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Grex > Coop8 > #15: Cyberspace Communicatons Financial Report Through December 31, 1995 |  |
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| Author |
Message |
| 25 new of 83 responses total. |
bjorn
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response 25 of 83:
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Jan 25 15:41 UTC 1996 |
I think that I shell purchase a one-membership (primarily for account
security), because I *May* be moving back to Ann Arbor in May.
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mta
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response 26 of 83:
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Jan 25 21:50 UTC 1996 |
Freida, I agree that there is (at least in some sense) a core group of
GREXers. I don't think that that core group is entirely made up of members,
though. To the extent that there is an overlap it's because people involved
enough in GREX to become a part of the "core" are also more likely to have
a sense of ownership that encourages them to take some responsibility for the
phone bills.
I certainly hope that becoming a member isn't necessary to feeling at home
here.
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headdoc
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response 27 of 83:
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Jan 25 22:21 UTC 1996 |
Paying the $60 membership donation is my way of saying Thank you to the Grex
association of people who work so hard to keep the system going. A system
which provides me with hours of quiet (no body talking-including me)
entertainment. Also periodicallproviding me with some new insight or
knowledge or even a movie review. It's the least I feel I can do, and if I
couldn't afford the $60, I'd send less.
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chanur
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response 28 of 83:
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Jan 25 23:48 UTC 1996 |
I think I know what freida is talking about, and I think another tier of
membership is a good idea. It reminds me of contributing to a college or a
Public TV station -- there are different levels of membership with different
"perks," but the idea is that you acknowledge people who donate money by
declaring them part of the community. If you only have "members" and
"non-members" and you have to donate sixty bucks to be recognized as a
"member," then I can actually see why some people might ask themselves "Why
bother?" It's a psychological thing. People like to get a little recognition
for their contribution.
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giry
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response 29 of 83:
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Jan 26 00:13 UTC 1996 |
I would like to say that the message in party is doing some good, two people
today asked robh about membership and asked "is that all it is?" meaning the
ammount of money... I think that if you look at it as 6 dollars a month
instead of 60 dollars ayear, it is alot less overwhelming. I am glad to pay
my membership. I think that one thing that might want to be stressed is that
if grex gets more money tht means grex gets a faster system. That helps us
all.
People have said before that maybe there should be a lesser ammount
of money for a type of membership for students or people in special
circumstances, but still want to help out grex. I said before that it isn'at
a bad idea, but we members don't get all that much more for our six dollars
so what is going to stop the partiers from paying the 3 or 4 instead of 6.
Everyone will always well not always, but most of the time take the cheaper.
I still go for the 6 dollars a month. Hey I don't have a job and I still pay
it... <smile>
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sidhe
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response 30 of 83:
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Jan 26 01:56 UTC 1996 |
Well, the "I don't like the way the party changes were handled"
excuse is a valid one, and part of why you no longer have my support.
And, no, no $5.95 a month. Just goes to show how unchastised and
unwilling to change your attitude towards party users is.
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scott
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response 31 of 83:
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Jan 26 03:28 UTC 1996 |
Ok, I didn't use this before, but now I'm pissed.
[during the 5 weeks before the changes]
#11 of 61: by Christopher A. Cloyd (sidhe) on Sat, Dec 9, 1995 (19:22):
Hmmm this is all worth considering. I think that the absence of a
requirement might work.. but, I think it would be good to
get a feel for these concepts from the partiers before we implement
either of them.
[after the changes]
Excuse me.
What are the exact changes I need to make to reestablish party's
proper (old) settings for myself? I do not want to use it until I am
assured proper performance, and I don't at all appreciate the swiftness,
and then the condecendence, behind these changes. The only part I
agree with is the disallowed reading of files into the main channel.
Why, you may ask, do I want the settings to remain consistant? Simple.
I use grex and M-net's party programs, and this makes it very difficult
when navigating between the two, as M-net's party is still on the
better of the two setups.
-------------------------------------------------------------
A little consistency in your outrage would be appreciated, sidhe.
There was a long period of time when discussion was available. You didn't
say then that you cared about the settings, now you are so upset that you
quit being a member.
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scg
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response 32 of 83:
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Jan 26 05:31 UTC 1996 |
One thing I used to do, back when I was an unemployed high school student and
didn't have all that much money, was be a member roughly every other month,
for a while. Eventually I started scrounging enough money to be a member for
two months at a time, rather than one. Then I got a job, and started doing
the $60 per year thing, and keeping it paid up.
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tsty
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response 33 of 83:
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Jan 26 05:37 UTC 1996 |
what could have been "optional" changes were made "mandatory"
and that is the problem.
Instead of "Oh, lookie here - neat changes YOU can make," it became
"We decided to change your settings reagardless of your happliness level
and if you wnat to revert to your formet level of happiness, you
can just do that for yourself."
that is the problem which inotice is NOT going to be duplicated
with the .html files and their path "defaults" (if that's the right
concept/word).
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popcorn
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response 34 of 83:
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Jan 26 06:53 UTC 1996 |
This response has been erased.
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srw
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response 35 of 83:
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Jan 26 08:05 UTC 1996 |
Valerie's right, oh and btw, TS, we are changing the URL formats, and there
will be no way to go back, so in a sense the .html situation is worse than
with party. We are giving notice -- that's all we can do.
I'm not too keen on Freida's suggestion of a lower tier, as I'm afraid it
might encourage people giving more to reduce the amount.
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ajax
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response 36 of 83:
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Jan 26 09:29 UTC 1996 |
I understand Freida's point, and I think it merit (public radio/tv and
theater groups have tiered contribution levels for a reason), but I don't
think it's a good option for Grex, as I think it would probably decrease
overall revenues. Steve Gibbard's every-other-month membership was a good
solution to fiscal limitation.
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janc
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response 37 of 83:
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Jan 26 14:45 UTC 1996 |
Creating several tiers, maybe one lower and one higher than the current one
might be an interesting idea, and might more clearly convey the charitable
nature of this system.
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rcurl
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response 38 of 83:
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Jan 26 20:21 UTC 1996 |
Tiering is almost always done UP - member, contributor, sustainor,
patron, benefactor, deep-pockets.... Lower dues are often offered for
the poor and indigent - students especially. Now, I think the dues should
be lowered (along with a big membership campaign) - but no one even hooted
at that.
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scg
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response 39 of 83:
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Jan 27 01:12 UTC 1996 |
If lowering dues would bring in enough new members to make up for it, I would
support it. I'm nervous that it might not.
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adbarr
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response 40 of 83:
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Jan 27 01:39 UTC 1996 |
I probably should not say this, but has anyone heard of a young entrepreneur
with the initials of W.F.G.? He picked up on the idea of lowering prices
and the rest is, as they say, history. He was a copy-cat, but had the muscle
to make it stick. They say his little company has a problem -- large cash
reserves and not enough fun stuff to buy. Dear, dear.
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popcorn
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response 41 of 83:
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Jan 27 05:22 UTC 1996 |
This response has been erased.
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scg
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response 42 of 83:
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Jan 27 05:31 UTC 1996 |
Gates seems to have walked away from his price lowering philosophy now. To
make the $90 Windows 95 work well, one also needs to buy the $50 Microsoft
Plus!
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rcurl
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response 43 of 83:
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Jan 27 07:51 UTC 1996 |
One could lower the dues for *one year*, announcing that they would go back
up at the end of the year if membership did not increase enough to
compensate for the lower dues. If you are chicken, make it six months. If
it works, extend it for another period. It would probably help to keep
everyone aware that the dues *really are* $60 per year, so everyone knows
that the reduced price is an experiment and could go away.
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carson
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response 44 of 83:
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Jan 27 10:47 UTC 1996 |
(that sounds like a good idea.)
(it might also be a good idea to publically thank donors. I
know that's usually done for the big stuff and for new members
as well, and that it would likely be time-consuming to thank
everyone publically, but it just might be the little extra t
thingy needed.)
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danr
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response 45 of 83:
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Jan 27 12:57 UTC 1996 |
In business, when things don't sell, you lower the price until they do.
Many business also give discounts for "first time buyers." It's a
thought.
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chelsea
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response 46 of 83:
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Jan 27 13:39 UTC 1996 |
I tend to think $6.00 is affordable and if someone felt otherwise they'd
probably find $3.00 or $4.00 just as uncomfortable. If you're so poor you
can't send $6.00 a month then you shouldn't be sending Grex anything.
One word of caution though: If you think dues are dropping off now just
watch what happens when folks are anticipating a membership fee decrease.
Users who were thinking of sending money in a week ago might be willing to
sit back and see how this all falls out. And since any changes will
require a change in the Bylaws that might take a while.
My guess is that membership dues are still just about right and
that we shouldn't mess with the system. But that's a gut feeling.
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danr
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response 47 of 83:
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Jan 27 23:37 UTC 1996 |
There is something wrong with how we attract and retain members. We've got
to mess with the overall system somehow.
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rcurl
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response 48 of 83:
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Jan 28 02:03 UTC 1996 |
Re #46: sure, $6/mo is affordable, but that's not the point. For one thing,
donating $6/mo is a big bore, and becomes too much trouble. Hence, no
donation. Only annual dues should be used. For that, $60 is also
"affordable" - but the perception is nevertheless that it is "too high".
The question to be determined is, is there an annual dues that returns
the maximum support to Grex by attracting more members even with lower dues.
[With, of course, a more determined effort to convince users to join.]
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kaplan
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response 49 of 83:
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Jan 28 02:30 UTC 1996 |
Keep the $6 per month rate but offer a steeper discount for a full year's
membership? Maybe $40 would attract more members. It would be especially
good if we could offer the new lower yearly rate to people who are now
unwilling to donate anything, while encouraging people who can afford it to
keep paying $60 (or more).
And we could offer a special deal when we need money for large one-time
expenses called "life-time membership." Perhaps $250 would be a fair price
for prepetual membership.
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