Attention Donating Members

[sinton66]

Matt has offered a private forum for Donating Members only. I thought I'd bring this up and see if there is any interest in this. After having thought about it a little, I kind of like the idea but wonder how much it would be used. Any other Donating Members have any thoughts on this?

[Ranger Mom]

I think it would be fun if enough of us would use it - I'M GAME!!!

[wildstangs]

I would check in on it for some fun.

[Chris Hart]

If they're offering, I'm taking! :D

[Old Dog]

10-4 for me!

[BarneyBulldawg4President]

Count me in...

[j_dog]

It is worth a try. It hopefully would be free of the irresponsible posts that plague the "free" forums.

[spaniard]

add one spaniard to the recipe

[slpybear the bullfan]

Yeah, I think it would be pretty fun. Count this as a yes vote.

I think it would also be kind of entertaining to see what kind of threads would be allowed in the Donating Members area....

[Rabbit'93]

I'm in

[Jason1725]

I'm in

[jykoy]

I'm poor. I'll stay in the poverty stricken, Hethan posting area. :confused:

[turbostud]

I'm In.

[BIG19]

Sounds good to me. Should be interesting.

[ej2525]

That's a roger good buddy!! I'm in too!

[jason]

sure

[Reveille]

I will follow that train.

[Blackcat03]

Sounds like a good idea to me.

[The One]

Count me in

[pirate4state]

j_dog:
It is worth a try. It hopefully would be free of the irresponsible posts that plague the "free" forums.I'll second that!

[Keith7]

I say no..

[exbccards76'smom]

Sounds great to me!! Go for it!!

http://skins.hotbar.com/skins/mailskins/img/Birds_/Birds_Cardinal_walks_prv.gif

[SintonFan]

Absolutely a good idea.

[Keith7]

Horrible Idea

[footballgal]

Good Idea, but wait up until I am able to raise the funds, get my raise, or get a promotion, which ever comes first, so that I may send in my donation! wink

<small>[ December 19, 2002, 11:49 PM: Message edited by: footballgal ]</small>

[jason]

haha

[Da Mules]

Nope. bad idea; will hurt the forum in the long run. Keep the forum open for everybody and anybody. Keep ROMing the buttheads.

[Bongo]

Don't have my money in yet, but there are a lot of high school kids on the site and having their interaction is as good for them as it is for us.
Don't cut out the good kids who like this forum. Just ROM those that abuse the site.

As General Patton said "if we're all thinking alike then someone in here isn't thinking!"

[Keith7]

Yea like me!!
Excellent point
Plus if yall want to be in private, yall can always use PMs

<small>[ December 20, 2002, 10:04 AM: Message edited by: Keith7 ]</small>

[Old Cardinal]

I have mixed feelings, I enjoy the comments from the youth on this message board that maybe don't have the money to contribute. I would say a "private message exchange" would be in order, for donating members. That way the open board would be the PRIMARY interchange of information by a members, youth and all.

[sinton66]

Lets clarify something here. There is NOTHING that says if we (the donating members) accept this offer that we CAN'T peruse the open forums also. We would not be restricted to our forum alone. This would be in ADDITION to our current forums. You would have to be a donating member to get into this new forum, and non-donating members would be excluded from it, but would still be allowed to use the other existing open forums. As such,I would guess, you non-donating members that have expressed your opinions here probably will not get a vote in this. NO ONE SAID ANYTHING ABOUT RESTRICTING 3ADOWNLOW TO DONATING MEMBERS ONLY! So, I really don't get where some of you are getting that impression, but it IS mistaken.

<small>[ December 20, 2002, 01:17 PM: Message edited by: sinton66 ]</small>

[SintonFan]

sinton66:
Lets clarify something here. There is NOTHING that says if we (the donating members) accept this offer that we CAN'T peruse the open forums also. We would not be restricted to our forum alone. This would be in ADDITION to our current forums. You would have to be a donating member to get into this new forum, and non-donating members would be excluded from it, but would still be allowed to use the other existing open forums. As such,I would guess, you non-donating members that have expressed your opinions here probably will not get a vote in this.Why you little http://images.bravenet.com/brpics/smilie/devil.gif! LOL...
You think there just might be some incentive for some to ante-up their stay here(which is not required)?
Look guys, the administrators won't solicit but we sure as heck can... wink
This has become the greatest football forum in our great state of Texas.
A separate forum won't harm this site at all.
:p

[ej2525]

It's like paying a little extra $$$ to visit the VIP room. I would be in and out of both free forum & donating member forum if they were in place.

I donated to the site because I dialed 1-800-COLLECT and saved up a buck or two and donated it to 3adownlow... :D :D

<small>[ December 20, 2002, 02:02 PM: Message edited by: ej2525 ]</small>

[big daddy russ]

Just a thought from a non-donating member (yeah, I'm poor)... Maybe have expert insights for the donating members. Maybe occasionally call some of the recruiting experts and stuff so they can list the top 3A college prospects. Everyone can debate it and all, and you can make a forum exclusively for the people who have been keeping this site alive with their donations. It might be hard to keep those lists off the open forum, but it's an idea nonetheless. Just my two cents.

[Rabbit'93]

I would like to get the admins. take on all this. I know Matthew originally brought up the idea but he has yet to post on this topic. Matthew, Jacket, Bearcat----where ya at? wink

[Da Mules]

Two sure-fire ways to kill a board...1) have the administrator clear it every so often because he can't control it...FridayNight Headbangers is a good example of this, or 2) make it too exclusive..Old Coaches Forum is a good example of this. So if you have separate forums, it's always gonna be "Over in the high-class forum, we're talking to Daryl Royal" or "the commoners' forum had some rather low-brow topics tonight." :D I don't mind donating to make the whole darn site better for everybody...that means EVERYBODY.

[ej2525]

I can see your point there about Old Coach. I don't even venture over there anymore. HHmmm.....

[sinton66]

One further note for clarification, it was not Matthew328 that offered this, but Matt (member #1) the system administrator in Beaumont/Bridge City area. He runs the servers for this and other sites. And maybe he could use the new forum to talk with donating members about the needs of the board. Since we have already commited ourselves to helping out, maybe he wants to be able to come to us privately before going to the rest of the board for help or something. Honestly, I don't know exactly what he had in mind when he offered this except that we could have a private forum where we could discuss "anything we wanted to"(His words). Other boards do this for "coaches forums", and so forth. I really don't see how this board would suffer at all from this. No one is even attempting to start some sort of "class" thing. He obviously didn't intend it for that, or he wouldn't have offered. My only question was whether or not the donating members would use it often enough to justify Matt going to all the trouble. The nay-sayers need to remember one other thing. WE didn't ASK for this, it was offered to us. I donated without even a suspicion this could happen.

<small>[ December 20, 2002, 03:44 PM: Message edited by: sinton66 ]</small>

[sinton66]

Here is the exact quote from Matt:
Should it be requested, there could be a "Donating Member Only" section of the board for those of you who donate to discuss anything you want amongst yourselves. Please remember that there is no minimum amount to gain Donating Member status.Clearly, any non-donating member could become one for as little as a one-dollar donation. I don't see how this new forum could be interpreted as a "social standing" thing here on the 'low. I think some of you are attributing too much to this possibility.

<small>[ December 20, 2002, 05:41 PM: Message edited by: sinton66 ]</small>

[Rabbit'93]

thanks for correcting me 66. I slammed my fingers in the door as my punishment.

I don't see what the big deal is. The downlow has 1700 active members and we hae two other forums that are never used. There are 45 DM (66 you might want to double check that for me) I really don't see the board dying. Shoot if everyone else that is a non-DM gives a dollar the point is mute anyhow, plus the site gets improved. I kinda look at it this way. At my occupation you can by stock which in turn gives you the right to cast a vote in when it comes to certain things. You know that even if this was never brought up everyone that donated still would have donated, and everyone that didn't yet, probably still wouldn't have. I think that Matt was just trying to give us the incentive to donate.

If you look at the people that have made a contribution, for the most part, it has been by folks that have been around for a while and will probably be around as long as the site is here.

that's my cha ching

[sinton66]

Well, actually Rabbit '93, you found a better way of saying it than I did. Thanks. Expect a little something in your star package. wink

[Keith7]

We dont want the pay to play format on this website it would ruin everything

[aamove]

Rabbit 93 is right on the mark in his statement. And although I can't afford to give a lot right now, I can afford to give. This board is important to me and I am grateful for what it is and for what it will become. When I first found this board, I just came here to read what everyone else was posting. Then after a few months I registered. And although I would not pay to belong to just any site, I think that the down low is worth the investment. This site just keeps getting better and the donating members, in my opinion, are one of the reasons for this. I value your opinions. And to the non-donating members I'd just ask that you consider how much this site is worth to you. If it's worth the cost of a coke then donate a buck, if you can afford it. I wish I could give what it's worth to me. Then They'd already have the new server.

[sinton66]

Keith7:
We dont want the pay to play format on this website it would ruin everythingYour mind is made up so don't confuse you with any facts, huh? This has NOTHING to do with "pay to play". Donations are voluntary. PLEASE go read the Donating member information at the top of the topics listing page before you respond anymore on this subject.

<small>[ December 20, 2002, 11:17 PM: Message edited by: sinton66 ]</small>

[turbostud]

KEITH7, if it is that big of deal send me a private message with your address and I will send you 20bucks in the mail so that you can become a donating member. But in return you have to say on the board that Celina was better than Gainesville (just kidding) :D wink

[bearcat1]

turbostud:
KEITH7, if it is that big of deal send me a private message with your address and I will send you 20bucks in the mail so that you can become a donating member. But in return you have to say on the board that Celina was better than Gainesville (just kidding) :D wink This is exactly why I made the post I made a couple weeks ago (check it, it's there) to the nondonating members...I did not want anyone to feel 'unequal' or treated/thought of differently around here. I for one do not like this situation but the administrator was gracious enough to give us this message board for free, for 2 years, so when the time came that he couldn't financially take it on anymore, I sure wasn't going to oppose him with the donation idea. I don't have much money, so I can very much relate to the ones who are not able to donate. I couldn't have sent Matt (the bridge city matt) any money for this forum b/c I just don't have it. I think we could set up a separate area for donating members, but i don't know what they could discuss there that they cant discuss here....but since I am not a donating member, I don't feel its my place to make that decision for them. SO my opinion is, if the DM's want a private area, give it to them. Leave the main message board for everyone (DM and nonDM) and a separate one for them. My only issue is that some might feel left out or not important enough for it just b/c they didn't have any $$$$ and that bothers me. Maybe the nonDM's could realize that a separate area is not a discriminatory thing, just an additional 'option' that is available....just like if you purchase a car you get the base price, but if you want 'extras' you pay for them as additional options, so if you dont want the extra you dont pay for it, it doesnt make you have any less of a car. THat is just a suggestion for nonDM's on how to look at the issue. I will say now that I have no intention of being part of a site that shows preferential treatment to those that pay...that is not what this site began as, it is not what the downlow is about, and it is not how it will become. If it does, I won't be part of it anymore.
bc

[Keith7]

does a penny or 2 count as a donation?

[bearcat1]

Keith7:
does a penny or 2 count as a donation?Keith,
The donations are very appreciated by us because our host has meant so much to us, he has carried us out of his own pocket for a long time and we could never repay him, so donating means much to us as well....we can't express how much it means that someone would reach into their own pocket and give to help us. That being said, if you reach into a pocket and only pull out a nickel, it would not only count but would mean as much to us as the other donations. It isn't the amount that matters, it is the act. I hope that is coming across as sincerely as it is meant.
bc

[Rabbit'93]

Very well said Bearcat.

[bearcat1]

bearcat1:

Keith7:
does a penny or 2 count as a donation?Keith,
The donations are very appreciated by us because our host has meant so much to us, he has carried us out of his own pocket for a long time and we could never repay him, so donating means much to us as well....we can't express how much it means that someone would reach into their own pocket and give to help us. That being said, if you reach into a pocket and only pull out a nickel, it would not only count but would mean as much to us as the other donations. It isn't the amount that matters, it is the act. I hope that is coming across as sincerely as it is meant.
bcAnd one more thing...If you simply don't have it to give, please stop worrying over it. I do not want you to have a heavy heart over this. Your presence here is what is important to us. Yes the donations help, but nobody is thought less of regardless. If someone came to our site, and then left because they didn't like what we offered, that is what would disturb us, not who does or doesn't donate. We are very genuine people. When you go out into the world do you decide whether or not someone is important or deserving of your attention based on their financial means? I am sure you don't. We don't do that either, in real life, or here. We are not in the business of rating people.

<small>[ December 21, 2002, 12:06 PM: Message edited by: bearcat1 ]</small>

[sinton66]

Thanks, BC. I was stumbling through trying to say much the same, guess they just didn't believe me. Thanks for chipping in.

[SintonFan]

BC, you have stated what we many of us believe in too. I hope nobody misunderstood my earlier posts. We've been part of this for awhile and don't want to see this site fail. I think this is the greatest site in Texas! You folks(administrators) are a major reason for this. That has been understated IMHO. You, Matt328 and Jacket keep doing what your doing. Yall have made it the classiest site in Texas...
I guess what I'm saying is there will never be a true utopia, but we've( all members) got the next best thing. Some might disagree with the other forum idea, but I doubt it will stop anyone from still posting. I can almost guarantee that this same time next year there will be 1000 or more new members here. When you have something this good, people will want to be a part of it.
If I stepped on anybody's toes, I apologize. This is not about the haves and have-not's. It's all about good clean fun.
As a married man, my wife and I continue to get a chuckle now and then from here. She has no interest in sports but will sometimes read over my shoulder just to see what's been said. That is something this board will continue to bring for the forseeable future. Even with a perk for our donations. None here claim to own this site(if anyone tries that angle they'd be run off by many). These are only donations. We just wanted to help keep a good thing going. :)

<small>[ December 22, 2002, 06:28 PM: Message edited by: SintonFan ]</small>

[sinton66]

Worth bringing to the top again. I hope this board never goes the exclusion route. I have never found a board with as much class as this one (that is because there isn't one). I don't think any of us would allow this to turn into a "better than thou" distinction between members. Having said this, I still find the new forum idea appealing.

[SintonFan]

<small>[ December 22, 2002, 06:27 PM: Message edited by: SintonFan ]</small>

[sinton66]

SintonFan
Huh? whazzat? I can't HEAR you! :D :D :D

[JasperDog94]

I don't necessarily have problem with a private forum for donating members. BUT, if you look at the majority of "good" info, it's put on here by donating members. I don't think that most of you want to post the same info twice. Those young pups need intelligent posts to know how to handle themselves.

I don't want to lose out on future members either. If I had come to this site and seen that there were two different sections, one for donating members and one for non-donating members, if would have said "Next!". I don't want to see that happen to this site.

I love the fact that we disagree about different issues. If we didn't, this would be a boring board. I would hate to see anything ruin it. Even if it was "for a good cause." :)

[sinton66]

I don't think the posting habits of most of the people I've come to know on here would change. The information will still be posted, the humor will still shine through, and the rest of the board will still benefit. I, myself, don't think that a seperate forum for donating members is an absolute necessity, but it might be a nice thing to have. I also don't think it would be used often enough to justify it. I could be wrong about that, and this is exactly why I brought the subject up. I want to hear the opinions, both pro and con, of all the other donating members on this subject.

[sinfan75]

sinton66:
Worth bringing to the top again. I hope this board never goes the exclusion route. I have never found a board with as much class as this one (that is because there isn't one). I don't think any of us would allow this to turn into a "better than thou" distinction between members. Having said this, I still find the new forum idea appealing.The reason I held off on makin a donation was the idea of havin a forum strictly for donating members.I see no reason for another forum.We have the PM section so I see no reason.Havin a Donating Members only sets up the possibility of a totally private board of which I would not be a part of.Yes the check is in the mail,but no to the extra forum.

[Administrator]

I just wanted to let all of you know that I have no intentions whatsoever to ever have to charge for this site. It has been around for a good while, and is actually better than the pig if you ask me! The donation money is being used to purchase a new server (which we're VERY Close to getting this done), and with what money is left over, will be used to pay the Homestead website bill that Matt328 et al. have to pay (for the www.3adownlow.com (http://www.3adownlow.com) or 3afootball.homestead.com portion of the site). As for the server that I'm currently looking at will be able to handle this board for many, many, many years to come. We lack just a few hundred to get it accomplished..

I hope that no one thinks that the money isn't being put back into the board. I *have* to get it off of the current server because it is just killing it (It's only an IBM 233MHz Server) and it is running approx. 100 other websites, which is slowing them down to the point that we're getting many calls asking why 'their site is down'. With the heavy traffic time of year behind us, it shouldn't ever be as bad as it is during the football season. But I promise you that by next football season (Maybe as soon as 2 months) that this board will be SMOKIN! BLAZING FAST! I am also looking to get away from the regular perl (.cgi) scripts which actually cause more system slowdowns.

As for the separate DM forum, it was offered, but I can not give the 'official' word on if this can happen, I am mearly the Sys Admin to this site, and that's all. Matthew328, bearcat, and Jacket2000 are the ones who will have a final say-so in the DM Forum. This board will NEVER go to the Pay-For-Play format while it's running here in Bridge City.

[sinton66]

Thanks, Matt, I really appreciate the info. Hopefully that will stop some of the freaking out that was going on with this subject.

[olddawggreen]

Count me in!