Well as of last week our paypal account for donations was cancelled by paypal because our site was deemed "adult" or "inappropriate". Donations were up and pretty much covering hosting costs, but
with the donations gone, I'm not able to support the bandwidth for the 10,000+ unique visitors a day.
Since a large portion of the costs is strictly hosting and bandwidth I'm keeping everything the same but limiting the number of pictures users can see with a "free" account.
I've also added some incentives to signing up, and with some money coming in I can make some upgrades that we need. Hopefully this will be a positive
To recap, the chatroom, forum, profiles etc will all stay free to view, the only limit on the site is
the number of gallery and user pictures you can view (top 5).
I'm sorry that it has to go this way, but after a year of running the site and putting
up my own money and tons of time, I need to get this site paying for itself.
Replies
- CO
Jul 15, 2009[quote] Agree with Andy too, seems to me that someone should be mounting a big campaign to get pay pal to differentiate between naturists and porn. So right now, might be some good come out of it, but still feeling rather disappointed.
[/quote]
AsI posted elsewhere, a simple shadow corporation to collect the money, such as showing "MaryJane's secure pay" as the billing party would have completely nullified the Pay-Pal argument.
Alas, he didn't ask me.ReactReply - OC
Jul 15, 2009"To recap, the chatroom, forum, profiles etc will all stay free to view, the only limit on the site is the number of gallery and user pictures you can view (top 5). "...a very reasonable proposal...ReactReply - TH
Jul 16, 2009I would like to thank you again for your quick response to our concerns. You have again shown that you care about this site and wanting to keep it the best nudist social networking site. While I feel there are better things to limit besides number of pics someone can view, I understand your reason and accept your decision. As I posted in a bulliten to my friends, I will be staying here and hope they do the same.
ReactReply - MEMemberJul 16, 2009
Thank you TT1! Can never say enough in support of this website...
Jen and SteveReactReply - COJul 16, 2009[quote]For the alternate solutions postsThank you for this approach, it actually helps (as opposed to whining). Thank you for this approach, it actually helps (as opposed to whining).Why pictures were limited1. Pictures use up the most bandwidth, Bandwidth costs Money, so viewing pictures costs money. 2. By charging to view pictures I am directly charging the people who are costing the site money. In turn, people who don't view pictures aren't being charged. This was the most fair method I could think of.[/quote] It's completely understandable that pics collectors use bandwidth. I'd have preferred "throttling" instead, but that's me. That's where you do something like allow 20 pics per day, whatever they are, then a total cut-off except for thumbs. OR, after so many kilobytes, the speed is gradually, or suddenly, reduced to dial-up speeds. Full access to everything is still allowed, but the bandwidth cost is severely reduced. Low bandwidth services continue to function normally. High bandwidth services can be paid for, or suffer the very low speed. This way, low bandwidth users are completely unaffected, yet costly users are affected directly, and exclusively. Bandwidth can be expensive, BUT.... I have a business acquaintance in Dallas, Tx. who operates on an OC-48 or some rediculous line. Suffice to say bandwith is "enough." ( and fully redundant paths to both buildings on both sides of town, plus a radio link between them, so reliability is about 100% ) He also has billing service for his own hosting and such, so we can cure that problem, too. Message me privately, and let's see if we can "fix" some of this.ReactReply
- SWJul 16, 2009
Sounds good to me. Tell me where and who to send my money order to and it will be off. :) I'd say more, but I slept in this morning and my head is a bit fuzzy. l
ReactReply - MEMemberJul 16, 2009
To be honest, I was upset that TN decided to go "Pay", then I thought about it. I remembered being really surprised when I first found the the site that it was not "Pay" for the features we were getting. Procrastination is the only reason why I did not donate, and that is completely on me. Why do today what I can put of until tomorrow. Well tomorrow is finally here. I am probably going to pay but I am kind of waiting to see what happens over the next couple of days just in case ttn1 decides to shut the whole thing down, after I pay for the year. lol
Just wanted to put my thoughts out there. For those who agree, rock on, for those who don't, I respect your views.
ChrisReactReply - MEMemberJul 16, 2009
I have read the thread and I am trying to digest all the comments as best I can.
From day one, I realizied this was not a free site, a few ads and TT1 were paying the bill.
The site became my favorite site and I have met some wonderful people here and their is one couple close enough to me that I hope to meet.
The site reached a critical mass, where one of two things would happen, it would slowly crash and burn or serious money would have to come in to continue the site but most important.......improve the site.
There are a number of issues, i would like to see resolved and your message, (TT!) has focused on some of them.
I notice you may, if the money is enough, do this site full time.......good for you.......not many sites reach that plateau.
Two items.....I believe are the burning fires.
1. Lack of advance notice that would have prepared members for this change. We all have heard the devil is at the door, but until the horney devil is in our face....we don't believe it. the devil in this case, lack of money.
2. Members who see their pictures being used to keep members here who enjoy seeing a nude man or woman. And to bring new members in who want to view nude people. I don't want to beat a dead horse, but nudists are a varied group of people as people are in any lifestyle. We cannot divorce sex in any context. You do not have to be nude for someone to lust for you......or love you. Same here, nudism and sexual nature go hand in hand....therfore members now see their pictures being used as the hook, without compensation to them. Rudie expressed it best.
My two cents.ReactReply - MEMemberJul 16, 2009
I am sure it is a glitch but when you click on a picture to the right on the Home Page it does not go there.
ReactReply - SWJul 16, 2009[quote]I am sure it is a glitch but when you click on a picture to the right on the Home Page it does not go there.[/quote] Actually not a glich, as those pic's are the Gallery pics and we can only see the first 5 pics (unless you are a paid up member). The only glich I can see is that it shows 6 pics instead of 5. lolReactReply
- AN
Jul 16, 2009Hmm, a lot of memory space would be made availabe if Swifthawk reduced his/their number of postings saying the same thing, like in # 61 - 69 in this discussion.
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All the repeated posts, by the time I added this comment #62 - 69 have been removed. But I can't remove THIS post, only edit it.ReactReply - MEMemberJul 16, 2009[quote]Hmm, a lot of memory space would be made availabe if Swifthawk reduced his/their number of postings saying the same thing, like in # 61 - 69 in this discussion.[/quote]
LOL, He'll try anything to up his post count!
ReactReply - J
Jul 16, 2009[url=/signup/][/url] True nudists is a FREE online community for naturists worldwide. We are the number 1 resource for nudist resorts, nude beaches or nudist friends in your area.ReactReply - MEMemberJul 17, 2009
Try using WebHero.com for unlimted webhosting including bandwidth, I established freedom4life.com there in 2001 and would go nowhere else! Then can TrueNudists be free again, please. Find a new donation method, sell goods like from cafepress.com affiliation. If you do some work, this site can remain free and grow which results in you selling ad space for more $ and better click through rates. Check all my photos, I have no pockets meaning I have no money to give you, but supporting your international sponsors in Australia I would probably do. Add a clasified Pay Per Insert section?! Editorials make money, think also like an editor of a newspaper, your a mogul if you want, but poor if you are greedy. A Co-Operative Community can be resourceful.
Good luck,
RockWarrior
(previously with a C)ReactReply - LO
Jul 17, 2009Someone questioned earlier in this thread why some people find it necessary to post so many pictures in their profile. I have posted many pics that depect my nudist life as it has evolved over the last 2 years. If one was to view them in the order they were posted, one would notice each one has a "caption" and tells a story.
Paypal - TT1 mentioned that Paypal had cancelled this account because it was deemed "adult," however I just noticed that Skinbook still accepts donations via Paypal. Is this a double standard by this pay service or have they just not caught up to Skinbook yet?ReactReply - MI
Jul 17, 2009[QUOTE]Someone questioned earlier in this thread why some people find it necessary to post so many pictures in their profile. [/QUOTE] I posted lots of pictures because it was encouraged here. I don't remember the exact quote but I think it was something like; those that post more pictures rank higher. Now I'm debating what to do with those pictures. I don't use the chat. I used the forum a little. Mostly I shared pics here because the amount of pics weren't limited and, in fact, posting more pics was encouraged. Right now, it feels like someone has pulled the old bait and switch. I will probably take my pictures down in the very near future.ReactReply - ANJul 17, 2009[quote][QUOTE]Someone questioned earlier in this thread why some people find it necessary to post so many pictures in their profile. [/quote] I posted lots of pictures because it was encouraged here. I don't remember the exact quote but I think it was something like; those that post more pictures rank higher. Now I'm debating what to do with those pictures. I don't use the chat. I used the forum a little. Mostly I shared pics here because the amount of pics weren't limited and, in fact, posting more pics was encouraged. Right now, it feels like someone has pulled the old bait and switch. I will probably take my pictures down in the very near future.[/quote] Agree very much to this! I've used the Forum more, especially the "Humor and fun" part with the challenging Scrabble game going on there. - Sharing pics is a way of telling about your nudist life. If you only wanna show off there are other sites for that. But the crucial point here is that I don't want my friends to pay for going through my photo album. I don't like the idea that someone else get paid for my photos. Seems like RockWarrior has several good proposals for the technicalities, hope they can be useful.ReactReply
- MEMemberJul 17, 2009
I'm wondering if there's a misunderstanding....think this through, you can have more than five pics here and all remains the same, the fundamental difference is that if you want to VIEW more than five on other profiles then you need to pay the $4.95/per month.
THE BIGGER BENEFIT IS: is that now, pictures cannot be copied by ANYONE which makes this site and the pics safer than many others. A benefit that everyone was lobbying for about four to six months ago. Five bucks a month to protect our pics and not see Jen on a Russian porn site, you bet I'll pay it, if just for that!
BTW folks, other sites like NING are totally unsafe for pic use. Images are stored in a server somewhere, where other ning accounts can pick them up and display them without your knowledge or permission. Absolutely no ownership control... so go for it... The advantage here is so much greater!
So the sky isn't falling, the sky IS NOT falling, it's getting sunnier!
Steve.
P.S. and as we've told others in chat, the VISA/MC issue IS being addressed.... nothing is perfect the first time you create it...ReactReply - MEMemberJul 17, 2009[quote]Steve, The pics can still be copied. I'd be happy to copy any of yours and send them to you. If you can see it on the screen, you can copy them.[/quote] Go ahead and try....using 'save picture as," and the 'copy' commands, save a clear frame to file, when you go to open it up, nothing there....ReactReply
- THJul 17, 2009[quote]I'm wondering if there's a misunderstanding....think this through, you can have more than five pics here and all remains the same, the fundamental difference is that if you want to VIEW more than five on other profiles then you need to pay the $4.95/per month. THE BIGGER BENEFIT IS: is that now, pictures cannot be copied by ANYONE which makes this site and the pics safer than many others. A benefit that everyone was lobbying for about four to six months ago. Five bucks a month to protect our pics and not see Jen on a Russian porn site, you bet I'll pay it, if just for that!BTW folks, other sites like NING are totally unsafe for pic use. Images are stored in a server somewhere, where other ning accounts can pick them up and display them without your knowledge or permission. Absolutely no ownership control... so go for it... The advantage here is so much greater!So the sky isn't falling, the sky IS NOT falling, it's getting sunnier! Steve. P.S. and as we've told others in chat, the VISA/MC issue IS being addressed.... nothing is perfect the first time you create it...[/quote] A case in point about the ning sites is that when I went to join one, I didn't have to upload a profile pic. It offered to set the pic I had as a profle pic on another site as my profile pic.ReactReply
- THJul 17, 2009[quote][url=../signup/][/url] True nudists is a FREE online community for naturists worldwide. We are the number 1 resource for nudist resorts, nude beaches or nudist friends in your area.[/quote] I joined here a year ago when site was still new. Based on discussions in chat and in forums with site owner the goal was to promote nudism and give people a way to share ideas with other nudists. Membership here is still free, the important things like forum, chat, messages are still available to all members. I chose to be a donor months ago because I appreciated what we were getting for free. I will be a premium member for the same reason, not because of the ability to view more pics.ReactReply
- MEMemberJul 17, 2009
My problem has and always has been the profiles with no pics, the lack of moderators (thankyou the guys and gals who have stepped in when i have asked to FLASH) and the limited options to pay
BUT
Thankyou TT for your response and hopefully we can all settle down and support poor TT in keeping this site going!!
TT,. if you need a hand guess give me a shout!!
Sarah xxxReactReply
