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Having endured a very long period with few new Full Members and no donations we are very much in need of a cash injection from somewhere. There have been a couple in little donations in the last two weeks, since I started harping on about this and they were very welcome, but we do need a lot more and yes, we need more of our Basic free members to upgrade and become Full Members.
Nearly all of our membership is Basic and our few Full Members are simply not enough to sustain this community for much longer.
Whenever things got bad before, I always used to bail us out from my own pocket but I just don't have the money myself now. We have to start behaving like a proper club or we will go under.
If you join the local bowling club you expect to pay an annual subscription. It's got to be the same with us or we will crash and burn. Please pass the word around. We need our Basic members to upgrade now. All hands to the pumps! Thanks.
And if you are a Basic member and a regular visitor here, please help us out by upgrading to Full Membership. We're only talking abot $1 a week (for annual subscribers) which is not going to break the bank for anyone.
To upgrade now, please go to http://gendersociety.com/pages/upgrade and help to keep your community afloat.
Thanks, Katie 
Katie, I was just about to share your quote from another post, but you've said it here. Let me ask what I asked there...
"...in another post on here somewhere, Chrissy mentioned that as a UK based site, membership in the US and Canada was lacking. This isn't called the world wide web for nothing, so I don't see why that matters. Is it possible that other parts of the world may be untapped markets, where more paying members may come from? Also, how many of our basic members are active? That may explain in part why so few of them become paying members?"
I know it might be a bit radical but why not consider a free 'trial membership' of, say, 3 months, which gives people a chance to look around, make friends and see whether they are staying or not; then after that, they are required to take out a full membership or lose their access.
that may not be a bad idea Nikki...but would there still be a way to maintain access for those who truly can't pay, for one reason or another?
also, perhaps we could add a function where those who can afford it could sponsor basic members. i know that there are ways to donate beyond your own membership, and that effectively "sponsors" others already...but to also have this option might help?
calling Katie, Crissie, Chrissy and other admins for some feedback here : )
Did you learn something this week? did you find a friendly ear to listen to your problems last week, did you use the chat room, perhaps boast about your mansion, your boat, your collection of vintage cars, what and your still a basic member. Several new people joined last week, the week before, then took up full membership AND made a donation, SOME have been here for years and never parted with a cent. Shame. Shame. I still maintain, people will not be judged on their ability to pay, people need this place, whatever, but if you aint paying don't boast about your fab lifestyles.
Quite right Crissy. And I appreciate the debate and any ideas people may have that might help get up back on our feet again.
To answer Madeleine first, this community has always been international since it started back in 2000 (remember Trannyweb?). We've never been UK based per se. Our current server just happens to be in the UK but our hosting company is still in Vancouver. Our last server was in Vancouver too and our three servers before that were in Florida.
Also, our membership has always traditionally been mostly from the US. Yes, I know it may seem like this is a UK site but perhaps that's just because us Brits are a bit louder than everyone else - LOL! The GS also has members in just about every country in the world.
And regarding a trial period, that is exactly what Basic Membership is, although it is open ended and that may be the problem. We've often been criticised for giving too much away for free and if people can have access to the main parts of the site like the chat rooms and forums without having to pay, they obviously have little incentive to upgrade.
So yes, maybe we should offer a week's free membership.
Just a sec though. If we do that, what will be do with the tens of thousands of existing Basic members? Should we just delete them all?
And if we did that wouldn't our forums and chat rooms die completely? Would the site become a ghost town?
You see, this is a very difficult problem and there really is no easy answer.
Hugs, Katie x
This has always been a tough one but if things are as bad as you say with regard to finances, then a tough decision may be necessary.
I still think restricting basic membership may be financially necessary. There is no need to delete current basic members, no one would suggest that, but they too could be encouraged to pay for a membership but 'with effect from......' If they aren't being encouraged to pay then what is the point of this thread?
Full memberships need to be all bells and whistles, how you restrict basic members is up to you and the software but currently they can access pretty much the same, so why would they upgrade? Could they be restricted from chat? Have a 'read only' function in forums? Be unable to post on the home page? (I can imagine the daggers I'm being given right about now). They would then still be able to access infomation but not be able to contribute until they, well, contribute......cash.
Don't hate me girls, I 'm just thinking of ways to keep the site here after all.
Good points Nikki,
I really want the site to remain accessible to everyone who needs it, but the reality is that running the site is expensive, and membership is not.
It does seem there are many in the community who are unwilling to "put their money where their mouth is".
Like you, I really don't mean to sound harsh. I'm really someone who would go to whatever means possible to keep the site here for everyone.
If trying to maintain free access to those who need it costs the site's existence, well, then it isn't going to be here for anyone, free members or otherwise.
We have a similar problem with Frock Magazine right now. We've been giving it away for free but we're just not making enough from our few paid ads to cover our expenses. In fact, it's nowhere near close enough and as usual, I've been propping it up from my own pocket. Well my own reserves have pretty much dried up now so we have to start thinking about possibly charging for Frock. But if we did, our currently healthy readership numbers would probably go though the floor and if that happened, the few advertisers we have would probably leave us.
So, it's a double whammy for me right now and I can't see any real way out. As I used to say, where is Elton John when we need him?
Hugs, Katie x
Hey Katie,
I just bought a subscription about a week and a half ago. It was so cool to see someone I know featured in Frock!
I kinda hope I might make it there some day too
Madeleine : )
p.s. Keep fighting the good fight girl!
Hi Katie.
I know I maybe a thorn in your side sometimes but you also know I care about this website. I recently had cause to change my will. At the moment you stand to benefit more from my death than my life. As I am still alive all I can do is offer you a monthly sum on top of my subscription but , as I am stil alive I do have to pay my bills too.
I would prefer to do it via BAC rather than you having to give commission to second or third parties. Is that possible?.
It maybe a good idea for you to have all of your site income in the UK paid by that method. At the moment you are giving cash to other company's when you need it more.
I am not Elton John and would never wish to be , and I am not rich I just care.
Hold in there whilst I put my brain in gear. There has to be a solution to this.
Hugs , Julia xxx
I will not pretend to know everything about how a website is run but , I do know servers charge for mass storage. Mass storage is information ect. Storing information on thousands of basic members who never use this website. Members who join and never return , members who use this place once every 2 or 3 years to just advertise themselves. Please tell me if I am being thick here because if that costs money then just delete them. I am not talking about basic members who use the site and "may" become full members I mean the ones that have just forgotten this place even exists untill it suits them. One came back recently and placed a link to their website then just vanished but , the link is still their. Send them a bloody invoice for it. I can tell you that member is not poor , it is called being clever. No person gets rich giving money away , that is why they have all the cash.
Thanks for the idea Julia, but our hosting doesn't work that way. It's a flat fee so the number of members or the amount of data they use does not affect it. That's just one bill though. We have plenty of others and a list of problems that need to be fixed too, which will cost a pretty penny.
Anyway, the upshot is simply that we need more of our regular Basic free members to make a contrubution by upgrading to Full Membership.
We're talking about just one dollar a week. I'm starting to feel that anyone who begrudges us that tiny amount to stay afloat should not be here at all.
Thank you for clearing that one up Katie. What people need to understand is you have a unique place here. I know you told me a while back that anyone can set up a website like this , they can't and they won't. We all know where the money is , the side of things that makes this place unique , the lack of sexual content.
I pointed out in a forum thread recently . Imagine a young or even not so young naive trans person is looking for answers , put transgender into any search engine and what do you get? You know the answer , dating sites. I then said imagine what must be going through their minds! Is this me? Is this what being transgender is? Is this my life?. I can see why the self harm and suicide rates are so high.
Governments around the world are making cut backs , our so called government is , they call it slim lining. If I ignore my council tax bill for just 7 days I get another 60 quid slapped on it. I do honestly believe that if you do not make some cut backs this ship will sink one day.
Yes there is a hard core bunch of members here who will not let that happen or , do their best not to let it happen
That word "Unique" is your selling point. I know you to well Katie to know that you are not in this for the money. If that were true you would have sold up years ago. What you are asking for is peanuts , I mean how much is a pack of peanuts?. Is this thread attracting the attention of the basic members? I doubt it , they are to busy eating their peanuts. You know you have our backing just hold on to that for now , something will be on its way to you next week.
Take care , Julia x
Agreed! The majority of our members are people who maybe joined us thinking this was a good place to get a date, lurked a bit and then found it wasn't that kind of community.
However, we do have a strong core of people who do take part and who keep this community alive. I know many people expect everything for free these days and as you say, expect Rome to be completed in a couple of seconds, but honestly, it's taken us almost 14 years to get to where we are now and we've always been nearly free. We have offered another layer of membership, just like that which you described, which gives members access to more bells and whistles and gives them an opportunity to put something back. However, our full member numbers have declined in recent years to an alarmingly low level and our costs have spiralled upwards.
We have also generally given Frock away for free in the hope that advertising revenue would be enough to keep it that way. However, I think this niche is just too small to support a magazine from advertising alone.
So, in the absence of a great benefactor, we are now in the sorry situation where we need to think about charging for Frock as a last ditch attempt to keep it going and we also need to have a Full Membership and Lifetime Membership drive to keep the wolves from our door.
Since I started this thread a few days back, we have not had a single upgrade or donation. So, I think we need to get the word out there among our Basic members who do visit regularly and who do take part, that we need them to step up to the plate and upgrade.
Also, in order to make Full Membership more desirable and to appease those who say we give too much away for free, we will look at making fewer of our features and benefits available to all, and more of them available only to Full Members.
If you are able to help with any of this, please let me know.
Thanks, Katie x
"We're talking about just one dollar a week. I'm starting to feel that anyone who begrudges us that tiny amount to stay afloat should not be here at all." - I agree Katie, with a small "but", and that is that I might add special emphasis to "anyone who begrudges". While I don't think there are many who fit the category of honestly not being able to pay, I do think there are some. There is a reason why you've always tried to maintain membership access for all. One scenario perhaps might be younger "would be" members who feel alone and disillusioned by what they find elsewhere on the net and don't have a credit card or any other means by which to become a paying member? What I'm getting at is again, there's a reason why you've always tried to maintain membership access for all, right?
This site is unique, no doubt.
Now, on to the ideas for getting those who can and should pay, to pay!
Do you value what this site provides? Have you always been a free member and no longer feel you "need" the site and therefore don't pay? Do you not feel any sense of wanting to contribute to your community? Do you have ideas to make this site bigger and better? How might this site help to advance trans awareness, acceptance and beyond?
Do you have any business expertise that might help? Would you like a say in any of this? Katie has built something wonderful here, and she has given it to all of us. Let's keep it going, ok?
Katie!
I should have stated cut backs on basic members access to allmost everything a paying member gets , I know you cannot cut back any other way.
Suzy mentioned other websites and what they offer non paying members. The most popular TG Website is most likely TV Chix
. When I was a member of that tip of a joint a basic member was only allowed to see one image of another member , their main image. Most of the other images were very untastefull and some what perverted , that is where the income comes from. It was rare to see less than 800 members online. What attracts them? We all know that. The person who owns that site lies to its members about its income and I proved it , me and that person did not get on
Nothing new there then. Why did we not get on? I exposed her. I exposed a few things , the lies about the income , how to find out who was rating members images as a 1 which she said was secret , I accidently found out how then had most of the site wanting to be my friend (because they wanted to know how).
One thing I am 100% sure of is your honesty Katie. The fact that you care enough to put your own cash into this site when things are bad is a credit to you. It shows you care about us , I thank you for that from my heart and soul.
You will see something come your way next week and every month after.
Take care , Julia xx
Thank you Julia. Funny thing though... The person who started TVChix (Stella) used to be a member here many years ago. It was back in the days when I was still very green and internet based communities were in their infancy. When she decided to start her own online community she posted a request in our forums asking permission to publicise her new site and I replied and said that would be fine. Doh! Then a lot of our members disappeared away with her and I learnt an important lesson.
Hugs, Katie
I know a lot of your ex members go there I have seen them (and current ones that never come back here). I suppose you could just say they have no taste. All I really done there usefull is have an account put up for Suffolk police. Then after cut backs they had no time to police it so I did , it done my head in so I gave up and left them all to it.
You just be proud of what you have , and who wants to be named after a can of Lager?
Take care , julia x
Hi all,
I am new here and a basic member. I hope I am not being too forward, but how about a 3-day all inclusive pass for say $3-$5. This would give people a way to access the site, look around and see if they want to stay. If they want to stay, they can be auto rebilled for either the full yearly amount or on a monthly basis.
Also, perhaps make Frock free for lifetime members, a nominal fee for full members, and a full subscription fee for the free members who may be interested in it?
I am just suggesting what I have seen other sites do.
Thanks for listening.
Samantha
If you check the number of people that are logged in at various times of the day, on the whole around 70% of active members who logged on are full members. the problem seems we have thousands of INACTIVE members who never become full members.
Inactive members? If they are not contributing in anyway to this website just Delete them.....
People join this website everyday never to be seen again. They do nothing! I think some come here by pure accident or stupidity.
Yesterday! Two people joined whom in my opinion was just one person. Profile states . About me: I'm incredible.... That was it 2 whole words. It gets better the next one said . About me: Nunya. Yes one whole word. It may look good having thousands of members on paper but , if they do nothing and never return there is no point in having them on a list of members "Because they are not" They are just a load of false people with to much time on their hands or to put it bluntly "Bored".
Julia x
Here is a classic example of someone who should not be here. Oh they will come back in a year or more to promote them self again. I do know of this person from years ago and unless they were lieing about them self way back then I am their worse nightmare , because I know the truth.
http://gendersociety.com/forums/topic/9631/music-and-the-arts
Julia x
Well, I only did the three month. I want to see how active the site is and if I want to stay. If I find it beneficial, then I will get the one year after the three months. I figure $15 for 3 is worth it.
It's a bargain Emma! In answer to the point about inactive members, you may have noticed that our member count recently dropped from 24k+ to a little under 19k. That's because we had a cull of all Basic members who have not logged in for a year or more and who's email addresses no longer work. There will be more culls in the future too.
Best, Katie
