[hazmail]

Count me in Gerry, and thank you and all the back room boys for your efforts. I don't envy you, trying to get money, when we have had it all for free.
I love all the improvements over the past few months, some how, it has all become very compact, and easier to navigate, especially when you have a dodgy mouse like me.
I'm thinking if users have to pay, then maybe 'PayPal', 'BillPay' would be an asset.
It gets up my nose too, when you know some guys are picking brains, and adding nothing but more questions, just so they can sell us back our own ideas - but that's how the world goes round - I have a big mouth and hate keeping secrets.
Good luck with it, I have been promoting it here, so you may get a few more Aussies with shallow pockets.
I was going to email you today, and ask about something (forgot what), maybe I will be able to get it back tomorrow!!pete

[diemai]

I am only a member of TU for a few months now and obviously I am one of those , that don't mind sharing about the results of their work as I am also very happy about other fellow tinkerers to give me input and assistance concerning their own work .

In this rather short period of time I have turned to a true TU addict , but now I am a little scared about the future of this site .

I never intended and still not do to make lures on a commercial scale , in Europe such would a lot harder , as it might be in the USA , anyway .

I am just doing it for my own pleasure and as a senseful leisure time occupation .

I believe , if such an entry fee has to be payed , a lot of people would quit , and there is more than one reason for this :

-why paying for making your knowledge accessible to other people ?

-if being a rather young guy , that never has own income , such a fee might hit hard on your bugdet !

-why paying for something , that one does not know , what about would come out of it ?

If I understood right with my limited knowledge of the English language , the administration work upon TU has by now become way too elaborate and time consuming to get along with it as a volunteerely leisure time affair , but yet has to be achieved in a full time job now , that off course has to provide a living !

Well , if it is so , in my point of view it's a real nasty affair , absolutely not easy to deal with .

As said before , an entry fee would surely minor the number of members by about one quarter(if I hazard a guess) , maybe even up to half !

And the biggest problem is not only the sheer number of members decreasing , rather more its their(sorry to say it like this) quality and usefulness for the entire site .

What I want to say is , when loosing a few "Tow Horses" of the TU waggon , this would render the entire site a lot less attractive for other , less active people , and these would do a damn thing about paying money for such .

I heard about exactly such happened on a German site , though no money was involved , but such "Tow Horses" were somehow driven away by certain behaviour of other members , and later they felt quite sorry , since the site was afterwards just "drifting along" rather than being an interesting , well-frequented source for its community .

Also fresh people coming along would be put off immediately by having to pay admission , in this case only some well thought-off sample pages might possibly help .

So , in my opinion , if it is absolutely essential to rise a financial source , I'd also go for these various ideas about swaps and donations and stuff , but no entry fee .

But he bad thing about this is , that these are far less planable in monetary terms , a fee is a lot easier to foresee in that way , just "number of members X sum of fee = financial budget" .

It really is a great dilemma , indeed !

So , I really don't know , which option to vote for , since I don't believe in an entry fee to do any good .
On the other hand I'd be ready to pay it(for a short period of time at first) , just to see , what would happen , because I like TU and don't wanna miss it .

But if my concerns about less attractivity for me would come true later , I'd quit , wether I like it or not , don't have money to waste these days !

In my opinion there should also be an option for abstention in that poll , also it is not of advantage to show the current results , since these would(and surely will)take influence on the votes .

Anyway , still have some days left to think all over , since it is about the future of a quite important thing to me .

Finally I'd like to say , that one old German proverb , that my long time passed grandma tought me , came to my mind , when I first figured out , what this is all about :

"Bei Geld hört die Freundschaft auf !" , means as much as "concerning money all friendship ends !"

Hoping for the best , Dieter

[hazmail]

Gee Gerry, you must have some neat machines in that workshop!! Welcome to www.goodwincustom.com.
The question I was going to ask was, do you know where to get stainless (lockable) turntable bearings?? Hang in there. Pete

[PaulWW36]

Although I have already voted in agreement, I would like to put my side of the story, I am a beginner, I need all you people for ideas and inspiration. I have learnt more from this site than anywhere else and am more than willing to contribute money as I consider I will learn much more than my moneys worth.
I doubt I will ever be in a position to mass produce lures of a good enough quality for sale to anybody else so all your trade secrets are safe !!
You all have to remember we are not all experts and some people (myself especially)need you lot more than you need me !

[Mountain Man 26]

My Mom gave my a fly tying kit 25 years ago and when I caught a trout on a Royal Wulff I had tied, I was hooked for life on tackle making. Alot of old timers helped me out with technique. I would run and show them a new fly that I would tie. I did not give them much information back. There was a reason for that. I did not know a great deal.

Over 2 years ago I bought a kit from Del. One week later when I called back for more plastic, April said, "You're hooked aren't you?" I was and still am. Since joining TU I have learned many techniques for pouring and mixing colors. I have learned how to make my own molds out of POP and seal them. Now in the last two weeks I have started making my own cranks. ALL for personal use. I have never sold a thing. 90% of the knowledge that I have about worms and hard baits I got here in these files of wisdom.

A while back there was a thread about Takers vs. Givers and how some people never give back. What percentage do you want of Not Much! There alot of us who are young in different areas of this hobby, we have nothing to give back. That is why we are listening to what you have to say on the subject we are searching. When I come up with an idea for a divided pouring cup, I will post it. If someone asks about a color that I have a proven mix for, I will post it. If I make my first crank, I will post it, hoping that some vet will point out every flaw that he has the answer to learned the hard way.

I just wanted to stand up for the guy who likes to catch fish on his own lures (and will probobly never sell a one of them) and who is just seeking to learn and then share an idea where he can along the way.

I really enjoy this web site the way it is now. I have learned so much and hope to continue to do so and share what I know when someone asks how to do something that I have the answer to.

Rangers lead the way!

[PaulWW36]

"I just wanted to stand up for the guy who likes to catch fish on his own lures (and will probobly never sell a one of them) and who is just seeking to learn and then share an idea where he can along the way."

Thank you, the begginers appreciaite it !

[Big-D]

I just lost a long exaggerated reply on this post and I'm pissed off!

To sum it up:
-This site is a valuable resource (the way that it is)
-TU makes hobbyists as well as manufacturers better
- I get trustworthy info from people here with specific problems or questions on public posts as well as private messaging
-I share information when I have something to offer
-There is nothing wrong with trolling for customers, but I don't like the direction you are wanting to go b/c I only make baits for a select few FRIENDS. I barter alot with my baits b/c I have a hard time taking $$$ from the people I make baits for. I just want to support my habit.


Gotta get back to work

[clamboni]

Jerry, I'm another one that has mixed feelings about it. I, like a lot of guys on here am a member and pay for quite a few other forums. The prices you mentioned are very high compared to other sites. I have no problem paying for a site and would pay the $60 to stay on here. I've learned so much and definitely made more money than that (well, maybe I should say RECOVERED, LOL) Even had some input on a few threads.

Like I said, I'd pay for it.......but how many others will? And how many others would be willing to pay $20 but not $60. If less than 1/3 of the people that are willing to pay $20 would be willing to pay $60, you'll end up with less money.

In one of your posts in this thread, I took it as you basically saying you'd like to switch careers from woodworker to website administrator. I know you said you did research, I don't know if you thought about this, but you may end up with more money coming in if you charge less of a fee. Also.............You have to consider that you're definitely going to lose a good portion of the membership, even if it only costs $10 a year. The lower the fees, the more people can view. The more people that can view, the more hits the site gets, and the more money you can get for advertising.

It really seems like you'd like to turn the site into a moneymaker for yourself. If that's the way you want to go with it, I'm all for it and wish you luck. I'd just hate to see it not turn out well for you.

Out of curiosity, if you don't mind telling, how many hits per day does the site get?

[PaulWW36]

Always look on the bright side, its nearly $2 to the £ !
so it'll be half price for the Brits !!!

[RipLip]

I'm not going to leave a answer with chapters in it but I do want to tell you I vote yes for the future of TU and I will pay the dues because the knowledge is worth it. With the way the economy is going I'm not sure how long I will be able to continue the fees. I may be speaking for others here that don't want to admit it but after adding all the costs of hobbies and general cost of living another $60 might hurt a bit. A lot of people like myself work a full time job and then side jobs to pay for all the hobbies and fun stuff. Like many I will just work more to keep doing what I'm doing. I think this site is great and everyone here is great. Pretty soon life will be just working as many hours as you can just to stay afloat so it may be hard on a lot of people when gas gets to $7 a gallon like they are predicting. I don't want to change the direction of this thread to solve the worlds economy problem but I think adding fees will cause some to flee. Good luck with this big decision and I hope all goes well in the future and we can keep partying here.