[heartmadeforyou]

It's been almost a year since I joined the forum! I can't believe it has gone by so fast. I'm now debating if I want to renew my paid membership or just continue to participate as a free member.

Have any of you done this? If so, what part of your paid membership did you miss the most?

I've found alot of really great people here, but also alot of controversy. I'm trying to decide if I want to stick around.

Thanks for your advice :thumbsup:

 

[Toby's Mom]

I've had a membership in the past and I didn't feel there was much in the way of benefits for me (jmo), so instead of giving money to the site, I always make an extra donation to a Malt rescue or our local animal shelter.

The only thing I feel I miss out on is the section that is dedicated to members only, but what you can't see, can't hurt you! LOL

 

[Rocky's Mom]

I didn't even know there was a section that the unpaid members cannot see. Kind of creepy. LOL

 

[MalteseJane]

I didn't even know there was a section that the unpaid members cannot see. Kind of creepy. LOL

:HistericalSmiley:Here you can see the difference between paid and unpaid : http://spoiledmaltese.com/forum/payments.php

 

[3Maltmom]

LOL @ the "creepy" comment ~ :HistericalSmiley:

I've used that section when I'm talking about family members ~ :HistericalSmiley:

I also do not see much of a benefit. The unlimited pics, and the ease of posting from your computer, was the best, and worth the membership.

Also, I did like that a portion went to Rescues.

Make a long story short, I believe I will donate to Rescue, and quit talking about family members ~ :rofl:

 

[Toby's Mom]

Make a long story short, I believe I will donate to Rescue, and quit talking about family members ~ :rofl:

:HistericalSmiley::HistericalSmiley:

 

[Ladysmom]

LOL @ the "creepy" comment ~ :HistericalSmiley:

I've used that section when I'm talking about family members ~ :HistericalSmiley:

I also do not see much of a benefit. The unlimited pics, and the ease of posting from your computer, was the best, and worth the membership.

Also, I did like that a portion went to Rescues.

Make a long story short, I believe I will donate to Rescue, and quit talking about family members ~ :rofl:

I will probably do the same thing since the forum upgrade.

I rarely go to the contributing members section myself since it seems mainly to be about health or personal family issues.

 

[iheartbisou]

LOL @ the "creepy" comment ~ :HistericalSmiley:

I've used that section when I'm talking about family members ~ :HistericalSmiley:

I also do not see much of a benefit. The unlimited pics, and the ease of posting from your computer, was the best, and worth the membership.

Also, I did like that a portion went to Rescues.

Make a long story short, I believe I will donate to Rescue, and quit talking about family members ~ :rofl:

:HistericalSmiley::HistericalSmiley: LOL!!!

I agree, I liked the portion that went to rescues as well. That is one of the main reason I paid actually. I'll do the same thing as Deb mentioned above, when it comes my time to renew.

 

[CloudClan]

When Joe owned and ran the site I felt like I was contributing to help him keep the site up and running. I also loved to be able to upload pictures easily. So that was what kept me a paying member for the last several years.

Now? Well my membership lapsed around the same time as the upgrade to the new forum. I have thought many times about upgrading and the ease of the lifetime membership has intrigued me, so maybe one day I will renew, but so far I have not been truly compelled. It does seem odd to "contribute" now that the forum is corporate owned.

I am still being indecisive. :/

 

[Canada]

The reason I signed up as a paying member was that I wanted to join as a full member.
Sort of to show my intentions of sticking around for a little while.
I was new to forums and the internet.
And the money thing wasn't a big deal because I knew that part of it went to Rescue.
I thought that if every member was paying a few dollars to Rescue than the fee was great and made sense.

BUT now that there is no more donation going to Rescue, I can see that being a huge deciding factor for a lot of members.

 

[Ladysmom]

The avatar size is supposed to be larger when you are a paid member, but I don't see the difference between mine and the unpaid members in this thread.

 

[heartmadeforyou]

I agree about donating to rescue. I want to support Maltese rescue financially because I'm just not able to do it by adoption or fostering.

re: creepy moment... LOL!:HistericalSmiley:I've shared some personal stuff on the member section of the forum, but I really don't feel the need to overshare to the "group". PM's are different.

I'm finally getting a handle on facebook and I like that I can have friends along the lines of all my areas of interest. I will say that I truly value the vast resource of knowledge on this forum and I'll stick around, even if I'm no longer a paying member.

Thank you everyone for sharing your opinions!

 

[Administrator]

The avatar size is supposed to be larger when you are a paid member, but I don't see the difference between mine and the unpaid members in this thread.

Marj, have you tried uploading an avatar that is bigger than the current one you're using? If not, can you please try and let me know your findings. The user profiles for paid members does allow them to have 140px by 140px avatars (same as it is for me).

 

[The A Team]

I have now deleted most of my pictures that I've posted since the time I joined. It was a hard thing to do. Was it worth it? ....will I pay next year when it's time? The jury is still out....

I'm not happy about my pictures.

 

[almitra]

Never felt the need or desire to join in upgraded membership. Happy camper right where I am.

 

[MalteseJane]

The avatar size is supposed to be larger when you are a paid member, but I don't see the difference between mine and the unpaid members in this thread.

it depends also on the size of the picture you are using. Try using a bigger picture.

 

[MalteseJane]

For me it is because of less advertising and the pictures part. I don't use much private messaging, but people who use it a lot should pay attention to the numbers.

 

[Canada]

I agree about donating to rescue. I want to support Maltese rescue financially because I'm just not able to do it by adoption or fostering.

re: creepy moment... LOL!:HistericalSmiley:I've shared some personal stuff on the member section of the forum, but I really don't feel the need to overshare to the "group". PM's are different.

I'm finally getting a handle on facebook and I like that I can have friends along the lines of all my areas of interest. I will say that I truly value the vast resource of knowledge on this forum and I'll stick around, even if I'm no longer a paying member.

Thank you everyone for sharing your opinions!

Great! I am very happy that you'll stick around! :aktion033:

 

[puppymom]

I have never paid to be a member of an online forum, and never will. I am sure there are other forums that charge but as a member of many online forums this is the first one I have ever run into that asked you to pay for the privilege.

I support the forum by visiting the advertisers, when that stops being enough I'll be done.

I also find it a little "creepy" that there is a section for "paid members" only. Seems a bit elitist to me.

 

[Administrator]

I have never paid to be a member of an online forum, and never will. I am sure there are other forums that charge but as a member of many online forums this is the first one I have ever run into that asked you to pay for the privilege.

I support the forum by visiting the advertisers, when that stops being enough I'll be done.

I also find it a little "creepy" that there is a section for "paid members" only. Seems a bit elitist to me.

Thank you for your feedback puppymom. Just to clear up a few things you posted:

- we have NEVER asked anyone to pay to use this site. The option is there and if someone wants to do, more power to them and if users like yourself don't want to do it, it's not an issue at all. In addition, 99% of the site is FREE for anyone to use. In this day and age of internet business models for sites that provide information, it's pretty good in my books.

- The paid members area has been around for a long time (long before I showed up at least). I don't necessarily agree with your statement that it's creepy and elitist but we're all entitled to our opinions. I've said this before and I'll reiterate it. I use many other websites for my my work and hobbies and every single one of them has more perks, access or content available to paid users (most of my online interests surround photography, graphic designing and news). If it makes everyone feel better, the paid members area is rarely used compared to the rest of the site.