Would you be willing to pay for membership?

[CheshireCatNY]

No doubt this is from my topic I brought up about the non-tickling vidclips section........if I had to choose....forget the idea. I'm broke as a joke with no credit or debit card so I'd be shit outta luck....LOL

 

[Celtic_Emperor]

I am NOT willing to start paying for something that I get for free now. It would be comparible to continuing to buy milk and butter after I bought a cow

Good analogy.

 

[nessonite1]

Intentionally making a user's account unsatisfactory by denying them the basics to coax them toward a payment may turn off many users.

I agree, which is why it would have to be some sort of added feature that contributing members would get that they dont get now. No ideas as to what those would be at the moment though.
But the point would be to donate money to help the site. The extra features would just be a bonus and, perhaps, to label you as a contributor so people could see that you've helped out. If we got 20 people to donate $5 a month it's really not going to make a dent in anyone's bank account. But that extra $100 may really help the site.

Of course, I have not got a single clue as to the financial state of the site, it's owner, or anything. So all of this is pure bullshit. ^^

 

[Celtic_Emperor]

Alot of the problem is that this is a tickling fetish website. Its not very open-ended as far as options go. It is what it is and theres not much work to be done. We also wouldn't want to add things that might change it's direction or main objective or undermind it somehow.

The genre alone does not allow this site to be expansive.

The only thing I can think of right now is to change the coding on this site, maybe change some things around, give it a fresher look, make links more useful and accurate, and make things more easily accessable. Since some 70% of the average user's time spent here is the act of browsing and loading, maybe we could find a way to upgrade the server to lighten these waiting periods.

Keeping in mind we have many 56k modem users among us, it's not a bad idea.

Perhaps the best addition, gift, or add-on is faster results, faster browsing, and an assurance that the material you're looking for can be found without any errors or problems.

If people would be willing to donate to that, they'd be getting something back for it- a more efficient and user-friendly site. That itself is a reward and one that pays you back in the process. You'll know that you helped make the site better.

There are not many ways to perfect what we have now, but there are ways to ensure we are one of the more reliable sites out there.

We could even donate to have a seperate server to act as a library of sorts where some of the more rarer pictures and picture sets can go. That way, if they aren't on hand here, we can have a better chance of finding them in the library at a user's request.

It will be a combined effort that will take patience and time to do proper labeling and accredidation, but it will give us something I don't see other sites having right now.

Alot of mods, users, and even owners don't know what material is on their site and no one is really keeping track of it. If we step up efforts in this regard we'll surely be doing the overall community a favor.

And finally, if people from other sites see and know that we have out $hit together, and we're coordinated and capable and the place they are at is not, then maybe they will jump ship over to us.

Presentation and execution are just as important than anything else. And if you're smart enough to bank on that it will definitely pay off.

 

[Celtic_Emperor]

To continue with my library idea, we could also increase loading times by only having requested pictures uploaded for a period of time and then they are deleted by the moderators/admin. This means we could wipe the entire site and start over fresh and only have material we need or ones we know are popular.

Bascically, here's how it could work, step by step:

1.) Mods and users would find material.
2.) Mods/users would identify material, models, company, and accredit them where possible.
3.) Mods/people who have access to server will add this material to it.
4.) A user here on the site requests a specfic thing.
5.) Mods can then go to the library and get it for them.
6.) Mod would post material with a time duration (example: a week)
7.) When the time is up, this material is deleted (this saves space and bandwidth here making the site faster)

The material would merely pass through this site, but not actually exist here indefinitely. This would ensure that we don't have hordes of threads and media that no one looks at any more and are taking up space better reserved for newer things. It also keeps other sites from stealing our stash because they have a smaller time window to do it in.

Naturally there are problems with this idea. Like people hacking the library, there not being enough mods to meet the requests, etc. Though we could hire more mods whose only job is to be a librarian (that way we don't individuals doing too many things).

But with some tinkering, I really think this would be a good idea. Also, the bandwidth on the library wouldn't be sucked up since the material is not being downloaded, merely transfered.

The donations the users would put up would help pay for the library. It shouldn't be expensive if people pitch in with just a couple of bucks each or something.

This also gives TT some more slack with his budget and maintaining the actual site.

The other forums and interactive aspects would remain as they are.

Maybe we could also put the artwork in the library too. I get the feeling Kalamos would like this. Since it would mean that his art would be taken down after the allotted time. In this way, people that are interested in specific works by a specific artist or author will be able to get exactly what they're looking for.

It also makes art and stories more exclusive in the sense that it's only available for short periods of time. But users can request a repost.

 

[Celtic_Emperor]

Finally, for now (as I'm going to bed), its also good because we wouldn't be tipping our hand to the competitor sites. Because our material is not on the actual site, they won't know the extent of it or whats going into it. They won't be able to gauge the traffic either. And because of that, they won't be able to match us. And if they can't match us, they can't be better than us. And if they can't be better than us, than we win.

Game set and match. Checkmate.

 

[Hungarian21]

dont give any ideas, man! 😛 Anyway, I vote yes; as long as its a reasonable price. 😉

 

[Celtic_Emperor]

Why not? If they ever do get used, I expect credit for them at least.

Upon further review, I don't think the library would work. Too many people would have to be requesting too often and it would catch up with the staff eventually. People want material they can get access to immediately.

While this library idea would have covered alot of bases, its too flawed.

I think that the idea of having another server to host files to help lighten the load here would help though.

 

[nessonite1]

I don't know if disk space is a problem...we'd have to ask TT that. If it is we could always delete old attachments that have not been looked at in ages. or we could upgrade and, if advertising did not cover that cost, I certainly wouldn't mind donating a few bucks to help out. I imagine a lot of pther people would as well.
The matter of what perk, if any, donating people would get doesn't really matter until it's determined whether or not it's even needed. But you're right, the library idea wouldn't work. Too much extra burden.
hmmmm....I'll think about this when my brain has had more sleep.

 

[Kalamos]

We could direct people contributing larger files to upload them on free public servers like Rapidshare.

We could add some links to many common services, and have people post there - just like we used to do over TMF.

 

[TickledToDeath]

Videos UNrelated to tickling should not be allowed anyway. The bw should not be wasted with unrelated material.

 

[Kalamos]

Videos UNrelated to tickling should not be allowed anyway. The bw should not be wasted with unrelated material.

It would make sense, weren't if for the fact that:

First, we don't know much the allotted BW. We don't know how much band we're given and how much we're burning at any given time.

Second, we might create a trend, and start deleting unpopular tickle-related stuff, until we have a very agile yet featureless forum.

Third, spanned archives from the split forum really burn BW by the ton, since you can't simply download one piece.
Getting one is a guarantee most users will try and get all the splits so they can watch the clip.

Fourth, what's really hogging the server down is Vlad editing his posts all the time.
Just joking Vlad. 😉

 

[LonelyKimiko]

Hows about donations over £10 get to tickle me ^^ .

 

[Kalamos]

Hey, that would be over 15 euros. You better be speaking of something *more* than a single hour.
I'm not even touching my purse for less than that.

...

😉

 

[moxs602]

Kimiko hmm wil stocks be involved?

 

[piercearrow33]

Hows about donations over £10 get to tickle me ^^ .

How much is that in American dollars and do you take Visa? *contemplating this deal*

 

[Hungarian21]

if its 25 euro's...well, 1 Euro was the last I checked, 25-30 cents more than a dollar...soo, I'm guessing around 30-35 bux. (guessing, too lazy to check😛)

Hmm....spent the first month posting, she had enough, and now she wants laughing...intriguing.😉😛

 

[Kalamos]

Well, if it's a one-time fee I might consider forking out something myself.

😉

 

[Hungarian21]

*fears Kalamos's use of the wordd "forking out"*😛

 

[Kalamos]

To fork out, to pay through the nose, to spend on something.

...

Stop playing dumb!

...

I might take you seriously.

😉

 

[LonelyKimiko]

I dont think its a good idea to demand a membership fee, if only because the size of the community would decrease darastically, and it would become kinda pointless. That said, I do think it would be good if some people donated towards the site. That said, is there any way to do this? Got ma pay check coming up and might give something.

 

[Hungarian21]

To fork out, to pay through the nose, to spend on something.

...

Stop playing dumb!

...

I might take you seriously.

😉

I said I feared it! Didnt say I dunno it! 😛 But heck, its for the best. 😛

 

[cinnabar]

Is this a concern from the owner of this site? Is it costing him/her too much to keep up?

 

[MistressValerie1]

I haven't heard anything from the owner about financial troubles.