NP Charging a fee

[equity78]

I first off want to say this is my favorite place domain related, I think RJ is the best guy in this industry. That is why I htink RJ you should charge a fee maybe some of it can be used to pay a couple mods a little more. NP is growing fast a lot to do and the biggest reason why I say this is that I notice a lot of NP members pay the $$$ to DNF, if someone is going to pay Adam Dicker then Ithink they should pay RJ. Even $5 would go a long way I mean its $20 now to list at Afternic.

Jmo

 

[Sabre]

Still the same, Say if Google said that everyone would have to pay to use Google the people would be scared away.

Thats one of the worst comparisons I've ever heard :lol:

How can you compare a search engine, to a business forum?

 

[GJ]

It is true, It would happen to any site..... You might get a bit of profit but then it could / will go down hill and crash like a plane.

Sorry Tom, I just had to use that post about planes always crashing against you.... lol

 

[Sabre]

It all depends on how you implement the concept.

Damn you! *shakes fist*

:p

 

[DJ-Sound]

I defenty think this should not be a paid forum, yes a fee filters out alot of 'not so welcomed' members however free things are always better. I think Ron made this forum wanting it to be free also.

 

[equity78]

GJ I don't want you to pay $5 I said a lot of people pay DNF $50 and would not here that was what I was saying and I said If $5 is a lot which it can you would be putting money toward other neccesities not that you could not be a domainer.

THIS THREAD was never about those that wouldn't pay anyone a lot of cheap people in the world who can afford $500 thatlook for everything for free I know I worked with plenty of them inthe financial world . THread was about those who pay others DNF AFTERNIC EBAY LISTING FEES

 

[Sabre]

And, please, would further posters to this thread, please OUTLINE the reasons behind their thoughts.

"I defenty think this should not be a paid forum, yes a fee filters out alot of 'not so welcomed' members however free things are always better. I think Ron made this forum wanting it to be free also."

Posts like that, are useless to the discussion IMO.

 

[GJ]

I'll put it this way..... If Ron wanted to get extra money off of Namepros then why have Domain prices dropped??
Why have the price in advert space dropped??
Why is Ron continuing to custom code new features when he could be earning money from something else??

I am going to stop replying to this thread before Tom gets angry and gets his banning stick out and points it at me........

 

[equity78]

free things are always better.

if free is always better are you giving away your names for free?

 

[Iravan]

IF RJ IS NOT WORTH $5 then he is just being used. IMO

He is worth much more... but if you put a dollar value to a person, you turn them into nothing. I appreciate this forum being free, though 5$ would not be much, I rather not pay it. I fondly remeber how NP helped me in the beginning and I will stay with NP until I leave the domain bussiness...

 

[CrazyTech]

No offense, but IMHO a $5 fee is a bit of a waste of time. Granted, RJ will pull in an a little extra money but compare that against the ad revenues that will grow as this site grows it's nothing but pennies. It's enough of a fee to be annoying more than anything. Sure, most of us would probably pay it but it'd be one of those things that you do but grumble about. That just distances the ownership/staff from the members.

I think the community of this forum has been built around the free nature of it. You can come to the forums, sell names, talk about names, and get help with basically anything even remotely related to domains such as hosting, traffic and other things without paying a dime. The alternative is to go somewhere such as DNF where it's nothing but people who feel they know it all and that you're nothing in the domain world. I don't get half the community feeling at DNF that I get from NP.

Going back to the membership fee - anything too high is going to chase people away. The only reason I paid the guy for a DNF membership was for the ad section. I don't really have a desire to contribute to that forum at all. Out of 400 posts over there I daresay that 99% of them are advertising some kind of service/domain or asking for an appraisal.

 

[jeter4982]

While I definitely see everyone's points about making NamePros a paid forum, or a partially paid forum, I am going to have to disagree. I don't think $5 is a lot of money for everything you get at NamePros, or even $15, or $25, but that is not the point. A lot of the appeal of NamePros is the fact that it is a free forum. When I entered the domain industry, the first domain forum I found was DNF. I explored it a little bit, but I was very turned off by the fact that you had to pay for the membership, and there was almost no community feeling. A couple of days later, I found NamePros, and figured what the heck, it is free, and looks like a great community, so I signed up, and am still here now.

Now, I think a better solution to this problem of "lack of professionalism", or whatever you want to call it, would be to make some kind of post requirement, such as 25 or 50 posts before you are allowed to post a new thread in the marketplace. This would allow for the person to be accepted and welcomed into the NP's community, and not just someone who makes one post advertising something, and then leaving. We could also expand this to have exclusive forums for people will 1000+ posts, 2000+ posts, etc.

Tom

 

[PolurNET]

When I entered the domain industry, the first domain forum I found was DNF. I explored it a little bit, but I was very turned off by the fact that you had to pay for the membership, and there was almost no community feeling.

Yup, although WHT was my first then Namepros very soon after, no other forum has such a community built around it, and without any "paying" sections

 

[PoorDoggie]

i never paid domain name forum. I just got an email from them saying that I could have it free, but I never use them anyway. You see, I don't use them because they have that payment option. There are two reasons for this:

1. I like namepros because everyone here is friendly, and normal. Once you start making people pay, you start "filtering" people. You make it more exclusive. It stops becoming a gathering of friendly ordinary people, and turns into a forum of experts who aren't bothered with friendly talk, they are more focused, and I don't like that. That is why I am never on DNF.

2. Namepros being free is one of the best things here. It is the reason I came here, and it is the reason I am still here. It means that everything is for everyone.

If namepros had a payment option I would have to leave. I am all very happy to buy domains here and stuff, and I do want to give something back to RJ, but its the "filtering" people that I can't stand.

if free is always better are you giving away your names for free?

true, but then again, wouldn't you RATHER have a free domain?

 

[Premium]

Please keep in mind that many people get into DNF free... I don't think adding a fee to get into NP$ is a very good idea at all.. Those new to the domaining business will most likely join a free forum then a paid one..

I understand it would be great way to thank -RJ-... However I think this way would work better. Have registration free and allow all members to go to all forums... Once they hit 100 posts (can be more) If they want to continue on this forum they can pay $5 (or whatever) and then they will be able to continue on the forum forever... that way members can decide if its right for them, they can pay the fee and stay.. if they dont like the forums they can just leave..

I dont know, just my 2 cents.. Donations could also be possible :tu:

 

[PoorDoggie]

Once they hit 100 posts...

...tell them to pay up or bugg*r off? Ahem... sorry, but that doesn't sound reasonable.

You can't make people pay to use this forum. It is free, that is the best thing about it. I would donate to RJ if he asked (paypal donation button or whatever). But he makes his money. I buy np$ from the bank at a 0.03 conversion rate, but sell them back for a lot less! :o So RJ isn't really going to be bankrupt very soon!

 

[Sabre]

Now, I think a better solution to this problem of "lack of professionalism", or whatever you want to call it, would be to make some kind of post requirement, such as 25 or 50 posts before you are allowed to post a new thread in the marketplace. This would allow for the person to be accepted and welcomed into the NP's community, and not just someone who makes one post advertising something, and then leaving. We could also expand this to have exclusive forums for people will 1000+ posts, 2000+ posts, etc.

Tom

I like the idea, however, would it not be better do it for time and posts, as people can get 1000 posts in the forums in a month, if they spam like hell....

 

[sunken]

What works for one community does not always work for another one. I'm sure RJ makes a good chunk of change from running the site as a free board. It serves as a venue for advertising revenue, domain name revenue, and probably a lot that we aren't even aware of. To change in midstream to a pay site or partially pay site would be a bad idea given that the board is rooted in the free culture. DNF, on the other hand, chose the pay route long ago, so for them, it's not a stretch to do so. Two completely different philosophies, both make money for their owners.

Seems to me deep down that this thread is more about filtering people than it is about saving RJ's financial future. Granted it might filter out some of the young folk who can't afford $5-10, but really, they are an integral part of the community and are some of the best web developers. So I think it would be a loss to lose them. As far as adults, paying $10 is not going to make someone more honest if they are out to scam the public here.

I do agree with the minimum posts for selling domains (but not buying them) just for the purpose of getting to know someone before giving them cash.

 

[PoorDoggie]

There are lots of free domain name forums out there and namepros is the best, the most popular. Once you start sifting out people, and putting restrictions on people on a forum, you aren't going to get the friendly, jovial community. You will get a ridgid community. For instance, there was a thread about signatures not too long ago. Someone was complaining about other people's signatures being longer than the allotted 4 lines (i won't name names, because I can't remember who started it! :lol: ). Now, those kind of threads will become more and more common. We won't be able to wave it friendily. People will want "quality" and "order" from a service that they have paid for, or worked for. It will become another "exclusive" forum, for those who want to pay. I mean, who pays to be part of a community? It is silly, and absured. I am sure enough money is made from advertising, and other such schemes on this site to suffice.

I do agree with the minimum posts for selling domains.

I would have thought that a minimum "Trader Rating" would be better for selling domains or templates or anything else on this board. A user has to be trustworthy before being able to buy and sell.

Another thing is I hate users who come and use the np$ incentives to get np$ and then use them for their own selfish good (buying stuff... selling them etc...) without putting anything back into the community here. So maybe a "minimum posts before being able to use np$" or something would get more people here who want to use the board, not just make money out of it. But then again, there is such a small minority, it may not be worth it! :lol:

 

[sunken]

But if they can't buy or sell until they get a certain TR, how can they get the TR without buying and selling?

 

[will7]

To be honest, I am not really a supporter of the idea I still think that NP is a brilliant place for newbies to get started, not just in domaining, but it many different areas. For example, before I came to NP, the only logo I'd ever designed was for my own image.

Now look at me, I'm a pretty decent logo designer and I do professional logo design identites for my local small businesses and the growing community here! And to whom do I owe it all? Namepros.

Surely it would not be fair to deprive new members the privileges given to me, and many others, by Namepros? No, I would not really like the idea, but, that's just my opinion ...