Laura Sterling or host please read

[legalslave]

Thank you for advising us on the update that the boards are being worked on. I know we all are able to use these boards for free. I think those of us who frequently use cruisecritic, would not object to paying a small monthly membership fee, in which the funds could be used for improvements. I know you rely on the advertisements that pop up for funding. Cruisecritic is the best resource for most of us who love to cruise. Is there anything we can do to help?

 

Diane

[Cruisin' Ron VA]

Thank you for advising us on the update that the boards are being worked on. I know we all are able to use these boards for free. I think those of us who frequently use cruisecritic, would not object to paying a small monthly membership fee, in which the funds could be used for improvements. I know you rely on the advertisements that pop up for funding. Cruisecritic is the best resource for most of us who love to cruise. Is there anything we can do to help?

 

Diane

 

Small monthly fee? Sure I am for that if it helps improve things.

 

Would this mean as paying members the moderators have less say so over what threads are acceptable or not? Hence less removed threads? :confused:

[HeatherInFlorida]

Cruisin' Ron, I agree with you. And this is why CC most likely won't be asking for donations from us anytime soon. Too many cooks in the kitchen so to speak ;).

 

We members would then feel we should have freedom in discussing things that are now off limits. While the added revenue might be a small help, it could lead to more problems than it's worth.

[sail7seas]

I would not object to paying a reasonable fee but fear some other people would stay away if they had to pay. It is always good to have new people coming by and contributing to the Board and, certainly, for current users to continue posting. If a fee would cause some to cease participating it would ruin CC IMO

 

[mafig]

Why do you think that paying a fee would fix the boards?

 

Don't the advertisers pay a fee now? Is the board fixed?

 

All the polls I've seen have about 90% of those polled saying they would not pay a fee. Thus, you would have 10% of the people who now post on here. It would be the same old opinions over and over. And, I, for one, would go wherever the 90% go.:)

 

Plus, if I were paying and the boards weren't working I'd really be angry. Do you think we'd get a prorated discount for the time the boards were down?

 

Do you think the advertisers know that the $ they've spent is being wasted because people can't access their "investment." :confused:

[jtl513]

We had a thread recently that hashed this all over. As the last two posters have said, fees would cause a drop off in membership. This would eventually lead to a loss of advertising revenue, which could be a net loss for CC. Look at AOL, which had to drop subscriber fees and go all-ads for revenue because the advertisers were going elsewhere.

 

Maybe some kind of a two-tier system could be created, with "sustaining" (paid) members and non-paying members. The non-paying could be limited in the number of posts, or their connect time per month. Or the paying members could get a "vote" in the way the boards were run, possibly ... or some other benefit(s) that the free members wouldn't receive.

 

Or maybe CC could simply accept "donations", with no quid pro quo.

 

:confused: :confused:

[Cruisin' Ron VA]

 

Maybe some kind of a two-tier system could be created, with "sustaining" (paid) members and non-paying members. The non-paying could be limited in the number of posts, or their connect time per month. Or the paying members could get a "vote" in the way the boards were run, possibly ... or some other benefit(s) that the free members wouldn't receive.

 

:confused: :confused:

 

Excellent thinking!

[mafig]

The advertisers are paying.

Why do you think that charging the subscribers will fix the boards and keep them running smoothly.:confused:

I have to think that Cruise Critic collects alot more money from Holland America, Cruise Value Center, etc. than they would from Mafig..or you...The boards don't work with their big (I assume) advertising $.

How would you feel paying and still having the boards broken.?:mad:

[bdcbbq]

The best way to keep Cruise Critic running and speed up the boards is helping them generate revenue. The best way to do that is to use their advertisers and each time you book a cruise mention to your TA the impact CC had on your decision to book the cruise line, travel agent, tour, or destination.

 

Membership fees won't generate enough to have an impact. I've been hanging around for about 6 months with an interest in taking another cruise in the near future. Prior to this I hung around for about 8 months before and after taking my previous cruise in 2002.

 

When ever I want to surf for a cruise I always go through CC links vs. my bookmarks. Link clicking helps generate revenue.

[legalslave]

Okay Laura-scratch that thought! Sorry everybody! That's one of the nice things about the boards, all can express their opinions. Some just do it a bit nicer than others.

 

Diane

[jtl513]

Okay Laura-scratch that thought! Sorry everybody! That's one of the nice things about the boards, all can express their opinions. Some just do it a bit nicer than others.

 

Diane

You don't like my two-tier suggestion? Limiting the monthly access time of the non-paid members would lower the load and improve the performance for those who are willing to pay. :)

[mamaofami]

As a fairly new CC member, I think a lot of newcomers might be put off by the fees or by a limited access. Personally, I found lots of help in planning my cruise, but what if I could only post 10 free posts? Would I pay up for something like this or just not bother ? I'm not sure.

I think these boards do a lot to increase the revenue for the cruise companies. People read about other people's experiences and it heightens the anticipation of the cruise.

It would be interesting to know why there is so much difficulty posting here. Is it technical or because there is a lot of 'traffic" on the boards?

[dakrewser]

It would be interesting to know why there is so much difficulty posting here. Is it technical or because there is a lot of 'traffic" on the boards?

 

Yes.

 

The software being used, and the server farm it's running on, can't handle the traffic. At peak load, anomalies are being introduced into the database which, after a period of time, leads to a crash. Really fixing the problems would require not only a lot of money but a complete re-write of the system (or a switch to more expensive - both to acquire and to maintain - software.)

[Old As Dirt Mom]

Yes.

 

The software being used, and the server farm it's running on, can't handle the traffic. At peak load, anomalies are being introduced into the database which, after a period of time, leads to a crash. Really fixing the problems would require not only a lot of money but a complete re-write of the system (or a switch to more expensive - both to acquire and to maintain - software.)

 

Yes, absolutely, Dakrewser has said it! That's why all these technical problems are not going to go away, but will persist.

[SWeaster]

I'm one of several veteran moderators for a group of forums that promote the use of various different two-way radio services for personal, family and small business communications. We too are advertiser supported with no charge for membership. Our moderators are all unpaid volunteers. Although we are perhaps the most respected source of information in these areas we undoubtedly have a much smaller following than CruiseCritic does. Even so, we have an occasional glitch with our forums. Fortunately, none are as severe as those experienced here.

 

Like many of you, CruiseCritic has provided us with both a wealth of travel information and a sense of community with fellow cruisers. I'd hate to lose it. As "readership" increases the glitches may become more severe, perhaps to the point of rendering this valuable resource unusable. It is approaching that point at times already. If the visitors here and their click-throughs are driven away by the glitches a loss of advertising revenue won't be far behind.

 

Bill

[HeatherInFlorida]

I'd sure hate to see that happen, SWeaster! But I can see how it could. Here it is a Sunday and usually I've found weekends less active, but today was just about the worst ever except when we couldn't get on at all.

 

And even though LauraS asked us to copy and paste all our error messages, I kept forgetting because I was so frustrated!!! Sorry, Laura!!

 

It's a shame. This is my favorite board because of the high level of activity. But I've moved on over to another board (as have so many others) just to get my fix!!

[legalslave]

JTL, I wasn't refering to this thread. I thought you had a great idea. I have seen some threads, not on the HAL boards, that have been verbally violent! It would be a terrible shame to lose cruisecritic. I have met so many wonderful people on these boards.

 

Diane

[Chivalrygirl]

I aint paying for nothing, this board is extremely slanted towards North American cruisers, I have not intention of paying fo this. Sometimes its like there is no one else on this planet. Also, some horribly self opininated people sometimes, not paying for that either.

[kryos]

No message board should EVER charge someone to be a member. When you do that, you begin losing people who would prefer not to spend the money to participate on a message board where they have to pay for the privilege. Many of the people you lose are the ones you most want to keep ... because they are very knowledgeable about cruising and give great advice to new cruisers.

 

CC can, however, charge for a "premium" membership which would entitle the member to certain enhanced privileges. I belong to a skydiving related message board that works like that. If you pay the premium fee (something like $20 or so per year), you get a message board email address and some enhanced privileges.

 

I could see other cruise-related message boards doing the same thing. Basic membership is totally free ... but it has some limitations. Perhaps sig lines can only be text-based ... no countdown clocks or other graphics. Avatars would have to be selected from a set group containing no high-resolution graphics. Actually, I have a feeling that it is these things that are at least partially responsible for slowing the boards down anyway. So if most members could no longer use these functions, the boards would speed up.

But other than these few minor restrictions, free membership would have all the privileges it has now. Enhanced members would have none of the restrictions on their sig lines or avatars, and maybe they would get a few other goodies, like an email address and a special email newsletter.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[newmexicoNita]

We had a thread recently that hashed this all over. As the last two posters have said, fees would cause a drop off in membership. This would eventually lead to a loss of advertising revenue, which could be a net loss for CC. Look at AOL, which had to drop subscriber fees and go all-ads for revenue because the advertisers were going elsewhere.

 

Maybe some kind of a two-tier system could be created, with "sustaining" (paid) members and non-paying members. The non-paying could be limited in the number of posts, or their connect time per month. Or the paying members could get a "vote" in the way the boards were run, possibly ... or some other benefit(s) that the free members wouldn't receive.

 

Or maybe CC could simply accept "donations", with no quid pro quo.

 

:confused: :confused:

good idea, one of the most active Vegas boards does have a similar system. They still depend on advertisers to keep the board going strong. NMnita

[HeatherInFlorida]

I aint paying for nothing, this board is extremely slanted towards North American cruisers, I have not intention of paying fo this. Sometimes its like there is no one else on this planet. Also, some horribly self opininated people sometimes, not paying for that either.

 

Ummmm .... and this post isn't opinionated? I think it's often a matter of perception. Something may seem opinionated to you because it doesn't agree with your way of thinking.

 

But your post is an extremely opinionated statement. We all have to remember that a message board is made up of opinions on everything ... that's what it's about, isn't it?:)

[Chivalrygirl]

Ummmm .... and this post isn't opinionated? I think it's often a matter of perception. Something may seem opinionated to you because it doesn't agree with your way of thinking.

 

But your post is an extremely opinionated statement. We all have to remember that a message board is made up of opinions on everything ... that's what it's about, isn't it?:)

 

Partly done with tongue in cheek once more! But also not paying either, already paying enuough to even access the boards, so not paying nothing OK :D

[HeatherInFlorida]

CG, sorry ... I honestly miss the tongue in cheek when it's just words on a page.

 

Have to tell you ... that kitty of yours doesn't look like it's paying much for anything anytime soon! I love that cat!!! :)

[Chivalrygirl]

CG, sorry ... I honestly miss the tongue in cheek when it's just words on a page.

 

Have to tell you ... that kitty of yours doesn't look like it's paying much for anything anytime soon! I love that cat!!! :)

 

Yep Kitty was sent to me some years ago by a guy in Belgium, I love it to, but have to admit my two real ones have much nicer personalities:D However, I love your dog best of all :)

[HeatherInFlorida]

........... However, I love your dog best of all :)

 

Ahhhhhh ... thank you!!!:) So do we! We are literally over the top about her; it's embarrassing.

 

And the best news is it looks like our CC is back up and running great!!!:D Thanks LauraS and everyone for getting the bugs out!!!!