Who are those hidden members?

I was hidden until just a few minutes ago. I'm shy, doncha know?

[color=#ff00c8]GOTCHA![/color]

Hey everybody! Swimpy's online.

Oh, how's the new job working out?

You're real good at keeping secrets, Roger. I start the new job Monday and I'm pretty excited. Took this week off and rearanged all the furniture. That's enough of that

hey kids!

Swimpy - i hope your new job is as wonderful as mine has turned out to be. I also took a week off before i started, and it made all the difference in the world to my attitude. no mental frazzle.

I'm hidden too roger. SOmetimes I leave the browser open all night so i don't want people to think I'm ignoring them if they try to talk to me.

Oops! Sorry Swimp - forgot myself.

Congrats on the new job, Swimpstress! I know you were gettin' a bit irked with the old one.

Swimpy- So glad that you are here. Hey, this place is getting the feel of a college reunion!
"We're all in our places, with bright shining faces!"

i am enthusiastic about all these levels of enthusiasm. Makes me grin each time i see those level-tags.

Shades of Abuzz of old! I woke to 37 emails in my box from this delightful new forum. Great job, Craven and Jespah!

eh-Beth- The funny thing, is that in the first few days on the site, I kept looking around for ratings. They are not there, and

I don't miss them at all!!!

In fact, I think that NO ratings are a definite plus!

Me too, Phoenix - and yet. . . . And yet, I've felt a stronger urge to rate the stuff here than I have anywhere else.

Roger- I am convinced that the "new" ratings system on Abuzz was the start of the ruination of it! I don't know what Craven will untimately decide to do, but as of now, If I had my "druthers", I would say,

"Leave them Off!"

The ratings would be meaningful only if a seperate panel who wouldn't have to be named would do the judging. Having members fire pot shots at one another via ratings is counter productive and doesn't mean anything. I've been sensitive to it with the Ebert threads as I'd like to lure some new blood into debate with some of the older members and that seems to have happened to some extent. I see no problem in charging a fee for this site which could have a thirty day refund option. It would certainly help Craven out and wouldn't have to be that much per month or in an annual fee so that anyone could afford it. Craven is going to be spending a lot of time networking the site when he gets it online in its new format on a new server. He needs all the support we can muster. I hope I haven't stepped out of line suggesting this but it's open to debate.

Phoenix - i agree - the rating system isn't good at Abuzz, tho i think it's better than the really horrid one they had when i started.

Forums like Taunton and beyondmainstream don't have ratings, and others like P45 decided to discontinue using them (if you post a rating at P45, someone will come looking for you for an explanation of your behaviour).

I do like the 'enthusiast in training' etc. tags - mostly because the titles are so cuuuuuuuuuuuute (probably not Craven's intention, but ...)

I'll NEVER charge a subscription fee! That's out of the question. I can find ways to sustain the cost without being a pimp! He he.

I can:

Affiliate with sites like Amazon and if you buy books from the co-branded store it will help cover costs.

I can sell T-shirts etc and if people want to "support" the site they could buy them (I'll probably sell them at no profit just to get my ugly logo on your mouse pads coffee mugs etc).

I can sell ads on the site (this would take 5 minutes).

Bottom line is that this site is intended to be free and it always will be. I will find ways to cover costs so that the quality doesn't degenerate but I never want to make money with this site and I never want to charge for membership.

It's a business model that makes it hard to fail. I'm ready for the costs already and since I don't want to make money I don't have to worry about teh complications and costs that profit brings.

Craven- Well, you know you have my support. This forum is like a breath of fresh air. I certainly have a lot of respect for what you are doing, and will do my damndest to assist wherever I can.

I really figure what is going on in Abuzz' "mind". At first I thought that when things got bad for the internet industry, that Abuzz was holding on, figuring that if it turned around, they would have a salable product. Right now, I don't think that any business person in his right mind would buy the site, except maybe for Bobsal, (Sorry, I just could not suppress the desire to make that remark! )

Some time ago, I joined "Open Dialogue"- The American Express Abuzz. It is going NOWHERE. Practically no Qs- less responses.

thermal coffee mugs? set up the order form!