I tried to get a racing only section made. You had to have a current race, or at least an associate type license to gain access. That would leave a spot on here that you can find real race info, or the riff raff would still get in, but WERA would get some benefit from them.
Nominal fee for participation, viewing free? - Sure, why not? What's a minimum CC charge? Fee for classifieds? - Absolutely. Limited to one bike per ad at a set price and/or a pricing bracket per dollar asked. Bracketing works for parts. Licensed racers only? - Not too sure about how to handle that. Yes, licensed racer-only participation...with strict adherence to good sportsmanship and decorum. BUT... Non-licensed wannabe racers will have access to viewing like anyone else. They, however, may have their own individual questions and concerns. They're not gonna pay to ask questions so, how do you address that? Dungeon? - Well, yes, of course. Open for “viewing and participation” by members only. By calling it a “private club”, I believe there would be no need for moderation...might self-police anyway. How much should one pay for this privilege? At least as much as a WERA National license...on top of forum membership!
IMO, an overall paywall model doesn't work. Donations are a tricky one as well but works well for the people that really care. (Just don't expect any real $$) Charging for the classifieds is a must. Ken
Charging for classifieds - right now Sean lets me put up listings in 'Other' and reply in vulture mode to different posts for nothing. I pay C$50 (+$6.50 GST) per month on three different sites. Paying US$50 per year would be a no-brainer.
It hasn't been too long since the classified section came back to it's current/ original state. How did the fee system work during the change? Financially speaking, every business is in a world of shit, especially one that relies on such a non-essential activity as motorcycle racing. I'm a lot more scared of a business like WERA or my local breakfast restaurant failing than Covid-19. I'd like to think everyone with a race worthy bike show up and packing every grid as soon as this is over would do more than a subscription fee as finances go. If things get too bad, in addition to a subscription fee, you might get registration increase, tech surcharge or even a trophy fee.
My piece... If it takes donations to keep this thing afloat, I would rather do that, versus a paywall. Why? Well I know some of these cunts in here are tighter than shit, but add to the amusement at times and losing some of them may diminish that. And that's why I come here, for amusement. I don't have a license any longer, so I guess I'm no longer a cool kid. Oh well. As far as roadracing tech and information goes, it's here, and always has been. But so is a ton of other info. The Beeb is bigger than racing at this point, and it would be a shame to fuck it all up with subscriptions, imo.
I'll make a donation to The Boss soon. I can't imagine her concerns and stresses, currently. The internet radio station I listen to as my 'go-to' source for music set up a $5k 'Go Fund Me' account this week, to help with expenses. They've experienced virus-related issues with their streaming service and internet provider 'disappearing' after they had problems live-streaming. (The Whip Radio, at http://backlandradio.com/listen-live/) I've made donations to them in the past, and will continue to do so. Happy to donate to a free great music source. I'd be willing to do something similar to what ADVrider has set up, here. I'd prefer to keep most sections here free, so I can send links to my ex-racer friends who don't come here much. I haven't been to ADV much lately, and wasn't aware of what they were asking. I found out years ago I'm not allowed to use my 'Once a Wanker..' name on most other forums I've registered at. I appreciate chatting with all (most?) of you more relaxed filthy animals here, for sure.
And this is kind of the point I'm trying to make. You guys want this to be here 3 months from now? For those that race, do you want a sanctioning body to race with (I would bet that CCS is going to be in a similar boat). It's going to be up to those who are able to, to help make that happen. The original thought of paid membership, is exactly BECAUSE there are a lot of people in the world who want something for nothing, and can't be counted on to lend a hand when needed.
I'm trying to understand what triggered this. Is the Beeb actually sucking enough resources as to endanger the existence of WERA? Normally, if the cost of something goes up, there's a lot of bitching about it. For every suggestion to increase a fee, there's ten ideas on how to cut costs. Weed out the riffraff? What do you define as riffraff? That's a very vague notion. I run what has become more or less an official Facebook page for LRRS. I get lots of BS private messages from people who think I should run the page the way they think it should be run. They don't like certain people's posts, so and so isn't a racer, they don't belong here, etc., etc. The Executive Directors came on board this year. They more or less stay in the background. They like the way I run things. Membership is not restricted. But if you do something real stupid, you get booted. For good. The WERA BBS is probably the best "Great Melting Pot" on the web. Fees for classifieds are OK. That's been done before. Turn off Dungeon when it gets toxic? That's fine. I don't allow that with LRRS, they can take it to TDJU. The Beeb is fine, don't fuck with it. If it makes you feel better, PayPal [email protected].