Non-paid up member shut-out !

SeanDezart

Well-Known Forum User
I for one would like all threads shut out to non paid up members (NpUMs or NUMS for short) EXCEPT the for sale/wanted and meetings/shows sections ! These are topics that members benefit from, that NUMS can read !

I don't agree that NUMS should have any site writing capacities - they join up and pay up for that !

I would like to see just the thread topic titles shown to non paid up members so that they may see what they're missing and which may arise their interest enough to join !

I don't agree that threads should be open for a limited time to NUMS, if the thread titles don't pull 'em in, nothing will !

All this must either wait until there is a join now button or perhaps more intelligently, the NUMS page be accompanied by the membership secretarys' details !

Comments ?
 

Mr.G

Club Member
A good idea and one which i think has already been agreed on.

At the moment I think its a question of completing the set up of the paypal feature (Steve has nearly done this) and then Russ finding the time to jig things around a bit to make it members only.
 

grolls

Well-Known Forum User
there will be an offer open to members only, very shortly!!!!!!;)

not a member? join now!
 

Devilpaint

Well-Known Forum User
i'm a member, but by locking out non members(some whom appear to be very active in here) dont you think you're going to lose potential members/ put potential members off?
being an elitist forum could do you more harm than good-zeds dont exactly grow on trees do they?
i'm a moderator on a much bigger site(free) than this & the benefits are manifold, we have discussed charging a small fee, but decided it wasnt the way to go.
fair enough, its not as specialised as this forum, but the knock on effect of joining has given many new (to bikes) members a wealth of info-all given freely.
TBH, £26 for a colour mag that rarely has anything zx related is a bit much(just my opinion of course-i'm unlikely to get to any of the shows or meets this year, due to the slow progress on the kaminari & work commitments)
once its up & running, then that attitude will probably change, also, wasnt the whole idea of the internet supposed to be about a free exchange of info?
 

completewally

Well-Known Forum User
To be honest I think that the membership fee is really not an issue for someone who is seriously interested in the Z / ZX vehicles. If the site (members) agree,, then so be it. However, it has been my experience that we should expect a huge drop in web visits,,,may not happen ,,but been there and seen it happen ! By the way I do think it's a good idea. :rolleyes:
 

STEVE BURNS

Club Member
I think the first three posts in a thread should be open for all to see then when a non paying member looks at that post the forth post dosn't come up but a post in its place comes up along the lines of

if you want to view the rest of this thread youneed to become a paid up member
as below

*********************************************************
SeanDezart
I for one would like all threads shut out to non paid up members (NpUMs or NUMS for short) EXCEPT the for sale/wanted and meetings/shows sections ! These are topics that members benefit from, that NUMS can read !<
snip
snip
>All this must either wait until there is a join now button or perhaps more intelligently, the NUMS page be accompanied by the membership secretarys' details !
Comments ?



MrG240Z
A good idea and one which i think has already been agreed on.



At the moment I think its a question of completing the set up of the paypal feature (Steve has nearly done this) and then Russ finding the time to jig things around a bit to make it members only.


grolls
there will be an offer open to members only, very shortly!!!!!!


not a member? join now!


4th post
if you want to view the rest of this thread youneed to become a paid up member
**********************************************************
not sure if this makes sense as it dosn't come over very well as I can't work out how to do a screenshot of the thread
 

grolls

Well-Known Forum User
well done steve, a nice post, and yes i'm about to make an offer too good too be true! this will be open to club members only on a first come first serve basis!


not a member?


you need to be!!!!!!
 

grolls

Well-Known Forum User
oh sorry that was by the end of the month to allow time for processing so this would enable you to take advantage by the 4th of june...hint hint!
 

moggy240

Insurance Valuations Officer
Staff member
Club Member
i think the FOR SALE section should be for members only as anyone can post their car for sale in that section and not pay a penny when they have not made any contributions to the club but they are trying to sell a car for £20,000 as it is a lot cheaper than AUTO TRADER etc.

as long as non members can still read all the posts ,they can still get a feel for the club and they could even have there own section for posting like HOW CAN I GET MY HANDS ON A ZED !!!!!

it just an idea.....................
 

SeanDezart

Well-Known Forum User
The for sale section should be open to NUMS as it will attract people to the site (as THE place from which to sell cars/parts) and means that members benefit from seeing these cars for sale first (yes, freely) ! The benefit is more towards members than people avoiding selling their 20k car for free !

I still believe that NUMS should see only the topic titles - imagine the first three posts on the Chris thing being seen by NUMS !

Pehaps there will be a drop in site action following a shut-out, a necessary evil I believe ! The membership fee is a lot for just the magazine (brilliant as it is) but when combined with this site, it's a great deal !
I've been a member since 1989 but what do I get from my membership fee if I think purely materialisticly (spelling ?) ? No, I'll just be a freeloader on this site !
But if I'm shut-out, I'll pay up and join and get access to a great mag too ! Not forgetting info on all the events and contact names listed in the mag !

Two other avenues are that the magazine gets published and distributed on a larger scale (sold as a general publication - look at SportZ magazine, sold for 30 quid for 4 issues !).

The other one is to develope the site into a European forum with a reduced joining fee (no magazine included) to rival such sites as 240Z org etc !
 

Legendary5

Well-Known Forum User
SeanDezart said:
The other one is to develope the site into a European forum with a reduced joining fee (no magazine included) to rival such sites as 240Z org etc !
I thought you already were :eek:
Tell me honestly what advantages have foreign members of the mag? Where do I get the most information of ...... form here and not the stories in the mag.

So why should I pay for a local mag with local news???? Sure it’s nice to read how your weekend was, who was drunk, how many people came to a meeting, etc etc..... but not interesting!!

 

Iain

Forum User
What I would say is, if you were going to buy a car would you buy it without driving it? If people can't measure what the club is like then how can you expect them to join?

If you were someone coming on to this site for the first time what would you make of a thread titled: 'Non-paid up members shut-out'?

Before anyone then argues the fact that I am not a member yet, I want to see what the club is like before I join.

This is a really great site and it has the potential to be a good method of recruiting members, however it also has the potential to drive people away if it seems unwelcoming.
 

STEVE BURNS

Club Member
Iain said:
What I would say is, if you were going to buy a car would you buy it without driving it? If people can't measure what the club is like then how can you expect them to join?

If you were someone coming on to this site for the first time what would you make of a thread titled: 'Non-paid up members shut-out'?

Before anyone then argues the fact that I am not a member yet, I want to see what the club is like before I join.

This is a really great site and it has the potential to be a good method of recruiting members, however it also has the potential to drive people away if it seems unwelcoming.
hi Iain
a bit of a cheeky request but hey ho

as a new viewer testing the water what in your opinion would encourage you to
1/ revisit to the website?
2/if restricted viewing of the site was in place how much of the site would you need to view to make you want to pay the clubs membership fee to enable you to see the rest of the site?
3/ make it so appealing to you that you felt you must join?
 

Devilpaint

Well-Known Forum User
grolls said:
dave, who pays for the bike website,mags,trophies and such like?
the admins pay out of their own pockets for the running of the site-its not a huge ammount, we dont have a mag cos its all there to see on the forum.
prizes/trophies etc are usually blagged from interested companies.

the site is at www.ukbikeforum.com if you want a shuftie....
 

Arkwright

Inactive
I am a little doubtful about the benefits of shutting the site down entirely, there have been some intersting comments for and against so far.
If the for sale or wanted section were open to view but with no contact number attached people would have to join in order to access the pm/email system....I think?
 

SeanDezart

Well-Known Forum User
Before websites, people heard of the club, contacted to join and were sent a membership form with an old magazine - to better know the club !

Here, prospective members can see all the on-going thread titles and if they're still not impressed, it won't cost 'em to request a membership form and receive the latest magazine !

But that's the BIG problem here, how to keep the site AND the magazine - you can't tell me that one must lose the site - not an option but mention that the magazine (in paper, printed form) will 'deteriorate' in quality and it doesn't appear to be an option either !
All successful sites, fee paying or not, don't have a magazine as well - same argument here as usual - can the Z Club continue to pay for a magazine and a free site !

I agree with Guus, I'm living abroad, what do I get for my membership money ? Even someone living in the UK doesn't need to join and magazine costs don't go down !

The Z Club either goes free or almost free on line and forgets the magazine or it shuts out !

If push came to shove, I would drop the magazine, gently perhaps, at first reducing it, turning a bit balck and white etc ! But ultimately.....after all, once you've read your mag. what do you do with it ? It's dead, filed and forgotten - this site is living !

But the Club, committee and/or rank and file must choose, site closed or no mag ! Or no club future !
 
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