free or decreased cost for website only

[fest3er]

... Please post any ideas you would like for us to consider. We are reading these posts with genuine interest and with the intent of improving this site for all.



Robin

TDR Admin

Here's one. It would require some programming, and some database space.

• Create an Historical Review page on the site.
  
• Each time a member visits the page, an old thread is presented with a few buttons for each post: "Great Info!", "Good Info", "Take It Or Leave It", "Hardly Worth Reading", and Dump It!". The member simply scans the thread and 'votes' on each post. (Technically, each button would AJAX to send the vote; the page wouldn't be reloaded each time. )
  
• Politics forum is either ignored or gets its own ratings: "Strident", "Partisan", "Laughable", "Sad", "Irrelevant", or "Stupid". Prolly several other fora could use these categories, too.
  
• Members' reviews are overwritten each time they vote (no ballot-stuffing!)
  
• Once the posts in a thread have amassed, say, 1000 votes each, the thread is 'retired' from random review.
  
• Each thread will be rated by the average of the ratings of its posts.
  
• In time, all the threads and posts will be rated.
  

This will let the members help in culling the good posts from the not-so-good ones. The end result? Steve creates VB fora that present 'The Best of TDR': only those threads that averaged "Good Info" or better, with only those posts rated "Good Info" or better. Down the road, a series of live CDs could be created that present the best of each forum's posts; just boot the cd in a virtual machine and search away.



Nothing is discarded or lost, and a whole new way of looking at TDR Archives is created, and potential information products are created.

 

[Matt400]

I am not sure if I grasp the website ideas, are there other sites that have these recommended features so we can see the format?

 

[Signal73]

Your right, there's nothing better than a bunch of old timers sitting around the retirement home typing politically biased redundant chatter about climate controls, registrations, the latest do-dad add-on to enhance the visibility of their "ask me about my grandchildren" bumper sticker, while listening to the timeless rantings of rush limbah! :-laf

The site is DOOMED without new blood to replenish the ranks as the members inevitably fade out one by one. Eventually we will all have to hand the wrenches off to the next generation, I would like to think the mechanic at the dealer working on my truck was also a member of such an informative site as this.

what alot (not all cuz I know of a few) of the retirement folks forget is the sponsors who pay for the site costs sell exactly what they seem to be disgruntled about, and thats Performance boxes, injectors, lift kits etc. If the young crowd goes, most likely the sponsors will follow.

The only thing that is disheartening on this thread (but I must somewhat entertaining to read) is why some feel they must personally assault/attack others. That is one reason why we don't want to be free and open TDR Members up to pot shots from the general public



Robin

TDR Admin

It seems some people with the holier then thou attitudes will be here to bash others for their thoughts weather its free or not. (Harvey) How you can relate a question such as mine to being an obama (no caps for that name on purpose) supporter is beyond me.





Well if anything I have provoked some thought from others And while the masses are against opening it up to a free website like others, Im sure it would only help things in the long run, but oh well.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Possibly an interesting (possible?) parallel - early on, our nation was founded on ability of free inventiveness and talent - plus industry - of early settlers - with LOTS of responsibility and work ethic accompanying all that - living off the labors of others was something alien and subversive to those settlers and their set goals for this nation.



Steadily, Liberals have taken over this country - interested primarily in a "something for nothing" movement that allowed them to exist and persist, on the hard work and incomes of others...



This is not intended as a political post, but the parallel suggested in some of the posts here bear comparison... :-laf:-laf

 

[AndrewKing]

Hmmmmm... . Pay to be here?..... I guess I have been subscribing to the magazine for so long (and I do enjoy looking at it) that didn't recall that It effectively costs to be a member... .



Oh well, I do like them BOTH so I guess I'll stay on! ;-)



Andrew

 

[gbrinlee]

It stands to reason that if someone feels that they are not getting their "value" out of the annual fees for membership, that they should just not renew. After all if I were to find something of no value to myself then why in the heck would I spend money on it? The rest of us can continue to promote the site that has provided much technical information and kindled quite a few friendships over the years (also a few disputes).

 

[Excessive Force]

I'm also looking at your discussion around web-only memberships that would come with a reduced cost for those who do not benefit as much from the magazine.



Please post any ideas you would like for us to consider. We are reading these posts with genuine interest and with the intent of improving this site for all.



Robin

TDR Admin

This is the category i fall into. I love the site,and have EASILY saved More than the membership cost in knowledge gained from this site but don't need the magazine. If you can't find a way to reduce the cost for internet only memberships thats fine,but most of all KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK !!

 

[AClayton]

Can't believe you guys don't like the magazine



Alan

 

[KHellewell]

I love the magazine because it's a little hard to pack my computer in my truck at work and the mechanics like the pictures so if you don't like the price go with out a soda for a month to pay for it the rest of us will contine on with it

 

[TDRadmin]

Thank You; Keep Posting

Thank you for all of the ideas. Keep 'em coming.



As an update so you know this information is being used:



- Fest3er, we were working on something similar to your proposal, but I like some of the refinements you're offering. More to follow soon.



- Digital only option to be available very soon, and it would come at a reduced rate for those who do not need/enjoy the print format. I have a test link, but we have a couple of minor bugs left to work out before I post it for feedback. We'll probably only be able to go back about 10 issues digitally to begin with - back to Issue 56 hopefully (cost issues and software conversion problems if we go back further), but that would allow TDR Members access to those issues digitally. And it will help advertisers if we can embed links from their digital ads to their websites. This is EZ on new magazines, but requires work on the older ones. We hired a contractor to convert the previous ten magazines just yesterday. He did a great (and fast) job on the test magazine he converted for us.



- We could consider a web-only (no magazine access) at a further reduced rate for those who feel access to the magazines is not desired. Your thoughts?



- Steve and I also met over the search function issues day before yesterday. We're working on addressing the issues. The fix may be in better instructions for how to use the search. It can be a pain to figure out.



Input and ideas?



Robin

TDR Admin

 

[surfbeetle]

I agree with the comments on the search engine to a point. I am an IT pro so I have no issues with it's functionally, however I think it should be more intuitive maybe offering suggestions once an initial search term is entered, similar to what Google now does.



As far as Paper print or not, if too many of us opt for digital only, then the cost of the print mag will go up as advertisers see less of a return for print ads and less copies are physically printed. I fear that my subscription price would have to go up to cover the increase because I want a printed copy. Digital Mags are okay, Spike TV's Powerblock does one but I don't want to sit by the pool or the beach and read my laptop or go dry camping and read the digital.



I feel that the magazine should compliment the Website and vice versa. I don't want to see threads printed in the mag just for the sake of filling a column. I would rather see the thread printed if then there's a relevant story that has been written to address the issues members are having.



Remember, each model of vehicle all tend to have the same issues at some point in their lifespans. TDR has and can do more in addressing these tendencies.

 

[HBarlow]

I agree with surfbeetle's comments above.

The TDR website is excellent and appears to have huge capacity. I enjoy it very much but also feel that some feature details could be a little more intuitive. Many features have required me to search and even after all these years I have only recently figured out how to use a couple of features and am probably unaware of other existing features. I'm probably not as computer literate as many of the younger members are so have never mentioned that feeling but some features are not easily found or used by me.

As far as a balance between advertising prices and numbers of magazines delivered vs. the annual subscription cost, I don't know any details but would guess that surfbeetle makes an excellent point there as well. If print copy numbers decline, advertising revenue must surely follow. That's not my business as a member but I also would resent being required to pay a higher subscription cost if only to allow discounts to others. I am, on the other hand, willing to pay a higher subscription price if that is the rate necessary for TDR to be profitable and if all members pay the same rate.

 

[DCreed]

I agree with surfbeetle's comments above.



The TDR website is excellent and appears to have huge capacity. I enjoy it very much but also feel that some feature details could be a little more intuitive. Many features have required me to search and even after all these years I have only recently figured out how to use a couple of features and am probably unaware of other existing features. I'm probably not as computer literate as many of the younger members are so have never mentioned that feeling but some features are not easily found or used by me.



As far as a balance between advertising prices and numbers of magazines delivered vs. the annual subscription cost, I don't know any details but would guess that surfbeetle makes an excellent point there as well. If print copy numbers decline, advertising revenue must surely follow. That's not my business as a member but I also would resent being required to pay a higher subscription cost if only to allow discounts to others. I am, on the other hand, willing to pay a higher subscription price if that is the rate necessary for TDR to be profitable and if all members pay the same rate.

I have to agree with Harvey here. I am not very computer savvy and need really obvious instruction to use it. I also agree that I would rather pay regular member price than have other pay even more so I can pay less. However I dont believe the magazine is what the sponsors are relying on for advertisement and if the TDR gains members on the site with a slightly reduced fee than it may attract even more sponsor capital which may make the cost even less.

 

[Dieselnut59]

Renewal

I wish we could renew for longer periods of time instead of only annually. I would like to renew three (or more) years at a time, like some other magazines offer. It would "lock in" more members (advantage to you) and would save on mailing of renewal reminder cards, updating of database as often and hassle to members of having to remember to send in the payment more often (as I now need to do). If I were to just send $70, would it "automatically" renew my subscription for two years?

I enjoy the magazine, the Geno's Garage and the website. The combination of all three have saved me countless dollars.

Thanks!

By the way, the political forum is fun too, especially the above mentioned "entitlement mentality" crowd!

:-laf

 

[fest3er]

I wish we could renew for longer periods of time instead of only annually. I would like to renew three (or more) years at a time, like some other magazines offer. It would "lock in" more members (advantage to you) and would save on mailing of renewal reminder cards, updating of database as often and hassle to members of having to remember to send in the payment more often (as I now need to do). If I were to just send $70, would it "automatically" renew my subscription for two years?

I enjoy the magazine, the Geno's Garage and the website. The combination of all three have saved me countless dollars.

Thanks!

By the way, the political forum is fun too, especially the above mentioned "entitlement mentality" crowd!

:-laf

Of course you can renew for longer periods. I've done so for some years now, renewing 2-3 years at a time. Oh, wait. I pay with paper check. Perhaps it can't be done with on-line payments.

 

[JDiepstra]

This guy seems to have it about right.

Not all that important but that guy is a girl... ... ... ...



I love the magazine. It was a great honor to have my . 02 quoted in one of the 3rd gen 5. 9 technical help sections. I showed several of my friends and much of my family!



I will keep subscribing because I feel TDR is the place to go when I need the correct answer, not 50 answers that are all different.



The magazine does "feel" odd though. It's more like a magabook. The problem I am finding with it is that with all the different models Cummins (12V, 24V, 5. 9 HPCR, and now the 6. 7) it content about my particular truck gets thinner and thinner.

 

[Pistazie]

LOL, I'm trying to keep a low profile here! :-laf. I screwed up emailing Robin (TRDAdmin) so it happens...

 

[DCreed]

Not all that important but that guy is a girl... ... ... ...

My apologies! A female diesel head is so rare that it is easy to overlook it, especially when they dont make it obvious in their sig

 

[Dieselnut59]

Of course you can renew for longer periods. I've done so for some years now, renewing 2-3 years at a time. Oh, wait. I pay with paper check. Perhaps it can't be done with on-line payments.

I have always paid with paper check also. I am old fashioned. Even when I "order online", I actually call and order, with the exception of a few e-bay purchases.

 

[Dieselnut59]

My apologies! A female diesel head is so rare that it is easy to overlook it, especially when they dont make it obvious in their sig

I got it honest. My mother had her first diesel before I ever had mine. Hers was a 1987 Mercedes 300SDL. I now have a similar 1987 Mercedes 300D. Her next purchase will be a BMW X5 diesel. She says she misses her diesel "punch" and fuel economy. If she things that old Mercedes had "punch", just wait till she gets the feel of the new dual turbo BMW engine! She came by it honest (as I did), as her father was always a diesel fan, having some of the earliest diesel tractors (three Olivers). He said "I am a firm believer that if you want to get something done, the best way to do it is with a diesel". He LOVED my first diesel truck, a 1993 Dodge/Cummins 250 4x4 and mama's Mercedes.

Sorry to get off subject...

I will renew for 3 years if I can. I don't know where I put that reminder card... please dont cancel on me!