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Greetings All:
If you had the choice, would you most like to see:
1. AntiOnline sold to a compitant 3rd party, and have everything stay how it is for the most part.
2. AntiOnline stay put, but with more advertising from third-parties on the site.
3. AntiOnline stay put, with no advertising, but a monthly subscription fee.
4. AntiOnline stay put, with some advertising, and a monthly subscription fee for premium content/services only.
Thoughts, discussions?
Considering all these choices, if this site was run by a 3rd party you will always risk everything changing. Losing some of the FAQ's or Tutorials due to lack of space or whatever.
Advertising always turns into some form of ungodly popup action and slower loading time, but will make ends meet.
Stay put with no advertising but a fee. Depending on the fee, I myself would pay for the information i get and help from others. But then I would be more wanting for you to get rid of the AP system because if I was paying for the site I wouldnt want to get banned. Maybe have to setup some form of moderators similar to the AP system (not really sure what).
Choice 4. Seems like it would be the best being that even those ppl that arent willing to pay would still be able to voice their opinions and help end users (like me :) ) out in sticky situations. I havent been a member long but have used the site as a guest for a long time, and really like what you have done and where you have gone with it and would hate for you to sell it off but I understand how the circle of life revolves and how you might want to focus on other things in your life. So thank you either way
I'd choose number 1 for the simple reason that I don't think I or anyone else is ready for the site to be changed or anything of the like, I like it the way it is right now (except the kiddies part ;)) and I would want it to stay like it is. This ofcourse is JMHO.
more advertising is my choice although the poll is mucking up and not letting me vote !!!! Id be willing to sacrifice part of my screen to ads if it means that the site remains !
I would also go for the first one.After all you desighned it pretty good I would say
I'll just talk about the last three options
Since I have ad-blocking on, I never realized there were ads/banners until it showed up in my earned site benefits. That would be the ideal solution, but that again depends on exactly how your revenue is generated (click-based or whatever). And even if I didn't have ad-blocking, I really wouldn't care as long as they didnt hamper my site browsing too much.Quote:
AntiOnline stay put, but with more advertising from third-parties on the site
That depends on how much AO decides to charge. There might be security sites out there that charge a subscription fee, but I personally haven't come across one. I think that might drive traffic away from the site.Quote:
AntiOnline stay put, with no advertising, but a monthly subscription fee
What exactly are you referring to when you say premium content/services?Quote:
AntiOnline stay put, with some advertising, and a monthly subscription fee for premium content/services only
Hm...well, I'd have to go with... the first one ONLY IF it stayed the same. Or, maybe some very small changes for the better. (Not saying that there is anything wrong with the site, I'm just saying...). But if it came down to selling to a third party, and it would change, or it stayed the same with ads, I'd pick 2.
-MicroBurn
JP just dump the site, we will move on. sell it for your better interest and go. dont worry about us.
i figured
because you want to bring people to the site and an initial fee would drive potential customers away. get them hooked, then charge for the extras. i would. however, like to see some more features worth paying a little more for. brainstorming session.Quote:
AntiOnline stay put, with some advertising, and a monthly subscription fee for premium content/services only
i would prefer the site to stay as is, but if necessary then ads would be ok, as long as they dont go overboard ( like Yahoo!). I dont think paying is a good idea with all the free security sites out there, this would not be as successful.
I would miss the threads on AO, but I agree with Erok. If the site is becoming a bit of a financial or emotional burden, dump it. Get all that you can for it, and be done with it. It's nice that you're trying to keep everyone here happy, but we all will move on.Quote:
Originally posted here by er0k
JP just dump the site, we will move on. sell it for your better interest and go. dont worry about us.
I hope this doesn't offend JP and I will tell you my opinion but first, it is your site to do with as you please. You will not please everyone and I honestly feel that these types of polls end up being detrimental not helpful in the long run. You may get a consensus but when the change comes you will also get many saying how they didn't figure it would be this, or they didn't expect that, and others upset you didn't listen to them.
You need to do what is in your best interest. You have put up a great site, I love it, if what you do makes it bad then I doubt the users will continue to come here out of loyalty to the site or you. Therefore I highly recommend that you base your decision the same why. Sure you should not be out to mess around with us but you have proven in the past that this is not your intent.
Now my opinion: Of all of the options listed 3 is the only one I am opposed to. It would instantly reduce the number of users here, would stop casual viewers from coming in and would quickly destroy the site. Notice I never said I was opposed to paying a fee just that the nature of these sites and the broad range of users here seems to preclude this option.
Other than that it all depends upon implementation. Since that is tricky I would again refer you to my main point. Make the choice that works best for you. You have done a great job for us and all I can give you is my full support whatever your decision. Even if it should lead to my decision to leave this community I will always be grateful for the time, help, and pleasure I have received from the AO community and your efforts.
I see several ups and down to each option. Of the options that you've presented, one thing I can say with relative certainty is that I would prefer the site to remain in your control if possible, simply because we have no idea what the new owner(s) might choose to do with the site. Right now AO is a very comfortable place where I have chosen to make my nest, and if new owners get in here and start mucking about too much, that atmosphere may change. I prefer to stay with a known commodity if at all possible.
Of the remaining options, more advertising and free is probably going to be the more popular and "politically correct" one. There is a distinct culture of "everything should be free" on the Internet generally, and I don't see why AO should reflect anything different. The only thing people don't seem to object to paying for is their pr0n. :D People will gripe about ads, but I doubt that any will quit over it. The downside, as mahakaal said, is that so many people use ad blocking software now that (depending on your revenue model) it may or may not do what you need and we could find ourselves faced with this dilemma again down the road if the advertising market dries up again like it did recently.
The big advantage that I see to a subscription based membership is that, while it will undoubtedly cost the site a lot of members who can't/won't pay a fee, it may help to drive the signal-to-noise ratio back down to something acceptable. In other words, traffic would be restricted to people who are serious about this topic and we would get far fewer kiddies popping in just because the site turned up in their Google search for "how to hack hotmail." It would be a step backward for the site in terms of losing members, but it may be two steps forward for the content of the site and consequently, your workload. The downside is that people with one or two legitimate questions may not feel justified in paying membership fees to a site just so they can ask a couple of simple questions, and that will hurt us because some of those people may decide to stick around after their questions are answered. I know we've had a few really good members like that in the past.
So to me, option 4 seems to provide the best balance between availability of information for the masses and serious discussion for the senior members. So that's my vote.
BTW, none of the polls seem to be accepting my votes.
if i could choose it would be to have more ads and have you running it. if thats what it takes to keep you, than so be it. you drive a hard bargain.
I would prefer option 2 if that would ensure things stay as they are. Since several of the options point to revenue generation I would like to throw out one more. I would be willing to make a donation to the site if that option was available.
I have to go with the keeping the ownership the way it is, but adding 3rd party advertising.
I would not mind paying a fee for membership, even though I don't always spend much time here. My only problem with that would be(as someone else pointed out) that casual visitors might not come by as much, and we could lose a fair number of good members. Although, it might keep the kiddies away.
I would have to second about the donations thing. I think I "probably" would donate to keep the site running if it were needed. As long as the site doesnt horibly change for the worse. I usually donate to things which I use free of charge that need funding if I enjoy them and make use of them. NPR for example, some of the great shareware I have used, etc...
There is no free lunch (everyone has bills to pay). I would be willing to pay a monthly fee as long as it was reasonable and I could also get technical help with problems from others. That is what I basically need.Those who wanted advertising could have a chance to upgrade perhaps with the offer of extra features on this site. I like this site there should be moderators(objective people) perhaps they could rotate so as not to be accused of favoriitism Rules of courtesy for everyone whether you opted for advertising or not. I hope you would stay since you started this(your child) I never minded the AP's but wanted common sense replies( no idiocy or sarcasm in them)I think Tedob 1 would be a wonderful candidate for a moderator he is so reasonable. I would be willing to put up with advertising
as long as it didn't drive me crazy. Auntie
p
You keep it, and more ads. Thats my feelings. I understand that you have basically achieved the goal you wanted when creating this site, and your beginning to feel like this has no where else to go. That may be partly true. If its time for you to let it go and move on to bigger better things, then by all means don't let the site act as a "ball and chain". You've worked this community into a self-sufficient society with its own checks and balances, and for that reason, you should be able to let the community run itself, with maybe some added mods.
On a side note, I think you should do whatever you think is best for you. I know I wouldn't want to get stuck in something that I didn't want to deal with. Prolly why I'm still single :D
More ads. I remember asking to be able to disable the banner-free site surfing :) It's the easiest way to contribute value while still remaining a cheapskate.
It wont let me vote so im just going to state my opinion... I think antionline should stay put w. as much advertising as you want and along w. it a premium members section w. a small subscription fee.... although we DO know that AO members tend to be pretty damn cheep from the whole bail JP out thing, who knows maybe some will pay...
i think that if it was sold to a completely different 3rd party alot of things would come to ruins... but who knows.
Nobody likes popup ads but its becoming common practice on the Internet. I would gladly fight my way through the popup to be able to use this site.
I'm sure who ever you sell antionline too will do what's in he best interest of the site. Making money means keeping its memebers/visitors happy. Antionline members have a great community and I think they will work to keep it thay way.
With that being said, take the best deal for you.
I don't think ads would even work. Considering the kind of people that visit this site, I see most of them having ad blockers, popup blockers and the like. But yes, I kinda like option 1 if the site stays Exactly The Same otherwise, I at least would disable my ad and popup blockers if that was going to help the site stay up.
Cheers,
cgkanchi
Crank up the ads, offer ad-free surfing for a nominal monthly fee and go from there. ;)
I feel that my opinion is worth a little less at this point but why not...
If the site is a burden on your hands, then either sell it to a third party company or hire someone with the money made from the banners and monthly fees.
If it's due to financial issue, then go with the advert direction (if it does create revenue) and include an option where those who want to surf without banners pay a little fee. (plus adding a few extras:))
I myself would be more then proud to pay for accessing this site. Just make sure you include other payments besides credit card (for those who are credit history challenged :))
The only thing that worries me is having to find a new site to educate myself about current security issues, as well as computer related topics and such. The people I work with are, in most part, computer illiterate or just plain stupid.
I know you really can't do anything about it JP but I think that AO should stay as it is. I don't want to return to a website that has pop-ups every 10 seconds advertising me to buy some windows product that I probably don't need. The main question running through my mind is "who is buying AO?" Let's say it's our friendly govt. Frankly I wouldn't mind if the U.S. bought AO- even though some may think that they would spy on us. If Norton bought the site then they'd have popups telling us to buy their Anti Virus software and whatnot. AO the page is also completly different from AO IRC... what about that? blah blah blah
id say choice number one. i've only recently become a member but i've been coming as a guest for over 2 years now. i really like what is being done withh the site and would hate to have it taken away, i think you guys are doing a real service to the planet
what do you want to do? I don't mind ads I doubt I'd pay unless there was something here I couldn't get for free (and in my screwed up head who knows what that might be). If you want to sell it do so, if your getting misty about giving up the site well consider this. You've had this website for about 10 years, you've seen it grow to the monster it is today, your going to feal some need to be with it for the rest of your life, kind of like a child. But if you need to money or your time is being stretched too thin or your loseing money then you do what you need to do, cut the site free.
well if u do sell the site as option # 1 , who would garantee that they won't be abusing it with a hell of pop up and ads. ( so just dumb this one unless u've been offered a superior figure & u wanna sell , then good luck)
as for the second Option, AntiOnline stay put, but with more advertising from third-parties on the site:
this one more acceptable, but lots of popups maybe coupled with surfers loss.
but i'd accept that.
3rd. Option: AntiOnline stay put, with no advertising, but a monthly subscription fee.
u can tell from the poll, forget it.
[COLOR=blue[FONT=century gothic]]*** AntiOnline stay put, with some advertising, and a monthly subscription fee for premium content/services only. **
well, i see that this would be the best solution, the site saty as it is, more ads but not pop ups, and a special section or part of the site would be accessable only for members. [/COLOR]
conclusion: i choose 2 & 4.
but, i MIGHT be choosing 5 if u choosed 1.
AntiOnline stay put, with some advertising, and a monthly subscription fee for premium content/services only.
My choice, as long as some adverstising means one or two banners no popup and the rest and premium content and services worth payment for.
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS FREE LUNCH. If you want quality content and services then you have to pay for it.
There were times that everything on the Internet used to be free not anymore. Before you could get free domains, free domain name and lots of other tools.