its not about the £10. its about us as BMWlander supporters, and more so the BMWland members who support this site without a moments hesitation, cant actually sell anything to anybody unless the buyer is also a supporter. The classified section is for the benefit of supporters. If they want to advertise redundant products or items on BMWlander, why should their target market only be those who are site supporters - it almost makes the classfieds pointless. When someone sells something, yeah they might want a niche or specialist market, but as many potential buyers as possible not upto 280. speaking as someone who joined as i was a BMWland supporter and addict. I dont even have a BMW anymore, yet i was one of the first to support this site. So anyone saying its only a tenner, its not the point. I agree with Franz.
I can very much see the reasoning for paying members getting something a little extra for their contribution. In all practicality having the classifieds 'members only to sell, all to read' isn't going to make a lot of difference to a lot of people. The people who would benefit from it being open the most would be the paying members. How about the classifieds being open, but having something like the "M Sport Room" just for paying punters? Like a 1st class lounge, you want access you pay.
Firstly hi to all old land members. Old user name steve640dgc. I've been sitting on the sidelines watching how things are/ would pan out with the new forum. Didn't bother signing up simply due to the fact that random jokes and motor home stories didn't appeal to me. A BMW forum should be about just that or at least related. Any new forum is going to take time, no more than that, it's going to take time and a lot of effort to get it to a point that it is a valuable source/ resource of information. Anyone commencing this type of endeavour should be fully aware of the costs involved, just like Matt was. Should it be free? Yes it should, that way it will flourish as a resource. Should the classifieds be free, yes they should both ways. If you want to attract members in the early days, needs dictate this. Traffic is the life blood of any forum. A membership charge of any sort can only stifle that growth. Maybe a few years down the line yes when there is a good few thousand members and more importantly a wealth of information. It's not about the £10 that's irrelevant, it's about getting traffic to make the whole site a want to come to place. Costs in the early days should be negligible anyway, the software can be sourced free, the server for minimum cast bearing in mind just how little traffic it is generating. Based on the £1400 estimate given, for that I could have set up the site and also had a fortnights holiday in the sun with all costs covered for a year. None of my business though, I know. Anyway hi to all bmwland members, hi to k777 (Richard) hope the journey to the dark side is working for you lol. As old landers will remember, I'm not one for a quiet life, do enjoy a good ruffling of feathers were its due, that's the life blood of any forum. Will I sign up and pay the £10, sorry no! I do not see any benefit at this early stage. Might that change, possibly. And with regards to the £10, name a charity, I will donate and provide documented proof of donation for a full membership. It's not about the money!
ey up Steve, wondering where you have been. Hows the M5, still loving it ? loving the darkside, now it seems to be not breaking down !!
Ho and welcome aboard. OK then - MacMillan Cancer Care, and no need to provide proof of donation since I'm sure you're a man of your word.
Hi Richard, yip and loving every second of it, I actually get excited to go to work lol. The engine is just a monster, drop the pedal at 70 and she will still wheel spin (on a private road of course) Did notice a few wee issues with the panamera in the early days, glad it sorted its self out, hoes the electric side panning out?. I'm still thinking about the Tesla, but with the launch next year of the M760 V12 (ohhhhhh) that might need to wait lol. Hi slim_boy_fat, thanks for the welcome. Re the £10 not an issue but the offer needs to come from a mod or owner as only they can grant full access.
Several latter posts do put this in perspective & perhaps it's worth further reviewing On the basis of seclusion to classified posting. I have a pug for sale in the classifieds that shall be hard enough giving away let alone sell!
Thanks to all that contributed to this thread, I've read your comments with interest. The Classifieds section is now open to all although you will not be able to advertise anything without being a Site Supporter. As a point to clarify, there is no pressure for anyone to donate £10 to the site, it's your call whether you do so or not. I am, of course, extremely grateful to those that have because there are costs involved and every penny spent so far has been spent on the site and not on an all-expenses paid holiday to the Caribbean.
Great news, a step in the right direction. Maybe consider going the whole way and just open it up. That way site grows at an expedited rate. As you say those who want to can donate, those that don't can still use a fully functional site. As I said before traffic is your life blood. Just look at your local newspaper (actual and site) classified are free both ways, why? because it draws readers. Anyway said my bit.
Its fine now, touch wood, was down to a batch of faulty injectors seemingly. I love it really. As much as you do the M5 I suspect. As for Tesla, its a no from me. At our gym theres two charging points. Even today, 4 Tesla (Teslas / Tesli ?) trying to charge, all having a discussion about how long they need to hang about. Can you imagine if you had to be in London at a particular time, just out of reach of a charge, so you have to stop for an hour to charge, or more if theres a queue. I have seen ones that have run out of charge brought on low loaders too. We have fitted two power points at our work so we can both charge easily. And at home its easy enough to (i put a plug outside near to my side of the drive), so mostly I can do a day without an engine in the rush hour traffic. Overall i am getting 40mpg over its life of 12k miles, and i am no slouch. The adaptable suspension is independent of engine mode, so i can have it low/hard setting even when in electric. When i say hard suspension, the air suspension is amazing, spped bumps are mostly insignificant its so smooth even on the low hard setting which it always is.
thats the issue. I go to gatwick a lot. albeit not for much longer. its 239 miles for me to get there. i have hit traffic and had an hour delay sat still on M1 How much extra time to i have to plan for ? What if its dark and the lights are draining the batteries, and suddenly you need to divert? The hour charge on route there (assuming i am fully charged at the start), possible wait of an hour for someone to finish, plus traffic (ok thats in any car). What if you just decided to go somewhere on spur of the moment - 50 mile round trip, but you only have 40 range ? Its to limiting to normal life routine. Unless you have a second car. Don't get me wrong, its the way things are going, but having a Hybrid, I can charge when parked, anywhere with a 13amp socket, charge on the run - like I did all the way to Paris on 3rd day of ownership. My range is rubbish in comparison, i have a heavy engine lug around. But having had a hybrid, I am not ready for full electric yet. I would consider it, if more charging points, and not just a couple at each place, and a bigger range - 500+ And that will come for sure. The other point is, the noise, having had a great 640d,and now having a decent petrol engine again, I forgot how i missed the noise. I am sure if Steve went from an M5 to a tesla, he would hate it before he was off the forecourt.
Oh! Do you know I never even gave the noise a thought! Can't have that, no excuse when her indoors is moaning, what? Can't hear you...... Excuse would be out the window....... Now that would never do!
@The CO Just popped out to the forums main page and i can see the classifieds section listed if i scroll down, but i can't click anywhere and i can't see any threads...
