dmr said:
Then ya know what I think would really help here -- if Jorge would just make a simple statement to that effect. I think it would really clear the air and help all of us over this little bump in the road here. 🙂
I like the way conversation and feedback is flowing here and I like the fact that Jorge is responding to the positive input by making some of the suggested changes. I know that RFF is different now than it was regarding the ad space and cost of the classifieds, but let me just add a couple thoughts as I have them, no more right or wrong than anyone else's.
I actually think Jorge has in the past, perhaps not concise and in one place, told us what was going on and what drove some of the changes. RFF eats up a lot of bandwidth and cost a significant amount of money to keep online. I recall several times his posting this information, and I suggest that he has not said this more as to not sound like a nag to the membership. He has made changes to RFF which will help him deffer the rising costs of keeping us online.
Three changes have been made to RFF to address this, the most personal one being volunteery.
We share a niche hobby for which there are retailers who cater to us. We see there ads on our pages, and also enjoy their input in our conversations and sponsorship of contests. Yes they have space to sell there wares, but they also help keep us informed and aware of the most current news and products of our interest. We are also very fortunate that all of them are very reputable and willing to share these things with us.
Secondly the old classified section is gone. I won't debate right, wrong or ebay, not ebay. But as someone who has sold quite a bit of stuff here at RFF, I personally feel that (and have made a donation after a group of sales) paying to place an FS ad is a small contribution potentially compared to the price of the items being sold. I guess I look at it more like placing an ad in a local newspaper than ebay, but now a days there may not be much of a difference in reality.
The third change is the one that most concerns me because of the perception that it has created, not so much the fact of the change. Jorge has made some additional features available to individuals who choose to make a contribution to the site. These contributions are very important to paying the bills and greatly appreciated, but in no way are required and we each have the right and necessity of making the best decision for ourselves of what we can do or want to do. It is every one's duty to respect these decisions. What pains me is that there is a perception that this creates a two tiered membership. This is a perception by some who have contributed, and some who have chosen not too.
I feel strongly that the most important contribution all of us make to RFF is the sharing of our thoughts and words in the forums. I hope that time will prove this out and these perceptions will go away.
OK, thank you for letting me ramble a little. I probably should have just posted the one sentence that I think is important. But if that truly is the way things are then perhaps the other things that go along with it will just become background noise.
