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Post by dhb5610 on Mar 10, 2019 16:09:14 GMT
Hello I see that the whole debate about membership has surfaced again, I see both points of view and I don't really want to wade into that discussion at this moment in time (far too dangeruos for me). However I would like to know what a Guest is and what the main differences are between them and fully paid up members please. I ask because it appears that there are more Guests than members online at any given time despite the fact that the club has over 3000 members. Over the last 24 hours there have been nearly 300 guests online and only 27 members. If guests are getting more benefits from the forum than the members I have to ask why this is the case.
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Post by partviking on Mar 10, 2019 16:52:38 GMT
I think it all relates to the WWW in general. So much information is now available for free it's almost impossible to extract money from browsers for anything. Hence we are used to seeing adverts when browsing websites as that's the way most sites can make any money. I'm as guilty as the next man, I have a free Spotify account and can listen any song I like for nothing providing I can suffer the adverts every 30 mins....against £120 per annum I'll suffer them. For the record I am P6, P5 , P4 & RSR Club member for about the same price per annum as an ad free Spotify account.....and I think that IS well worth it.......each to their own. If you make this site members only the guests will almost certainly gravitate to Facebook or somewhere similar I doubt most of them will actually join. The amount of postings might reduce but the high quality of information would remain IMHO.If I have one thing I'd change I do think cars and parts for sale should be for members only for a fixed period of say 2-3 weeks when they could then be open to anyone. As a member if I was selling a car on here I'd rather another member had first option before open to anyone, I'd be gutted to see it on EBay with a 40% dealer mark up two weeks later. Just my two pennyworth!
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tonys
Rover Fanatic
Posts: 419
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Guests
Mar 10, 2019 16:55:50 GMT
Post by tonys on Mar 10, 2019 16:55:50 GMT
Is it not the case that if a viewer doesn't login, then they show as a guest. I'll often browse, as I was just now, and show as guest. If I login, ie to reply/post, I'm no longer a guest.
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Post by dhb5610 on Mar 10, 2019 17:25:28 GMT
The question still remains what is the difference between members and Guests. I'm sorry to labour the point but if it is the case that Guests can access the forum and access knowledge from the site for nothing and I'm paying my membership diligently every year where is the great benefit for me as a member
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Post by richardlamsdale on Mar 10, 2019 17:34:29 GMT
A member of the forum isn't necessarily a member of the club - anyone can register for the forum. Only a member of the forum can view photos and post on the forum. Someone who's registered on the forum but not logged-in, or someone who's never registered, will be a guest. Paid-for club membership is different, and the benefits of that are on the club website.
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Post by dhb5610 on Mar 10, 2019 17:44:18 GMT
I understand the difference between the club and the forum and I'm a member of both but you are wrong to say that non members can't see posts on the forum because they can and what's more they can trawl through the forum without needing to post anything to find out anything they want to know about Rovers. Is the forum run and paid for by the club?
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Post by johnwp5bcoupe on Mar 10, 2019 18:57:56 GMT
Its the same for loads of sites if you want to read or post on the forum you have to join, there is a members only section on ours which is obviously as it says for "club members only"
I like many others have other interests and belong to several forums all are free!
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Post by richardlamsdale on Mar 10, 2019 19:09:45 GMT
Agreed, I didn't say non-forum-members can't see posts (they can) but they can't create new posts or reply to existing ones. I'll leave others to comment on the relationship between the Forum and the club, but I would suggest that we all benefit from having the forum open to non-club-members, as not everyone wants to join a club (or lives in a location where they can gain full benefit) and it helps expand knowledge about these cars. If the club closed the forum to non-club-members, it would be quite easy for someone to setup a competing forum open to all, which would fragment the pool of knowledge.
I would think the cost of the forum to the club is minimal - ProBoards seem to say the basic forum is free, but that you have to pay for a custom URL, and I've heard it mentioned on here that ProBoards charge for image hosting as well.
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Post by johnwp5bcoupe on Mar 10, 2019 19:34:25 GMT
Its the same for loads of sites if you want to read or post on the forum you have to join, there is a members only section on ours which is obviously as it says for "club members only" I like many others have other interests and belong to several forums all are free! Your correct Richard you can read without joining on ours but some you cant they are totally restricted, I think we are very lucky with the vast span of knowledge we have on this forum from all over the globe
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tonys
Rover Fanatic
Posts: 419
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Guests
Mar 10, 2019 19:54:08 GMT
Post by tonys on Mar 10, 2019 19:54:08 GMT
However I would like to know what a Guest is and what the main differences are between them and fully paid up members please. I ask because it appears that there are more Guests than members online at any given time despite the fact that the club has over 3000 members. Over the last 24 hours there have been nearly 300 guests online and only 27 members. If guests are getting more benefits from the forum than the members I have to ask why this is the case.
The point I highlighted earlier was trying to address the difficulties in purely looking at the numbers recorded as guests / members on the forum; it doesn't necessarily provide an accurate reflection of the actual viewing habits of forum members and actual 'guests', as opposed to forum members who simply haven't logged on and are, therefore, recorded as guests, as I was before I logged on to create this post. I accept that the issue of club members is slightly different. My experience of a number of various club forums is that most, if not all, club-related forums are open to non-club members but they will often have a 'club-members only' section. The issue of 'for sale/wanted' is dealt with differently by different clubs and there are pros/cons with the different approaches. If the section is only available to paid-up club members, then members might lose the chance of a sale to a non-club member who's looking to buy, or the purchase of a non-club members car, or spare parts. I think it's correct to say that there have been a few examples of people joining the forum, seeking and gaining various information to their benefit and then never being heard of again. That's unfortunate but is reflected in most clubs/forums. However, there will also be some club-members who've gleaned useful information from non-club members, so it's a balance.
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Post by David on Mar 10, 2019 21:37:55 GMT
Thanks everyone for your posts. So I thought I would clarify.
Anyone can view the forum. Only registered forum members can post on the forum. Only Rover P5 Club members can view the 'Rover P5 Club Members Only' section, using the password found in Take Five.
The forum is run by the Rover P5 Club for the benefit of anyone who is, or may have an interest in the Rover P5 or P5B. There is no fee or charge made to forum members for this free service, but time is given freely by Admin, and the unsung heroes that are the Clubs Forum Moderators to help and assist where possible.
There is no additional benefit to Guests as they can do nothing more than view the forum and its post.
As you were :-)
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Post by Warwick on Mar 11, 2019 4:20:42 GMT
I have belonged to a couple of clubs with closed forums. They don't work, as the pool of contributors is too small, even when the club has a large membership. Posting happens infrequently once the novelty of having a forum wears off, and it tends to wither and be visited less and less frequently.
We must remember that David (Admin), Phil & John (Moderators) are not the club committee. If a member has an issue with the club, the way it's run, or their membership, they should bring it up at a club meeting or contact the relevant committee member. They should not air their grievances here. This forum is not the club. It's a public discussion 'venue' to promote the P5 and our club.
We must all remember this. Without David, Phil, and John, it is likely that we would have no forum. If forum users, be they club members or not, start to cause too much grief for these three, about things over which they have no control, they may decide that it's all a bit too hard and chuck in the towel. They aren't paid and they spend a lot of time managing the forum for our benefit.
If David stuffs up and makes a spelling mistake in the heading of a new section; by all means put a rocket up him. If you're unhappy with the way the club is run, talk to the club committee.
EDIT: I just realised that my post might be misconstrued as a reply to dhb5610's original questions about the forum and the status of Guests. That was not my intention. He asked some legitimate questions about some things that puzzle quite a few people, and they have been answered by others. My post is simply my opinion of private forums, based on experience. And also to point out how much work Admin and the Moderators put in to keeping this one running.
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Post by Eric R on Mar 11, 2019 7:29:09 GMT
well said Warwick.
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Post by eightofthem (Andy) on Mar 11, 2019 12:22:36 GMT
Could not agree more. Sadly though it is likely to fall on deaf ears.
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Guests
Mar 11, 2019 18:01:36 GMT
Post by Phil Nottingham on Mar 11, 2019 18:01:36 GMT
I do clear out the For Sale threads periodically - but newest does appear 1st so there is not much chance trying when older than a couple of months?
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Post by Warwick on Mar 12, 2019 3:28:23 GMT
EDIT: I just realised that my post might be misconstrued as a reply to dhb5610's original questions about the forum and the status of Guests. That was not my intention. He asked some legitimate questions about some things that puzzle quite a few people, and they have been answered by others. My post is simply my opinion of private forums, based on experience. And also to point out how much work Admin and the Moderators put in to keeping this one running.
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