The Beginning Of The End Of This Forum?

[mrpig]

Hi All,

I’ve been watching this forum for a long time and been a member for a little while.

I didn’t post an introduction thread at the time of signing up because the same old stuff gets posted by a little few saying hello and welcome just going through the motions (no offence intended but that’s what really happens) and the rest just look to see if there’s a new threat in town where they are (again no offence intended but that’s what really happens).

Now in this thread I will give you my expert advice as a person who has run forums for over 10 years on the net and also still runs online shops along with current retail outlets in this genre and others.

First off! It costs money to run a forum and that mounts up if the forum becomes popular which is then compounded with costs as it grows with popularity, unless the forum is run or owned by a very well off person or brand name Company then at some point it has to be funded from an outside source which normally means a sole sponsorship or advertisements which is now the case of here.

I’ve been looking at loads of the threads and posts in this forum over the last few weeks where the owner has dropped very big hints that it’s costing him money to keep it going after going down the donation route which were enough in the early days but has now come to a point where he has had to go down the advertisements route.

What I’ve witnessed is people moaning about where the ad’s have been placed and the size of them along with the colour and design? Well to all the people that moaned! Do you contact the owner of every site you visit where you don’t like what they have on their sites? (I don’t think so).

It’s very easy to criticise something when you have not had to work on it or know how it works, even more so when it costs you nothing.

If you think I’m talking bull then I challenge you to find a well-known forum where they don’t have ad’s, sponsorship or have big backers.

There is also something I don’t think the majority of the long term members have noticed since the ad’s/sponsorship started is that BMS have removed the link to the forum from their site because they don’t have an ad on here which for whatever reason but was a place I found this forum from.

The discounts offered by the site sponsors who have limited time offers just go to show they just want to kill off competitors because they never knew this site was around and not offer better long time deals that would help them with blank sales.

[busybusybee]

I'd be very happy to pay a subscription to keep the forum going! Ive had some great advice from the people on this site!

[Paul]

I must sa I dont understand thread name. And I also can not agree with this quote:

didn’t post an introduction thread at the time of signing up because the same old stuff gets posted by a little few saying hello and welcome just going through the motions (no offence intended but that’s what really happens) and the rest just look to see if there’s a new threat in town where they are (again no offence intended but that’s what really happens).

I think is always good to say hallo so next time you post people know who you are.


I dont think this forum is "The Beginning Of The End".
I think forum is getting busier and busier every day and personaly i like it.

regards to banners i dont mind them as I get used to them. adverts are all over our lives. And if there is some good dealfor us, printer then why not??

[mrpig]

Paul, no disrespect but seems you’re a mod here you of all people should know what is expected in the role of a “mod” which I would hope that you checked every thread & post that were in the sections you are meant to watch over? And if everyone were honest the welcome section just gets paid “Lip Service”

[Paul]

Can you post some link to forum you run Mr. Pig? (sorry dont know your name)

[mrpig]

Paul, I’m going to be really nice here and let that reply go until you have earned the respect to question someone with more forum knowledge then you!

Please Paul don’t make this into a row where you won’t win even if you ban me from here because I am telling the members the truth about where this forum is going.

[smitch6]

As a fellow forum owner along with chat sites and 2 other forums and a dating site and a few others lol
i think this site is defo not dying
i understand where Justin was coming from when he implemented the ads, i don't think anyone complained although Justin did ask everyone in a poll before going down that route.
The only comment i've seen about the ads were that 1 of them was a slightly dif size which made the page jump but Justin sorted that double quick once it was mentioned.

I think the staff here do an excellent job and knowing what goes into running a site i for one would like to say thanks for keeping this place going, as for paul reading every post well actually i think he does.
I have posted stuff and within seconds of posting Paul has relied usually with help and advice (all be it in his native tongue which can take a few seconds to interpret, bless him ;) )

I can't comment on BMS because i'm not Martin but i really hope that there isn't any bad feelings there.

As for the welcome section i think it's respectful to post a quick post saying who you are and a bit about yourself and your experience, in 99% of forums they ask you to post a welcome post just so ppl can say hi.
As for watching to see the local competition i can only comment on my own thoughts which are........ if there is someone near to me who does the same stuff then great, i'd like to meet them personally and become friends who can share experiences and knowledge etc and maybe help each other out being close by.

:)

[Justin]

Hi Mr.Pig, nice to meet you, I think ;-)

As the owner of the forum I'd like to respond to a few of your comments. With regards to dropping big hints that the forum is costing me money to run, yes it does cost me money to run, more importantly it takes up a heck of a lot of my time and has done for the last 2 years.

The members are great when I put the begging bowl out for donations but unfortunately regular donations just don't happen. I started a poll a long while ago regarding how members thought the forum should be funded and have tried to progress in line with the response to this. A very small response indeed which can only lead me to believe that most members don't really care how it's funded.

The comments regarding members not liking the banner ads were initially made when I initially put up a very bright banner of my own. I've had very few negative comments with regards to advertising in all honestly. I could be putting far more ads on here but have tried to maintain a balance, this is still being worked on as I'm not 100% happy with it right now.

I do appreciate your comments with regards to how easily folk can criticise without realising what goes into running a forum and couldn't agree more but then I do encourage all members to be open and honest as I feel this is very important in helping us to move forward.

The introductions section is good etiquette and yes, you're right, generally the same folk welcome the new member which is fine.

I wasn't made aware that the small link to the forum had been removed from the BMS site so thank you for pointing this out to me. I'm not sure why this is, maybe Martin can respond here? As a customer of BMS myself this lack of communication surprises me. I'm not prepared to discuss private conversations between myself and Suppliers but I believe that this is the start of something far bigger and better and certainly not the start of the end.

I welcome any other comments on this subject.

Justin
DSF Admin

[Paul]

Paul, I’m going to be really nice here and let that reply go until you have earned the respect to question someone with more forum knowledge then you!

Please Paul don’t make this into a row where you won’t win even if you ban me from here because I am telling the members the truth about where this forum is going.
I am not :) it is you question my knolege not me yours :)
I respect your pov even that you speek up with a rant as a first post. thats it... oh... and i do not ban people from here. most of us are friendly bunch :wink:
Have a great night!

[jennywren]

[QUOTE=mrpig;30524And if everyone were honest the welcome section just gets paid “Lip Service”[/QUOTE]
To be fair I would like to welcome people to the forum more often, but there is only so many ways you can welcome somebody with out being repetitive and with out sounded like a arse licker. It's a shame we have'nt heard more from you, with your experience we might have gained a better insight in to running the forum even smoother than what it does

[Justin]

Paul, I’m going to be really nice here and let that reply go until you have earned the respect to question someone with more forum knowledge then you!

Please Paul don’t make this into a row where you won’t win even if you ban me from here because I am telling the members the truth about where this forum is going.

I don't think Paul is trying to start a row with you MrPig (Danny?) Paul has earned my respect on this forum over the past 2 years which is good enough for me. As regards to where the forum is going, please leave this to me as the owner and operator of this particular forum. I say this with the greatest respect as I don't want to see this thread go down an avenue that will lead to any unpleasantness.

[mrpig]

Justin,

Respect to you for understanding what I was saying in the thread.

I really hope this forum can stay true and keep up the good work it has always done.

[Justin]

Many thanks :-)

[John G]

Welcome to the forum Mrpig :wink: very strange introduction :confused: and from someone that supposedly knows the ins and outs of running a forum.

[AdamB]

Introductions over - I think we all know Danny now though :wink:

[mrs maggot]

I agree with one thing, that a lot of posts are put in the wrong section, and "housework" is slow in moving them, thats one of the jobs of a forum moderator, i know as i moderate/admin on two other forums, sometimes i think threads should be re-named some examples (not 100% accurate)
1 "can anyone help me" re named to "which epson printer to buy"
2 " help needed" renamed to " my mugs arnt printing properly"
3 "little bit of help needed" renamed to "which press to buy"

this will help, along with the "housework" to hopefully make new members have a read of threads before posting their own "can anyone help me" certainly the take a break page, is filling up with things which i would say are on topic of one of the other sections, rather than take a break which used to be for anything other than dyesub/work as it were posts.

there is always a problem with the welcome section of any forum - either you write the same thing everytime, or you se that they have put 3 questions in, and are waiting for answers, in which case they wont be back or bother to look around the forum, they just want quick answers.

[Andrew]

Even if the OP has started this thread with good intentions or advice (can't tell) the attitude stinks imo and seems to have got a chip on their shoulder. Your response to Paul is uncalled for and regardless of him being a MOD he has been around the previous forums before this one was realised and end up here the same way as us. I don't think most see him as a MOD but exactly the way he was before. Someone has to do some of the background work and Justin and Paul spend their time keeping on top of things when they can. Whether the advice was good or not I don't know as I didn't read all you put down as the tone of the post was cach.

Have I missed something that has ended up in this thread? Who's Danny etc?

Did the link from BMS ever make it onto the new site? Not sure. With the banners for Listawood, Coralgraph etc at the top I guess it doesn't make sense for them to have a link to this site. Natural progression.

[John G]

Agree with Andrew - baffled by the initial post. :confused:
Who is Danny?

[accdave]

Hi All,

It’s very easy to criticise something


I would have thought it's even easier to suggest to the site owner and members what you would like to see improved. ;)

[AdamB]

Have I missed something that has ended up in this thread? Who's Danny etc?


Agree with Andrew - baffled by the initial post. :confused:
Who is Danny?

Now - I think I may be going a little mad?

I read this last night whilst having a nice brew and I AM SURE that a post popped up (not sure, but I think it was Justin), and he said something like:
"Many thanks Mr Pig (or is it Danny?)"

I presumed that Danny was the name of the person that started this thread and that's why I posted my reply ................... now I can't see any post relating to 'Danny' apart from mine?

AM I GOING MAD JUSTIN/PAUL ??

edit: NO I'M NOT MAD SEE THE ABOVE POST:


I don't think Paul is trying to start a row with you MrPig (Danny?) Paul has earned my respect on this forum over the past 2 years which is good enough for me. As regards to where the forum is going, please leave this to me as the owner and operator of this particular forum. I say this with the greatest respect as I don't want to see this thread go down an avenue that will lead to any unpleasantness.

[mrs maggot]

reminds me of a chant "Danny Danny who the F**k is Danny"

lol

also - i would remind people "Dont feed the Trolls" :) :) :)

[John G]

Danny Danny who the F**k is Danny

was that not Alice ?

[Lee]

Maybe he has gone making more chips for his shoulders...?

[Paul]

AM I GOING MAD JUSTIN/PAUL ??


I think Justin took his name from registration details. Sorry cant confirm this for sure as I dont have acces to user persoanl details.


also - i would remind people "Dont feed the Trolls" :) :) :)

:rolleyes:

[ART DISCO]

I'm pretty new to this forum but I've found it to be the most helpful and friendly one I've been on. Posts always seem to get a lot of responses and that is far from the case in many other forums.

Isn't it funny how a rant can bring a forum closer together, we should thank mrpig.
long live DSF! :)

Lucy

[mrs maggot]

it was indeed john, but lends itself to anyname really lol

[Lee]

I think the name Mr Pig was very apt. Danny just gives it personality.

[derek]

I think this forum is great and I have learn't a great deal from all the fellow Sublies on here I would have no problem subscribing to it if comes to that, thanks for your knowledge guys :biggrin:

[jennywren]

I I would have no problem subscribing to it if comes to that, thanks for your knowledge guys :biggrin:
Ah but have you, fund always needed

[GoldRapt]

Hi All,

I’ve been watching this forum for a long time and been a member for a little while.

I didn’t post an introduction thread at the time of signing up because ..........................

Now in this thread I will give you my expert advice as a person who has run forums for over 10 years on the net and also still runs online shops along with current retail outlets in this genre and others.





Har Har har-Dee-Har Har.

Nice Intro.
I own forums. I took the VB path like here.
I was a mod for an International Forum for 2 years that reached a million posts ages ago.
My remit was to trace and remove trolls and bogus accounts, you'd be suprised at the number of people who live in one country and reckon their posting from another !!!!

I fully understand the Thread title that you have used, and I have the knowledge to understand why you posted as you have.

On the flip side, You used a Pseudonym, so maybe Justin should have kept it that way until you wanted to reveal your name. But hey it's his forum.

Having said that, I did wonder if your real name might be Kevin but that's me making 2 and 2 make 5 :-)

Anyway, I look forward to your future post's, wondering if it will reveal that you want to buy Justin out or that you have started another forum that wants to compete with this one.
In the meantime A big welcome from me,EVERYBODY is nice here so dive in and enjoy your stay.

[logobear]

I have got to say that i find this a totally negative thread.

[Andrew]

Paul, I’m going to be really nice here and let that reply go until you have earned the respect to question someone with more forum knowledge then you!

Please Paul don’t make this into a row where you won’t win even if you ban me from here because I am telling the members the truth about where this forum is going.


What an arrogant knob. So arrogant he's laughable and has void any hopes of being taken seriously. May as well remove this thread imo as it obviouly has some kind of ulterior motive and no added value to the forum.

[Justin]

There's obviously more to this than we've seen, I'd hoped the thread starter would have been back on to discuss with us further. I think the thread title was a little over dramatic and didn't necessarily reflect the actual posting.

...but please, let's not reduce this to name calling, I try to ensure we all have a voice and are heard and always accept constructive critiscm.

The forum has only just started gaining momentum and the responses to this thread reflect the more widely accepted view. Maybe best not to entertain the thread any more, I'll only post/intervene if I feel it absolutely necessary :-)

[Andrew]

That was my polite response previously as I try and behave on this forum. I held back on what I would have replied in real life. Whatever his motives are he should just come out with it.

[gstk]

I've got to say as a "looker" of this forum since my final post and not a "contributor" I have read Mrpigs initial post and I dont see anything wrong with it. In fact he is saying pretty much similar to what my final post was. I dont think it was derogatory really, in fact it was support of it and pointing out theres no such thing as a free forum

. Then the knives come out, and okay his post to Paul could have been a bit more tactful but essentially it then turns into a bear baiting pit.

I dont blame him for disappearing - its not worth the hassle which is pretty much what I do.

[Andrew]

There is no mass bear baiting...... I'm the only one who has had a go at him and at worse a few others just agreed. Don't think I've ever had a go at another member on here in all my posts and personally, as forums go this is quite a tame one imo. As you said, his comments to Paul were wrong and imo the attitude is very bad.

Some of the comments in the first post are just but many are already outdated. Natural progression of this forum will always be taking place.

As for him being to scared to come back, I very much doubt it, I doubt he ever see's himself as a victim from the tone of his posts. I'm sure he will be more than capable of backing up his comments.

Not really sure where you had your falling out on this forum but it's very rare. The one thing people do round on quite quickly is copyright issues and notice that subject people get wound up about.

[Justin]

I'm going to close this thread now. I can't really see how the thread is now constructive in any way and its just degenerating further. If anyone has an issue with this please do PM me.