1. Sensesfail99's Avatar
    So I am a former storm user and I switched over to the mytouch3g... Along with the switch I started using an android forum. Recently they started charging 5bucks a month for a "premium membership"... How does everyone feel about paying for premium memberships? I just kind of feel like people are getting hosed. The owner of the site is making all the money and he doesnt give any more info or help to anyone then any other member... Crap like this makes me want to unlock my storm and come back to CB.
    03-07-10 11:40 AM
  2. denison1g's Avatar
    Paying for a forum membership sounds silly. I would never do that, ever.
    03-07-10 11:48 AM
  3. Ivana's Avatar
    Well, I don't know about that specific site, but being an owner of a website and several forums myself, I see why someone would charge for premium membership - websites cost money. They just do. You need to pay for the domain and you need to pay for the server and the bandwith, if you're using vBulletin you need to pay for the software, and all of those expenses come out of the owner's pocket. Hence, the ads. Web masters try to use ads to have websites pay for them selves. The thing with premium memberships is that they often let you "buy" a no-ads version of the site.

    Personally, my forum is private and very small and I have been covering the cost of it by myself for years now. My members don't have ads and they probably never will, but it's around 100 bucks coming out of my pocket every year. Now imagine that on a bigger scale and the reason why someone would offer "premium memberships" (even if the purchaser gains nothing, so it's sort of a donation) becomes clear.

    I don't have a problem with that. There is a forum I visited often at one point in my life and I was happy to donate 5 bucks every 3 months for it. I would mind a forum I'm visiting becoming a "premium member only" but just this one more option being available is fine with me.
    03-07-10 11:51 AM
  4. AZBBFAN's Avatar
    There are some that are worth it in my opinion. I paid for a Blackberry site, 50 for life. You get apps that no one else has as well as several other benefits on the site I paid for. the nice thing is that the site is not ONLY member funded, the owner of the site also contributes and has used the members money to expand the site with servers, apps, etc.......either way you have to choose for yourself. i do feel that $5 per month is BS though
    03-07-10 11:53 AM
  5. Sensesfail99's Avatar
    I understand to help pay for the website, but too charge for things that were free or are free on other websites I think is Ridic. I dont think paying for the premium membership gets you a "no ad" website on this forum... I think someone is trying to make a quick buck off of its members...
    03-07-10 11:56 AM
  6. Totalimmortal363's Avatar
    A car forum im on has a premium membership, like 10-20 a year or something. You get a larger signature, special colored username of your choice, access to special parts of the forum. I havent done it but I see the logic.
    03-07-10 12:02 PM
  7. Sensesfail99's Avatar
    See a trend here? 10-20 a year? 50 for life? not 5 bucks a month or 19.95 for 6 months... I would be paying double the price of the car forum...
    03-07-10 12:04 PM
  8. johnling's Avatar
    Without members there is no forum. It's only a matter of time and it will no longer exist. The guy won't make much...
    03-07-10 12:07 PM
  9. Sensesfail99's Avatar
    Just as I thought... I put up a post about it and the mod closed it. What a joke.
    03-07-10 12:17 PM
  10. Masahiro's Avatar
    There are some that are worth it in my opinion. I paid for a Blackberry site, 50 for life. You get apps that no one else has as well as several other benefits on the site I paid for. the nice thing is that the site is not ONLY member funded, the owner of the site also contributes and has used the members money to expand the site with servers, apps, etc.......either way you have to choose for yourself. i do feel that $5 per month is BS though
    What's this website called?
    03-07-10 12:24 PM
  11. Reed McLay's Avatar
    So I am a former storm user and I switched over to the mytouch3g... Along with the switch I started using an android forum. Recently they started charging 5bucks a month for a "premium membership"... How does everyone feel about paying for premium memberships? I just kind of feel like people are getting hosed. The owner of the site is making all the money and he doesnt give any more info or help to anyone then any other member... Crap like this makes me want to unlock my storm and come back to CB.
    Welcome back, we have many models of smartphone uses that also prefer our place to hang out.

    There are multiple pathways to forum success. Ours is free content and no premium members. We can do that becasue our forum is sponsored by a successful cell phone industry member.

    They don't. All they have to offer is artificial rank and privileges.

    Welcome back.

    Edit: The question has come up, who is our sponsor?

    The Crack Team | CrackBerry.com

    Smartphone Experts, the good folks who bring us the shop.CrackBerry store and our Smartphone sister sites.
    03-07-10 12:24 PM
  12. Xpimp's Avatar
    I don't mind paying for a membership as long as I'm not breaking the bank, it has to be a reasonable price. And there has to be some sort of incentive as well .
    03-07-10 12:54 PM
  13. SpaceLump's Avatar
    Five dollars? That'll pay for new app every month.
    Crackberry free and great! Woohoo.
    03-07-10 12:59 PM
  14. TheOne01's Avatar
    Crap like this makes me want to unlock my storm and come back to CB.
    I don't quite understand why this would make you want to switch phones when it has nothing to do with the phone itself.
    03-07-10 01:02 PM
  15. Sensesfail99's Avatar
    I don't quite understand why this would make you want to switch phones when it has nothing to do with the phone itself.
    Both phones are fun, but I guess the crowd over here is a lot better. Ill probably just keep using my mt3g and just start hanging out on these forums again, lol.
    03-07-10 02:39 PM
  16. es_bih's Avatar
    Just a heads up. There is a free Android forum that is connected to CB via the Smartphone Experts network. Check it out. Same manner as CB, but for Android.

    As far as charging goes. I'm a staff member of a forum myself, and we've never charged for premiums. We however did a donation drive and after that added Google ads, which pay and give us enough for future upgrades.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    03-07-10 09:18 PM
  17. christopherp's Avatar
    I'm gonna pay for any part of a forum like I'm gonna pay for any part of a kick in the nut bag.
    03-07-10 09:32 PM
  18. Sensesfail99's Avatar
    Just a heads up. There is a free Android forum that is connected to CB via the Smartphone Experts network. Check it out. Same manner as CB, but for Android.

    As far as charging goes. I'm a staff member of a forum myself, and we've never charged for premiums. We however did a donation drive and after that added Google ads, which pay and give us enough for future upgrades.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    are you talking about the android section on CB? If not whats the site ?
    03-07-10 09:41 PM
  19. Sensesfail99's Avatar
    So its funny to me... that about a month after them starting to charge people for premium membership that they put something up on their site about "looking to hire a full time writer"!!! So the truth comes out!!! Thats why youre charging so damn much for the premium membership!!!!
    03-13-10 11:18 AM
  20. devGOD's Avatar
    that's like paying to do a simple google search
    03-13-10 07:36 PM
  21. BBThemes's Avatar
    are you talking about the android section on CB? If not whats the site ?
    http://www.androidcentral.com

    cool bunch of people over there, very helpful (and free lol)
    03-13-10 07:42 PM
  22. Artemis68's Avatar
    Sometimes premium memberships on some forums are quite good. I was a member for a forum for several years that had to do with gaming and stuff. I paid 35 bucks for a 3 year membership that included lots of free applications, a private forum place, etc. It was worth it.

    Forums cost money to run. And no one's forcing you buy a premium membership so I don't see why it would be bad. Just a little perk.
    03-13-10 07:59 PM
  23. emscapt47's Avatar
    I'm gonna pay for any part of a forum like I'm gonna pay for any part of a kick in the nut bag.

    lol...thats good...lol....
    03-13-10 08:19 PM
  24. cherryjuice's Avatar
    Paying for a forum membership sounds silly. I would never do that, ever.
    Oh my. You have never run a forum apparently. Do you know how much hosting the forum costs in general? On top of the time it takes to keep the forum clean & user friendly? To keep the links up to date and spam free? If the information you're getting from the forum is worth 5 little dollars every 30 days then pay it. If not stop leeching information and go somewhere else. I would gladly pay 5 bucks a month for Crackberry knowledge/help/entertainment for example...

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    03-14-10 12:10 AM
  25. Sensesfail99's Avatar
    what im getting at is why is their premium membership so much more then everyone elses?
    03-14-10 03:17 AM
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