There are many problems with going to a pay service format. As scr4 mentioned, the quality and diversity of the board would take a major hit. As several have pointed out, the SD would be required to maintain quality service, which would likely increase their headaches for little to no profit. And finally, banning posters would become a much trickier issue. I like the amount of power the mods currently have. I’d hate to see them handcuffed by high-priced boosters who decided they were entitled to post abusive/misleading comments.
But I love the idea of banner ads, coupled with the ability to voluntarily donate to turn them off.
That sounds reasonable. The Opera browser uses the same approach; the software is free to download and use, but it displays ads until you register it. I have a registered copy.
I also agree that if I’m going to pay for it, I expect the servers to be upgraded. And I want it to be available 24 hours a day, not 23 and a half.
The servers aren’t unavailable for that time (30 minutes?) because they’re inferior; they’re unavailable because they must be backed up every night. It’s especially important in such a dynamic environment as this one, with a zillion new posts and threads each day. Now, a new server might not take as long to back up (I’m no techie), but I would imagine regular board maintenance would still need to be performed, regardless of how wonderful (or expensive) the server is.
I realize that. I also realize it’s impossible to find a time that’s convenient for everyone, but right now it happens late afternoon for us Asians and Australians. If I became a paying customer, I think I’d feel justifed in requesting that the backups be done a bit quicker, and/or they investigate ways to do it with less disruption.
In a perfect world, there would be mirror SD sites all over the globe, each feeding off the other as redundant arrays or something. You’d go to the main page and choose the closest geographic server, and… ok, maybe that wouldn’t work…
Probably not. I’m more then happy enough to wait to read Fark until after the links and comments become free. I suppose I’m just too used to certain entertainment venues (TV & the internet) being free. I use 602 PRO suit for my document and spreadsheet needs because it’s free. Heck, I just started walking to Borders and reading their books rather then buying them.
As for me, I would pay about $25/year. I think lurkers could see for themselves how fun the board is, and it would cull the idiots. (“But you just said you’d stick around, Sani!” Har har har…)
I like the “pay for features and no ads” idea, though. I pay for weatherunderground because I don’t want the ads. But the server here had better improve if we have to pay.
While I don’t mind the idea of a small yearly fee…I agree it would affect the diversity…especially from Dopers in smaller, foreign countries. It kind of smacks of snobby private school, with them poor folk looking in the window.
Too bad SDMB just couldn’t be a non-profit organization and take donations, or have a big E-Bay style auction with members donating stuff and all the profits go to buying some equipment.
Perhaps there is a legal way to be a private club…charge $1.00 for a lifetime membership, create a secret handshake, a secret password “Hi Opal”, and then you can have private fund raisers?
No, I don’t think so, I really love this place though. Maybe If I got more bang for the buck, like an archive of ALL Cecil’s columns and maybe some exclusive content, but not for what it is right now. This came up for real in the past didn’t it?
I would just open up a rival site, that was free, as some here have, though you can bet I would lurk.
One of the best things about the SDMB is the diversity. If they did charge, I would lurk and THEN pay if the posts were up to par, but they probably wouldn’t be. So, then, not only would I not pay to post, but I probably wouldn’t even lurk. Sad but true.
I would happily pay to be without banner ads, though. If, however, the SDMB ever starts using floating ads (those annoying ads that pop up inside the active page directly in front of what you are reading) I’m gone. I’ll occasionally click on an interesting banner ad (usually not a popup ad, because I find it hard to believe that I, only I, have won a DVD player), but as a matter of principle, I refuse to click on those in-your-face can’t-close-'em hostage-holding content-blocking floating ads.
Also, what everyone else has said about the hamsters.
$25/month is out of my price range, but I’d gladly pay $80-100 a year. But I don’t have a credit card so there would need to be a check/money order option.
At one time I would have, and actually signed up that I would to receive a ‘special rate’ but now I’d just say good bye. Actually all in all this site has cost me money in lost productivity ;).
You’d go to the main page and choose the closest geographic server, and… ok, maybe that wouldn’t work…