Looking for feedback on this idea to pay for ICMAG to stay here....

[Guest]

There should be a subscription for those who choose to purchase an Avatar get the PM feature as well. Something like this:

Welcome to As a registered member, you have access to all forums EXCEPT the main forum. You can purchase a subscription package to get access to main forum and other optional features. These funds are used to pay for bandwidth charges and server upgrades. Please subscribe/donate and show your support for . There are 2 packages as stated below.

'All Features' subscription allows you access to all forums with all features, with no ads or banners on top of the forums. Also includes Avatars, Custom User Text, Signatures, ability to see other profile, search, Mobile Website (WAP), higher Private Messaging allowance and much more. Your username in forum posts will be be preceded by a small 'orb' to let others know you are a site supporter. After it expires you keep your avatar and your profile pic, but you cannot change them. You will still have access to all forums EXCEPT the main forum.

'Limited Features' subscription allows you access to all forums, 25 Private Messages and Search for a little over a $1 per month when paid yearly. You do not get any other features.

Subscription does NOT auto renew at the end of the term. Credit card and Paypal instant payments are credited instantly. Paypal echecks have to wait till funds clear your bank account, usually takes about 3 to 5 days. Money Orders or checks can be mailed to the address at the bottom of the screen. Refunds are offered within 5 days of payment if you are dissatisfied with the service. Please use the 'Contact Us' Link at the bottom of this page for refunds or any questions.

 

[KharmaGirl]

Admin still wants non subs to have the same access they do now. The point is not to take away anything from as it is now but to add a bit more for those choosing to sub.

 

[flubnutz]

stoner ramblings:

this site couldn't generate much in ad revenues because theres no room for ads. the vBulletin layout here is great for reading, same as old og, in fact its one reason i prefer over other grow sites even those using vBulletin ... but, poor for ads.

the regular forums are invaluable, and they get people here, but its what to do with them once they get here. a pay section would work if it added value; e.g. on-line expert consulting w.r.t problems, or some knowledge or data they otherwise could not get. gotta have and generate quality content. i do not think present quality of content would support subscription prices, there are too many reasonable free alternatives on the net.

old og growfaq was and still is invaluabe; but frozen in time. takes time and effort to update, discuss etc. but that adds value to it. a wiki would probably be easy to skin up with IC logo and ads, has infrastructure for membership, mySQL back end same as here im assumin. allow discussion but only mods update it. development cost greatly reduced since wiki is free, overhead shouldnt be bad because membership will restrict traffic. its easy to update and searchability is great. growFAQ helps reduce redundant newcomer questions and raises growing conversation level.

a well-orgainized wiki covering sick plan problems with quality pictures would be immensely useful. that plus an "emergency room" thread with senior mods "on call" could, if done right, be worth $$. a similar organization of cannabis legislation and bills could serve as a valuable user-maintained database of legislation and events world-wide.

vBulletin is good for conversation and broadcast. it is a poor knowledge repository. people pay for knowledge and/or entertainment.

stats database covering anonynized grow info gathered by contributors would require fair amount of work, but if contributions grow could be valuable. contributors could earn perks from site and/or sponsors. contests, prizes. take a look at e.g. ultimate sativa type-threads, valuable info if organized and easy to access. these threads alone could be mined to make a good start at a strain database. settin up the web page for queries would cost jack. thats a long shot. simpler yet, link it all up thru the wiki; individual grows could be linked to the strain's page. could link to forum threads. in the og days that may have been a pain to administer, with wiki would be a breeze.

is enhanced security a feature of pay areas? a guarantee of no traceback to a computer is worth $.

30 day free trial to premium area for newbs that have posted in regular forums past a certain level. they have to be able to look in there to see what they will be paying for. those who choose not to pay can stay as is in public forums. it is essential that the public forums stay engaging informative and entertaining. maybe people who cant afford can haul water for the site, e.g. help in forums, updating FAQ, ? a buck a month isnt much, if you could get by on that.

people from private forums can freely relay info from private forum into public for answering questions etc. pay is not to restrict information; it is for privacy, more serious tone, use of advanced information features.

limits on gallery size based on membership level. if threads are over 2 years old and not stickied they should be binned.

lighten up on the moderation on public no-charge forums. use mods to keep noise level low in pay area. people will pay to avoid noise.

you have a paper magazine? ditch it and pump the content into the web pay area my guess is it will cost less in the medium run; updating website text content is much cheaper. i see magazines nowadays as 50% ad space and i cant imagine the mag has that many. mags makin money are eg maxim etc. i.e. more like OG. natl geog has few ads; but has been around a little longer and has a slightly larger membership base

i know i wander around in a weed fog alot of the time, but it was only after posting here for months and wondering where i could pick up some gear, that i realized seedboutique and gypsy ran this site and i should check them out.

is there a "mission statement" for this site? ive heard some people who have very strong views about the direction this site should take. but a mission statement would serve a purpose; to let people know what type of community you want to set the foundation for, what fits in with gypsy's vision, and set the tone for all who would participate.

when people register and they get their email itd be nice if they got a list of the "IC Mag 10 commandments" listing the big thou-shalt-nots.

 

[DHarvester]

Perhaps a collaboration with several of the more respected seed producers; having them each develop their own version of the ICMag strain and release them out in limited quantities through auction on seedbay. I'm sure heavy hitters such as DJ Short or Chimera (sp.) would command top dollar for a signature release.

Just my humble opinion

D.

 

[motaco]

@gypsy


(I didn't read the whole thread so I apologize if some of this has already been stated)

I think the seeds idea is a good one. but potentially problematic. #1 is that you could potentially get in trouble for having that many seeds from the states sent to you. Not you specifically, but they may well be more interested in the website if they found out people were sending you illegal stuff like that.

also who would vouch for the seeds? some people might want mine or lou or somebodies seeds from a thread they followed but what about joestoner115's beans? who is gonna wanna buy closet bred beans from someone they don't know? they'd have to be REAL cheap and come with alot of seeds per pack. so I don't think its viable.

As for the pay to stay. its good in theory but you gotta realize part of the advertising of seedboutique is buy your seeds from us and we got a big forum to help you out. if it were less newb friendly I think you might sell less seeds.

also as much as I love IC. I'm just not a big enough pot head to pay a red cent to talk about pot on the internet. And thats just me, but I imagine alot of other guys who you may not want to lose just wouldn't care enough to pay to stay.

IMHO if you're having problems with bandwith. I'd do ALOT of editing. there are so many old threads and stuff. repeated questions. a real deal growfaq I think could curb alot of questions. as well as more "sticky" threads pertaining to subjects we see repeated over and over. just my .02.

I think you might have more space than you think if you wiped off some dead weight.

 

[Saibai]

^^^^^^^

I don't know anything about hosting websites and bandwidth etc, but motaco made a really good point that this site needs a good cleaning out. Get rid of the obsolete threads, and maybe add a growfaq-style extra forum full of stickys...

 

[motaco]

the only other thing that occured to me is how huge the tokers den is and full of people that don't even grow.

would it be possible to move the tokers den to a different server but have the link here lead you there? if you think about it there are alot of people that may want to advertise on a large pothead forum but not necessarily a pot growers forum.

like video games and stuff like that may want to advertise on a forum like that whereas they may not want to on specifially a grow site. and since it wouldn't be grow related per se it would be less of a security risk to members since probably less that 1/4 of the people that frequent the tokers den are actual growers.

I don't think there would be much of a move just to bust stoners bs'in with each other. I think they want the growers

 

[flubnutz]

what are the largest costs? if admin dont wanna say thats fine, i am being a busybody, but i assume costs are increasing, i dont know if thats because of space on the server for threads and pics (someting i think would be relatively cheap) or server load because of lots of hits, bandwith use, or support costs for the back-end, vBulletin etc. Usually hits are what support revenue, directing traffic to ads sells advertisement, and that supplies revenue to run the site, i presume, i dont know the business model. the site costs what, tens of thousands per year, expensive to keep up. that dough's gotta come from somewhere. its a difficult balance.

the seeds might work for certain members. i think id go for seeds from BH/GP that stuff looks incredible, guys like that. but from your average growers, you will end up with people complaining about quality, etc. there is one thing about money; a dollar is a dollar is a dollar.

you can tell if someone grows or not by whether they post lots of pics of grows and make knowlegeable posts in the grow dens. but with security concerns, especially after sites being taken down, there are going to be people who are reluctant to post their grows. of course, you cant by number of posts and rep points, that only tells roughly how long youve been around here and how popular you are.

heres a question: what would it take to make this site worth $12/yr? thats a skin a month, thru eg pay pal. its still money, but you'll buy what, 4 beers, or 10 chocolate bars or somethin over the next year. but what would make it worth it? or $6/yr? or, what would you volunteer to help with, in lieu of payment, of any sort?

the more i read and learn about growing, the more i appreciate the effort and value that went into the growfaq. i think it meant as much as the board itself, and they fed each other in an amazing way. the faq prevented repeat questions and newbs soon get the message, i dont know how many times id see them refered to the faq; if they were there already then people would chime in. so the threads automatically bumped up in quality. then, consensus on methods got discussed and added to faq; yin and yang. more advanced growers may have felt that way about strainbase, don't know. thing is, growfaq is needed most in public areas; get people up and running then theyll be asking serious grow questions.

ps: the noise level. good fences make for good neighbours. it might be worthwile for access to some forums to require login, even in the free site. if it is feasible to control access to a subforum at the logon level, with different mod policies you might change the nature of those forums. of course you would probably need more mods, and the howling over the mods would commence soon enuf. what gets someone booted?

 

[Guest]

I think that there needs to be a graduated fee scale.
Things are getting pricey and people are cutting back.
10 or 12 bucks a year sounds great but, some proposed fees have just been insane.

Mostly you are talking to pot smokers and a special avatar or banner is not going to impress them.

Also there is the paranoia possible to donate with a # instead of a name so as to remain confidential even if it is just in our own minds.

You see people are not worried about being busted because I know it is not prohibited where they are. But weed theft even for a personal grower is dangerous. People who Break into your home to steal your stash are dangerous.

thats my 2 coppers worth and peace gypsy. You are doing a great thing here.

 

[Londinium]

I'll pay subscription if reasonable scale and benefits(Like being Troll-free so all the Oldboys don't get fed up and stop posting) and would also be prepared to give seed's also.
Having read through this thread I think there are a number of good Idea's for gaining revenue but I think the massive diversity of people you get on IC is gonna mean we need 3 or 4 options for diff situations etc.

 

[Kinimod]

Sounds like a good idea. I have no seeds, but I'm also willing to donate a little cash every month

 

[Kasp420]

eh gypsy love your seed company you guys really did surprise me with the quality of service speed of delivery and it was in original package so I know I didn't get ripped off like I did by AAA seeds Canada. But anyways what about asking every1 to send 10, 20 bucks a year or something?

Or why not sell advertising? Or have the seed companies that you distribute for kick you down with extra seeds on each order to help pay for the ic forums I mean they do get alot of free advertising and promotion on this site.

I think if this site went away the seed companies would all feel the pinch atleast a lil bit so why not see what they have to say tell each one that the majority of the seed companies you work with are on board and while its not mandatory they will be one of the only companies without a (donates seeds to keep international cannagraphic alive) next to there name. I'm pretty sure none of those guys would wanna look like cheap assholes. And on top of that start up a voluntary donation account so we cud donate whatever we can cuz some of us are broke and can't afford much but wud still like to help.

 

[hazy]

Echoing the theme that's been said throughout this thread.
Let people donate seeds that will be put on seedbay in a 'icmag support' auction/buy-it-now section with it's own icon/logo/link in the 'seeds' page.
All proceeds from that would go to the website.

 

[Tumblepop]

Lots of browser games have something called "account plus".. You can activate it for a week, a month or a year (with Paypal button) and have some benefits.

 

[wintermoon]

I would be willing to go with either idea. Donate seeds or an annual fee.

 

[reefa cheefa]

i think the seed idea is great, should be a choice tho seeds or donation. some ppl dont have seeds.

 

[zerozero]

How many times would someone have to send seeds? just once? or?...

 

[maryj315]

How about a special section not to post but a list with users ic name and how much he has donated. That way guest can be included and you can send in what you want and you dont have to diverse from the plan already in place. also there could be stages. like your first is once you reach 250 you are a lifetime member. after every 100 or more send them a free pack of something decent it will become a competition and everyone can participate at their own pace. should be at least a 10 dollar minimum. i definitely would not mind sending 10 or 20 bucks along with every order.

 

[Rifman]

donations is good, the site is popular, so i could picture some seeds coming in. as for relying on donations to pay the bills, well im not saying im against it, but its not much of a secured income.

maybe the seedcompanys could pay alittle fee for their subforums? its quite a valuable thing to have your own sub in the international canna mag, just a very few breeders do have that. im sure others are very interrested, and as a user i say the more the merrier! i like the subs its easy to find spesific info in them.

if you were to inforce a fee for members to use the forum i think you would ruin the site. most people expect information to be free on the internet today.

also the free flow of information regarding canna growing is absolutely vital to the movement. icmag forums is one of those very important sanctuarys for information that has been established and that people knows.

as much as i honor you people for running it, and as much as you deserve all the riches you want, i am still sorry but i would not pay to use this on a principal issue.

i would gladly donate to help you however!

to have information portrayed to a large number of people however is not only worth paying for, it would be helpful to the cause if economics were applied here.

i feel the need to add that if the herb were legalized around the world, i would change my view and gladly pay a fee. and i also want to say that i think the paper mag is worth every penny and more and that i would support you in any way i could.

its just that i think the free flow of information is very very important right now. and that the forum being free brings in more users and more info.

 

[MynameStitch]

why not have it both ways and if we go with a subscribes lounge
part of the subscription package includes a free pack of seeds

Overgrow did the this way, without the free seeds, they had a sub lounge, along with a title og subscriber or lifetime subscriber....... I would be glad to pay a fee to stay here, though it would deterrent new people from coming here if it was mandatory.

I think a good route to go is what OP said, but also have a fee you can pay with different plans and allow bigger avatars like OP has I would like to have one a little bigger than what I got right now.......

Overgrow had no issue going this route.......

I don't see a problem with paying a little, if someone contributes something it all helps out......


I would love to advertise here and I just found out about the servers from DG, but there is a server in the UK and if I can advertise here with the UK server I would most defiantly be glad to pay the advertising fee and the fee to stay here if that came about.

About the seed thing, I could possibly donate something I have all my seed stash would be glad to contribute.