Important: Free, Fee, or Gone --- Feedback!

[JOFO]

I have no problem paying 10 bucks, but you're not gonna raise the $5000 a year needed.

even some of the regulars here don't want to pay.

if you get 100 people to do it, you're lucky.

 

[sharky]

One of the things I don't see on the premium list is the ability to have a signature. Signatures are so big with so many photos that I had to turn them off or it would take forever for my dial-up to load a page. So the people that want to post pics and have pics in signatures can pay for the extra bandwidth they make the rest of us pay for it.

Or at least give us some suggestions now on how we can cut back on our bandwidth now while you guys are making this decision.

 

[what a bomb!]

Well $10 a year is peanuts for me when you work out the exchange rate dollars to sterling! I for one do not want to see Interference shut down, its been with me since I hooked up to the net. That $10 a year will never pay for the fun, friendships ect that results from being a member of Interference. Its sad in a way that Interference has become a victim of success (or U2's popularity?) There are no easy answers to where to go from here but this thing means a lot to a lot of us! Elvis is quite right to put the suggestions he has made, he doesn't run the site for profit or commercial gain, (notice how even Yahoo have pop up adverts now when they never used to before?) so someone has to pay and if that means us then so be it If we are a community then hopefully that spirit will come through.

surely there is some music business that could sponsor the site in return for the huge guaranteed traffic? some businesses would give their right arm for the traffic!

Guess there no easy answers!

 

[Sparkysgrrrl]

U2Kitten speaketh the truth.

My feelings are, if you are going to ask for the users to pay, then their suggestions need to be taken into consideration a little more. There is so much fat on this site that needs to be trimmed it's not even funny. This is a slow site, it may have over 11,000 members, but there is a small percentage of posts per day, I've never experienced the problems I've had at other boards with the server being too busy at times, and if it is run by one person out of their own pockets, they can run it the way they like, but if it's too much hassel, then they need to pass the crown down to someone else.

If ppl are expected to pay, then this should be run more diplomatically than it currently is, and I certainly hope that if it comes to paying, it is run more diplomatically.

 

[Elvis]

I have one comment/thought....

U2 doesn't let people into their shows for free... and they dont give away their cds/dvds/etc for free either.... why people expect, literally, the largest U2 fan community to be free of charge..... is beyond me.

I'm not laying all this out because I want to... I'm doing it because it's needed (and long, long overdue). If the active membership declines because we go to a fee based system, then so be it - that will cut down on expenses, and perhaps just overload Zootopia with all the freeloaders - as someone mentioned.. 'trim the fat'.

If we end up being called 'elitists' ... oh well... there have been other U2 fan groups that have become invite only in the last few years as well.

I've asked... for voluntary donations, so I wouldn't be put in this position, and now I am in this position - that should say something. While a few people may speculate that there are only 500 or so constantly active posters, you should know that there are THOUSANDS that read the forum daily. I've also done my research on Zootopia, and I know that they have a MUCH smaller active member base, and also a MUCH lower total active (ever) member base. Not to mention that they have MANY less features, and (from what I've been reading) a lot more controlled than the freedom our members experience here.

Some may think that they can simply 'find somewhere else' ... but I'll say this loud and clear... this community cannot be easily replaced - the mods, the bandwidth, the know-how, the money to support it... A LOT goes on behind the scenes folks and it is anything but easy to replicate.

I'm keeping this all alive, for 'all of you'... I've met and exceeded my personal goals with the site... this isn't about ego.

I suppose it's all in the hands of 'all of you' now.

Sorry to be so brutally honest,

Joel


PS. If you think I am arrogant, mean, heartless, and egotistical for posting this... I'm sorry you feel that way - it is not my intention to express anything but frustration, and reality, in regards to this entire situation.

 

[Sicy]

Also, is there a mailing address where I could send a check or a money order? I believe I asked this in a different thread...but I now forget which one.

Melon

Send an email to donate@interference.com for more details.

 

[martha]

There are several things funny about this statement...
Melon

Thank you for understanding.

 

[BAW]

the casual visitor would not want to pay for this site...however there are a lot of people here who have made strong friendships here...there is a strong sense of community here...and I for one, don't want to lose that. If anything it's the little community that we have going that people don't want to lose. Yes, you can get you're U2 news from a variety of different websites, and talk to other U2 fans on a number of different boards....but I have a hard time finding a board where the people (for the most part) actually care about each other, and have in interest in each other's lives. It would be very sad if this place were to close.

That's how I feel about it too. Of course a casual user wouldn't see the need to pay to come here but the members who are here everyday (sometimes all day) and feel like this is much more than a message board will be willing to pay to keep it going. I would be a little lost without Interference.

 

[u2loopy]

I would be a little lost without Interference.

Me too!!!

Oh, and I LOVE your signature.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

what about making it so you have to be a member to read the forums? And what if you register an account you MUST keep it active...ie a post every three months or so. If not you are deleted. That would cut down on lurking, which would cut down on bandwidth being used. I dunno, just a thought. I dont want to see interference die, I just returned.....

i agree. sorry lurkers, but i don't see the point in reading stuff and never posting. reading stuff does take up a lot of bandwidth (or so i'd think, if someone else were to correct me on this, i'd quickly retract my statement). but hey, if lurkers were to pay up (and who knows, maybe some lurkers have donated) then that'd be cool.

anyway, i hope i don't offend anyone with what i'm about to say, it's just my personal opinions. i can't see how an avid poster wouldn't want to donate. as it's been said, think about the times you've spent hours on here, reading and posting. then think about what you could've been doing instead. going out to eat? shopping? going to the movies? you easily saved much more than the $10 that's being asked.

as it's also been said, if the requirements are not met, interference may have to shut down or become donation required, where if you don't pay up a certain amount, you can't post or read here. for some, $10 is nothing. for others, $10 is a lot, especially for those who don't work. it would rock if we could just keep with donations, or at least have others perhaps carrying the rest of the weight for those who literally cannot come up with $10 a year.

i'm an avid reader/poster of two forums. there's interference, and another called something awful. if you were to click on that link and you're not a member, you'd see they mandatorily charge $10 to join. i've paid that $10, as well as another $10 to become a platinum member there, which means i can search the forums, post attachments, and start polls. there's also other stuff included, but that's the main stuff that draws people to become platinum.

i saw and still see that $20 as money well spent. i've already donated to interference, seeing the money i donated as the same way. at the other forums, i get my fill of comedy, help with any computer problems, info on cars, news, and more. it would be nice if we could implement things here the way they are there, meaning a one-time donation from everyone could suffice (i figured i'd bring this up in case someone does think or mention about just one-time donations). but the thing is, both forums are run differently. several people there are banned every day. literally. so a lot of people posting there have been banned 2+ times, meaning they've contributed loads of money to the forums.

but anyway, i don't see the problem with asking for $10 a year or maybe more. i suppose it all depends on timing, as it's been brought up. we're almost halfway there, and i'm sure we can reach the yearly amount in enough time.

 

[U2SavesTheWorld]

That's how I feel about it too. Of course a casual user wouldn't see the need to pay to come here but the members who are here everyday (sometimes all day) and feel like this is much more than a message board will be willing to pay to keep it going. I would be a little lost without Interference.

I'm in total aggreement BAW.

It would be a shame to lose this place and the friends we have all met because people think they can do better somewhere else.
The fact is, they can't.
Even if Interference was started up somewhere it would be, at best, a pale shadow of what we have now.
The reason this place is so great is because of the people, and that certainly includes the mods and admins.

Maybe I'm naive but I'm not understanding what the issue is here.

Its pretty cut and dry: Interference can't be free anymore.
So, we need to pay.

 

[Rono]

Argh, i voted the wrong option ( option 1 ) because i was angry that there is a option free and premium. We all pay or shut down this forum.

Read you,...

 

[Sicy]

i'm an avid reader/poster of two forums. there's interference, and another called something awful.

Holy shit.. what kind of site is that? They charge you to sign up AND check out some of their rules!

The Mods Hate This Shit or "The Many Ways You Can Be Banned"

If you post "FIRST POST" or "postcount++" in a thread, regardless of placement, you will be banned. First posting is the equivalent of forum diarrhea. "postcount++" or any variation thereof is an obnoxious waste of server space and essentially announces on an international level that the poster has nothing worthwhile to contribute.

Bitching about a custom title (either having one or not having one) will not get you a different custom title. In fact, it will probably result in a reset post count or a ban, depending on the admin's mood at the time. Custom titles can be purchased here if you want one that badly (all donations to the server are welcome). Otherwise, embarrassing and/or distressing custom titles may occasionally be "awarded" by an administrator to spectacularly stupid posters.

Impersonating an SA character is not funny. In fact, it is the total inverse of funny. If a mod doesn't make your life hell for doing it, the rest of the forum will.

If a post of yours has been edited or sent to the Gas Chamber, it's been done for a reason. Restoring an edited post will only annoy the moderator responsible and probably get you banned.
Posting that you're leaving SA for good will result in a ban, since you obviously don't need to use your account again. This is to catch all the pathetic attention whores out there.

Discussing and planning forum invasions is bannable, unless the thread has been started or approved by a moderator (or the forum you plan to invade has already launched an attack against SA). We don't promote "invading" other forums and being assholes to people who haven't done anything to you, regardless of how stupid or contemptible you feel they are. Feel free to laugh at them and mock them at SA; do NOT take it into their own forums.

Gimmick posters, unless intensely humorous, will be banned and shot in the face if at all possible. Same goes for people posting parody threads.

Posting any image which is longer than one screensize (800 horizontal or 600 vertical) will result in a warning followed by a ban. As much you think everybody loves to see an image which causes them to spend 15 minutes scrolling, people really don't care for it and it's not funny. At all.

Posting the equivalent of "Oh boy, this thread sure is headed to the gas chamber!" or similar is a sure way to irritate moderators and anyone doing so will most likely be banned. Nobody cares whether or not you think a particular thread has a right to grace your monitor.

If you are new to the forums, always lurk before posting. This will give you a good idea of what is acceptable and unacceptable posting in practice. It will also give you the chance to observe how you can avoid pissing off individual moderators, since some mods find certain infractions more offensive than others.
Flamewars and other shit-flinging contests must be confined to FYAG. If a thread in another forum is turning into a flamewar it will be moved to FYAG or deleted. Persistent offenders in this instance will be banned.

If you're caught doing one of the above, don't whine about free speech and how this forum infringes upon your rights as an American / human being / jackass. This is a private forum and these rules are limits on what can be done by its participants. If you've broken a rule and are banned, you are obviously not wanted here.

Reregistering after you are banned with the intention of continuing to be an annoying jerk will most likely result in an IP ban which could exclude other posters from the forums, who will then have your idiocy to blame.

Catchphrases get on our nerves VERY quickly. Once you start noticing that, you should make sure to NOT use that catchphrase any more.

If you paid for an SA account, DO NOT THINK THAT YOU ARE SOMEHOW ABOVE THE RULES. All these rules apply to everybody, including yourself, and we'll ban you in the same 15 nanoseconds that it takes me to ban a forum regular.

If you have been banned and you're thinking of emailing us to ask about your ban... DON'T. You won't get unbanned and we don't care if your braindead brother was using your computer that time to post "I LIK DIKS" over and over on the forums. Instead, take it up with your brother (unless you're already taking it up in your brother). You can feel free to donate $9.95 for a new account, but if we find out that you've been previously banned, we'll probably ban you again.

The following icons cannot be used by anybody but mods:
"BAN ME"
"MOD - ATTENTION"
"HOT!"

Posting in a thread started by a moderator with a title along the lines of "Anybody who posts in this thread will be banned."
Sharing your thoughts regarding shortcomings of the current moderation team, either real or imaginary.

Any form of moderator harassment including insults, failing to delete a thread that you were asked to delete, doing the opposite of something you were asked to do, reposting a thread that was deleted, or opening a thread that a moderator closed.
Attempting to use a stupid, retarded, lame catchphrase that has been beaten into the ground over and over again will result in a moderator warning you. If you do it again, you will be banned. We have a problem with infectious catchphrases here and it drives us all very crazy when every thread has the same idiotic catchphrase repeated over and over.

Intentionally using the wrong thread tag (i.e., "PORN" for a thread where there's no porn).

Failing to give up personal grudges you have with another forum member, causing this moronic grudge to manifest itself in every thread you post in.

Attempting to circumvent any rule in a way that you feel is remarkably clever and witty. Here's a hint: we stand by the word of the law, not the letter.

Doing absolutely anything to a moderator that they do not like. When a moderator posts, we recommend you stay clear of the thread unless you're feeling particularly confident that your post won't get them mad in any fashion, shape, or form.

Complaining about banning or how unfair you feel the mods were when we banned one of your close idiot friends.

Intentionally trying to be obnoxious or annoying. Believe me, we can tell.

Having any questionable, annoying, or non-work safe images in your sig file, avatar, or thread. This includes any acts of porn, humongous curse words, obnoxious flashing neon shit. It doesn't matter if the two porno lesbians in your sig picture aren't visibly sucking each other's clit; if it obviously looks like porn, it's no good.

Vote spamming any forum's threads (ie, you and your four buddies voting every thread a 1 or 5 regardless of the content) will get you thrown out onto the streets with your ass in your hands. By vote spamming threads, you make the thread voting feature useless for all other forum members.


And people here sit here and claim censorship and no diplomacy about interference.. HA !

 

[Elvis]

lol... somethingawful.com's forum... I think they have the right idea.

When you think about it.... this forum is the closest thing to a 'fan club' for U2... (since Propaganda is only a sporaticly published magazine with no/little fan interaction)... and by far, as I've said b4, we are the largest U2 fan community.

If we move to a totally fee based membership... we'd most likely be able to have contests w/prize giveaways again.... and who knows.. maybe offer special Interference goodies.

*ideas*

Joel

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

Holy shit.. what kind of site is that? They charge you to sign up AND check out some of their rules!

i know. a lot of the rules are similar to some of those from interference, just stricter. i've been under the impression that a lot of those rules were either created or became stricter because of people there. i can say they get a lot more immature people who think it's funny to post the pic from goatse.cx 1000 times. just yesterday, someone got banned for starting about 10 threads in their main forum of someone uhh, taking a dump.

if you think about it, a lot of them make sense. i'm not saying we should implement their rules or anything, as i think the rules here are just fine as they are. we really don't have any huge problems over here very often. but people griping about mods' actions, especially when it comes to disciplining other members, people posting huge pictures in their sigs, people holding grudges (imagine if someone, for example, hated me, and every time i posted or started a thread they'd post "oh great, another post from the great KhanadaRhodes "), so anyway, yeah.

i guess each forum is different.

 

[martha]

I still think FYM needs to go.

 

[Popmartijn]

Hello,

I've also just voted for #3 (so with a limited free membership and a premium, payed, membership). I think having a free membership is necessary. This way anyone can check out this forum and decide whether or not to become a member.
I also have to say that the benefits for premium members, as Elvis put out in his first post, aren't that advantageous (solely deciding between the 2 choices (so disregarding the 'donate' factor) I would see no reason to go for a payed membership). I don't necessarily want to have even more/newer benefits for premium members (benefits that maybe even cost more bandwith), but I see some areas where you can trim some fat.

- It has been mentioned before, but the many pictoral sigs and avatars (and maybe also the smilies?) take up a lot of bandwith. So leave them out (or find a way that only premium members can have & see them).

- Restrict access to some non-U2 forums (FYM, Lemonade Stand & subforums) for non-paying members. These two forums are quite active, taking up quite some bandwith (I think) and don't deal with U2 but they are a big part of the Interference community.

It will not only be a case of making a premium membership more desirable, but also to make it a bit less desirable to be a free member, while not trying to scare of potential members.

C ya!

Marty

 

[melon]

I still think FYM needs to go.

Then don't go there.



Melon

 

[daisybean]

- It has been mentioned before, but the many pictoral sigs and avatars (and maybe also the smilies?) take up a lot of bandwith. So leave them out (or find a way that only premium members can have & see them).

I didn't think that pictures in sigs and threads took up bandwidth because the pics are pulled from other sites. but I could be wrong.

 

[what a bomb!]

what would be a great solution is...

If Interference becomes the official forum of U2.com instead of Zootopia.

The Pros:

Established memberships, more than Zootopia has (according to Elvis's post!)

U2.com pays for the bandwidth costs! (obviously!)

Interference is recognised as a major (if not the biggest) U2 fan site. (even U2 themselves have name dropped Interference as a great fan site in a interview!)

More traffic to U2.com, even I come here more then I do to U2.com, to me this is the place where I want to find out the latest on U2!

er...theres more but they have flown out of my mind and escaped into the night! anyone like to add? (to the cons too!)

The Cons:

Having to convince U2.com that Zootopia is crap, I have registered my username but I have yet to post at Zootopia! (doesn't that tell you something?)

Loss of control of how Interference looks,functions,layout ect. (I personally love how Interference is laid out, pleasing on the eye! Even better then U2.com!)


It will look like Interference is holding out a begging bowl!, so, how to go about it?

I know theres more but my brain has alcohol in it so add to the cons if you like!

What are your thoughts?

 

[Bonochick]

Sorry, what a bomb!, but I don't think that would ever happen. Besides...if it did become the official forum for U2.com, they would take things over with their crew, and we would lose a lot of freedom.

I don't wanna see this place go...I've met too many great people here and had too many good times to just let it slip away.

 

[unforgettableFOXfire]

Hmm...

Well, I dont like the idea of interference disappearing. However, Ive applied to an innumerable number of jobs, and am still left with nothing. So basically, Id be gone if we went all pay.


Its my opinion, that the people who are here, are here because of the atmosphere. It would seem logical that taking away some of the extravagencies would hardly have an impact on those who really care to be here, I know that I would still be here whether there were smilies or not. Id still be here were there avatars or not. Id still be here were there images and files or not. Its all about the community, not about the fancy little details. Sure, those are nice, but if people want them, they can pay for them. I dont know how feasible that is, but I think itd drop bw use quite dramatically.




Here are my suggestions:
Having not read the rest of this thread, the problem is likely in the bandwidth consumption, as is par for any website. So, my suggestion, is to get rid of a lot of the images. Only give people who pay the option to have an avatar, to post an image, and to use the smilies. Essentially, having thousands of posters with 78 different smilies, up to 8 (i think) in a post, able to post their own images, and individual unique avatars... that would consume enough bw to take down even the mightiest of web servers, yet youre still here, which is incredible imho. Remote storing of pms and hosting of various files, also consumes bandwidth for transfers, and server space for keeping them - subsequently slowing down the server. None of these things are really secrets. However, if you were to eliminate smilies, avatars, and other specialties from 90% of the user base, itd be a great deal more helpful.

Instead of posting images, files, etc. People could post links to those resources. Or, better still, leave an un-linked URL that people would be forced to visit in a different window of internet explorer, saving any connection difficulties, while also saving on server resources. One or two bytes might not seem like a lot of data, but if you take that one or two extra bytes, multiply it by number of page hits, by time frame, and by number of threads... youve got yourself a shitload of wasted resources.

I was only really speaking with members in mind before, but think of all the guests/lurkers, they view all the images on a page, all the text and formatting in addition, and it consumes even more than just counting the members.

Perhaps also placing a registration fee, for anyone who joins from now on. I dont know if that would help anything or not.

I agree that a fee in some form is necessary. And anyone who cares about this site would be more than willing to pay it, if able. Id be more than happy to pay, I am just completely and utterly broke at the moment. I already owe you (elvis) so much for running this site, without it, I wouldnt have found Lilly... I cant even come close to thanking you enough for that... So anything to help out this site, would be my pleasure.

 

[U2Kitten]

I still think FYM needs to go.

I still think the PLEBA backlog takes up more bandwidth than all the low traffic forums combined and needs to be reduced. Why is it no one but Sparkysgrrrl and I have addressed the issue of backlog clutter? This is a BIG BANDWIDTH eater and uses TONS of storage space on the server. Do you guys in EYKIW want to pay to help keep all the long picture filled PLEBA threads (some of them off-topic even) stored months after anyone has looked at them? I LOVE PLEBA and pics more than most of you, but I see this as the cold hard facts and something that needs to be considered.

Tell us- how much bandwidth and server storage space can be saved by deleting all threads after 60 days? (except a very few special ones that could be archived) How much would that cut back on the money we need to raise?

 

[unforgettableFOXfire]

Sicy: SomethingAwful.com and Fark.com are both kickass sites in regards to the forums and forum rules. People do bitch about right to free speech and crap here when posts get closed, and time and again Ive said something along the same lines as that, its a privately owned and operated forum with its own rules, if the mods/admins dont approve of what you have to say, you are here by privelege only, and it can be taken away. My only complaint on that level, is that not enough people understand that fact, and there arent enough people banned for being idiots about it, fact of the matter is that someone sitting at home doesnt own the world, cant say whatever they want, and isnt entitled to shit from the staff/assistant crew of this site, if they dont like it they shouldnt be here. Thats another good way to cut bandwidth use; get rid of all the idiots who troll/flame the mods.

</very non-troll post >

 

[U2Kitten]

U2Kitten speaketh the truth.

My feelings are, if you are going to ask for the users to pay, then their suggestions need to be taken into consideration a little more. There is so much fat on this site that needs to be trimmed it's not even funny. This is a slow site, it may have over 11,000 members, but there is a small percentage of posts per day, I've never experienced the problems I've had at other boards with the server being too busy at times, and if it is run by one person out of their own pockets, they can run it the way they like, but if it's too much hassel, then they need to pass the crown down to someone else.

If ppl are expected to pay, then this should be run more diplomatically than it currently is, and I certainly hope that if it comes to paying, it is run more diplomatically.

Right on Sparkysgrrrl! I can't believe this is being ignored. It seems like most people are either "I love this place I'll do anything so I won't lose it" or "I'll just go somewhere else." The people in charge seem to look right through all the suggestions people have made as if to leave the message that everything is going to stay exactly as it is, we just want you to foot the bill now. If one person pays it all, it is their board to rule. But if you give up that financial control, other kinds of control might have to be sacrificed as well. Think about it, it's like that in every business or organization. If we all pay, all our suggestions should be listened to and considered because it will not be just Elvis's board but OUR board. Paying members should be able to have a voice on certain things.

Can anyone deny that the backlog of ancient, long-forgotten threads is eating bandwidth and server space? Think how much less we'd have to pay if that were done. Clean out the junk closet. Reduce for efficiency. Back to basics. I still see no point in keeping thousands of mythical inactive 'members' on the site unless they are only there to hold the claim of 'largest online U2 community.' In reality, there are only a few hundred people here and they should be considered the real community and we need to do what's best for them.

There are things that need to be addressed if things are to work out for the best for everybody. Please think about it.

 

[what a bomb!]

Sorry, what a bomb!, but I don't think that would ever happen. Besides...if it did become the official forum for U2.com, they would take things over with their crew, and we would lose a lot of freedom.

I don't wanna see this place go...I've met too many great people here and had too many good times to just let it slip away.

um... like I pointed out, loss of control but the deal would have to be that Intererference stays as it is! I know it sounds impossible, but stranger things have happened...!

 

[Bonochick]

um... like I pointed out, loss of control but the deal would have to be that Intererference stays as it is! I know it sounds impossible, but stranger things have happened...!

HelloAngel stated earlier in this thread that it is not gonna happen. Apparently, things have been tried, to no avail.

 

[martha]

I still think the PLEBA backlog takes up more bandwidth than all the low traffic forums combined and needs to be reduced..... Do you guys in EYKIW want to pay to help keep all the long picture filled PLEBA threads (some of them off-topic even) stored months after anyone has looked at them? I LOVE PLEBA and pics more than most of you, but I see this as the cold hard facts and something that needs to be considered.

Tell us- how much bandwidth and server storage space can be saved by deleting all threads after 60 days? (except a very few special ones that could be archived) How much would that cut back on the money we need to raise?

I agree with you!

 

[FishNeedsABicycle]

The people in charge seem to look right through all the suggestions people have made as if to leave the message that everything is going to stay exactly as it is, we just want you to foot the bill now. If one person pays it all, it is their board to rule. But if you give up that financial control, other kinds of control might have to be sacrificed as well. Think about it, it's like that in every business or organization. If we all pay, all our suggestions should be listened to and considered because it will not be just Elvis's board but OUR board.

*sigh*

How do you think things change around here? We listen to the suggestions that make sense...even some that don't...lol...but seriously...to say that we don't listen? That's just bollocks.

You may not always agree with our decisions, but we do what we think is best.

I voted for $10 a year...definately not too much to charge for a huge source of entertainment in my life.

 

[diamond]

, just stricter.

i guess each forum is different.

I dont think I would last a day there
An afternoon? Perhaps
A day? Hell no
I like this place
DB9