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Author Topic: **** Mk5GolfGTI.co.uk Needs You!! ****  (Read 67574 times)

Offline stealthwolf

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Re: **** Mk5GolfGTI.co.uk Needs You!! ****
« Reply #15 on: April 30, 2010, 02:41:51 am »
I personally would be against having to pay membership. I don't mind paying it now but on othrr car sites that have them, it's something I didn't want to do. Forum addicts will happily pay and I'm sure if you took the site down for 24 hrs there would be enough response to ensure it never happens again (until when you need more money)!!!

How much do you get in donations?

The GTI isn't just a machine. It's very much a living, breathing thing.

Offline danishmkvgti

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Re: **** Mk5GolfGTI.co.uk Needs You!! ****
« Reply #16 on: April 30, 2010, 07:35:26 am »
if i put together how much money i have saved due to tech advise and tricks learned here, i would almost not be as poor as i am due to all the great mods i also have learned about here.  :signLOL:
If a tenner or 20 are needed through donation to keep adverts away and hang on to the format as is, then i would gladly donate.  :notworthy:

keep the good work up guys  :drinking:

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Offline Hedge

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Re: **** Mk5GolfGTI.co.uk Needs You!! ****
« Reply #17 on: April 30, 2010, 07:46:40 am »
Another forum you may wish to consider speaking to is Briskoda.
They have something called Freedom which allows the member to advertise and sell stuff. They also have adverts from companies but only done in the header and footer of the page. However if you aren't a Freedom member then you get a slightly less advert free view.

Go take a look and see what you think.

I'm not against paying to get a better experience and a tenner a year is negligible but you will always get those that object for whatever reason or just wont pay full stop.
Difficult one Mr P. If you manage to find an amicable solution you should probably run for PM.  :smiley:

Offline QD MBE

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Re: **** Mk5GolfGTI.co.uk Needs You!! ****
« Reply #18 on: April 30, 2010, 09:00:45 am »
I hope that I don't let the cat out of ther bag too much.

One thought myslef and Mr P are chatting about, is the setting up of a dedicated forum shop.  I have a good contact within the VAG trade system.

I have started pricing up various 'kits'.  For instance i can do S3 wishbone kits delivered for £350.  I make £10 to cover my legwork/petrol/packing etc and the forum would look to make £10-15.

i can do this on any item, at any time.

just a thought, and would help the forum sustain itself, and remain independent.
« Last Edit: April 30, 2010, 09:01:43 am by SteveP »

Offline danishmkvgti

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Re: **** Mk5GolfGTI.co.uk Needs You!! ****
« Reply #19 on: April 30, 2010, 09:05:00 am »
I hope that I don't let the cat out of ther bag too much.

One thought myslef and Mr P are chatting about, is the setting up of a dedicated forum shop.  I have a good contact within the VAG trade system.

I have started pricing up various 'kits'.  For instance i can do S3 wishbone kits delivered for £350.  I make £10 to cover my legwork/petrol/packing etc and the forum would look to make £10-15.

i can do this on any item, at any time.

just a thought, and would help the forum sustain itself, and remain independent.

 :happy2:  :congrats:

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Offline b7unr

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Re: **** Mk5GolfGTI.co.uk Needs You!! ****
« Reply #20 on: April 30, 2010, 09:07:07 am »
Hi although still a newbie, i`d be more than  :happy2: to bung you a tenner.
I`ve only been a member for about 3 weeks but i`ve had more than a tenners worth of help!! THANKS

Why not organise a track day/meet?   :driver: and take a percentage on the entry fee.  
Where can i get a sticker and not the new army style one  :signLOL:
Thanks

Offline joesgti

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Re: **** Mk5GolfGTI.co.uk Needs You!! ****
« Reply #21 on: April 30, 2010, 09:09:08 am »
dont have paypal :sad1:

lets face it, this has only popped up because steve needs some beer tokens for the ring next week!!  :laugh: :drinking:

il stick a tenner in your pocket next week  :happy2:


If you need any games consoles or games, accessories, etc etc, PM me for my best price,

Offline QD MBE

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Re: **** Mk5GolfGTI.co.uk Needs You!! ****
« Reply #22 on: April 30, 2010, 09:10:30 am »
dont have paypal :sad1:

lets face it, this has only popped up because steve needs some beer tokens for the ring next week!!  :laugh: :drinking:

il stick a tenner in your pocket next week  :happy2:

i can hear the ban hammer being lifted..........................

 :signLOL:

Offline Richn83

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Re: **** Mk5GolfGTI.co.uk Needs You!! ****
« Reply #23 on: April 30, 2010, 09:15:28 am »
Ive not been hanging around for long, but have got a bit addicted (distracted) by the site and for the amount of time and enjoyment I get out of it would be more than happy to make a donation to keep the lights on for another year!  IMHO a compulsory membership could be detrimental to the influx of new members who may not fully realise the value of the site.

I am in a position where I work for an NSP who provide bandwidth and connectivity to many of the UK ISP's hosting companies, etc  and would be more than happy to see if there is anyway I can get a server placed in one of our racks, or anything else I can do to help  :happy2:

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Offline VC

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Re: **** Mk5GolfGTI.co.uk Needs You!! ****
« Reply #24 on: April 30, 2010, 09:51:24 am »
One key element of the forum is the fact it has no ties to any traders, which is a superb ethos, some forums i haunt have relationships with specific traders and this in itself means that to avoid losing any revenue from the traders the forum admin must keep them happy. this results in blind loyalty from forumites, a lack of educated choice for members (prejudice toward the sponsor), and other companies not willing to get involved due to sponsorship roles being exclusive to one brand

no one likes adverts on forums except the sponsor that benefits from it, users get annoyed with them, they can also have the adverse effect of slowing the viewing experience for the user and also effect the bandwidth if not managed correctly.

and also with sponsors come rights, if the sponsors have priority rights due to funds donated, then the users of the site drop in priority by natural selection - no sponsor = no bills paid

Donations by members can be effective but only to a point, people don't like giving money away on the whole unless they feel a genuine benefit from it. Even hard core users of sites will avoid donating if they disagree with the process regardless wether or not they agree with funds needing to be raised, they become passengers to the process. Yes regular users can donate regularly but it becomes two tier, why should those that donate get for free which others have paid for? Not everyone has a problem with such a thing but it would prevent donations happening from others.

But to donate then you would need to be aware or at the very least be active within the forum realms, there are a large amount of registered members that don't post and prefer to read the threads regularly. I've met forum members who actively sought me out to say hello at GTI international last year as they wanted to chat about various matters, however i had never heard of their username and have still yet to see them post. someone like that wouldn't donate potentially however still reap the benefits of the site.

The key here is the age old statement of "if it aint broke don't fix it" however it clearly needs fixing but to remain as close to original format that users have become familiar with and without giving loyalty away.

so with that said, fund raising rather than donations could be the way forward but by utilising the traders rather than relying on sponsorship from them and bring the forumite into an active role on their own choice

for example a membership scheme.

Now i don't mean a two tier system with the forum, nor do i suggest the forum has restricted areas or members gain elevated status, the key is to make no change to the forum by introducing it

to run it would be a simple matter of a membership card and number, something thats cheap to both produce and element. The forum user pays the site to join the scheme, this money is used to fund and run the site and all related aspects, in return they get a card and number.

this membership gives them a discount with each trader associated with the scheme, a percentage off of products for example (not just one product but a cast iron discount with that trader). Although you could put together a membership pack, a simple card and number would manage the same result.

Traders would want to join the scheme to get involved, all they would potentially need in return is an area of the forum restricted to themselves where they can gain access to membership details to confirm names with numbers before issuing the discount on their service or product.

- result would be forumites get a discount scheme and save money on products and services
- the forum doesn't outwardly change or run adverts yet receives an income which returns the buyer with a benefit system
- traders get customers guided to them with a discount

managing a scheme is a question of information, making the traders aware of changes, the members aware of offers and finally monitoring the expiration of memberships

traders can be added, new companies approached to keep the interest alive and in time with build to a valuable card to hold, making it a no-brainer for a forumite to purchase as rather than donating money for the privilege or reading a forum they are in effect buying a money saving device which in turn actively pays for the running of the forum. As long as discounts are strictly given to those with member numbers only by the traders involved

no loyalties are giving to any one trader this way, more than one type can join the scheme and can be monitored for performance and dropped from the scheme if they don't perform as expected (after all the only financial outlay is for a forumite to buy a membership - less of course the card production and time taken to help manage the scheme)

i have other thoughts too.... but i'll let that lot get digested first  :grin: :popcornsoda:

Offline john_o

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Re: **** Mk5GolfGTI.co.uk Needs You!! ****
« Reply #25 on: April 30, 2010, 10:57:05 am »
maybe a sponsered smile for John 0 :laugh:

will do what I can to help, but thats just taking it too far ....
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Offline gazbutS3

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Re: **** Mk5GolfGTI.co.uk Needs You!! ****
« Reply #26 on: April 30, 2010, 02:07:15 pm »
maybe a sponsered smile for John 0 :laugh:

will do what I can to help, but thats just taking it too far ....

 :smiley:

Offline SteveP

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Re: **** Mk5GolfGTI.co.uk Needs You!! ****
« Reply #27 on: April 30, 2010, 02:07:47 pm »
Thanks John_O for getting the ball rolling  :star:

Offline Neimad

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Re: **** Mk5GolfGTI.co.uk Needs You!! ****
« Reply #28 on: April 30, 2010, 03:17:04 pm »
I've not been an "official" member long but I have lurked for a long time and in my opinion, the information available on this site, not to mention the good people make it more than worth £10 a year... donation sent. :happy2:

Offline Hedge

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Re: **** Mk5GolfGTI.co.uk Needs You!! ****
« Reply #29 on: April 30, 2010, 03:25:38 pm »
You haz funds Mr P.  :happy2: