why was the "CCA STAR Tournament Big Trout West Leader" thread moved?

[Matt G]

My .02 cents:

Look at the most active threads on here in a while.... The Trump thread and the Coach O thread. Politics and Sports. Two things that should not have been in the open section to begin with and they have been civil, constructive, and overall entertaining. I know this was originally a fishing forum, but things changed and the site has evolved. It's kind of hard to keep a forum running on strictly fishing alone. Especially when everyone is trying to keep their spots a secret or scared of being ridiculed by some members. You post a report and get a few "Good catches" and "Nice," then some come through giving flack on catching school trout or what they perceived to be trash fish. It's the same old song and dance and it gets old. I like the diversity you get on here. A little bit of fishing and hunting, a little bit of gardening, SigNate's cooking, and even some of the drama.


What I think would help this site from a business perspective would be to cut the premium membership and open up all sections to everybody. I've been a premium member for a few years now and view it as a contribution to a site that keeps me entertained throughout the day. And most of that entertainment isn't even in the premium section. I don't think what you get in the premium section is worth the $50/yr, but I'm fine paying it because I hate to see this site fail. If that offends you Casey, sorry, but it is what it is. Once things go in the premium section, it's DOA. I think opening up all sections to everyone would generate a lot more traffic to the site which would attract more advertisers. That's just my opinion. I truly hope to see this site stick around for a long time.

[ckinchen]

Originally Posted by Matt G

My .02 cents:

Look at the most active threads on here in a while.... The Trump thread and the Coach O thread. Politics and Sports. Two things that should not have been in the open section to begin with and they have been civil, constructive, and overall entertaining. I know this was originally a fishing forum, but things changed and the site has evolved. It's kind of hard to keep a forum running on strictly fishing alone. Especially when everyone is trying to keep their spots a secret or scared of being ridiculed by some members. You post a report and get a few "Good catches" and "Nice," then some come through giving flack on catching school trout or what they perceived to be trash fish. It's the same old song and dance and it gets old. I like the diversity you get on here. A little bit of fishing and hunting, a little bit of gardening, SigNate's cooking, and even some of the drama.


What I think would help this site from a business perspective would be to cut the premium membership and open up all sections to everybody. I've been a premium member for a few years now and view it as a contribution to a site that keeps me entertained throughout the day. And most of that entertainment isn't even in the premium section. I don't think what you get in the premium section is worth the $50/yr, but I'm fine paying it because I hate to see this site fail. If that offends you Casey, sorry, but it is what it is. Once things go in the premium section, it's DOA. I think opening up all sections to everyone would generate a lot more traffic to the site which would attract more advertisers. That's just my opinion. I truly hope to see this site stick around for a long time.

I would like to give more to the premium guys I agree with most of what you are saying. Premium is what is paying for the bandwidth right now so how can I keep our premium memberships but make it more worthwhile?

[keakar]

Originally Posted by ckinchen

I would like to give more to the premium guys I agree with most of what you are saying. Premium is what is paying for the bandwidth right now so how can I keep our premium memberships but make it more worthwhile?

each premium membership gets a hunting or fishing trip with you, you meet them at the dock or wherever and they get to take you on a fishing or hunting trip with them.


it doesnt cost you anything and its a nice treat for them and you get to get out there more?


oh by the way, on a serious note the website smileys stopped working days ago and still don't work. im not sure if they are disabled on purpose for a reason but figured I would mention it.

[Matt G]

Originally Posted by ckinchen

I would like to give more to the premium guys I agree with most of what you are saying. Premium is what is paying for the bandwidth right now so how can I keep our premium memberships but make it more worthwhile?

I guess the prize drawings might attract more people, but if you are giving away a prize that needs to bring in 6 more year subscriptions just to cover the cost of that one item(Yeti cooler shown earlier), I don't see it as a smart move on your part.


At the end of the day, we are paying to watch W and ASR fight like a couple of teenage girls and Shrky post pics that we can easily find elsewhere for free. It's a hard sale to make a most of us that are contributing are doing it out of the kindness of our hearts. I wish I had the magical solution for you.

[keakar]

Originally Posted by Matt G

I guess the prize drawings might attract more people, but if you are giving away a prize that needs to bring in 6 more year subscriptions just to cover the cost of that one item(Yeti cooler shown earlier), I don't see it as a smart move on your part.


At the end of the day, we are paying to watch W and ASR fight like a couple of teenage girls and Shrky post pics that we can easily find elsewhere for free. It's a hard sale to make a most of us that are contributing are doing it out of the kindness of our hearts. I wish I had the magical solution for you.

I agree, giveaways are a catch 22 trap since your chasing your tail there.


at some other websites im at they have yearly donation drives to offset costs each year and it works well since money from banner ads only go so far, you should think about setting up a yearly time to have a "keep the website running" donation drive and a site I moderate at find it has the most success with it when done just before Christmas when people are in better spirits and in a more giving mood. they have the drive in the month of November, so its not too close to Christmas where money is getting scarce, but still close enough to catch that giving spirit time of year. you could even throw in a choice of a salty Cajun tee shirt or cap as a thank you gift for any donation of $20 or more.


to go along with the fund raiser you could do a summer fishing tournament with half proceeds going to fund the site and not worry about having big prizes since most just want the bragging rights anyway. something like total prize payout in the under $400 range for the whole thing. maybe its just me, but I think lower prize amounts and smaller entrant fees would see more people would enter even if they may have to back out at the last minute and just consider it as another donation to the site