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No its not a competition and if it were the only prize you would get would be an evening out with me worth £1.06p (Thats in GBP) .
Ok on the comments page there is an undiliberate mistake , it seems invisible to most but was put there for a reason.
So I will give you all 7 days to see if you can spot it.
So lets see who is the first one to spot it and leave your answers below please.
Terms and conditions apply: Your home is at risk if it is on a cliff. More so in the current weather conditions , or even if it is near a river : Not open to employees of GS or their familys or even their neighbours or even 5th cousin twice removed even if they were put back after being removed.
Oh dear, I can't even seem to find the comments page....
No Briana it is not my mistake! Ignore my spelling it is something about the GS page , yes the first page you see when you log in. The home page / Comments page
I always smell thongs wong . I type in a hurry just in case I die or something before I finish.
Julia x
Ah, I see now! Okay, I'm off to take a look....
Under Network stats there is 3 u and around 190 i ? is that it?
You're right Briana, it is 173 i, I had a short term memory failure. This, as well as a short term memory failure meant I put the wrong number. 
Sarah and Briana! Are you getting warm? I am not saying yet . And the Undeliberate mistake is not me my Mother made it clear 6 million times I was a mistake. I blame my Father he should have used a condom but if he had you would not be reading this 
.
Julia x
Sorry it has taken so long to respond to this , I should also say sorry for misleading you but it was an attempt to draw your attention to something.
If your car was running on empty then what would you do just let it run out of fuel? Of course not you would fill it up. After you have filled it up what is the next thing you do? Well unless you intend to drive off without paying then you would pay for your fuel.
Most of the time this website is running on empty.
How would you feel if one day you woke up and tried to log in and you just got "web page cannot be displayed"?. GS Gone , just not here anymore??.
Now I am not saying this will happen but it has come very close to it more than once. You pay for your Computers and other devices and you also pay for your service provider yet most members here think the best things in life come free! Sorry but this is the real world and they don't come free. I cannot believe that most members who use this site so much cannot contribute towards the cost of running it.
It is not my place to do this but after finding out something I felt I had to because I care about this place I owe it a lot.
So I misled you , the only Undeliberate mistake made on the home page was the DONATE BUTTON Katie's mistake was making it so small , it should be made bigger or even flash and if I had my way make it come out and slap you in the face but again that costs more money (apart from the face slap).
Briana! This was not aimed at you but thank you it was aimed at the non paying members. Sarah! Thank you too for playing along but , I have noticed your post in the "Spend a whole week as a woman" Thread! That will never happen because of the expense , it would have cost you close to a 4 figure sum in GBP yet I notice you are a basic member , no person can force you to pay or any member everyone is welcome but , willing to pay for that week? Sorry cannot get my head around that but it is your choice.
This website is running on empty! If it is that important to ALL MEMBERS then please just consider what you have here "A unique place" Katie told me it is to easy for anyone to set up a place like this now and I told her she is wrong it can never get this good but it can get better and that costs money.
http://gendersociety.com/forums/topic/9536/make-the-effort
I will say sorry once again about the way I went about this but I will not apologise for posting it.
Take care all , Julia x.
Thank's for that Briana I could have done this in a better way though I think. Trying to get peoples attention on here is hard work but that maybe because it is me posting it but when I look at Cristines post I think why would people ignore her plea? And Katie has made plea's too. Katie is a very proud person she is also a very gratefull one and so is Cristine. Myself? Yes I consider myself to be proud and gratefull too just not very much liked on here , that is down to my honesty though and some just cannot handle the truth . I am not going to lie though just to try to fit in here.
I like your idea's and I have sent Katie some of my own even when I have not been a member , I could see her plea on the home page as a non member , I could see a lot of things as a non member which is another thing that needs to be sorted out in the future.
Fact is you cannot get blood from a stone! There seems to be to many stones on here
I have noticed another basic member since my last post wanting to spend a small fortune on Katie's topic "Spend a whole week as a woman" Yet if this website were not here they would not even be able to respond to it let alone think about going.
Maybe Katie should put something like this on the home page (adding image)
Take care and it is people like you that keep this place ticking over , and yes that is all it is doing , it is running on empty.
Julia
I am sorry you find my presence here offensive. I will leave.
Sarah I do not find your presence here offensive it is the opposite. Everyone is welcome here it is just a fact of life that things cost money.
You leaving will not solve it will it? If you like being here then just at some point consider becoming a full member , it does not have to be today or next week or month.
I actually think you have a lot to offer this website . This is not aimed at just you less than 2% of members do not contribute towards its running costs.
Take care , Julia x
Hi Sarah. I do understand and the most important thing for us all to understand is that we are all equal . Our circumstances maybe different but we are all equal and all welcome here. It is good you like this site it is the best it gets compared to other trans sites.
I wish you all the best in your search for employment and I did mean it when I said you have a lot to offer this place.
Just one thing though! I am not asking you for anything , this was just my way of trying to help keep this place going , it has meant a lot to myself and many others over the years and I do not want to see it die as I am sure you don't .
Take care and again all the best , Julia x
Can someone tell me what happened over the last 2-3 years to the membership of the GS. The present number of full members in the U.S. between age of 30-80 appears to be less than 30. The member entries on the members portion of the site in forums are all very old. Not to many years ago the activity on the site in chat rooms and forums was very high with many great threads in many forums. Could the decline have happened at the time of the membership price increase. Could someone tell me what the full membership price is for a new member. Perhaps the price increase is the answer. Does anyone have answers?
Firstly Jacqueline this is all about money and members not willing to part with it. I suggested to Katie to make basic membership trial only maybe a month or two , then if members wanted to stay they had to pay up or their account is closed. Katie told me she had thought of that but she said she needed the traffic . I personally think that non paying traffic is slowing this place down and brings a lot of nonsense to this website but that is just my opinion.
I think the main problem is the home page/comments page. That is now the main part of this website but everything that is posted on it has gone in a day or two , that is where things have gone wrong , again that is just my opinion but if it went back to the old page the forums would be used more and topics would stay there.
I cannot answer anything about the chat room as I have never entered it but I can guess who the most talked about member is.
I also brought another point to Katies attention , there were members on here with a full membership who were not actually full members , whether she has cured that problem I have not asked her yet but if it has not been cured then it needs to be.
You care about this website as do many others but it is a sad fact of life that if something is offered for free it will be abused and used. I care about this website as you do and although members here think I am some kind of monster at least I give it a bit of life.
The decline is not down to the cost of membership! It is as I said all about parting with money. I see some stupid things on here sometimes like in the testimonail thread Katie posted. Three comments with one member saying she is proud to be a full member! How thick are some members? That member is a basic member there is nothing full about it apart from full of Bull Sh#t in posting a comment like that. I am sure some people wake up everyday and leave their brains in bed.
Take care , Julia .
There are far to many of these here too.
Hi Julia-
Thanks for your thoughtful reply. There are a few people in the GS who really appreciate the site and want to bring it back to its past glory and usefulness. I agree with virtually everything that you state with the exception of the price of Full Membership. Can you tell me what it currently is. I agree that somepeople do not want to pay for anything, but I believe that price does make a difference. As I recall we lost a lot of full members within a year after the price increased by (I think) a factor of two. This occurred shortly before the time that the website format changed.
I am not puzzled by the low traffic in the Full Members Forums, because there seems to be few full members now. I am puzzled by the low traffic in the Basic Members Forums. Do you know whether basic members can freely make comments in the General Forum. Do you know whether they can do member searches, although; the search engine in its present form is virtually worthless since one cannot do local area searches.
Let's get some more people into this dialog, because these are solvable problems. We need to get the site back to a very useful format so that people will be convinced that they are getting "a bang for their bucks".
With my best thoughts.
Jacqueline
Hi Jacqueline.
I pay my subscription monthly which jumped up this month because of an administration fee , not from my bank but from the people who collect the money for GS from my bank . This month I was charged £6.00 GBP That is at todays rate 9 Dollars 97 cents USD.
In less 12 months I have donated enough to pay for life time membership via other methods . I am not rich but I like you care about whether this place keeps going.
Basic members get virtually the same as we do that is the problem as I see it , they think why pay when its free! They are limited to the amount of PM's they can send (6 per 24 hours) and cannot access the Elite forum , anything else maybe Cristine can answer . She has devoted so much of her life to this site and knows more than I do. I know one fact that Katie told me that shocked me but I will not post it here for all to see.
This thread was just a vain attempt to bring attention to the fact that this place costs money to run , members do not in my opinion leave just because of a small price increase . I think the format is the reason or one of them. Members do not read these forums much. If you see a thread has had 1000 views then most of those views are from people looking in from outside , I would say only 10% of views are from members.
This is the only decent trans website that allows the rest of the world to see what we are talking about , they watch us like they are studying us , if there are 10 members on line then there will be 150 (estimate) non members watching these forums. Other sites will not allow that , you have to join to read the forums , it is possible to read most of the content on the home page/comments page without being a member too , there is not much here that is private , it is making paying a bit pointless to those who do not care about the site.
Take care , Julia
Julia said, . This is not aimed at just you less than 2% of members do not contribute towards its running costs.
Actually its less than 2% who do contribute, Mind some of us do make periodic donations as well. so out of 25,000 members only about 500 make any financial contribution, but we know some people cannot afford it. What does suprise me is the few that boast about their lifestyles, and shopping sprees, do it without thinking about membership.
That is the part I cannot get my head around Crissie. They love this place so much and want to go and spend a week as a woman in Katies thread which would cost near a 4 figure sum yet a few quid a month is to much to pay here. I see basic members on here talking about expensive items they have bought and banging on about going pink punters ect yet plead poverty where membership is concerned. They either live in dream world or just do not care! Well only care about themselves .
Nothing you or I say will change them. You can't get a new leopard print outfit to change its spots (and matching bag and shoes)
Julia x.
It may interest you to know that after a good long think, I have decided I am able to afford a quaterly subscription at last, so I have subscribed.
Sarah. x
Sarah, threads like this don't realy help, your donation is probably worth so much more in the fact you had to think about it and probably gave up something to do it, thank you, I don't remember the membership fees being doubled, I can only remember them being decreased to attract more people.
Katie Glover, started this site, with free membership/paid membership, on the premise that anybody who needed help or support, should not be denied it on the basis of money.
As to the people who no longer visit on a regular basis, who were major contributors to the forums and articles, when the site was Called Trannyweb, its my opinion that they did not like the new format, the old site was breaking down, nobody could update the software for it, so we embarked on a mission to carry on with a new format.
Anyone that remembers when the new site GS came on line the chat room was a basic, basically crap affair that kept breaking down. The new one was funded soley from donations, if I remember it was something in the region of £1200, this money was raised by about 15 people, some who never use it, but typically of the members here, some think of the overall needs of everyone.
I don't want anybody to be pressured into making payments they can ill afford. BUT it's true that I get annoyed, with some of the boasts and comments about peoples lifestyles, that use the chat room and facilities regularly, without a thought of helping to keep things going, for the sake of others.
As to the lack of posts and threads in the forums, there are other ways to help out, manage a forum, the people who put themselves forward, wanting a forum for this or that and then desert it.
So Sarah's post really upset me, nobody, but nobody should, be judged or feel unwelcome if they honestly cannot afford to pay, and I should imagine at this present time there are lots of people in the same boat.
Remember we are all in the same boat, some of us might be on different decks, but if the boat sinks we all get stuffed.
I have logged in here just to say I am not proud of this thread , it has to be one of the biggest mistakes I have made here. I will always admit to my mistakes.
The reason behind me starting it was after I asked Katie a question , the reply shocked me.
Sarah I thank you just as Crissie has , your gesture shows you care. That is what this is all about "Caring" Not just caring about what we have here but also showing us that "you" have a big heart.
People are people and nothing I or anyone else does or says will change them. Sarah you have shown you are selfless and you have my respect for that , be proud you have every right to be. It was never my intention to ask anyone for money in this thread , it is not my place to do that. My soul intention was to bring to attention to people who do have money , and can afford to help keep this place going to think. They use it but never help towards running it.
I care about this website as do many others , and just as I do owe it a lot.
This post was aimed at people like the ones in the link below. They have been a member since 2003 and just take a look at their history. It is easy just look at the profile and ask why are they a member here?. It is very clear to see this person is not poor , do they help towards running this place? No this is just a place to put free adverts. If I had my way they would be removed from this website and IP Address blocked. Maybe the person who posted the link would like to promote GS on the website they are advertising! A nice GS banner? Don' think that will happen , far to selfish.
I am on a very weak Wi Fi signal where I am today so I hope this posts.
http://gendersociety.com/forums/topic/9631/music-and-the-arts
I can list many more of these so called members! Why are they here? Because they are selfish people who do not give or care about anyone but themselves. This website is a useful place to place their free adverts and that is a fact.
Take care , Julia .
Frankly, I do not see anything amiss in mentioning the fact that we could have a lot more paying members. That is simply a fact. I'd like to make a couple of points. In these straitened times, there are people here for whom this site is a great support, but who really cannot afford to pay. Lets make sure that they don't feel ashamed about that. There are also those who could well afford to pay but who choose not to. That says rather a lot about them.
I have thought hard about this, and for the life of me, I cannot think of a way to reconcile the two ends of this spectrum, especially bearing in mind the site founders philosophy, which is admirable. One thing though - naming individuals is NOT the way to go!
I wonder, though if it might work if the site rules were such that self-promotional websites links were not permitted. Thoughts anybody?
Self promotional postings should be reported to the site mods, if its an inocuous and helpful item not profit making, thats ok, There is a facility for full members to post items, were not gonna nit pick, there are a couple of people on here that make hand made jewelry. Its a moral issue and a dilema when it comes to funding.
Cristine and Julia, I am truly sorry if I upset you, that wasn't intended. I've been under a lot of stress since last September and January / February this year was a very low point for me, I felt I was losing everything and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I'm in a much better position now, still unemployed but I've secured my home for the time being and I have food in my tummy. Oh, and a smile on my face. (most of the time!)
Sarah. xx
Sarah! You have nothing to apologise for .If anyone should be should be saying sorry it should be me for starting this thread. As I stated above this has got to be one of the biggest mistakes I have made here.
You have shown "You care" . This was aimed at the ones who lack that care but say they live a good life.
I think it was me who upset Crissie for posting the link to the member who just comes here to advertise themselves for free , I was not nit picking it is just so wrong. Katie warned her back in 2006 for posting links to her escorting service and posting topless pics , so she comes back again for more free advertising. That member has done NOTHING for this website..... I will respond to her thread tomorrow just to see if I get a response.
Sarah you have done more in the short time you have been here than the member in question has in 11 whole years. I told you to be proud of what you have done , showing you care is not just about money but you took it a step further. I noticed you have given Kittie some good advice today! That is what this place is all about . You will not find anyone who cares more about this website and it members than Crissie , she has a heart of gold and is here for everyone.
I should never started this thread and if I could I would go back in time and stop myself from doing it , I was wrong I admit it.
I have to go before I lose this signal , I will be back home in a day or 2 .
Take care . Julia xx
Julia-
In my humble opinion, I believe that this thread was a brilliant idea and I am so pleased that you initially decided to start it. It is precisely the type of dialog that we need. Also thanks for helping to keep it on track.
With my best thoughts.
Jacqueline
Thank you Jacqueline but as Crissie has stated threads like this don't really help. She has also stated this hurt her. I can understand where she is coming from.
It was never my intention to make good people feel guilty for not being able to afford to pay to help keep this place going.
I was attempting to bring attention to members who can well afford to help to do just that , I failed and should have seen it coming. Well off people do not stay well off by giving their money away , they stay well off by holding on to it and being selfish. No person gets rich by giving money away , I should know that I have met many of them in my life.
Sarah has been the star of this thread , she has shown the rich how to be selfless.
I have watched the sunrise here this morning for the last time . I am heading back home today and will put some thought into my future on this website on my journey home.
Take care .
Julia xx
Julia,
Having now had a little time to explore this site and really see what it has to offer, I can understand your passion for it, and your frustration with the funding issues. It is a great place, and I hope you're staying around.
Hugs, Sarah. x
Julia, Thankyou for this thread, whilst I said that threads like this are not realy helpful, its a catch 22 situation, it helps to express our feelings, unfortunately some, just don't care enough. perhaps some of those ''big spenders'' are secretly bull shitting. I have put up posts like this on the front page quite frequently.
I was upset only thinking that those genuine people, after Sarahs post, might be mistakenly shamed into leaving. I'm proud that you care Julia xxXxx and you leaving AGAIN!! certainly is'nt gonna help.
Julia-
I still commend you for your thread as well as your many others. Let me be more specific as to the importance of this thread. I can see why the administration of the site would be concerned about the potential of driving away basic members from the site. There are now so many advertisements on the site that the main revenue to run the site is gained from the total number of viewers and this effect on the charges to advertisers. There are so few full members that they make only a modest contribution to the finances. Long ago the situation was reversed. While this is a good situation for the sites administration, it is not good for the "Full" members. As I have stated before the value of a site like this is the exchange of ideas in a format which is not seen by the general public i.e. anyone who simply logs into the site. Presently, there is virtually no active threads in the full members only forum; thus, we must go to the general, "open" forums to express our most personal ideas. This inhibits real dialog. Thus, I support anything that will cause the "Basic" membership to become "Full" members. The business model which is currently operating may be good for revenue, but it defeats the basic , "original" objectives of the site. If you agree that the number of basic members far exceeds the number of full members, and ask the question, "Why should a Basic Member become a Full member?" I do not see a lot of incentive. There is little traffic in the full members areas; Full members have access to photo galleries, but there is little traffic there due to the low number of Full Members. In a context of a low number of Full Members, the other Full Member privileges disappear.
I like this site and have for the last ten years that I have been a full members; however, to charge nearly $100 for annual membership in this day and age is foolish. Perhaps $30 might work if one continues the advertisement policy.
Just my thoughts, because I care.
Jacqueline
Firstly I am not leaving the site Sarah that would defeat the object. If I left it would mean another full member gone. When I posted "I would put some though into my future here" I meant the way I go about things. Should I cut down on my forum posts and threads ect?. This is my 110th post since coming back here! Maybe I get to involved.
Crissie I did know what you meant and I agree it is a catch 22 , you know how much this place means to me and your friendship too. I look back sometimes and wonder how I could have learned so much without GS , I learnt most of that from you xxxx.
Jacqueline! You have made some good valid points about giving insentive to basic members "There is none anymore" The insentive has gone so they think why pay when we can have it for free!!!!!.
This website depends upon members who care whether it survives. For me personally , if anyone takes away my ability to care then they may aswell shoot me. That just does not mean here only , this is the only trans website I am a member of but I care about people trans or not. I guess that stems from the lack of care I have had in my own life but , I stopped caring about myself and it has made me ill , I have even spent 2 nights in the Norfolk and Norwich hospital on my holiday , that was not the plan , the plan was go away to get better.
So you lot are stuck with me "But" I may just take a step back after I have sorted a few things out "Yes a few people have pissed me off" They will learn one day .
My fridge is empty so I need to get to the shops and catch up with a few people whom I have missed .
You all take care and thank you all so so much for showing that you all care about this place .
Julia xxxx
Jacqueline. thankyou for all your comments.
Another dilema, it was suggested that some of the most important forums be restricted to full members, The Hormone Forum, The Law Forum, something I personally opposed, because, those are the sort of real information forums, that people need, especially those that genuinely cannot afford full membership, peoples right to support and help, without a need to pay. What we need is some dedicated forum managers that, will contribute and stimulate forums. The full members forums are not available to outsiders and none paying members. I will confirm the actual cost of annual membership, but at the moment I am under the impression it works out at less than $1 a week. We also have to consider some peoples reluctance to divulge personal details, when making payments. What appears on their credit card statements, etc, and the questions it might raise, with SO's, family etc. Payments are shown on statements as payments to ''Media Munch ltd.'' so quite inocuous.
Because of the way the software works, Site mods are unable to make payments for full membership, some would consider this a reward or appreciation for the ammount of work they do behind the scenes, but all site mods make regular donations that more than cover annual membership, such is their devotion and dedication to keep the site going, keeping it clear of sleaze and spam, helping out etc.
If anyone has an interest or talent regarding any of the sites forums, they can contact me, if they feel they can make a commitment and raise interest in a particular forum subject.
Just to clear up the monthly fee in GPB , I get charged £3.97p per month! That is less than 1 GBP per week but, I then get charged an import fee from the USA , this amount changes every month , like they just think of a figure and take it from my bank account. This fee has nothing to do with GS and my bank say they they have no control over it. It can be 1 GBP or 2 GBP maybe next time it will be 3 GBP. I get harrased by Pay Pal telling me to sign up to them but have no reason to and I have no trust in them because of the spam I find in my inbox from fake Pay Pal sites. The idiots ask me to sign in yet I have no account.
My bank statement clearly states "The Gender Society" Followed by the import fee but I am ok with that. When I used the donate feature I paid Media Munch and that was on my bank statement "Not GS" . When I used the benefactor feature I was charged by Media Munch and that was stated on my bank statement.
I think what we have here is a group of us who care about this website and what it offers us. Now to me it is more about what it offers others . This website is unique and that is a fact , that is down to Katie who has not allowed it to follow the path of other trans sites.
Has anyone ever stopped to think about how it must feel to be a younger trans person searching for answers? or even older ones who have just learnt to use the internet. Imagine being 18 years old (I know its hard to imagine) but if you search for transgender on any search engine all they get is sex and sleeze. They see images of some beautiful girls to get them to join and end up seeing the side of life that drives those sites and drives its income. They see sickening images that some thrive off but , and here is the big but , imagine what is going through their minds. I can imagine it , they would be thinking is this what being trans is? Is this what i am? Is this my life? Is this where i learn from?. Well I am pleased I did not have to learn from places like that.
Being Transgender is cunfusing enough already without being misled by sex driven websites.
So we treasure what we have here , it is in our hands to make it better and yes it does cost money. I know Katie strugles to keep this place afloat because she cares , I have promised her I will help when I can but I am not rich just as most of us are not but , I have promised her I will help when I can. Every little helps as Mr Tesco would say.
As long as there are people here who care then this place will survive. I think I have said just about all I can say here . Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me but I still say I went about this the wrong way.
Crissie! Yes I have a talent , I talk to much and I say what I feel , you know at times it gets me into trouble but you have to admit I get peoples bloody attention .
Thank you all again and a special thanks to Sarah , you touched me with your upgrade just please do not blame me I did say it was not aimed at you .
Take care all ,
Julia xxxx
