Poll - Basschat, good to grow?

[LukeFRC]

its funny, british, slightly clunky, sometimes strangely ordered, and it works fantastically.
In short its not perfect but it's good.
I don't think necessarily pushing to be 'better' and more professional is a good idea. At the moment its the grassroots punk* fanzine, all cutting edge, injokes, edgy messy and cool. Push it to be too proffesional and it could turn into NME or heat or something.

One thing I did think though is the affiliates forums are kinda hidden away and not in any sorta order. And the wiki is a bit underused.





*i.e. in 1978.. not the stuff we call punk now

[wateroftyne]

Sandi says:



[i]'If a few quid needs to be raised, Why not do a Talkbass / FDP kinda thing where anyone can post but they're not able to create an avatar or post in the off-topic area until they make a small contribution?'[/i]

[Guest]

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='324656' date='Nov 8 2008, 07:58 AM']Sandi says:



[i]'If a few quid needs to be raised, Why not do a Talkbass / FDP kinda thing where anyone can post but they're not able to create an avatar or post in the off-topic area until they make a small contribution?'[/i][/quote]

Stop it I'm eating!

[waynepunkdude]

I have given away a few bit and bobs in the recycling section and instead of getting people to pay me for postage I have asked them to make a small contribution (not looking for a pat on the back sometimes I haven't) I know it might not raise loads of cash but it might be an idea .

[Delberthot]

I think that there are a couple of ways to go with this:

Keep it following the same layout but add a few extra bits here and there. How about bringing the Wiki into the main body of the forum? Have a sub forum just for these things. I think possibly that a lot of people don't see the Wiki button away up there when they are looking for information.


There is also a lot of room for expansion as well:

There are only a couple of players covered so far but I could probably put together something about at least 10-15 players that would provide useful information to people who may be reading about someone but not really knowing who they are. i didn't know that section existed until I looked just now.

There is sometimes the case where you get people asking the same question about something every so often. It might be an idea to have FAQ sections for each of the sub forums but instead of taking the form of a thread sticky it could be a list of questions with hyperlinks to the information.


I definitely agree about splitting the for sale section down a bit further as well to keep things neater and make looking for items easier.

I'll probably think of more but I think this could be done without spending more, just getting some extra help. There have been a couple of offers already and I would be happy to help as well.



A second option would be to open up the traders section. I think people probably just pass this without realising what is in there. Try and get more people involved. Every business put there is trying to get as much sales as they can so getting some online retailers on board as well as the smaller sole traders (such as DHA already here) would help give them more exposure in return for a small percentage. Don't charge them for advertising here as this would probably frighten them away but if someone here buys something then a certain amount goes back into the Basschat admin fund.

It doesn't just have to be equipment related: how about bass related clothing, bass clinics, books and concert tickets. there are probably others as well.


The third option if none of those work would be having Talkbs style adverts. I never found that they got in the way but if you look at the page you are reading just now, you have the whole screen to read stuff - on TB you miss the top and the left hand side with the adverts.


I enjoy coming here, learning information, passing information on, passing out childish double entenders about 'tugbars' and so on and would hate to see something occur that could signal the demise of this fine European forum (we do have a fair few non Brits here as well). I couldn't handle going back to talkbs.


One final point - Sandy Toxic - No!

Edited November 8, 2008 by Delberthot

[molan]

The fact that the key administrators are talking about change for the benefit of all, and doing it publicly, is a great thing.

I'm a member of a few forums and I genuinely believe this one is better managed and has more of a democratic feel than most.

If you need some help on commercial aspects then this is exactly the area of business in which I work (my company and associated businesses spend about £150M a year advertising online!) and I'd happily offer any advice for free

Biggest thing to watch out for is that ad businesses pay something as little as £1 for every thousand people who 'see' an ad so it's not a massive cash generator for relatively small web properties.

Maybe a better deal to have a [i]serious [/i]sponsor(s) and do some sort of deal on product or ticket sales etc.

General rule on subscription services is that they don't work. There's a real ethos on the web that everything is supposed to be free and as soon as you start charging then people stop visiting.

Possibly different for classified sections (as per TalkBass) but I'd still be worried that UK volumes are too small to support an ad funded classified section.

Personally I love this place and have made both some 'real' and 'virtual' friends, if I can help in any way then give me a shout

PS I'll be the one in the Rocco Prestia shirt at Bass Day if anyone wants to grab me

Edited November 9, 2008 by molan

[Rich]

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='324534' date='Nov 7 2008, 09:52 PM']I think a ban on cat pics should be implemented, punishable by death.[/quote]
I reckon BasschatCat might have a thing or two to say about that. Don't upset him or he'll have a dump in your slippers.

[Kiwi]

[quote name='Rich' post='325368' date='Nov 9 2008, 04:46 PM']I reckon BasschatCat might have a thing or two to say about that. Don't upset him or he'll have a dump in your slippers.[/quote]
A basschat-cat-sh*t-on-the-mat sort-of-thing?

Molan, thanks for your offer of advice, we may well take you up on it. We probably need someone with developer and e-commerce skills more than anything.

One word about advertising as a form of income, we've found that unless we get advertisers to pay in advance for a minimum period of time then the income is too unreliable to allow us to plan anything. You're also absolutely right about the size of the UK retail market, it IS relatively small and obviously even smaller when the offering of Thomann and other online European internet traders is taken into account.

We would probably need to consider more of a sponsorship deal rather than selling advertising however I'm personally uncomfortable about having a sole sponsor that because if they were unscrupulous they could then potentially dictate what happens on the forum. However I guess we could also agree in advance the extent of sponsors relationships with the forum would be.

Re: subscriptions, with Bassworld we did have concerns that a two tiered sub-culture would be created but I think to its credit Basschat is a different animal and a much more inclusive forum than Bassworld ever was and thats a credit to its members (well the ones who don't send unpleasant PM's anyway). Ped and I don't really see subscriptions as being viable but its interesting to understand what level of acceptance there is for subscriptions if nothing else.

[pete.young]

Given that you recently expressed concerns about being able to react to the need for a speedy upgrade to combat the recent spamming attacks, how much more difficult is it going to be if you have much more bespoke software in the platform?

I think the WIKI could be better integrated but I have no interest in any of the other improvements proposed. I'm neutral about the adverts because I block them all anyway. I think there are plenty of ways for businesses to get their stuff on the web already and I'm not in favour of a subscription service.

[sgt-pluck]

I'd hate to see changes made ( for all the right reasons ) end up inadvertently spoiling what is currently a really good forum. I think the advertising model may be a problem because you'd have to hand over quite a bit of screen 'real estate' to make it worthwhile - and that would change the feel of the place. I'd worry about the sponsorship model also for reasons already mentioned earlier.

Another forum I visit regularly has a voluntary subs system - it's an open forum much like this except that non-subscribed users can't see or use the ( busy ) FS&W section. IIRC it's about a tenner a year. It works really well on that forum, nearly all the regulars subscribe whilst newbs, lurkers etc aren't excluded either - could it work here? I'd happily pay a sub to keep this place independent of business.

Pluck

Edited November 9, 2008 by sgt-pluck

[Jase]

I really enjoy this place, made some good contacts, made some good deals, found out about new players, picked up some great advice, had a bit of a rant

I'm all for development and taking an idea to the next level and would be quite happy to pay a members subscription....good to grow I reckon and support the cause!

[molan]

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='325427' date='Nov 9 2008, 06:10 PM']Molan, thanks for your offer of advice, we may well take you up on it.

One word about advertising as a form of income, we've found that unless we get advertisers to pay in advance for a minimum period of time then the income is too unreliable to allow us to plan anything. You're also absolutely right about the size of the UK retail market, it IS relatively small and obviously even smaller when the offering of Thomann and other online European internet traders is taken into account.

We would probably need to consider more of a sponsorship deal rather than selling advertising however I'm personally uncomfortable about having a sole sponsor that because if they were unscrupulous they could then potentially dictate what happens on the forum. However I guess we could also agree in advance the extent of sponsors relationships with the forum would be.[/quote]

If you can zap me some real top line site stats I can give you a very rough idea of what it might be worth to an advertiser. Simplest thing is number of page impressions per day or week & maybe number of individual users (generally referred to as 'uniques') for a matching period.

I definitely wouldn't let people advertise who weren't 100% going to pay by the way!

An ad network or simply taking Google contextual ads is probably easiest asthey represent some sort of guaranteed income. Google is very simple & you basically just get paid every time someone clicks on a link. Can be text only so there's no nasty banners

[Currrls]

I think it could do with a little bit off a visual upgrade. The main windows are pretty grey!!

I think just a small bit of colour could make quite a difference

[Paul Cooke]

[quote name='paul h' post='324416' date='Nov 7 2008, 07:11 PM']You know, as much as I love it here I think a paid subscription would kill it for me. Yes, I am [i]that[/i] tight.[/quote]

+1... but I'm not tight, just have no credit rating and cannot make on-line payments...

[peted]

The only idea I like from the above is the ability to host web stores for those companies who are already 'part' of Basschat. I don't think the cost should come from a percentage of those sales as it will encroach on the bargains which could potentially become available.

I don't mind paying a small voluntary subscription for a few extra perks, like a bigger PM inbox and the ability to pin my For Sale ads to the top of that forum.

[cheddatom]

I don't think a subscription is the way to go. I think perhaps the Donations link could be more prominent. I didn't realise it was there for my first few months. I've made a couple of contributions, and i'm sure others have as well, but then there are people who can't afford/don't want to pay, and I wouldn't want to lose them.

It's not as though BC is in financial trouble is it?

RE Social networking stuff - don't we have that in our personal profiles?

The Wiki could be used more. I think some of it is down to not knowing how to use it. I have on a couple of occasions made long posts here or on other forums which I would have liked to put into the Wiki here, as well as other people's posts, but I don't know how! I did try once - can't remember what went wrong but something deffinitely did.

[Dubs]

[quote name='peted' post='326577' date='Nov 11 2008, 10:58 AM']I don't mind paying a small voluntary subscription for a few extra perks, like a bigger PM inbox and the ability to pin my For Sale ads to the top of that forum.[/quote]

The problem with that is that everyone will do it, so it will develop a situation where there are 70 or 80 + pinned threads… Maybe allow it to be pinned for the first 24 hours after posting it as an alternative but fair compromise and quite a good perk for those who effectively pay to use the site? I’ve got no idea how that would work though.

I agree with what you’re saying about a few extra perks for contributors, and I’d also be happy to pay an annual contribution if it meant that we didn’t have to have corporate sponsorship or adds all over the place.

[Born 2B Mild]

Two suggestions for improving things...

1] IMHO Basschat's prime plot is the "[b]View New Posts[/b]"

As we get more popular , it takes a fair bit of time to scroll ...just to catch up on the last couple of hours. This can be potentially de-cluttered.

I suggest postings of a more administrative nature to be automatically kept out of this zone. How it's done, I'm not sure, but Feedback postings are not newsworthy. Another is when an item is sold/withdrawn from the For Sale forums. A tick box that the OP can activate to indicate the thread is closed, could then take it out of the View New Posts window.

2] And then there's the [b]Feedback[/b] business. It is not being used consistently, so either it becomes more user-friendly/encouraged or we scrap it.

Otherwise, I think Basschat is the best thing since roundwound strings, and all who are behind it deserve a massive pat on the back. ([i]cue applause and ...cut[/i])

[ped]

Hi mate,

Nice to meet you on Sunday and thanks for the ideas. I am going to discuss them with kiwi as I am sure they can be implemented easily.

All the ideas so far have been great. I am not sure we need to do anything especially new other than keeping the forum running and maintained.

Cheers
ped

[Born 2B Mild]

[quote name='ped' post='326674' date='Nov 11 2008, 12:36 PM']Hi mate,

Nice to meet you on Sunday and thanks for the ideas. I am going to discuss them with kiwi as I am sure they can be implemented easily.

All the ideas so far have been great. I am not sure we need to do anything especially new other than keeping the forum running and maintained.

Cheers
ped[/quote]
T'was good to meet with you & Machines, too. Now Bass Day is over for this year, can you [i]please [/i]remove the tortuous 'string winding' banner!!!!!

[Paul Cooke]

[quote name='Born 2B Mild' post='326655' date='Nov 11 2008, 12:16 PM']Two suggestions for improving things...

1] IMHO Basschat's prime plot is the "[b]View New Posts[/b]"

As we get more popular , it takes a fair bit of time to scroll ...just to catch up on the last couple of hours. This can be potentially de-cluttered.

I suggest postings of a more administrative nature to be automatically kept out of this zone. How it's done, I'm not sure, but Feedback postings are not newsworthy. Another is when an item is sold/withdrawn from the For Sale forums. A tick box that the OP can activate to indicate the thread is closed, could then take it out of the View New Posts window.

2] And then there's the [b]Feedback[/b] business. It is not being used consistently, so either it becomes more user-friendly/encouraged or we scrap it.

Otherwise, I think Basschat is the best thing since roundwound strings, and all who are behind it deserve a massive pat on the back. ([i]cue applause and ...cut[/i])[/quote]

Basstalk (the American based website) have a preferences facility to select only certain forums in which to "search" for new posts... this means that the vast majority can be filtered out by the user to suit his/her tastes... (you just need to be a member to use that, not a supporting member)

[Currrls]

What about an IRC channel. don't know if anyone uses them already but it might work

[Kiwi]

[quote name='Paul Cooke' post='326716' date='Nov 11 2008, 01:25 PM']Basstalk (the American based website) have a preferences facility to select only certain forums in which to "search" for new posts... this means that the vast majority can be filtered out by the user to suit his/her tastes... (you just need to be a member to use that, not a supporting member)[/quote]
It's possible to subscribe to forums here as well. Go to the pull down menu in the top right hand corner when you are viewing the forum and click on subscribe.

[quote name='Currrls' post='330862' date='Nov 17 2008, 06:03 PM']What about an IRC channel. don't know if anyone uses them already but it might work[/quote]
I used to be an avid IRC user before Bassworld. I personally like the idea of a dedicated channel but its harder to manage and if more than 10 members are using it heavily then its hard to track conversations without going to private rooms. Also if an IRC channel was too popular, would it drain interest from the rest of the forum?

[waynepunkdude]

Oh also how about a thanks meter? a few forums have these (kinda like kudos) so if someone helps you, you click their thanks box and the amount of thanks they get appears in there avatar box.

Don't know how easy it would be to do.

[Dubs]

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='331237' date='Nov 18 2008, 08:27 AM']Oh also how about a thanks meter? a few forums have these (kinda like kudos) so if someone helps you, you click their thanks box and the amount of thanks they get appears in there avatar box.

Don't know how easy it would be to do.[/quote]

Yeah I’ve seen these on a few forums, but I don’t like the idea of it. Just seems a way for people to almost compete against each other and compare their ‘score’ against others and to feel some kind of superiority over other members… I can’t see any merits for having something like that, but then maybe I’m just a very cynical 23 year old who needs to lighten up?