Does it Cost $$$ To Join ST Now??

[Dustin Wilcox]

Heard from a non-member that it now costs a fee to join stormtrack, is this legit? If so, sure glad I got in when it was free, not sure I'd be able to fork over more than a couple nickels to join. If true, it has me wondering a couple of things, first where is all this money going? With all the donators, revenue from new members and ads, there has to be money accumilating. Secondly, when will someone start a new quality forum that is free and provides a quality disscussion area for chasers?

 

[Jason Foster]

AAhhhh....NO!


Dustin, sounds like you got some "issues" Why not tell a little more.


Oh...and as they say...if you have a problem, you are welcome to start your own!

 

[Dustin Wilcox]

AAhhhh....NO!


Dustin, sounds like you got some "issues" Why not tell a little more.


Oh...and as they say...if you have a problem, you are welcome to start your own!

Um, Mr. Foster my only issue is stupid people....


As for the issue of a cost to join Stormtack, AAhhhh....YEAH! Just logged out and viewed the register page, it does appear ST is now collecting a $5 fee in order for folks to join...

 

[Dan Cook]

It was instated to help pay for some of the server costs.

 

[Jason Foster]

Um, Mr. Foster my only issue is stupid people....


As for the issue of a cost to join Stormtack, AAhhhh....YEAH! Just logged out and viewed the register page, it does appear ST is now collecting a $5 fee in order for folks to join...

Ah...are you calling me stupid...or where you pointing that comment somewhere else. I hope for your sake you were pointing that elsewhere.

I see your point about the fee...never noticed it, and I don't think there was ever any discussion about it here, but I may have forgot. If it was, I'm sure someone will point out the link if so.

But I'd be comfortable with the fee, to cover server costs....many have gone up in the past 12 months...some have gone up more than 50%.

 

[Dustin Wilcox]

It was instated to help pay for some of the server costs.

Server costs really jump that much? Or before was there some behind the scenes funding occurring? I'd just figured with all the donations and what has to be a somewhat profitable Google ad account, there would be more than enough to cover server costs...

 

[Dan Cook]

Server costs really jump that much? Or before was there some behind the scenes funding occurring? I'd just figured with all the donations and what has to be a somewhat profitable Google ad account, there would be more than enough to cover server costs...

IIRC Dave was supporting it and then Tim picked it up after he left.

We also did this to try and limit registrations applications to more hardcore weather people. Some of the apps pre-fees had essays like "i like seeing tornado pix LOL".

 

[Tim Vasquez]

Dustin, ST is a fairly high-volume site, and everyone saw the disaster we had in 2004 when it was on a Dreamhost account. We depend on capacity since another Katrina or 5/3/99 could kill the site in short order, so my policy is not to skimp on server requirements.

Ad revenue has been falling off, I guess because of the economy and the pool of Google Adsense ads being spread thin among more and more bloggers & websites. Donations have been important... they work well at the start of a campaign but then they tend to fall off precipitously.

Whatever the case, ST is going to be a self-sustaining operation and remain on a quality dedicated server, so that's really the bottom line. We're trying out a $5 fee for newbies, which integrates well with the vbulletin software and cuts down on riffraff and approval workload, so we'll monitor that over the remainder of the year and see how it works out. So far I think it's our best option. If $5 is too expensive then I'll be glad to hear thoughts about that.

Tim

 

[Robert Dewey]

Dustin, you could start your own forum... but I have my doubts that it would succeed for a multitude of reasons;

1) Your fighting an established market (ST isn't the only weather / chaser forum)
2) A lot of people have been using social-networking sites for sharing chase-related information
3) Server costs (if you plan on getting big)

As much as people whine about ST needing stricter registration guidelines, I'm surprised that there's people whining just the opposite. To be honest, I welcome it.

EDIT:

As far as server costs go, here's the pricing: http://www.serverbeach.com/

Do I think $5 is too much? Not at all. Again, if you don't like it, you're welcome to setup your own lonely corner of the 'net.

 

[Jacob Ferden]

I, for one, am not whining about it. I personally feel this is one of the best moves ST could have made.

 

[Dustin Wilcox]

If $5 is too expensive then I'll be glad to hear thoughts about that.

Tim

As the one who knows where ST stands and what is costs to run, I'd say your in the best position to make that call; if $5 yields greater revenue than the costs to run the forum and money starts pooling, lower the cost; if $5 a person memebership fee, ad revenue and donations aren't covering the costs, jack the fee up. If managed correctly, I can't imagine a charge (esp. only $5) for new members being of harm to the forum. However if not managed properly I can see this type of system yielding a situation where every new membership request is viewed as $5 in revenue, resulting in no one being turned away and ultimately more poor quality posts. Imagine the revenue if ST had implemented this back when membership was well under half what it is now...

EDIT:

As much as people whine about ST needing stricter registration guidelines, I'm surprised that there's people whining just the opposite. To be honest, I welcome it.

By no means am I whining, I'm 100% for stricter guidelines. Just shocked that this move came due to ST financial struggles, and was curious as to how the money is being allocated. What's it cost in server fees to house the ST empire?

 

[Robert Dewey]

However if not managed properly I can see this type of system yielding a situation where every new membership request is viewed as $5 in revenue, resulting in no one being turned away and ultimately more poor quality posts. Imagine the revenue if ST had implemented this back when membership was well under half what it is now...

Good point. Also, there will be a point at which no more people sign up, and you'll have to find another revenue model. Just something to think about.

 

[Jason Foster]

....However if not managed properly I can see this type of system yielding a situation where every new membership request is viewed as $5 in revenue, resulting in no one being turned away and ultimately more poor quality posts. Imagine the revenue if ST had implemented this back when membership was well under half what it is now...

I also envision that those who paid the $5 fee are less likely to give a larger donation if at all, because they essentially feel they're paying what is needed upfront.

I'm fine with the fee, as long as it doesn't get out of hand. And it should always be a one time fee...never annual, monthly, etc.

 

[Dan Cook]

I'm fine with the fee, as long as it doesn't get out of hand. And it should always be a one time fee...never annual, monthly, etc.

It's a one time deal.

 

[Jason Foster]

It's a one time deal.

I know it is now....but it should always be....because we don't know what future revisions there will be.

 

[Steve Miller]

I invite Jason to become a "Stormtrack Supporter" then his argument will make more sense as he, like some of the rest of us, were grandfathered in. Here's the link for convenience: http://www.stormtrack.org/forum/payments.php

 

[Dan Cook]

I know it is now....but it should always be....because we don't know what future revisions there will be.

It's for new registrations only; you're grandfathered in.

 

[Ben Holcomb]

Servers are expensive, but for $75 a month ads at the top, google ads, and other sources of revenue (Donations, entry fees) I can't imagine there's a shortage of server money.

Either that or they're being ripped off on the server.

 

[Mike Hollingshead]

The only sense it seems weird to me is when I try and think of ever joining, or potentially joining, another forum and one actually charging. Of course they exist, but I can't think of any I've ran across, so in that sense it seems strange. I guess perhaps they just have more ads or things to sell that offset it.

I can attest to the whole google ads being in the crapper now. Per month for me it's dropped around 600% and if anything traffic is the same. They did something.

IMO....I wouldn't allow those no good NOAA types in for free either lol. They can afford $5! I understand extending the courtesy and yet don't at the same time. Should just start now and have everyone pay $5 to stay as well and see what happens, good or bad. Seriously(maybe I'm this bored though).

 

[Dan Cook]

Servers are expensive, but for $75 a month ads at the top, google ads, and other sources of revenue (Donations, entry fees) I can't imagine there's a shortage of server money.

Either that or they're being ripped off on the server.

It's not being hosted at the site Rob Dewey posted.

 

[D. Hayes]

dedicated server I'll assume. What sort of bandwidth are we talking here in GB/month. Maybe there are better options out there. I have several sites on bluehost.com and I don't spend but maybe $7 a month.

http://helpdesk.bluehost.com/index.php/kb/article/141

$30 a year gets dedicated IP. Really should look at them if cost is becoming an issue. Then every 3 years a small fund raiser would be cool.

Not trying to stir the pot. next week I'll probably sign in to be a supporter since I squeaked in just before the new subscription plan happened. And besides I just love you guys haha! Better than a few folks I seen on other forums that rather rub their skill in your face than actually help you learn something.

 

[Ben Holcomb]

No, according to the rwhois on the IP address, it's being hosted on IP's leased to http://www.codero.com/ which is a subsidiary of aplus.net hosted in what appears to be a datacenter in California, or at least peered in San Diego with Level 3.

With that said, their biggest server is around 250 bones a month, which is covered by 4 ads easily.

 

[Dan Cook]

With that said, their biggest server is around 250 bones a month, which is covered by 4 ads easily.

And you know this how? There isn't much interest in paid ads on here lately.

 

[Ben Holcomb]

Well I know for a fact ad money was paid out by a certain site. Other sites have also advertised on there, including the one just for The Weather Store and the Storm Chaser book or whatever it is.

And just knowing what kind of referral traffic I get from this site from reports thread, I can only imagine the ad money from the ads at the top of each thread page is paying.

I work with all of this for a living, and this thread set off my BS Detector, so I thought I'd throw my 2 cents in. I can't speak authoritatively about most things related to weather because I am still a beginner, but I know something isn't adding up here.

 

[Dan Cook]

Not everyone clicks on the Google PPC ads.

I don't know why you think this is such a big deal seeing as how you're not affected. Everyone who was active is grandfathered in.