1. Ditch the Doubleclick and Quantcast ads. Everybody hates them. Keep the Google ads, they're inconspicuous. 2. Put a little Paypal button at the footer of each page saying if we like PC and want to keep it ad-free, kick in some cash. I know I would. 3. Every so often (once or twice a year) have a fund drive. I know several blogs and message boards have been successful doing the above.
didn't that USED to be the method before the update? (donations) i like the idea of making the button easy to see on every page...
I would kick in a small amount, even though I'm unemployed. I finally installed AdBlock Plus because I couldn't deal with the banner ads that block the search function. I understand that Danny needs money to run the site though.
There used to be a way to donate money. I donated some money a long time ago after I first joined. I think there was even a status thing below your user name if you donated back then too.
Sell more Prius stuff. Is it reasonable to expect the store to subsidise the site? I'm really not aware what the costs or revenues are.
All great points. I would donate, but I think I'd rather just buy stuff from the store. However, I don't think the profit margins are that great because they are some of the lowest prices I've seen. Amazon had em beat on the scangauge by like 3 cents. rofl I do not know though, if it would get rid of the ads I would contribute a little bit. I did notice they block the search function, and pop down and around or wtv and get in the way when you mouse over them. Major nuisance especially on a laptop. I support PC regardless though. Awesome site, awesome people.
Thank you for the suggestions. I'm very aware of the frustrations over that one ad in particular that was blocking the search function. I let our ad reps know about it and suggested the ability to selectively block out ads that create that type of issue. The donation button on the bottom of the page is a great idea, and I'll add that soon. But the fact is that 99% of our 15,000 or so daily visitors will never donate and I don't feel it's fair for the 1% of you out there to carry the burden of paying for the site. I have been asked a lot to re-institute the donation program where donators received special status on the site. I'd like to put this back in place in kind of like a "Premium Membership" for PriusChat. That will probably include reducing the current amount of PM storage for standard members and giving a great deal more storage to premium members, the ability to select which forums to see in the "View New Posts" feature, and perhaps a special Premium-only forum where maybe I can get Toyota to share some news with us before the general population. And I would of course encourage anyone to purchase their Prius accessories through the PriusChat Shop. We try to keep our prices as low as possible to get PC members the best deals, and so that means we have to make up for the low margins with higher sales volume. Tell your friends! We'll be adding a lot more products soon!
EXCELLENT idea. I would definitely be on board for that. It's a great fundraiser and I would feel like I sorta got something for the donation too!
Really don't need the recognition or perks, but thank you Danny. But I would be happy to PayPal Ya for the cause. Having this group around, has just made my owning a Prius all that much MORE FUN!!! That, in itself, is worthy of a $ & a Thank You!!! .............................:thumb:...............................
This site has saved me big bucks, I don't get those pesky ads everyone complains about here in Australia but I'd be very happy to dob in my share. If possible the donate button should go right beside the page one at the bottom of the last page on each post, easy to see there. I don't know why the 1% that are here all the time can't kick in the lions share, we take the most from the site.
I purchased the PriusChat.com decals. That way, I sponsor this site, promote this site. At least I got something for my 'donation'.
There used to be a link, for a very long time, that said "Coming soon: eliminate ads" or something to that effect. That it was never implemented made me think that maybe there was a conflict with the ad servers: maybe they don't want to advertise on sites that allow members to avoid ads. But of course with Ad Block Plus, anyone can block ads. I donated when that was an option, and I'd donate again, with or without perks. Everybody wants something for nothing, and some folks think everything on the net should be free. But it makes sense to charge for a premium membership which carries added features. A lot of software comes in a stripped-down free version and a fancier pay version. There's no reason a chat board should be different.
Considering it's less than 1% of those 15,000 who use the board the most, I'm sure those 1% wouldn't mind kicking in the most. As for the shop, you know what you need to sell? T-shirts. Everybody (where "everybody" = "me") loves T-shirts.
