Lame Message Limits with Paid Membership

Quiet said:
How many members does the Spyderco forum have compared to BF? Also, given how many times Spark Spark has had to upgrade the storage limits on BF due to all of us posting up pics, and so forth, it's odd that you think you're qualified to speak to this site's storage capacity.
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Well, I'm also not selling anything with this site. Spyderco's forums exist to cater to Spyderco's customer base and provide a place for Sal & the Spyderco family to interact with them. They are a multimillion dollar company with dedicated customer service personnel who exhibits all over the world, does R&D research, produces cutting designs from high end materials, and consistently innovates. Their forums costs can be filed under advertising, customer relations, etc.

As another poster mentioned, if you aren't paying, you are the product being sold (see: Reddit, Instagram, Facebook)

We're not selling anything other than some ad space and memberships with extra features. We're here, good & bad, for pretty much everyone. The memberships by and large cover the costs of the site. If I wanted more money, I could implement a hell of a lot more ads in a variety of formats from interstitials to videos to more. I choose not to because the site mostly covers itself. For the price of 1.5 hours at minimum wage, you don't have to see a single ad for an entire year AND your data doesn't get sold. Quit whining?
 
Spark said:
For the price of 1.5 hours at minimum wage, you don't have to see a single ad for an entire year AND your data doesn't get sold.
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And you support one of the greatest knife resources / knife enthusiast gathering places on the Internet.

Kevin wants to encourage folks to help keep this place going, and convenience is one of the things he offered. Gold membership is a no brainer considering the expert knowledge, reviews and entertainment you get.
 
Spark said:
Well, I'm also not selling anything with this site. Spyderco's forums exist to cater to Spyderco's customer base and provide a place for Sal & the Spyderco family to interact with them. They are a multimillion dollar company with dedicated customer service personnel who exhibits all over the world, does R&D research, produces cutting designs from high end materials, and consistently innovates. Their forums costs can be filed under advertising, customer relations, etc.

As another poster mentioned, if you aren't paying, you are the product being sold (see: Reddit, Instagram, Facebook)

We're not selling anything other than some ad space and memberships with extra features. We're here, good & bad, for pretty much everyone. The memberships by and large cover the costs of the site. If I wanted more money, I could implement a hell of a lot more ads in a variety of formats from interstitials to videos to more. I choose not to because the site mostly covers itself. For the price of 1.5 hours at minimum wage, you don't have to see a single ad for an entire year AND your data doesn't get sold. Quit whining?
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It's great that you don't sell our data. That's a valuable thing in the modern age of social media. While not perfect, Blade Forums remains the best place to discuss and learn about knives online. I'm grateful for that.

Still, it's hardly "whining" to think that a "5 conversations, 15 total messages" cap with paid membership is pretty weak in 2021. Limits that low feel out of place by decades, not years, and the price of data has been generally trending down over that time. Since you are the guy to ask:

How much or what portion of the total data stored here exists as private messages? What would be the ballpark cost of upgrading basic members to 30 private messages, or 50?
 
Chronovore said:
Still, it's hardly "whining" to think that a "5 conversations, 15 total messages" cap with paid membership is pretty weak in 2021.
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It’s fine to offer suggestions, I’m sure no one would mind…
Chronovore said:
It's 2021. Why are there such restrictive limits on private messages with the paid memberships?
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but this doesn’t sound like a suggestion.
Chronovore said:
How much or what portion of the total data stored here exists as private messages? What would be the ballpark cost of upgrading basic members to 30 private messages, or 50?
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I think it’s best to avoid thinking about the membership this way. Think of your membership as being a donation you’re making to a place you care about.
 
I file this under "you get what you pay for".

It is the bare bones starting point for those that want either a little more flair or functionality to their BF experience than you get by just stopping.

It is $10. That is less than a dollar a month. A few bucks a month gets you much more room to move. Makes sense to me if you're going to be utilizing a service so frequently to bite the tiny bullet and upgrade instead of complaining about the bottom rung.
 
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Spark said:
Hey if you want to crowdfund a 1 year upgrade to everyone's PMs, I'll be happy to take a few grand or so.
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All joking aside, the questions stand:

How much or what portion of the total data stored here exists as private messages? What would be the ballpark cost of upgrading basic members to 30 private messages, or 50?

benchwarmer380 said:
I file this under "you get what you pay for".

It is the bare bones starting point for those that want either a little more flair or functionality to their BF experience than you get by just stopping.

It is $10. That is less than a dollar a month. A few bucks a month gets you much more room to move. Makes sense to me if you're going to be utilizing a service so frequently to bite the tiny bullet and upgrade instead of complaining about the bottom rung.
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EngrSorenson said:
... I think it’s best to avoid thinking about the membership this way. Think of your membership as being a donation you’re making to a place you care about.
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Maybe this topic came off as a little rude. I was a little frustrated when I posted it. I don't mean to diminish all the good that goes on here and I hope that's clear. However, the complaint stands.

I get that people love this place. Does that mean we can't step back and take a complaint seriously? Is there really no merit to the claim that the message cap is absurdly low relative both to the times and to the cost of data? I'm pressing my questions to Spark above because maybe there is something I don't know. Is there a major hurdle involved in making a modest increase to the message cap?

Look, I'm a knife and gear enthusiast. I care about Blade Forums. So should I look at membership levels like a donation or as a purchase of benefits here? If Spark posted that he needed to raise funds, that feels like the former and I'm sure a lot of us would donate. However, the tiered membership system feels like the latter. It's in that context that I need to consider the bad deal on level one. Sure, I could avoid the nuisance of the message cap by going up to Gold, just as I'd previously avoided the nuisance of ads by going up to Basic. Really though, I find that prospect rather discouraging.

Blade Forums may be a labor of love and a valuable resource for diverse hobbyists but it is also a business that caters to this community. Would it really be so terrible to consider the value being provided to "just the lowest tier" of paid membership? Forgive me for not voicing my complaint in the best or nicest of ways but getting brushed off and having to argue for the validity of that complaint does not add to my sense of community here.
 
Chronovore said:
All joking aside, the questions stand:

How much or what portion of the total data stored here exists as private messages? What would be the ballpark cost of upgrading basic members to 30 private messages, or 50?





Maybe this topic came off as a little rude. I was a little frustrated when I posted it. I don't mean to diminish all the good that goes on here and I hope that's clear. However, the complaint stands.

I get that people love this place. Does that mean we can't step back and take a complaint seriously? Is there really no merit to the claim that the message cap is absurdly low relative both to the times and to the cost of data? I'm pressing my questions to Spark above because maybe there is something I don't know. Is there a major hurdle involved in making a modest increase to the message cap?

Look, I'm a knife and gear enthusiast. I care about Blade Forums. So should I look at membership levels like a donation or as a purchase of benefits here? If Spark posted that he needed to raise funds, that feels like the former and I'm sure a lot of us would donate. However, the tiered membership system feels like the latter. It's in that context that I need to consider the bad deal on level one. Sure, I could avoid the nuisance of the message cap by going up to Gold, just as I'd previously avoided the nuisance of ads by going up to Basic. Really though, I find that prospect rather discouraging.

Blade Forums may be a labor of love and a valuable resource for diverse hobbyists but it is also a business that caters to this community. Would it really be so terrible to consider the value being provided to "just the lowest tier" of paid membership? Forgive me for not voicing my complaint in the best or nicest of ways but getting brushed off and having to argue for the validity of that complaint does not add to my sense of community here.
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Well if you think of it like a business, what are the chances you’d go into a store and ask the clerk what the real overhead is, and why you can’t get more for less?

I don’t think it’s wise or polite to discuss his financial business. What’s the next step, you help him sort out the real way to run Blade Forums? I get that you feel ignored, but Spark deals with this stuff all the time, and if I was him I wouldn’t have a shred of patience left.
 
Chronovore said:
All joking aside, the questions stand:

How much or what portion of the total data stored here exists as private messages? What would be the ballpark cost of upgrading basic members to 30 private messages, or 50?





Maybe this topic came off as a little rude. I was a little frustrated when I posted it. I don't mean to diminish all the good that goes on here and I hope that's clear. However, the complaint stands.

I get that people love this place. Does that mean we can't step back and take a complaint seriously? Is there really no merit to the claim that the message cap is absurdly low relative both to the times and to the cost of data? I'm pressing my questions to Spark above because maybe there is something I don't know. Is there a major hurdle involved in making a modest increase to the message cap?

Look, I'm a knife and gear enthusiast. I care about Blade Forums. So should I look at membership levels like a donation or as a purchase of benefits here? If Spark posted that he needed to raise funds, that feels like the former and I'm sure a lot of us would donate. However, the tiered membership system feels like the latter. It's in that context that I need to consider the bad deal on level one. Sure, I could avoid the nuisance of the message cap by going up to Gold, just as I'd previously avoided the nuisance of ads by going up to Basic. Really though, I find that prospect rather discouraging.

Blade Forums may be a labor of love and a valuable resource for diverse hobbyists but it is also a business that caters to this community. Would it really be so terrible to consider the value being provided to "just the lowest tier" of paid membership? Forgive me for not voicing my complaint in the best or nicest of ways but getting brushed off and having to argue for the validity of that complaint does not add to my sense of community here.
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You have missed the point Spark Spark was making in an epic fashion. That took some real dedication.
 
Chronovore said:
All joking aside, the questions stand:

How much or what portion of the total data stored here exists as private messages? What would be the ballpark cost of upgrading basic members to 30 private messages, or 50?





Maybe this topic came off as a little rude. I was a little frustrated when I posted it. I don't mean to diminish all the good that goes on here and I hope that's clear. However, the complaint stands.

I get that people love this place. Does that mean we can't step back and take a complaint seriously? Is there really no merit to the claim that the message cap is absurdly low relative both to the times and to the cost of data? I'm pressing my questions to Spark above because maybe there is something I don't know. Is there a major hurdle involved in making a modest increase to the message cap?

Look, I'm a knife and gear enthusiast. I care about Blade Forums. So should I look at membership levels like a donation or as a purchase of benefits here? If Spark posted that he needed to raise funds, that feels like the former and I'm sure a lot of us would donate. However, the tiered membership system feels like the latter. It's in that context that I need to consider the bad deal on level one. Sure, I could avoid the nuisance of the message cap by going up to Gold, just as I'd previously avoided the nuisance of ads by going up to Basic. Really though, I find that prospect rather discouraging.

Blade Forums may be a labor of love and a valuable resource for diverse hobbyists but it is also a business that caters to this community. Would it really be so terrible to consider the value being provided to "just the lowest tier" of paid membership? Forgive me for not voicing my complaint in the best or nicest of ways but getting brushed off and having to argue for the validity of that complaint does not add to my sense of community here.
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No you don't care about Blade Forums. If you did you would have a paid membership before coming here and whining about nonsense.
At least if you had a paid membership some of us would take you seriously.

You are just another freeloader who wants........no expects something for nothing. Be thankful Spark tolerates your crap. I wouldn't.
 
Steven65 said:
No you don't care about Blade Forums. If you did you would have a paid membership before coming here and whining about nonsense.
At least if you had a paid membership some of us would take you seriously.

You are just another freeloader who wants........no expects something for nothing. Be thankful Spark tolerates your crap. I wouldn't.
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To be fair to the OP, he did have a Basic Membership. He just found the benefits wanting and voiced his opinion on how it could be improved.

The suggestion has fallen on deaf ears.
 
benchwarmer380 said:
The suggestion has fallen on deaf ears.
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If I was* OP and could go back in time and start over, I think I might have said it differently.
something like:
"Is there a possibility we could look into increasing message limits across the board for various membership levels? I think this capability could improve the overall forum. Thanks for your consideration."

If it takes more than three sentences, it's in grave danger of sounding like a complaint which is similar to, but not the same as, a suggestion.

*edit
 
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The point of a basic membership is to provide a basic level of service. If you want more messages, you upgrade to a higher level. So if you want to increase the message storage of basic members, you upgrade them all to gold. It's very, very simple. Basic membership only exists to take care of people who don't want to see ads and want bare bones messaging capabilities. TBQF, I'd love to eliminate it altogether.
 
Steven65 said:
No you don't care about Blade Forums. If you did you would have a paid membership before coming here and whining about nonsense.
At least if you had a paid membership some of us would take you seriously.

You are just another freeloader who wants........no expects something for nothing. Be thankful Spark tolerates your crap. I wouldn't.
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This is a whole lot of harsh over a whole lot of wrong. As it says in my opening post, "my basic membership just lapsed". I had a basic membership here for two years.

Running into issues with the message cap just happened to coincide with my membership lapsing. That frustration made it a factor. While I admit that I didn't put it as nicely as I should have, this kind of response is just plain ugly. Look, the overwhelming majority of the members here are awesome. Unfortunately, there is a minority here that tends to go on the offensive, often combining very strong opinions with poor logic and/or a lack of reading comprehension. Frustration with this small group of people is actually why I didn't go Gold the first time my basic membership lapsed.

Spark said:
The point of a basic membership is to provide a basic level of service. If you want more messages, you upgrade to a higher level. So if you want to increase the message storage of basic members, you upgrade them all to gold. It's very, very simple. Basic membership only exists to take care of people who don't want to see ads and want bare bones messaging capabilities. TBQF, I'd love to eliminate it altogether.
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This is definitely the impression that I get. So why not eliminate it?

My original choice to purchase basic membership was only partially about the ads. I also wanted to kick in a little something to support the forum. I chose the lowest tier for the same reason that I usually do on everything from political fundraisers to Patreon. It's something. While $30 feels substantial enough to think about, I'd probably have chosen a bottom tier at $20 without a second thought. If it didn't have the absurdly low message cap, a feature which sticks out like a sore thumb at any level of paid membership, then my most recent choice would simply have been "keep it" versus "upgrade".
 
craytab said:
Feel free to spend your time at those other none-lame places rather than bladeforums.
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This Right Here 👆👆👆👆👆
Paid membership "buys you" people treating you different. They take you more seriously/respectful if you are one of them.....part of the club.
it might be human nature.

This is my first year as a gold member. I didn't know what to expect?
I'm able to sell knives Now...... I've only done it once so far, after 8 months of being golden.

It might of been 5 dollars less when I subscribed? now I think it costs more.


I'm going to partly agree with the OP, that more messaging capability would be nice. Even at a Gold Member, it's SQUAT.
I Hate deleting all my conversations. Really peeves me. I feel like I'm being disrespectful to the other person?

And I was led to believe adding pictures was going to be easy.... I STILL don't have it figured out (unless I use a third party website)


Otherwise, I have met some Wonderful people and for that I'm grateful. Thank you.
 
Chronovore said:
This is definitely the impression that I get. So why not eliminate it?

My original choice to purchase basic membership was only partially about the ads. I also wanted to kick in a little something to support the forum. I chose the lowest tier for the same reason that I usually do on everything from political fundraisers to Patreon. It's something. While $30 feels substantial enough to think about, I'd probably have chosen a bottom tier at $20 without a second thought. If it didn't have the absurdly low message cap, a feature which sticks out like a sore thumb at any level of paid membership, then my most recent choice would simply have been "keep it" versus "upgrade".
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Because it's a good entry level glimpse into how the added features work and some people aren't posting that often. If you feel like you need unlimited messaging, you can always give them your email.
 
Chronovore said:
This is a whole lot of harsh over a whole lot of wrong. As it says in my opening post, "my basic membership just lapsed". I had a basic membership here for two years.

Running into issues with the message cap just happened to coincide with my membership lapsing. That frustration made it a factor. While I admit that I didn't put it as nicely as I should have, this kind of response is just plain ugly. Look, the overwhelming majority of the members here are awesome. Unfortunately, there is a minority here that tends to go on the offensive, often combining very strong opinions with poor logic and/or a lack of reading comprehension. Frustration with this small group of people is actually why I didn't go Gold the first time my basic membership lapsed.



This is definitely the impression that I get. So why not eliminate it?

My original choice to purchase basic membership was only partially about the ads. I also wanted to kick in a little something to support the forum. I chose the lowest tier for the same reason that I usually do on everything from political fundraisers to Patreon. It's something. While $30 feels substantial enough to think about, I'd probably have chosen a bottom tier at $20 without a second thought. If it didn't have the absurdly low message cap, a feature which sticks out like a sore thumb at any level of paid membership, then my most recent choice would simply have been "keep it" versus "upgrade".
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"I didn't pay for the membership level that would grant me what I want because I'm a cheapsk...sorry, because of some members I don't like."

Are you serious with this? 🤣 🤣 🤣
 
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