FORVM's Website Costs Rising Due to Denial of Service Attacks

[Joe Sermarini]

Our Amazon Web Services firewall has exceeded its "free" monthly limit of 10,000,000 due to denial of service attacks in November. We had to upgrade our processors to keep the site from getting shut down during attacks. We are now spending just under $1000 a month to keep this site online. The shop is paying the bills, but profits are much slimmer that you might expect. I am considering offering paid memberships to support this discussion and the site. These will be voluntary and offer no real benefit, but it will offer our members the opportunity to support the discussion if it is within there means.

[shanxi]

This works for other forums. So why not?

[Tracy Aiello]

Joe,

I would be more than willing to pay for a membership in order to support this wonderful service that you provide to the numismatic community.

Tracy

[v-drome]

Yep. Count me in.

[Bill W4]

Seems reasonable, this site has been a major help for me.

[cmcdon0923]

Ditto


Craig

[Pharsalos]

I also think this sounds reasonable. The community and features of Forvm have been my main pathway to share and enjoy numismatics with others.

[Dominic T]

Good idea. You could also charge a fee for members who request help for identification of dozens and dozens of coins… I have a few names I can submit if you want….
DT

[JamesC11]

I am an occasional buyer from Forum and post here only rarely, but the support offered the numismatic community on this site deserves recognition in a fungible form. Of course Joe could offer new titles for contributors: Princeps, Superbus, Triumvir, and the like, down to mere Ambitio for a dollar or so.  (Just kidding, needless to say)

[Virgil H]

I will support this.

Virgil

[Jochen]

The FORVM is worth it!

Jochen

[Joe Sermarini]

So, maybe I should have tiers of membership, with monthly dues, and a discount for paying a year in advance.

Any ideas for names of tiers and dues amounts?

[JamesC11]

It might be worthwhile to pursue a nonprofit status for the "forum" part of the site.  Tax rules sometimes allow offerings of hobby materials among "members" without taxation consequences.  The amateur ("ham") radio club to which I belong sells donated equipment online to add to its treasury, without compromising its amateur standing with the FCC.  I think this ("swaps") is already done here and there among numismatists.  The connection with the Forum Shop would have to be remote, however.  Members would donate to the upkeep of the informational side, only.

[Molinari]

Take a look at some organizations—ANS, ANA, etc.—and scale from there.  I think ANS membership with four issues and hardcover journal is about $150 a year.  Perhaps offer a different tier for students too.  You could also have a dues/purchase tier (so, e.g., $250 in purchases  includes one year membership, etc.).  Just throwing out ideas for you to think about.

[cmcdon0923]

Many organizations offer tiers ranging from GOLD (the top), descending next to SILVER, then BRONZE, etc., etc.  So what about using Roman coins denominations similar to that?  For example, the top level could be AUREUS, next DENARIUS, then SESTERTIUS, and so on and so on down through the bronze and copper denominations as far as you want. 


Craig

[SC]

You could possibly tie memberships to things like listing in the auction or having/viewing a Member's Gallery (especially if the Gallery could become a tool where it is easy to print out - almost a make your own catalogue thing).

You could also make membership necessary for more than minimum access to the Identification Help section and the Fakes Coin Reports.  For example, you can access each once per week for free, but more or unlimited access with membership(s).

What about making membership fees equal to a store credit? If you pay $X per month you get $X per month off purchases - but you can't save it up, only per month.   That might boost sales but would also generate revenue as not everyone will purchase once per month.

Just some ideas.
 
SC

[Virgil H]

Just going to add a couple of comments. One thing I think is generally true is that all Forums, including this one, have peaked in user numbers. People don't use forums much any longer and that gets more true the younger a person is. Even here, how many people post in the ID section once or twice and are never seen again? Personally, I still like forums more than any other way of using the Internet outside of searches for general information and the demise of forums is a horrible development. I am in a minority. But the glory days of forums are over. My point is you don't want to limit people's ability to see the information, as valuable as that information is, because you will lose eyeballs that may turn into store customers.

The other forum I regularly participate in is also specialized (squirrel hunting with dogs) and has some expert members and some lurkers, the experts are on level with FAC experts in their area. But, they almost shut down because people don't use forums as much and they are past their peak in usage. I am not sure there are many, if any, forums that are bigger today (active users, not archived member lists) than ten years ago. Forum has a lot more information than the squirrel dog forum and it also doesn't have a store, so maybe not a good comparison. But, there used to be far more posts here, at least if my memory is correct.

The dog forum has optional $10 a year membership that is voluntary. The only perk is you can post and reply quicker as a new member if you join and you have to be a member to sell a dog or equipment. They have a lot of members, partly because it is so inexpensive. Based on the people I know in the squirrel dog world, Forum certainly has more affluent members. I am not suggesting $10 for Forum, it is worth far more, but keep it voluntary and a relatively low bottom tier if you do tiers. Honestly, I don't like having my level even identified, either I am a member or not. People with less money tend to dislike tiers since it immediately stratifies them. But, I suppose those who can afford more may not pay more without some incentive. Sometimes, I wonder how many people have ever donated to Wildwinds (I hope a lot). Or belong to ANS. I obviously have no answers, this ain't easy.

Cheers,
Virgil

Virgil

[Dominic T]

Rereading the OP, « These will be voluntary and offer no real benefit ». If you cut in the services offered or restrain the access, you will for sure kill the shop. Bad idea. Let’s go with the heart; if you appreciate this site and its content, would you like to help Joe maintaining it ? I’m pretty sure we all donate, we all have causes to which we contribute. Can one of them be our favorite hobby ? Let’s be realistic, even with thousands of members, just a few dozens would be willing to contribute; anyway it will lower the pressure on maintenance fees and help forvm keep running.
DT

[Bill W4]

I agree with Dominic: it should be voluntary with no benefit attached otherwise you will drive people away.  Pretty sure those who use the site would be willing to kick in a few dollars now and again.