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Ensuring the Future of EOC - 10 Post Rule

Karl

The Boss
Staff member
E50 Owner
Premium Member
North East
E50 Expert
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Location
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First Name
Karl
Elgrand
E50
Region
North East
As the club has grown over the past few years, and with the increased "guest" users browsing the forum, the admin team have decided to make a few changes.

This weekend, the forum will now be CLOSED to all GUESTS. This means, if you do not have a registered account, you will no longer be able to view the forum. This will stop bandwidth getting used up by people who are not contributing to the club.

Registration will remain 100% FREE! So anyone who genuinely needs to know what's going on will have to register an account to view the forum. Once you register, you will become a "REGISTERED" member. At this point, you will have access to:
  • General
  • Social
  • Photography
The other sections of the forum will still be locked out.

There will then be a POST COUNT "upgrade" to "ACTIVE" member. This will happen when you hit 10 posts. Hopefully this will allow people to introduce themselves a little and chat to other members before they get access to the more technical forums. This will encourage new members to build a rapport with existing members and help to integrate them into the community. When you become an "ACTIVE" member, you will then get access to:
  • Motoring Specific
  • Classifieds
Of course, there will still be the OPTIONAL choice to upgrade to premium status. This will remove the post limit and allow members to gain access to all areas of the forum without having to post, although we hope that anyone who opts to take this method will use their payment wisely to become part of the community. There will also still be the standard "PREMIUM" member upgrades such as access to discount codes and uploading pictures directly to the forum.



This decision has been made to ensure that the bandwidth usage on our server remains in keeping with our member base, which is supported by our premium members. We still hold the belief that the forum should remain a FREE resource for everyone, and that will remain the case. Membership applications are AUTO approved, there is no admin input to registration requests, so there will be no delay in signing up, and registration will still remain to be completely free of charge.

We hope this change is suited to all members.

ANYONE WHO HAS REGISTERED, BUT HAS LESS THAN 10 POSTS WILL LOSE THEIR ACCESS TO THE TECHNICAL SECTIONS. IF YOU WANT TO RETAIN THIS ACCESS, PLEASE WORK TOWARDS INCREASING YOUR POST COUNT BY JOINING IN WITH CONVERSATION.
 
Expect I am one of the bad ones, tend to mainly pop onto the f.book groups as quick and can easy pop up the odd photo , as using phone, two tablets and when get chance the pc. And always forgetting my passwords...As dosnt seem to remember or keep me logged in.... Anyway I see where you're coming from...hopefully I don't get locked out etc. And I get chance to post up more ...Mart.
 
As the club has grown over the past few years, and with the increased "guest" users browsing the forum, the admin team have decided to make a few changes.

This weekend, the forum will now be CLOSED to all GUESTS. This means, if you do not have a registered account, you will no longer be able to view the forum. This will stop bandwidth getting used up by people who are not contributing to the club.

Registration will remain 100% FREE! So anyone who genuinely needs to know what's going on will have to register an account to view the forum. Once you register, you will become a "REGISTERED" member. At this point, you will have access to:
  • General
  • Social
  • Photography
The other sections of the forum will still be locked out.

There will then be a POST COUNT "upgrade" to "ACTIVE" member. This will happen when you hit 10 posts. Hopefully this will allow people to introduce themselves a little and chat to other members before they get access to the more technical forums. This will encourage new members to build a rapport with existing members and help to integrate them into the community. When you become an "ACTIVE" member, you will then get access to:
  • Motoring Specific
  • Classifieds
Of course, there will still be the OPTIONAL choice to upgrade to premium status. This will remove the post limit and allow members to gain access to all areas of the forum without having to post, although we hope that anyone who opts to take this method will use their payment wisely to become part of the community. There will also still be the standard "PREMIUM" member upgrades such as access to discount codes and uploading pictures directly to the forum.



This decision has been made to ensure that the bandwidth usage on our server remains in keeping with our member base, which is supported by our premium members. We still hold the belief that the forum should remain a FREE resource for everyone, and that will remain the case. Membership applications are AUTO approved, there is no admin input to registration requests, so there will be no delay in signing up, and registration will still remain to be completely free of charge.

We hope this change is suited to all members.

ANYONE WHO HAS REGISTERED, BUT HAS LESS THAN 10 POSTS WILL LOSE THEIR ACCESS TO THE TECHNICAL SECTIONS. IF YOU WANT TO RETAIN THIS ACCESS, PLEASE WORK TOWARDS INCREASING YOUR POST COUNT BY JOINING IN WITH CONVERSATION.
Its a good idea and goes along way towards weeding out those who do indeed just nip in and gain FREE top tips etc. BUT, I do personally think there should be a " one off " joining fee of say £5 ONLY or £2.50p which is NOTHING in todays money and this would go along way towards the up keep of this forum and any of its associated costs involved over time. I don't mind sharing as sharing is caring but one thing I hate in life is FREE LOADERS who just TAKE TAKE TAKE and never give back. Just my opinion as a fully paid up Premium member albeit the final decision does indeed lie with " The Boss ".:D
 
Expect I am one of the bad ones, tend to mainly pop onto the f.book groups as quick and can easy pop up the odd photo , as using phone, two tablets and when get chance the pc. And always forgetting my passwords...As dosnt seem to remember or keep me logged in.... Anyway I see where you're coming from...hopefully I don't get locked out etc. And I get chance to post up more ...Mart.
Just pay the £12 mate and you can knock yourself out all you like.:D
 
I promised when I set the club up that it would always be free. I am a firm believer that information should be free and accessible to everyone. This change will ensure that I am keeping my promise, and no one will have to pay for the information, but it just requires them to give a little before they benefit.
I prefer knowing that the premium members of this club are the people who have been so happy with the help they have received that they choose to pay the optional fee to help maintain and grow the community.

There were 3 online forums previous to EOC. There was an Australian forum which was free, but they didn't accept new members (don't know why) so it never grew, and eventually died. Then there were 2 UK forums. One that was free to join, but again, they rarely accepted anyone, it was a bit hit and miss as to whether they accepted you (I tried for 8 months and got nowhere). Then another forum that you HAD to pay to join, and also have a telephone interview... which was just not manageable.

The set up for EOC has worked brilliantly, I just want to help keep our bandwidth usage in check, as the last few months have been touch and go. Once again we have had to increase the hosting fee to keep the website alive, but each time it increases, we rely more and more on premium members to ensure the future of the club.

If we can reduce the bandwidth by stopping "guests" from using the forum with no intention of joining in, then it removes the pressure on the club relying on premium members, and helps to ensure that the website will be running for many many more years to come.
 
I promised when I set the club up that it would always be free. I am a firm believer that information should be free and accessible to everyone. This change will ensure that I am keeping my promise, and no one will have to pay for the information, but it just requires them to give a little before they benefit.
I prefer knowing that the premium members of this club are the people who have been so happy with the help they have received that they choose to pay the optional fee to help maintain and grow the community.

There were 3 online forums previous to EOC. There was an Australian forum which was free, but they didn't accept new members (don't know why) so it never grew, and eventually died. Then there were 2 UK forums. One that was free to join, but again, they rarely accepted anyone, it was a bit hit and miss as to whether they accepted you (I tried for 8 months and got nowhere). Then another forum that you HAD to pay to join, and also have a telephone interview... which was just not manageable.

The set up for EOC has worked brilliantly, I just want to help keep our bandwidth usage in check, as the last few months have been touch and go. Once again we have had to increase the hosting fee to keep the website alive, but each time it increases, we rely more and more on premium members to ensure the future of the club.

If we can reduce the bandwidth by stopping "guests" from using the forum with no intention of joining in, then it removes the pressure on the club relying on premium members, and helps to ensure that the website will be running for many many more years to come.
Karl, you will NEVER be able to stop guest users gaining what they want for free hence my reply and take on the situation. The more funds we have coming in ( SMALL ) the better the club/forum will be financially. Its a no brainer. If you want something in life today you have to pay for it and the earth too in most cases especially at main dealers who charge £100 for for a bleeding diagnostic to tell you what you think you already knew anyway. Things cost these days and my suggestion is NOT gonna break anyones bank at all. Since you pulled the plug on your FB thingy jobby I have noticed a massive increase in newbies on here and then you don't see em again once they have got what they wanted.

Again, just my take on the matter albeit your decision is final at the end of the day but once this decision is stuck by then you cant really moan anymore about folk using and abusing the site and its bandwidth thingy me jobby needing more money to keep it going.
 
I think restricting access for inactive members or guests is a good idea @Karl. I know I'm new to the club having only owned my Ellie for a couple of weeks but the help and advice I received when I joined was invaluable. Paying for premium membership was a no brainier for me as I have probably saved far more than £12 in advice in the first week of ownership! I know not everyone thinks like this and will not pay up but restricting inactive members may make them join the conversations and therefore contribute something and start enjoying the social aspect of the forum.
 
I appreciate your input mate, and totally agree with what you are saying, but with how quickly other clubs died, especially the one that forced paid membership, I don't want to see that happen to EOC, so trying to be creative with solutions :)
I don't want to enforce paid membership for the club to then die a horrible death as no one would benefit from that.
 
I appreciate your input mate, and totally agree with what you are saying, but with how quickly other clubs died, especially the one that forced paid membership, I don't want to see that happen to EOC, so trying to be creative with solutions :)
I don't want to enforce paid membership for the club to then die a horrible death as no one would benefit from that.
So to clarify Karl, does all your current Premium members paid up £12's currently and will continue to cover all your costs to keep this forum running for the forseable??? It will be very interesting to see how many of us renew at renewal time. And before you say or think it, YES I will continue to support with my £12 for as long as I am here and an Elgrand owner.
 
Yes, we have enough premium members to maintain the current level of hosting fees. And there is enough to cover the annual renewal of the URL, the licence fees for the software we use etc.

But we are hitting close to out bandwidth limit at the moment, which, if we go over, results in the website going offline.

So we have increased the bandwidth limit to take into account the additional usage. But it seems to be creeping up at least once or twice a year, and each time it goes up a little bit more.

The current plans to restrict "guest" traffic through the forum should, in theory at least, reduce the bandwidth being used, which means we can reduce the bandwidth allowance, bring costs back down, and then rely less on what is basically a donation from those who choose to support the club.

The less we have to pay out for hosting, the more competitions we can offer, or better prizes at least. The more equipment we can buy for meets and events etc. All of the money we get goes back into the club in one way or another, whether it's hosting fees or freebies or equipment.

So if we can reduce out liability for hosting, it means more investment in the club (rather than the website).
 
Yes, we have enough premium members to maintain the current level of hosting fees. And there is enough to cover the annual renewal of the URL, the licence fees for the software we use etc.

But we are hitting close to out bandwidth limit at the moment, which, if we go over, results in the website going offline.

So we have increased the bandwidth limit to take into account the additional usage. But it seems to be creeping up at least once or twice a year, and each time it goes up a little bit more.

The current plans to restrict "guest" traffic through the forum should, in theory at least, reduce the bandwidth being used, which means we can reduce the bandwidth allowance, bring costs back down, and then rely less on what is basically a donation from those who choose to support the club.

The less we have to pay out for hosting, the more competitions we can offer, or better prizes at least. The more equipment we can buy for meets and events etc. All of the money we get goes back into the club in one way or another, whether it's hosting fees or freebies or equipment.

So if we can reduce out liability for hosting, it means more investment in the club (rather than the website).
Which was my point entirely Karl regarding a very SMALL membership fee FOR ALL. We are not talking a huge amount. But its just my view and if you wanna keep it your way then that's ok I suppose. As Sir Brucie used to say, " points make prizes " just imagine how much more cash this clubs kitty would have even if we all only paid £1???? I would rather pay a fee for this than one of those no hope lost causes you see on the Tv every night.

ENOUGH FUNDS is never as good as MORE THAN ENOUGH FUNDS though:D
 
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I think a £1.... that's one squid, a nicker a month to have these resources at ur fingertips 24/7 is unbelievably cheap considering what's there, along with helpful staff and members. What can u get for a quid these days. It also helps keep the forum going.... not to make a massive profit but help break even.
 
@Karl can users just donate to the club? I ask as another forum I use also has the constant struggles of costs etc and basically members just pony up and drop a few £ to PayPal once in a blue moon, also people who sell through the site sometimes donate a little from the sale etc.
 
This is all really positive stuff imo. This forum has some brilliant advice on it and has so many expert members who are a source of invaluable info and support. I’ve said it before and will say again - best value 12quid I’ve ever spent. Long may it continue. Thanks @Karl and all the team for everything you do to help novices like me 😀
 
@Karl can users just donate to the club? I ask as another forum I use also has the constant struggles of costs etc and basically members just pony up and drop a few £ to PayPal once in a blue moon, also people who sell through the site sometimes donate a little from the sale etc.

If anyone wanted to donate anything to the club, they are more than welcome to send payments to the club paypal account, it will all be greatly appreciated, but saying that, we aren't crying out for help at the moment, we are ticking over nicely. All I am trying to do is cut out some of the unnecessary traffic, so that premium member's money is going to be used to help other people who need/support the club. Rather than just browsers who take and give nothing back.
 
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