Changes coming...

[NCangler]

Hi all. Triumphowners.net is now 3 years old! We have grown to over 3,200 registered members and have several thousand visitors per week. I appreciate all your shared information and participation and especially those that have supported the site as Captains Club members. I will be announcing some major changes to the site in the next few weeks so stay tuned.

Tonight I added a Sponsors page with a link on the menu bar above to recognize our commercial sponsors and Captains Club members for their continued support of Triumphowners.net. I hope you'll check them out and let them know you appreciate their support.

[Ron's 195DC]

The changes that you will annouce must be the ones about changing this web site to a subscription based deal. So, non Capt Club members will not be able to post anything or reply to any posts? I know that this is probably needed due to the amount of work it takes to maintain the site.

I guess I had thought that between the sale of merchandise from the store, the new "How To C/D", and the Dealer sponships, that this would offset any site costs.

Unfortunately, without an "open" forum, my take is that the "meet and greet" posts will dwindle away to nothingness. Future growth of the Triumphowner site membership, as well as partticipation in general will suffer, no question about it.

Was a poll ever taken to find out how many current registered members will 1) purcahse a Capt Club membership, 2) not purchase a membership? 3) quit the site altogether.

I'm concerned for this site. I love it, but this may kill all the "lively" posts which make it so interesting and informative to the average Triumph Boat Owner.

I'm sure you took this all inter consideration, but I guess time will tell what will happen to this site.

[NCangler]

No poll was posted or considered. One of the great things about living in the US is the freedom of choices that we have. I chose to start this site at my own expense and to invest literally thousands of hours in developing it. Dave and Vic chose to assist me as moderators and have tirelessly worked to organize information and posts in the forums. We've all worked hard to keep the site positive and focused on ideas and solutions for owners. And now I've chosen to move the site to a subscription-based one because I believe it is the best way to develop this resource to the next level.

This change may indeed result in fewer active members and fewer posts, however it will also afford more time for us to develop more organized content. I feel confident that anyone considering the purchase or having already purchased a $20-40,000 boat will consider $25 a small price to pay in relation to that investment. $50 for the DVD and a 1-year subscription seems very reasonable to me.

[OspreyVic]

Thanks Randy.

As you state on the home page, “Some content will be visible to folks who register for free on the site.”

Those that subscribe might, just might, tend to be more civil toward others and use increased care in choosing their words. As much as I love my boat and this site, it takes quite a few minutes each day to read every post, and I mean every post. I really want to keep this a family friendly web site where family members of all ages and both sexes can feel welcome. I watched the old site go away as folks bickered and hurt each other with unkind words.

Even if someone has already purchased a Triumph, the annual amount Randy is asking for is very small, especially when you consider the amount of information that is currently posted, much less will be posted in the future. There is also the ability to ask other owners how they would solve your problem.

I guess everyone always has the option to just take their boat to their dealer / mechanic and pay them to offer suggestions. Then you would only pay $75 to over $100 dollars per hour. I for one always want to have as much knowledge as possible BEFORE I go to my dealer / mechanic. I want to at least have some knowledge before they tell me I need to spend more of my money.

Again, thanks Randy. We welcome the change for 2008.

[Ron's 195DC]

Hey Randy,

I guess if the goal is to make this site easier to administer and to keep the "Riff-Raff" out, then the "By Subscription Only" shingle should work out fine. You guys are absolutely right, there will definitely be less postings to deal with and it will give you plenty of time to refine its content. There is a heck of a lot of information on this data base already, easily accessible by utilizing the search tool. ( I am assuming this tool will still be accessible by "visitors").

Hey, you created a heck of a site here, loved by both members and visitors alike. If you wish to charge for it's services, then that is entirely your perogative. I just thought I'd put in my 2 cents worth before it cost me 25 bucks.

Good luck in the future, its been great fun,
Ron

[OspreyVic]

Randy, regardless of what you do, someone will always complain.

Even if you gave every person that registered $10,000 someone would complain that it was not $20,000 or more.

Like most people, we always want more or something of value for nothing. Unfortunately, life is not that way.

We get married, now that is expensive.

We have kids. WOW, that really cost us the big dollars. And if you thing that is bad, just wait till you pay for college.

Sorry, there is no such thing as a FREE lunch.

B O A T, Bring Out Another Thousand, and all you are asking for is $25.00 per year.

Go figure those that say you are asking to much.

[NCangler]

There have been a few folks disappointed in me for making this change and some have counseled me on what a bad business decision it is and how unfair to those that have enjoyed it for free. I am glad that you have enjoyed what Dave, Vic and myself have labored over. And I hate to let you folks down. But you can still enjoy looking at the site for free. And unless someone wants to make an offer on the website and take over doing this, then this is the direction I need to go in.

OAN, I have also decided to extend all the Captains Club subscriptions made in the last six months to the following January 1st. That is a small way of thanking those of you that joined the Captains Club to support the site before the change. Thank you.

And finally...I had over 300 email addresses returned as "undeliverable" because the email account did not exist, the mailbox was full, etc. Those user accounts have been moved to the "bounced" user group. That doesn't mean that they've been bounced off the site. It means that their email address was bounced back to our server so they were moved to that user account until a valid email address is entered. If you log into the site and get a Private Message about being bounced. Just follow the instructions to correct your email address. If you have any problems with it send me an email and I'll make the change for you. Thanks.

[MolarBoater]

As someone who has purchased a web address and built a website and other web pages, it is not only extremely time consuming but costs for functions like "Search" and counters and volume all cost real money.

Costs have to be offset or it is a financial drain on the individual/person or the site functions have to be "cut". What NC is offering is a continuation of the "quality" of the website, the meaningful organization of it's content and hence, a better product that's easy to use and is a valuable asset to boat owners.

I doubt Triumphowners.net is a tax free entity, nor has services donated for free by vBullitin, etc. NC has tried to defer the costs by having an online store and accepting limited advertising. I am willing to continue to pay $25/yr to not have a dreaded free MS site with offensive bullitin board ads which you cannot control the content as well as no spam pop up ads that seem to embed into your computer, etc, etc, etc.

Triumphowners.net justs get better year by year and if we want a responsible administrator that just won't up and delete the site and we loose all the content overnight (which has happened before), we should support NC. Unlike some other sites I have visited, you can still "lurk" for free and keep informed but you will have to support the site to participate.

I'm all for the change as I acknowledged the value of the site by becoming a Captain's Club member a couple of years ago and it is still $2.083/month which is less than a gallon of gas, bottle of fuel stabilizer, handful of stainless screws, tube of Elastomeric, Grande Machiatto, pack of smokes or 6-pack.

(ps I am not condoning smoking, used as just an analogy. Kids not sure of what analogy means should consult Wickapedia, and no it is not a "rock" band or something you have that causes sneezing and your eyes to water.)

[cagrove]

Originally Posted by NCangler

There have been a few folks disappointed in me for making this change and some have counseled me on what a bad business decision it is and how unfair to those that have enjoyed it for free. I am glad that you have enjoyed what Dave, Vic and myself have labored over. And I hate to let you folks down. But you can still enjoy looking at the site for free. And unless someone wants to make an offer on the website and take over doing this, then this is the direction I need to go in.

I must be totally honest...I was a little taken aback at the announcement of the mandatory subscription change. BUT...I think my apprehension was more of a reaction to being told I would have to pay for something that I previously could have gotten for free. Even though I have been a Captains Club member for a while now, that was my choice. I guess I just don't like being told what to do. Having said that, I will continue to be a member here as long as I am allowed. Not to sound like a "minion", Randy, you have my support.

There are always going to be "growing pains" in any facet of life. People are resistant to change, but good things come from change. Randy, you can be very proud of the site that you have developed here...it has evolved into a tremendous resource for all boat owners, not just Triumph. There are so many great ideas that have been posted here and I know I have personally benefitted from all of the input. I hope I have been able to return just a fraction of the information I have gleened from this site.

Originally Posted by NCangler

OAN, I have also decided to extend all the Captains Club subscriptions made in the last six months to the following January 1st. That is a small way of thanking those of you that joined the Captains Club to support the site before the change. Thank you.

Thank you for the extension, you did not have to do that. I appreciate it.

[NCangler]

I apologize if this change came off as sounding like I was telling anyone what to do. I cannot and would not assume to tell anyone what to do. To me it was simply a matter of choice. Because of some life circumstances I felt the need to choose between continuing the site with this change of course, or try to sell the site to someone else to continue as a totally free site or to simply close the forums completely (while leaving the content online as long as I could afford to do so). Keeping the content visible while charging for participation seemed like the best option of the three. If it doesn't work out then I'll have to try one of the other two options and refund the Captains Club members their subscriptions. I thank them that they see value in what is offered here and voluntarily choose to support it. No one is being coerced or forced to do anything here. It is simply a choice. It didn't cost anyone anything to visit or join here for the past three years and it costs nothing for them to browse the content now. But those that voluntarily choose to participate are paying for the opportunity to do so.

Speaking of being told what to do...several people have told me what I should be doing with the site and accused me via email of being 'greedy' and trying to get rich off it. I have answered each email personally but let me reiterate some points here. After three years of work in voluntarily developing all this with thousands of hours of time and money spent doing so, not to mention the thousands of hours that Vic and Dave have volunteered as moderators, it is somewhat deflating to be accused of that. Especially in the marketplace of goods and services. I created a product/service and you are free to purchase and use it or not. It really is as simple as that. And many of you have and will continue to benefit from the free access to posted information on the site. The majority of our members have been "lurkers" not posters so nothing changes for them. Finally, I don't know why anyone would think that I am obligated in anyway to provide this for free and provide it forever. Things happen in life and change is inevitable. I'm trying to find the best way to make a change that I must make in my life.

Also, apparently I need to remind folks often too that this is not a website operated or maintained in any way by Triumph Boats or any of their dealers. It was started voluntarily by me, a Triumph Boat owner/purchaser, and is owned/operated by my for-profit company. I control it and am responsible for it. If you are upset about anything concerning the policies or operation of this site then your beef is with me, not Triumph Boats or their dealers.

It is only the support of Captains Club members and a handful of sponsors that have enabled me to provide this product/service so far. And I thank each of them for their support. We'll see how the site does over the next few months and go from there. Okay I'm done.