points go, I have quite a bit of experience on another forum where people are allowed to give positive and negative points based on posts and leave anonymous messages on why they like or don't like it. But like most system, people abused it. Some people would end up making two accounts and giving positive points to the new account. It also turned into a popularity contest.

So let's say User A just signed up and paid $225 for a lifetime membership with 0 posts. Would you be comfortable with this person giving you reputation points when he hasn't earned the respect of the community?

My 2 pesos, Cheers

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

First of all, I like the new colors and the new logo on top. The site has a very clean and smooth feel to it. Very easy on the eyes.

I also think it's a bad idea to split the site into two sections, we'll just confuse people and certainly drive them away. As far as paying for a fee, I certainly don't want to, but I'm still kinda split, some more features have to be added if I'm going to pay for something. Perhaps, some java games, a private photo gallery where we can store our photos for everyone to see, and also the ability to either make this private or public viewing.

Another idea, is we can put some tiny stars under each paying Username. Like for example, a bunch of silver stars for premium members, a bunch of gold stars for the Super highly advanced paying member and a little recognition under the name saying premium member, platinum, gold star etc..
Unfortunately, the downside to this is people would unconsciously perceive that so and so's post matters most because of that tiny rank..and stars.

As far as reputation points go, I have quite a bit of experience on another forum where people are allowed to give positive and negative points based on posts and leave anonymous messages on why they like or don't like it. But like most system, people abused it. Some people would end up making two accounts and giving positive points to the new account. It also turned it into a popularity contest.

So let's say User A just signed up and paid $225 for a lifetime membership with 0 posts. Would you be comfortable with this person giving you reputation points when he hasn't earned the respect of the community?

My 2 pesos, Cheers

There definitely will be some perks for being a contributing member, some added now and some added later. As for the reputation system I think I'm going to try it. However only enable positive feedback.

 

[Janitor]

I kinda like the gold stars idea, actually.

One of my senior co-workers was given a golden mop to pin on his lapel after he reached 30 years of service.