Exciting Team News - April Fool Joke (1 Viewer)

[maybeme]

It will be a show stopper for people who haven't used MP in a decent way. If they have problems, and they can't fix it for free, they'll search for an alternative. I vote for:

Weekly build subscription: $15 / year

If you start to ask a subscription, I will pay, but I only have a VISA for a year, so one year ago, I wouldn't have paid. You should also know a lot of guys of say like 16 are using MediaPortal as an experiment. You can't ask them to pay for such support.

EDIT: BTW: if you need some simple file/image hosting, let me know.

 

[Callumgw]

I agree $10 isn't much, but I know I would not be here now if I had to pay in the beginning. I just would have gone with GBPVR or persisted with Myth. As a newbie (on what ever site) I'm reluctant to hand over until I know it's going to work, in this case it means actually get feedback or help. I also agree with the fee being counter to people who help more.

I prefer the donation and google ad options

C

 

[edterbak]

I agree with most people here. Paying to participate on a forum is not a good way to create a big support platform. That is whats the strength of MP atm. We all are here to use a great piece of software and to help each other to improve it. Bug alerts, plugins, skins, etc. all are initiated by users and their feedback. (ofcourse dont forget the developers of MP to realise it )

Thats why I say I will not participate in a payed forum. Although it has got to be said, the fee of 5 or 10 Euro is really low. Lets just say I am very very much reluctant to pay to be able to contribute to a forum.


Alternative thought:
The goal is to find money to pay the for hosting.
Is it possible to attract a sponsor (like a big webshop) or little more ads on the pages? "MediaPortal is also made possible by... BRAND"

 

[rekenaar]

Great to read all the suggestions. Thanks guys, keep it coming and we will sure fine-tune to reach the ideal solution

 

[Coach]

A forum-tax for MediaPortal?
I followed this forum in the last 2 (or more) years and I think the calender will help to understand this 3d... ;-)
But this 3d helped me also to remember that sometimes actions is better than words, so i donated 20euros.

Thanks to everyone.

Coach

 

[robyf]

10$ is a small fee for this great software

 

[andreas121]

I agree with quite a few poster that donating/charging for forum access is a bad move.
However, you'll always have my donation whatever system you decide on

I think that most people will donate because they find Mediaportal great and usefull, not because of what they can get for their donation.

 

[dir]

Wow - Apart from a few at the start of this thread, it looks like you actually landed most of the fish with the bait.
Congrats - the first/only AFJ I've seen this year that seems to have been taken seriously!

 

[quixote23]

Although I wouldn't exactly call this "exciting news", I can more than understand the reasons behind it. I know the kinds of costs you're looking at in maintaining the forum, both in terms of hosting and bandwidth and with your own time and hard work. That is worth ten bucks a year to me at least.

However, Mediaportal - as a free and open-source HTPC solution - is as great as it is because of the community behind it. While I don't have any problem with charging for forum access in principle, my concern is that imposing a pay-for-access plan will drive away a lot of potential developers and people who may have great ideas but not a whole lot of cash - or others who might be interested in it but are unwilling to pay to learn more about it.

In lieu of moving ahead with the payment plan you have in mind, it might be worth considering a different approach. These are just a couple of ideas off the top of my head and may not apply, but what about:

a. Setting up sections of the forum which are pay-access only, while leaving the majority of the forum public-access? For example, plugin and skin development subforums where paying members can get first crack at new updates and SVNs before they go live?

b. Ads? I hate to even suggest it, because there's nothing more beautiful these days than a website that isn't packed with banners and annoying pop-ups, but you could probably get away with more than you have already.

c. Alternate funding sources? I don't pretend to know much at all about how Mediaportal is run as an organisation, but there are Non-Profits out there that will provide financing for open-source development. Again, I have no idea how the brains behind Mediaportal are doing things and this is probably something that's already been explored if it isn't in place already, but a high-profile and well-developed package like MP is sure to get the attention of interested parties.

At any rate, I'm donating 10 Euros (wish I could afford more) and hopefully others will do the same. I wish you guys the best of luck in figuring out your game plan with all of this, and thanks again for all your effort!

 

[TheClaus]

I'll donate 10 towards the site. This software and site is a wonderful place to have.