@OGR CEO-PUBLISHER posted:We in fact had a premium membership at one time but it did not have a large enough following so it was phased out. We have done some calculations about some sort of special membership which would include extras above and beyond the free forum....and according to the calculation/marketing specialists/consultants, even if we lost 60% of our current forum members, OGR would make a larger profit....based on a buck a month type of "club"/"membership". The current group of sponsors would likely continue to participate on the forum since it would still be comprised of active hobbyists keeping in mind that most of the page views we get per month are coming from folks that are not members of the forum so would not be paying a "membership" fee but could still read and participate with the banner ads. This has been discussed before and even a couple of poles were taken with the results that folks want us to continue to provide the forum for free and so we have honored their thoughts on doing this. BUT....everyone in this hobby from the consumer side needs to realize that things which are free now, won't be without financial support. The big social media companies that provide platforms so that you can discuss trains can afford to provide those platforms BECAUSE they charge for advertising and they also gain from sharing your web search history to target and make money off of you.
Alan I'm sure that would ruffle feathers. However I'm the end you guys have a business to run. I don't begrudge anyone doing what's right for them in those terms. Life's a series of compromises in the end. I count myself blessed regardless.
