poll: Would you be willing to pay for reports capability

[ezlehappy]

I can't go to sleep because this question won't let me relax until it's answered.

Apperently there are three major reasons for the extinction of the reports page.

1.> So much bandwidth being used to support the hits on the reports page is so much that it's almost making mike and jason have to pay for the increased bandwidth.

2.> the reports are supposedly contributing to the overcrowding of mentioned waters.

3.> Another reason. I can't remember what now.



There's nothing much we can do about the overcrowding except to be conscientious in our posting, but perhaps we can solve the bandwidth dilemma.

Here's the question, would you be willing to pay a nominal fee in order to support the extra bandwidth needed to keep the reports page? If so, how much are you willing to donate on a monthly/6 month/ or yearly basis?

I think (of course I don't know what the price for extra bandwidth is) $5/per person, assuming that about 100 people join in, would be sufficient. That's $5/person*100 people= $500/month, 3000/6 months, or 6000/yr.

What do you say? That's less than the price of a burger combo. Would you be willing to pay? post yes or no, and if you think $5 is a reasonable amount.

[RB_Nielsen]

A consideration of taking this site commercial is worthwhile because of its existing diversity in content and rather good quality. The problem with doing this is the attendant cost for taking it commercial, which can be expensive. That cost can be somewhat mediated by finding a bank that is willing to make their credit-card software available at a reasonable fee. So quite likely a user fee would have to be higher just to cover the added expense of collecting the money. Probably would be in the $20 range to make expenses and also cover modest increases in capacity. Bottom line, I would pay this amount.

RB

[MOKE]

.....I first bounded into this box.

I would support the site....if that is what it takes to keep it going.
Mike and Jason have carried us long enough. Its their call.

YES...to supporting the site, in its original format.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NO....just to support a report section.

MOKE

[ezlehappy]

As far as collecting I was thinking that it could be collected every six months or sent in in advance. Perhaps have a running account.

[Jason B]

I would pay. You could open up a bank account (wells fargo, zions......) Where we could go into any branch and make a deposit.

[wantabe]

Yes, I would pay.

[Dale]

I've already gone on record that I am willing to pay, and would be more than willing to do so. However, I haven't seen Mike or Jasons responce to this question. Are we trying to make decisions that are theirs to make?

Since my other post I've given more thought to the subject. It seems to me that a lot of posts are of less value to the sport that brings us here than are reports. Maybe a consideration of most important topics could be discussed.

Just my thoughts...

[matt]

I know Mike and Jason have mentioned how they feel about asking for financial support, and I think the road they've taken on this issue is admirable. But, if they do decide to implement some sort of "dues/fees" system I'll definitely contribute.

I do believe that there are other alternatives as well. For example I am aware of a couple of web hosting companies that offer "unlimited monthly data transfer hits" for just pennies a month. This would in effect totally eliminate the bandwidth issue . The migration to a new web hoster usually is pretty easy to do as well.
-Matt

[Trout4x]

By paying dues I feel that the reports should come back the way they used to be.


Paypal is already set up, anyone that has an email, can send money to anyone that has an email. I use it all the time for EBAY.


If you give people the choice of a paying member or a non paying member certain access should be allowed, if one pays all forums should be open. Non paying should have limits to what they can access.

So Jason & Mike what would a reasonable fee be, per month or a year?


Thanks,

Trout4x

[Fred]

No.

Love you guys and all, but that's my answer.

[John Bell]

NO

[netsec007]

I like to be able to go to a site and just 'hang' for a while, hopefully getting involved in a discussion, learning something, whatever. However, I wouldn't pay for this, but I would suffer through 'some' commercialization. i.e. Banner Ads, content ads, etc. As long as it doesn't get carried away like say flyfishing.com or others.

A slower site is still of interest...geeze I wait for hours at time for a fish to byte (grin)

I wouldn't pay for a monthly subscription fee...

netsec007

[FrozenFish]

This is a awesome site and all BUT NO i wouldnt pay,

[LandGuppy]

I would pay, but I like the idea of some banner ads or something. As popular as this site is, I'm sure someone would be willing to be a sugar daddy.

The only reservation I have about paying is that there's going to be so much BS on the page. I'm not as willing to pay for someone to lie to me.

[Cary]

So now you guys want to buy your way out of doing your own research?

[ticketP1]

Hey Guppy, you sayin the lying would get worse? I didn't know it was bad to begin with... Maybe I've been had but report info I have followed up on has, well, worked. Wow! Go figure.

Admin people-
Hell yeah I'd plunk down some chump change to keep this circus on wheels. Its a great outfit with some pretty knowledgable contributers. Plus I like some of the "BS" because it keeps me entertained when all I have to look forward to is dealing with some fat-ace down the hall (i.e., typical goings on while stuck in the office).

[shazerblaze]

I would be willing to pay a nominal fee. I wouldn't mind if there was advertising, either, as long as they weren't pop up adverts. That drives me crazy. Oh well. Let's keep it going. I don't mind the way it is right now, free and just a little more work to get the reports. Be good.

[Curtis]

Seems like you and I switch roles all the time. Tag, your it in being the antagonist. Catch me if you can. I like being it.

[Cory]

The virtual flybox has a link on it's site that gives directions on how to donate to the upkeep of the site. It is not manditory, but I think that the guy that runs the site gets a fair amount of help just from the donations.

[IdahoFishBoy]

Nope.

[Teewinot]

I would be willing to pay not to buy out of doing my own research(besides how often do you hear a report that would have the same results every time you went to that spot), but because I enjoy having a website dedicated to fly fishing -- and the majority of the content deals directly with Utah and surrounding areas that effect me. I can go to several other websites to hear about tips on tying flies, casting techniches, gear reviews, and all of that other stuff -- the reason I like this one is because it is people from the same area as me talking about the same waters.

If we have to pay to keep the website like it was-- no problem I like what's here

If we have to pay, but the reports are by request only I will probably not be as inclined to pay the fee where there are several other good places to learn tips.

The reports by request would be fine if people responded, but I've yet to hear from anyone about Causey Reservoir -- Maybe nobody goes there -- I don't know.

Maybe we need another poll of simply: Do you prefer Reports by request, or bring back the old report section.

[DirtyBugger]

Nay!

[Quill Gordon]

No f----- way!

[Teewinot]

I'm a little confused...........what are you saying no to?

(and so violently--Quill Gordon)

[Quill Gordon]

flipin- pretty violent- what did you ass-u-me. No- paying for reports. Did you read the thread?

[HookInMouth]

All you guys so willing to pay for reports, should just go down to your local fly shop. I am sure they would give you all the reports you could ever want for the price of a half dozen flies or so. In fact you even have more hand holding now, because they even set you up with the hot flies to use when you get there.

[Jason B]

I bet that a lot of people just walk into a flyshop, pick the right flys, and know the right set up and can catch fish. I dont think so. I use to work in a fly shop and i did not do any hand holding. What i did was teach people about the water they wanted to fish. If reading reports and going into a flyshop is getting you hand held what is a guide trip? When i get ready to take a trip (more than an hours drive away) i read the reports, check the internet, and call the local fly shops. Yeah, i could go down there without checking this stuff but i want to be prepared. I am willing to pay as are many for the information i learn on different waters.

[Curtis]

maybe we could get a Doug Miller site going. He seems to be in the know these days.

[Quill Gordon]

I have to apoligize, you see I get caught up in my own way of thinking, it just dawned on me that it's probably the same mind set that some of you who likes the reports here, also go on guided trips. ( I'm a little slow) Which there's nothing wrong with that. Me personally, I wouldnt like a guided trip, I wouldnt get the same thrill out of the fishing experience. The fishing is only part of it for me, I like to explore look for a better hole around the next bend, study nature, do a little hiking off the beaten path. I realize some of you don't have time for this and just want to fish, where a guide or the reports in this forum would be the way to go. But I'll bet you'll find when you request the info about a certain area you'll receive more info by e-mail than in a report. Plus you'll be confident knowing that the information you have received is not out there for the world to read.

[LandGuppy]

Sure, there's no BS on the reports page. I guess I'm the only one who hasn't caught 30 fish in an hour on the Provo, all browns over 18".

A little exaggeration is OK by me (hey, we all do it). That 16-incher that becomes 18 is almost an obligation. I just wouldn't want to see anybody's day get hosed because of a purposely or blatantly misleading report.

But I have to say that if you rely totally on reports, you deserve to get slammed every now and then.

P.S. I'll admit that reading somebody's crap story is usually better than reading the truth. I guess that's why fiction sells so well.

[DarkHorse]

$5 per year, maybe. $5 per month, no.

I never come here for reports. I actually started coming here to find out why the reports stopped being emailed to me.

Does emailing the reports use less bandwidth? If so, may the report should simply be made email-only.

I wasn't aware that you guys researched the reports yourselves. I was under the impression that the reports were cobbled together from individuals sending them in. If this is the case, simply creating a report once a week from emails doesn't seem to me to be a commercial-worthy endeavor.

DWR has reports that are free. Before I'd be willing to pay for yours, they'd have to be substantially better than that. By substantially better, I mean actual weekly research and reporting on the appropriate waterways, not just editing the emails of others. I'm not saying that DWR does this, but then they don't charge for theirs either.

I don't fish solely from the reports but it does help me decide to try a new waterway or perhaps a fly or 2 to add if i'm already heading to a particular waterway.

If this site started out as something fun to do and then someone decided that they could make money from it, maybe it's time to do something else..

If the sole issue is bandwidth, maybe there are some alternatives such as banner ads that would defray the cost.

I think this is a neat site and appreciate what you are doing, but I think perhaps there are some other ways to address this than using bandwidth to decide that this site is in the commercial realm. Lot's of people would like to turn pro, but the pro's know that it takes more than a whim.

Am not trying to be mean.. this is simply how I feel about it.

Mark

[Fred]

I don't think it was the operators of the site asking the question.

It was some other doofus (just kidding).

Anyway, I don't see anything wrong with making money if they can. I don't know how they'd do it. Maybe Pfizer can advertise Prozac or something. I think Quill Gordon can use some, lol. Just kidding.

[ezlehappy]

In paying to keep the reports page alive, I'm not so interested in hearing the reports, although it does make me glad to here how people did, as I am about discussing freely being able to express how you did and the adventures and all the experiences that come along with the reports.

It truly is a place where comrodery saturates the air. It's that feeling of being able to freely tell how you did and be able to brag and cheer and joke and boo and every other kind of expression you can think of.

When I was in denmark, I learned a word that truely defined the reports section and all that embodied it. The word is HYGGELIGT, (pronounced HOO-guh-LEET). It is a feeling of full appreciation and enjoyment of and for others. It's truly a feeling of belonging.

The reports section was where I found that flourished the most. Starting with the report and blossoming into a wonderful hyggeligt discussion. That was the heart of this site.

That's what I'm so adamant about preserving.

If it takes paying 5 dollars a month (30/6months)($60/year),by golly I'd do it in a heartbeat. If it means that the family(meaning the members) retains that special connection, then I'm all for it.

[Jason]

Well, this has been quite the raw ordeal for most of you. I didn't think this whole experiment would cause so much grief.

As for paying for reports. It really wouldn't come down to that at all or end up being mandatory. The idea we have been playing with, in order to keep the site running (financially speaking), would entail a 'Paid Volunteer Membership' that would basically be a $15 yearly volunteer donation to help keep the site up and running and to cover the additional bandwidth expense. The Virtual Flybox (www.virtualflybox.com) has something similar and it's worked well for them. This is our first initial idea on the whole pay to play plan. This would of course be our last resort.

Secondly, advertising would be great and all but with the current state of the travel economy, fly fishing related businesses have supposedly taken a big hit since 9-11 and no one really wants to advertise. Plus, the internet is just so choked with banner ads and the like, that it really hasn't been a beneficial investment for most corporate entities. We're currently experimenting with our Sponsor Forum and may try to make it work. Be patient and we'll do out best to make this all work out.

Lastly, we do appreciate all the comments and suggestions everyone has made. Me and Mike have received numerous emails from members giving us thier opinions, constructive and the not. Frankly this site just rocks and we want to keep it going as long as possible. It's been a great 19 months so far. FISH ON!