[Audio-Me]

Well if money becomes a problem, we'll be here to support Head-Fi.

 

[Flumpus]

Earlier I mentioned a private board in addition to this one... let me kind of explain what I meant, and everyone tell me if this seems like a good or bad idea...

Have a private board with a monthly/yearly cost. It will obviously be smaller, probably the more "hard core" members, so the discussions may go more in depth, stuff like that. We'd probably get to know each other better in a private forum as well... In return for our subscription, maybe we get a head-fi e-mail address, get to develop a closer relationship with sponsors, and are offered more opportunities to review/audition stuff than normal members. I don't think this would necessarly exclude anyone from the benefits of the board, rather, it would help feed the addiction so to speak of the most diehard members, and solve some monitary problems.

Am I totally off base in thinking this is a good idea? Let me know your opinions, I'm curious

 

[Audio-Me]

Great idea! Head-Fi email address, that'd be groovy.

However, there would have to be added security 'cause a "restricted area" section might provoke dirtbag hackers.

 

[Audio Redneck]

Jude,

In all sincerity, thanks for the site, your time and effort, and for doing what is necessary to keep it afloat. As you stated, this site is one of the (if not THE) best sources of practical info for the lower budget audio fanatic.

- Don

To anyone else reading,

Remember guys that if you buy ANYTHING from one of the sponsors, mank sure they KNOW you are buying from them because they support this site.

(and it probably wouldn't hurt to order a coffee mug or shirt)

 

[jude]

Quote:

Originally posted by jodokast Doesn't Head-Fi already have something similiar to this? http://www.cafepress.com/cp/store/st...storeid=headfi Hehe......I wonder how many people actually buy stuff......while I'd like to buy some merchandise, it's really thru a third-party - and I would much rather give cash directly to Jude rather than via some third party merchant.

Thanks for the sentiments, jodokast, but I'm not currently accepting cash directly from members -- just sponsors (oh yeah, and Cafe Press) at this time.

Regarding Cafe Press: I was curious myself, so I just logged into Cafe Press. Here is how much we've sold at our Head-Fi Store since our first product sale through our Cafe Press on October 3, 2001.

Exactly 30 items have been purchased as of today.

Gross Sales = $585.70

Head-Fi Net = $166.00

And that's one hundred sixty six very helpful dollars. Thanks to all those who bought stuff from there -- I hope you like what you got. Thanks to all these people (initials only), in order of sales:

SL
DRG
AC
BDG
KWT
DGS
STK
JT
MMT
BL
GFY
RLF
SS
CMD
KLM
AS
PA

Thanks again to the people behind these initials. I hope I covered everyone there.

 

[shivohum]

Quote:

We enforce the no-ad posting policy on the main forums without bias. The members don't want ads littering the main forums. If not for the moderators, this is what you'd have. I'm sure one or two slip by periodically, but when we see them, we delete them and then notify the poster why.

How are you deciding between what is an ad and what isn't? How much of Jan's post would he have to cut out so that it wouldn't be a problem anymore?

Quote:

By as cynical as you want, shivohum, but understand the following: I have put thousands of dollars of my own money into this site. Even with the sponsors we have, I end up putting between $200 and $400 of my own money into this site every month.

Jude, I'm sorry if I came off cynical. I understand that you've put a lot of sweat and blood into this site, and I hope you know that we Head-Fi regulars appreciate it.

However, my response was based on a fear that the forums might devolve into a rigid space where if you are a non-paying vendor, you are practically automatically censored (anything you say might be construed as an ad). I don't want to see a future where hobbyists who happen to make some money on the side cannot voice their ideas without first divying up cash.

I'm glad to hear that you offered to allow Jan to cut down the commercial content in his post and be published. I think the guidelines as to just what constitutes commercial content need to be clearer so that these problems may be avoided in the future.

 

[jude]

Quote:

Originally posted by shivohum How are you deciding between what is an ad and what isn't? How much of Jan's post would he have to cut out so that it wouldn't be a problem anymore? Jude, I'm sorry if I came off cynical. I understand that you've put a lot of sweat and blood into this site, and I hope you know that we Head-Fi regulars appreciate it. However, my response was based on a fear that the forums might devolve into a rigid space where if you are a non-paying vendor, you are practically automatically censored (anything you say might be construed as an ad). I don't want to see a future where hobbyists who happen to make some money on the side cannot voice their ideas without first divying up cash. I'm glad to hear that you offered to allow Jan to cut down the commercial content in his post and be published. I think the guidelines as to just what constitutes commercial content need to be clearer so that these problems may be avoided in the future.

I'm sorry, too, if I came as a bit of a bit harsh to you, shivohum.

I'll try to come up with a firmer definition of an ad-type post, but I've written ad copy before, and there was clearly some ad copy in that post by any definition.

As far as other vendors: I don't think we've been so rigid as to not allow them. I actually call manufacturers and ask them to come by. I know Cardas Audio, Meier Audio, Sennheiser, Antique Sound Labs, Stealth Cables, Acoustic Zen, Holmes Powell, AudioValve, FreeSystems, Mapleshade, HeadRoom, Balanced Power Technologies, Tara Labs, the Brand X guy (no idea what else to call him right now), and many other manufactuers and retailers have come by. Some regularly, some not. Some post, some don't.

I think it's fair to say that we've not been strict about posts by the manufacturers -- look how active Joseph Lau is, and I think it's great that he is so active here.

And I don't mean to insinuate anywhere in this thread that I think Jan did anything wrong. He had some copy that I construed as advertisement copy, and so that's why the post was deleted. I'm not trying to hint at all that he was trying to be tricky. But we (the moderators) delete all ad-type posts in the main forums as we come across them, and as they're reported; because even more important than sponsor structure (in spirit, if not pragmatically) is that the main forums never end up looking like the Usenet newsgroups.

 

[ai0tron]

Well, Jude and Headroom get A+'s from me.

Thanks Jude your generosity does not go unnoticed!!! And believe it or not, you have helped change my outlook on the world in a way.

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

Originally posted by mikewang I don't mind if a site "sells out." Heck, we all need to make a living. At least be honest and up-front about it, though. A better option would've been to lock the thread with a post from a moderator explaining why the post was against the rules. And the best option would've been to just left the damn post alone. [/B]

Wrong, because then the commercial venture who posted the message would still reap all of the rewards. Forget for a moment that this was Jan. Imagine it was Lou from Lou's Sleazy Stereo. He posts a very large message that, while informative, includes lots of plugs for his own business. People would be upset.

You're right that Jan is a member of this community. But he's also a commercial venture, and we have to be consistent about enforcing non-commerciality. HeadRoom pays a good deal of money for their own forum here. They can evangelize their products all they want in there (and members can criticize them, which also happens). But they can't post messages about sales they're having in any other forum, either.

Quote:

What if someone posts a bad review of a sponsored product?

Before you post "what ifs" you should read the "already theres." There are bad reviews of HeadRoom products on Head-Fi. There are bad reviews of Jan's products on Head-Fi. There are even bad reviews of the FreeSpan system by HeadRoom moderators (FreeSpan is also a sponsor). The integrity of the forums is not being "sold." And we keep it fair and on-the-level.

 

[gaineso]

Hey Jude!!! (Wasn't that a Beatles song?)

All I can say is THANKS!!!!

I didn't realize that you were still doing a lot of this out of your pocket.

You've done a lot for a lot of people and most of us didn't/don't realize how much.

Thanks again. I'm sure I speak for many when I say that.

 

[morphsci]

Yes, Thanks Jude. I have not spent as much time here of late but I remember the "early days" after the headwize crash. Head-Fi has progressed immensely since then and in all that time it has become a stronger presence. Jude's vision for Head-Fi has resulted in a very stable forum with a very good prospect of both long-term growth and long-term survival.

I would also like to thank Flumpus for his idea of a pay private forum. There may be a little ( or a lot

) to work out, but this seems like a good way for Head-Fi to grow again in a slightly different direction. So Jude, any possibility of Flumpus' suggestion in the post above (9 posts up) becoming a reality?

 

[grinch]

a private pay forum seems overly complicated for me.. with things like this, i agree that it's best to keep everything as simple as possible for newbies and the like. i'd say just setup a paypal account, or c2it or something. i know that i would happily donate funds to it and i'm pretty sure a big percentage of the "major posters" would as well.

 

[Jan Meier]

PFFHHH.....

Just returned from a four days holiday so I couldn't reply any sooner to this thread.

However, I just wanted to express that I completely understand and respect Jude's motivations. In order to keep things under control certain rules are needed. What these rules are and how they are to be lived at the end is Jude's decision.

Remember that we're all guests at Jude's place and guests have to live according to the rules of the house. It's as simply as that

Anyway, I will not edit and replace my contribution as most of you might already have seen it at Headwize. Actually, I don't have that much time right now.

But tomorrow I'll prepare a short report on my visit to Sennheiser

Cheers,

Jan

 

[JMT]

Quote:

Originally posted by Jan Meier: But tomorrow I'll prepare a short report on my visit to Sennheiser

Jan,

That is something for all of us to look forward to, thank you in advance. But, can you make it a "long" report?

 

[Driftwood]

Thank you very much for providing a place for all of us to spend so much of our free time.

I know that you said you are not accepting personal donations at the moment, but like others, I am very willing to give something if or when this is necessary.

I get a lot out of head-fi, and although I spend a lot of money as a result of being a member here, they most certainly are educated purchases, and I most likely got them cheaper as a result of being a member here (and in some cases, such as the Melos, ONLY because I came here.)

I'd be VERY willing to give you something if I could.

Driftwood