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Originally Posted by crisnee

I was suggesting that he was not telling us something, that is all; and that is certainly his right and possibly the smart thing to do.

Not only did I not mean it as a mark of dishonor or an insult, but I would do the same if for instance I was told by advisers that forum members would buy into an "elite," area (especially after reading responses here).

-Chris

Lest this thing veer off totally into meta-argument about how other folks are making their points (I'm fully as much to blame as anyone for that), I think we should maybe talk simply about what we like and don't like, instead of projecting histories and motivations behind all this onto Chris C. We've been "informed" in this thread that Chris C already makes plenty of money from the site, but wants to make even more; that "advisers" may have told him forum members would like an "elite" area, and this is something Chris C might be smart to hide from us (did this take place in a smoke filled room? did the "advisers" have cigars? that would really give the thing that noir atmosphere); and various other speculations that are really, to me, beside the point.

The primary point appears to be that subscriber-only forums (other than only subscribers having the right to offer items for sale - that doesn't seem to have come in for a lot of criticism, at least so far) just don't feel right to a lot of folks. I empathize and agree to the extent that I'd like to see as many subscriber-only topics as possible find their way into the forums accessible to all, so we can all feel equally part of the same community.

Anyone got anything else?

regarding the promotional emails received after subscribing:

If you Paypal'd using your better-half's paypal (like me), then they will receive the promotional emails in their PayPal name to their PayPal linked email address. I'm quite sure that only applies to Channel Classics and B&W as all the others are via here on PM

Originally Posted by Jud

Anyone got anything else?

Yes.
The 'Off-Topic' (Anything But CA)section should NOT be subscriber only. It is necessary for all members to help prevent thread drift and hijacking, and to enhance/expand the CA community.

The 'About the Forums' (Questions, Comments, Concerns About CA) section should NOT be subscriber only. It is necessary to help all members use the forum, and collect feedback on the community, structure and functionality.

These sections are very common on other established forums, and usually collected under a "Community" category. We should have them too, for all members, to grow and enhance the CA community.

I have no problem with other things being subscriber-only, just not these important sections. Nor do I think it fosters an 'elite' thing, but is an interesting experiment. I also don't have any problem with Chris C. using the CA site for his livelihood, or how much he makes from it.

I support the expansion of the site/forum, and the CA community, and that's why I would like to see the policy change on these two sections to make CA a more professional, popular, and successful place on the Internet !


BTW, this whole thread should be in the 'About the Forums' section

Hi Guys - JRiver has just come onboard with 10 and 20 percent discounts for subscribers. This one will also be retroactive so users already subscribed get the benefits as well.

Originally Posted by The Computer Audiophile

Hi Guys - JRiver has just come onboard with 10 and 20 percent discounts for subscribers. This one will also be retroactive so users already subscribed get the benefits as well.

I learned that no good idea goes unpunished when I stood in front of my staff at work and told everyone that we were giving everyone a $100.00 raise (this is about 15 years ago). Instead of thanks, I got a set of complaints and questions: Why is everyone getting the same amount of money? If we could afford $100.00, could we afford $150.00, since everyone was working so hard. Etc. I learned that I needed to do what I needed to do and let people have their say....but never expect that most people would think it was a good idea, or even say 'thanks'.

As always, you are a pioneer and I wish you the best. I'll be subscribing.

BTW, the only thing free about the internet is the free time we invest in our projects on the 'net. Reminds me of the '60's...music should be free people would tell us...like the free instruments we paid for and the free food we ate and the free studio time, and the free gas and truck repairs.

Best,

I just signed up for a year. Well worth the money!

Keep up the great work Chris.

I personally find the subscription fee quite high, in relative terms. For the same price I can subscribe to a full-fledged music magazine in both paper and iPad form. CA is nice and I like it a lot, but I personally find much more value added in a full magazine written by a team of journalists. The proposition might be different, and more attractive, for US residents who can enjoy the associated discounts. But these coupons are not worth very much to me in (continental) Europe.

Besides, I was surprised by the selling point that "

Subscriber only forums help keep spammers and unscrupulous marketers out." I accept that a subscription fee keeps spammers away - but when it comes to marketers, I don't understand: marketers have a budget. I'd be surprised that paying ~$5 a month could stop them.

But, above all, many thanks to Chris for setting up this fantastic place.

Since subscribing for a year, I have gotten $72 worth of music free from Blue Coast Records, and a free title from Channel Classic Records that was $21.68. Not to mention the 20% off my next HDtracks purchase and the other deals.

I think this is a great offer!

I guess the value to everyone will reflect how they use the site. Without factoring into account any of the other goodies, if you can create a viable buy/sell section that actually generates sales, this is a very reasonable amount to pay compared to Audiogon. Head-fi has free buy/sell ads, but it's a much different experience than Audiogon. Audio Asylum also has free buy/sell ads and, like Head-Fi, it just isn't the place to be if you want to sell anything expensive. When Audiogon introduced a beta product in a production environment, it was a disaster. If I could sell a multi-thousand dollar item on this site, I'd readily subscribe.