Moving from Donation to Subscription

[Derek T.]

Roy,

I am pleased to see that this decision has been made.

Well done

...and the very best of luck to Stewart in implementing the new features in the coming weeks.

Derek

[Scott Anaya]

Wow Roy & Stewart!

That decision and all the other upgrades and features set to come in 2008. Quite an exciting list and sure to keep things lively, fresh, and user friendly for all of us Port lovers.

Thanks for continually looking to make this community even more fun and useful to be a part of :!:

SA

[Luc Gauthier]

De très bonnes nouvelles !!
Subscriptions instead of donations , a welcomed change . . .
Roy & Stewart , votre dévouement est très apprécié

[Roy Hersh]

Derek, Scott and Luc,

Thanks for your kind sentiments.

I am kind of surprised there was not much more reaction to this move, but don't get me wrong ... if it moves forward this easily I will be very pleased.

[Derek T.]

I am kind of surprised there was not much more reaction to this move

Roy,

I suspect that the lack of reaction is due to the fact that this is an eminently sensible way to go. However, I suspect the real test will be played out in your email Inbox and your PayPal account as the vast majority of the people who take the Newsletter do not regularly visit here.

As well as being pleased to see you move to a Subscription for the Newsletter, I am delighted to see that you have kept the Forum free to use for all. This, after all, is a place that survives because of those who contribute to the discussion, whereas a Port-based Newsletter is something that you alone are prepared to devote time to producing and those of us who read and enjoy it have no right to expect you to provide it for free. Personally, I think it's a no-brainer for readers to want to pay the paltry sum of $5 or $6 to recieve each issue of the Newsletter. After all, there aren't exactly loads of alternative sources of this type of publication.

As you know I am a great believer in Freedom of Speach, which is why I want to see the Forum stay free to use with the minimum of Moderation. But, on the other hand, Freedom of Newsletters is now thankfully a thing of the past

Derek

[Roy Hersh]

as the vast majority of the people who take the Newsletter do not regularly visit here.

Sad but true. Hopefully the new homepage design will be so uniquely different, it will garner far more attention and simultaneously drive more activity to some cool new features as well as the Forum, which will also undergo an upgrade as you know.

Everyone can bank on one thing for sure, FTLOP's Forum will remain a "full access" and FREE vehicle for as long as I am around. Should my daughter take it over some day in a few decades, who knows what she will do.


Thanks again to all for your candor.

[Todd Pettinger]

Roy,

I may be the only rain on the parade here... but in the end I supPORT the move.

Allow me to explain. Initially I was horrified by the thought of a paid subscription newsletter. I figured you would immediately see the numbers drop off exponentially and in the end, Derek is correct - your email and PayPal account will tell the end story. I was hoping your venture, and FTLOP site (and Forum) would go away simply because there would be a lack of people willing to PAY for the newsletter.

After careful thought, I have changed my mind and think that things will go fine for you. I have not yet renewed my subscription since it expired at the end of February, but simply because I have been away from my computer dealing with the new baby, family and work. I will be renewing obviously in the next day or so.

If I may offer one suggestion to enhance your success with this venture, it would be this: leave one or two back episodes of the FTLOP newsletter (PDF version) available to be downloaded, free of charge. Think of it as a write-off... the cost of gaining more subscribers. From personal experience, I feel the newsletter produced each month is a high-quality, professional-like publication. It is worth the minimal cost you are going to realize for it and Derek is again correct when he says that nobody who currently receives the newsletter can expect it free of charge, Eventually, your time should be compensated. There will always be people who disagree and believe that everything on the Internet should be available for free, just because. You will never gain the 'business' of people like this, no matter how fanatical they may be about Port.

If, however, there are new folks coming into the community, they may get discouraged by having to sign up for the newsletter and pay for it without any proof of the quality or content. This is how I see a couple of "example" episodes being to your advantage: technically you have already put as much effort into producing them as you will, and if you make available one or two example episodes, it may tip the scales in your favour if there are people who are sitting on the fence.

Just an idea.

For those of us who know you and have read the newsletter for a year or more, who hear you speak and read your words, we know how passionate you are about Port in general and your newsletter to be specific, and we will continue to support your endeavour. I wish you all the best of luck my friend!

Todd

[Roy Hersh]

As previously mentioned in the 2008 Master Plan, all current articles, newsletters etc. will be in the FREE archives and available to everyone. Newsletter, articles and TNs after April 1st will then be available to subscribers only. So there should be plenty of material to whet the whistles of those visiting. I will also ensure .pdf versions of February and March issues will remain available for all to see. Afterall, those never having seen the entire newsletter in one document might have no clue as to what it looks like, or the fact that these normally range from 30-40+ pages in length.