I'm obviously new to this forum. I found it quite by accident and have found it to be a great forum. The "family" feel to it is well earned.
I also belong to the Bullitt forums (
www.imboc.com) and have for over 7 years. It is a very close community and has a very "family" feel to it as well. There were many issues when our software was updated, but we all got used to it and some bugs did need to get worked out. It also took a while to figure out a good way to earn money so the owner didn't go broke. But the community is always involved in major site decisions. Everything from the name (the old site was bullittclub), sticker designs, price packages, to having to make people join to post for sale items (to stop spammers) and the layout of the site, etc. The owner ultimately makes the final decision but big issues are always offered up for suggestions and comments.
I think the main issue with this site is the membership fees. I've never seen a forum that charges so much and the user gets so little in return. I would be willing to bet if the prices were lower more money would actually get raised. There are 3 price points at the Bullitt site and they are nowhere near the prices here. I looked into joining here, but I won't pay those prices. I've also given money to the
www.1969stang.com site so I'm not afraid to support a good website.
I would just like to suggest to the owners that they look over at IMBOC and see the offerings there. I understand the cost issues, bandwidth issues, etc but to keep this place successful it has to offer some goodies to the non-paying members or else they will never decide to support the site.
I hope that all came across as friendly suggestions
Edit: I just checked out the prices over at IMBOC and currently they are only offering a $20 membership for full web access (pictures, private forum, avatar, etc). I'm not sure what happened to the other options (they included stickers, cards, t-shirts, etc). I'll find out and get back over here.
