This is an important message to all members of the SG Forums.

You would have noticed that there are quite a few advertising banners on this site these days. We don't like them as much as you, but with the forums growing everyday we have to cover costs.

I would like to gather feedback on this proposal to see if there is an interest at all.

Please complete the above poll.

For $12 USD per year you would be able to purchase an SG Platinum Membership account. The membership would entitle you to:

1. NO ADS. Every page would be 100% free of banners, pop ups and every type of ad you could ever think of. No ads at all!

2. Increased Signature and Avatar size allowances with SG Platinum Membership branding.

3. Exclusive entrance into give aways of free video games, consoles and other exciting prizes. Only SG Platinum Members will be able to enter these draws making the chance of you winning very high.

4. Extra smilies and other cool little tools.

5. Extra Styles meaning countless colour schemes to choose from.

6. Any other suggestions you may have...

We are completely open to suggestions. Let us know what you would like to see.

Most important, do not freak out and think we would be forcing you to pay. Everything that you currently see and use here at the SG Forums would stay the same if you did not want to purchase an SG Platinum Membership.

We would be accepting payment through paypal.

Remember, this is just a suggestion and we are looking for feedback to see if it is an idea that will go ahead.

Once again, do not think we have some type of "evil motive" for this plan. We do not. We are just interested in finding out if certain members would be interested in paying a yearly membership fee for some cool new features and inparticular, ad free browsing.

i'd definitely be interested once i get my debit card in 2 months :p

Good idea if you ask me. It must be near impossible to maintain such a huge and popular site/forum without having ads all over the place, so I can't imagine being the only one supporting this idea (that's not to say I'll pay the 12$ :p).

yeah id definatly do this, as long as its a safe, secure way of doing it :p

TROD.

Yes, we'd be using Paypal.

Sounds cool. 12 dollars a year is a reasonable price too! What about a custom title of your own choice for a platinum member? And... platinum rankballs ( :crazyboy: ) instead of the grey ones?

Originally posted by Juventino
Sounds cool. 12 dollars a year is a reasonable price too! What about a custom title of your own choice for a platinum member?

Good idea (Y)

Also: No refunds if you're a dumbass and get yourself banned (H)

Originally posted by Lior
Yes, we'd be using Paypal.

yeah sorry i wasnt just ignoring your original post :p ive just never used it thats all.

I think the idea of give-aways or competitions is a good one, even if its just small things every so often, its cool. What about a soccergaming email address? :p or a small webspace like a blog where you could upload things :)

TROD.

I also like TROD's idea very much.

BTW - Made a new suggestion. See edited post. It's a small suggestion. ;) Makes things a little nicer.

Those are really good ideas guys, I'll note them down. Some of that stuff could definitely be included.

what about an over 18 babes forum :D :D, kidding kidding :p

TROD.

I'd be up for this, the ads don't bother me since my web browser(Avant) has an AD blocker so in the place of the adds it says action cancelled, but the prizes seem nice. I'm guessing there would be a platinum members area or forum thing.

nah, I wouldnt be willing to do this

This idea has its pros and cons.
I am sorry but this is a no to me.

I think you'd find it hard to find people willing to pay 12$.

The ad-free boards would be nice, but some of the other suggestions wouldn't do it for me. I think the differnce between normal membership and platinum is not enough, or good enough to make people opt for Platinum Memberships.

I completely understand that you guys are trying to keep costs low but I doubt this will work. I think you're better off searching for a "major" sponsor...

Just wondering, how many prize draws a year approximetly there would be and what kind of prizes :p . And is it just gonna be draws or like different competitions for some prizes?

yes, if the prize option will be good, then i will certainly pay 12 dollars a year.



BTW how about make different types of memberships and less options, less price. Forexample just no banners and some smilies pay like 4-6 dollars, then other stuff and the over 18 Babes forum, and pay 12 dollars.





























Don't have to take the Babes forum suggestion seriously though. But the idea of different price ranges with different options i think is not bad.

very worthy but i am happy with the current soccergaming site...so no for me

and will the prizes be available for shipping to all countries? >=D

I'm totally against the idea. Yes, I may hate the glut of ads as much as the next guy, but $12 a year is a bit much to see the ads go bye-bye, along w/ a handful of cosmetic changes and twice-yearly prize draws. Even if you throw in a shiny new sports car, a free trip to the 2006 World Cup, and offer to pay for the rest of my university education, I still would point-blank refuse.

Originally posted by Avalanche1996
I'm totally against the idea. Yes, I may hate the glut of ads as much as the next guy, but $12 a year is a bit much to see the ads go bye-bye, along w/ a handful of cosmetic changes and twice-yearly prize draws. Even if you throw in a shiny new sports car, a free trip to the 2006 World Cup, and offer to pay for the rest of my university education, I still would point-blank refuse.
Now now, don't go that far that you would refuse a free education ;) .


But yeah, like i said, drop the price just for ads-free and something else and leave it at 12 for the rest.

Hmm i dont really mind the current ads & either way i don't have a credit card to pay..........i guess its not for me. Hehe wouldnt mind the over 18 babes forum though :p :kader:

I think $12 is a bit much for taking away ads which I don't really notice anyway , depends what the prizes are though. I don't think turning it into a porn site would be a good idea though , there are sites that do that for free:D .

i like the idea but $12 is a little heavy for a platinum membership

Well, I personally wouldn't pay, but thats just my opinion and up to others if they wish to. It is just that I am somewhat opposed to any sort of commercialisation, but then that is obviously tempered by the fact that in order for SG to survive the ad content is required - victims of circumstances all of us. I can also understand people on 56k might be interested, given the amount of time it takes for the pages to load these days.

So long as some of of status-tier thing doesn't emerge, thats fine.

I have enough trouble finding a use for all the current smilies anyway, let alone any more.

Originally posted by mhflierman
I think you'd find it hard to find people willing to pay 12$.

The ad-free boards would be nice, but some of the other suggestions wouldn't do it for me. I think the differnce between normal membership and platinum is not enough, or good enough to make people opt for Platinum Memberships.

I completely understand that you guys are trying to keep costs low but I doubt this will work. I think you're better off searching for a "major" sponsor...

(Y)

I will say no for the moment but i would be willing to become a platinum membership when i grow up a bit more and won't need my parents to use credit cards and things. I think maybe the fee is a bit too much for ads but it's not that much i mean 12 dollars are like 9 euro which even i can give where my parents dun gimme money. If i was more alive i would do smth to pay but since i am not able (School) to be here too much it doesn't worth for me to pay now.

I think it is a good idea and i will surely support it in the future.

my girlfriend will just love it when i tell her im paying for a forum on the net lol ;(

naw...

I see no ads anyway thanks to the Adblock extension of Mozilla.

I don't care about bigger Sigs.

newer Smilies don't interest me either...

Being entered into lucky draws and stuff... hmm...im not lucky enough to win those...

so yeah... naw.

Originally posted by IceBlu
naw...

I see no ads anyway thanks to the Adblock extension of Mozilla.


yeah, was gonna mention that one too.

The ads dont bother me,but if it's a way to help finance this forums and get some candy on the way,i got 12USD to give u!
(H)

i like the idea, but $12 is just too steep for a couple of smileys and adless browsing. what about us underage forum-goers eh? i say we just make it a donation type of money-giving. if anyone gives over $5, let them get the better forum. but thats just my opinion.;)

i like the idea of the multiple level memberships

certain features would interest me, whereas others would not

what about putting an individual price on the different features, allowing members to fully customise their browsing

not sure how practical this is, but i know that I would be interested in removing ad etc, but not a lot of the other features

No dont like it. I hate it when you have to pay :p. maybe because im dutch but :p

No don't do it. A forum should be free of any charche for everyone. It will make Soccergaming some sort of a company and make it less popular amongst the members.

No. The ads don`t bother me that much.

Personally I'd never be interested.

But that's just me. I wouldn't subscribe to anything. I can live without it. If I can live without it, I don't need it.

It will be good for the website but.

Originally posted by rony31
nah, I wouldnt be willing to do this Same here, its a good site and everything, but im happy just being a normal member.

I dont have many posts her..but i m a regular visitor for over 3 years now....
And i think the donate using paypal is better than the Platinum members thingy...
JJ's not here..or he wud have laughed his a** off!!:rockman:

Hello
I like the idea, fine with me but 12 a year is too much. You should put something thats optional. Put something like 2$ minimum and 12$ maximum. There are lots of members on this site and even if the price is lower, the money is still good.

Well, personally I dont get remoted bothered by the ads at all, I dont use smilies very often, I am cool with the sig sizes and I dont enter prize draws, so the only possible motive for me to do this would be as a donation. What I would want to know is, would SG be getting the same amount of money through showing me ads as it would if I donated the $12, it's not a lot of money but I would only give it if I knew it was going to help SG more than it would for me to just keep the ads.

Also, I have had very bad experiences with Paypal in the past and would be reluctant to use it unless I had too.

i understand that you need to raise money, but i dont really like this idea. The ads dont really bother me, and i think it'll get too 'I'm a Platinum member so i'm better than you' .

It's a good idea in raising cash but I doubt even half of all the members would be willing to pay up to be a platinum member. I know I wouldn't since the advantages just don't seem all that great. The ads don't really bother me either.

The ads aren't even interrupting here. All the things you will have for that 12$ suck. If I may say it like that.

Originally posted by jatin
I dont have many posts her..but i m a regular visitor for over 3 years now....
And i think the donate using paypal is better than the Platinum members thingy...
JJ's not here..or he wud have laughed his a** off!!:rockman: it says u registered on Feb 2004, is it 2007 yet,
anyways i dont like this idea, i hate to pay.

i don't like the idea as the ads do not bother me, but IF they become pop up ads like in www.tribalfootball.com then yeah it would be a consideration. :)

Originally posted by king
it says u registered on Feb 2004, is it 2007 yet,
anyways i dont like this idea, i hate to pay.

just cos he registered 2004, doesn't mean he didn't visit before does it

u r right.

Sorry if this is already mentioned. Just an idea.

Maybe some people who are just annoyed by ads could pay hmm let's say $20 once and have the board ad free life time or for 5 years.


You can fight both ads and pop ups by using a program. FireFox can block both ads and popups (extension for ads) so no big deal. It is mostly to support the forum i guess. SG must find something that will make the difference.

It seems a good deal, and many vBullitin forums have tried it and have signed up many new members, by the looks of this forum, its obvious it has many members, i'm sure some will sign up.

Originally posted by king
u r right.

fantastic post :)

Oh im not too sure about your post gianpan, i dont think anyone would pay $20 just to get rid of ads

TROD.

Originally posted by king
it says u registered on Feb 2004, is it 2007 yet,
anyways i dont like this idea, i hate to pay.

king is the second slowest developing person in the world.

actually, what chance of a major sponsor like it was mentioned earlier?

like konami?

I agree with maarten but i think this platinum membership need more advantages than the normal membership because i think for the other asian users(like me)is quite expensive.

Anyway i support SG effort but need more advantages if want to put 12$ for a platinum membership.If not,might as well put it in maybe less than 10$?

I suggest for the platinum user,make a private forum for them where they can discuse anything.Or maybe reveal some good tricks which not many people knew?Or maybe some very good tips?Or maybe a SG league?like ranking and stuff?Or maybe have the chance to beta test some new games?

Well this is all i have rite now.Maybe later if i have more idea or opinion i will add up here~:)

It's cool with me. I like the chance to win something good for only $12 a year. I say do it. The ones that pay get the perks, the ones that don't keep what they got.

the ads dont bother me at all so i definately wont be signing up

Hey just how big are the new sigs gonna be.......im having an EXTREMELY slow 56K connection & it takes quite a few seconds to load as it is.........

There's an option in the User Control Panel which lets you disable othere people's sigs and/or avatars.

What would make me sign up way above anything else is the exclusive contests. Actually, that would probably be the only reason I'd want platinum membership..

The idea is OK, as long as all the mods get free Platium Membership :p

My firewall blocks 99% of the adds so i'm not bothered at all :)

Originally posted by leungtl
The idea is OK, as long as all the mods get free Platium Membership :p

Or just the supermods. :p

and Hanek :mrpimp: :mrpimp:

TROD.

Originally posted by TROD
and Hanek :mrpimp: :mrpimp:

TROD. OMG, you said Hanek instead of hanek, he's gonna kick your ass now :crazyboy:

there really aren't that many ads

Never mind I've a pop-up blocker.

Probably not enough support for this to get off the ground unfortunately. Want to support us... click on the Google text ads you see on the pages when something interests you or you feel nice. Cheers!

Maybe one day we'll open a donation service with anyone who donates getting entered into prize draws and getting extra perks.

Originally posted by king
it says u registered on Feb 2004, is it 2007 yet,
anyways i dont like this idea, i hate to pay.


Damn..this coming from an Indian....arent we supposed to be the best brains in the world??.. dont spoil our name man!!

and abt ur doubt...i dot need to register to visit the forums..i can visit as a guest too..(H)

Yeah me too........been coming here since 2002.

Originally posted by Lior
click on the Google text ads you see on the pages when something interests you or you feel nice. Cheers!


I do that alot by accident anyway (Y)

Originally posted by Lior
Probably not enough support for this to get off the ground unfortunately. Want to support us... click on the Google text ads you see on the pages when something interests you or you feel nice. Cheers!

Maybe one day we'll open a donation service with anyone who donates getting entered into prize draws and getting extra perks. You might aswell set up a paypal account then put a button somewhere on the site for us to make donations, even if you dont have any prize draws to start with, you may just get some contributions.

bah! I had just come here to say yes lol. If u decide that sometime i guess all ppl who will register will make it more like a donation than the features provided.

Maybe when too many ppl on server it should let the platinum membership ppl in. Anywayz tip for the future :P

Why don't you have a good clean out and delete members who haven't posted for a year? That may cut some of the cost?

Originally posted by Lior
Probably not enough support for this to get off the ground unfortunately. Want to support us... click on the Google text ads you see on the pages when something interests you or you feel nice. Cheers!

Maybe one day we'll open a donation service with anyone who donates getting entered into prize draws and getting extra perks.

I feel sorry man. These boards must use acres of server space with all the attachements, sigs and countless amount of posts. I'm a webmaster myself and I know space is used up so fast, and a good, reliable, fast host isn't cheap.

I think the donation idea is good. I'd start that right away. At least you could get some money in. I think people are willing to make a one-time donation to support the cause. I know I would.

yeah id make a donation if the forum is in trouble :p

TROD.

Maybe people who have have many domains and don't need them could cut down the cost of domain name.

it goes agianst the sg tradition, this place built up asa group of folks wanting to improve fifa98, and ads where not a major sacrifice in order to do this. i dont understand why donations are so necessary, arent the numbers adding up anymore ?

Originally posted by TOON ARMY
Why don't you have a good clean out and delete members who haven't posted for a year? That may cut some of the cost?

Yeah man.........i was looking at the member list the other day & there are many members who definitely aren't active anymore

Don't get the wrong impression... we are not struggling or in trouble here. We just want to find alternate ways to paying the server bills other than filling the pages up with many ads.

Thanks for all the suggestions, and we will delete some usernames who have not posted in a couple of years. Not to save space, but just to free up some usernames that people might want.