back alley said:
well said dmr.
i have little to argue with in what you said and how you said it.
Thank you, I was a bit afraid as to how this would be taken ... {sigh of relief}
it's a tough question though in that to maintain the site money was/is needed.
My suggestion is that if Jorge needs $$$ to keep the site alive, to do some creative thinking on ways to raise funds. (Actually, that should be everybody's job, not just Jorge's and Joe's.)
Having worked with many nonprofits over my 49-and-holding years, the one that is most obvious and very effective is voluntary donations. Just ask the Salvation Army how effective their fund drives are!
Another concept is to create what some fundraisers call a "candy machine", meaning something that provides a secondary small but consistent stream of revenue. Selling swag (a "Logo Shop") is one example of this. ("RFF" branded lens caps?)
🙂
One very obvious opportunity for this site would be to use the classified system on a commission basis. Undercut Ebag and charge 4%. I admit that I'm not a big gear trader, but I would get more of a warm fuzzy feeling dealing with a RFFer than J. Random Ebayer.
Commercial sponsorships. One of the other sites I infrequently frequent currently has 24 mini-banners on the home page (I count 7 here) and an online user count within 20 or so of the number on line here at this time. Some of the sponsors are here too, but not all of them -- if they are they are not very obvious.
(LOL -- Just don't get carried away with pop-ups and in-your-face ads! Just see
www.lasvegastalk.com for an example of how NOT to do it!)
🙂 🙂
my challenge to all who want change for the better - tell us what you see as a really great photo site.
Ok, I'll accept this challenge.
As far as the format of the site or the gallery, I have very few complaints. Just maybe a bit more responsive to user requests to add or split forums (fora?) when needed. Maybe read the audience and create fora and divisions when threads in the general area indicate interest.
I actually like the gallery layout. I know there are some bugs in the software WRT sub-galleries and annotations and such, but those are minor. I know that Flickr seems to be the standard that galleries are judged against, but I like this one better.
🙂
Also, Jorge, I do like the general theme and appearance of the site. The dark backgrounds and neutrals do give it a sense of "brand" which sets this site apart from most photo sites, which seem to be on lighter backgrounds.
I don't have any specific ideas on this one, let me put this somewhat abstractly-- but what the site lacks is a sense of community that it once had. Maybe some online brainstorming on how to create more of a community spirit.
For the most part, the rank and file users here are great! There's almost always a warm welcome for somebody who announces as new, and if a new user has a problem, help is in abundance!
🙂
One thing I did think of is to try to raise everybody's awareness to the fact that this is a very international and cosmopolitan gathering. English is not the native language of all, and of those for whom it is, not everybody speaks the same dialect, nor shares the same idioms and slang. I have a feeling that misunderstandings sometimes arise and escalate from the misinterpretation of the written word.
And -- on the subject of community spirit -- get rid of that {f-bomb}ing two-class user system! Ash-can it! Bury it in the Chernobyl sarcophagus! Send it to Pluto, freight collect, with no return address!
That's what I can think of right off hand ... I'm sure I'll have more thoughts right after I hit the "submit" button.
🙂
