Re: Note: This forum will be shutting down on November 1st, please use the new B&S.
We knew there would be push back...
There are several reasons for the new B&S format. Without going into all the gory detail, the main one was multi-faceted: Within the current software there is no way to set up a per-ad fee basis; there is a way to set up a subscription model, but it required a complete new instance of the forum AND since it is fee-based, would have required everybody who wanted to use it to manually re-register. Hence the alternative software that allows us to set per-ad fees as well as a subscription model if we desire to change to that in the future. Moreover, this software does allow existing users to be ported over, though there are some warts within that system we're sorting out.
As re what you get in return for the cost of the ad -- you get the ability to post as many ads as you want and for anything you want to sell. IOW there are now no limitations on the number of ads you can have running at one time nor are there any restrictions on what you sell.
It is still a use-at-your-own-risk forum, but it does require users to be registered as with the existing system. We will keep the feedback threads of the old forum alive until we figure a better way to show feedback inside the new software -- which there are options for.
Finally, some revised coding is being worked on now that will show more user data in teh square to the right of their listing title. We do expect that this will ultimately be a superior system to what we now have, and in time, everyone will be happy we made this change.
Yes our goal is to make money from the advertising. And it would be great if it was actually enough to cover the cost of running the site. Currently, the few that generously give as subscriber members -- and many thanks to them all -- don't cover even 10% of the regular operating costs, though they do get larger, fuller featured image galleries.
And thank you for your patience during our remodel!
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