Will you leave if the forum is a Paid Subscription?

[Swanny]

Can we wait until the $ crashes before we pay???

[Dean Plejaren]

2,709 active members as of 11/17/08
2709 * $1 a month = $2,709 a month.
$2,709 a month * 12 months = $32,508 a year

That's assuming everyone subscribes. Take away my dollar..

[deepblu777]

WANTED: Job that pays me more than the $26.32 a day. I work for the school system and that's what I make...unless school is closed,
then I make -0-.

I feel for everyone trying to get by, these guys are doing a great job and I sure don't expect them to do it for free, either.

All my best wishes for us all...I'll still check in to read and look for new links to info. I will appreciate that, VERY MUCH!

I won't be able to thank you again or offer up any thoughts but I still have my own energy to put out there, so that will have to do.

Been nice communicating!

Love to all the Folks!

[dreb13]

Originally Posted by Dean Plejaren

That's assuming everyone subscribes. Take away my dollar..

I chose "active members" in that figure and not "members" assuming that most of the active members would chip in a buck a month.

There are 5,327 "members" listed as of 11/18/08 and I assume that most of them will not pay a fee to post on the forum.

[iainl140285]

All the info will remain 100% free from my understanding.
Anybody can view - no different from what it is now.

The only slightly backward thing is - if you have information or wish to express your opinion/ideas YOU will have to pay get it out there! Weird.
So, do you feel your info. good valuable enough to share?



Peace
Iain

[yikes!]

I think I can swing a $1, count me in for that during these hard times.

[ADAM KADMON]

Bill Ryan,

I have written you a PM suggesting more profitable alternatives rather than converting the forum to a paid subscription. I hope you will find time to read my message and respond, I think it would benefit everyone here and allow us to keep this forum for free which I think is ideal for everyone involved.

Since I've been doing internet marketing for the better part of 10 years, I know from personal experience subscription based forums, while appealing to the owner, does not appeal to many others. And the "fall out" of people would be great. If you have 2,700 members now, and 1/2 of them are active, you can count on only 20-30% of those active users sticking around once it's being switched to a paid model. Further, merchant accounts and automatic rebilling software and interfaces have a monthly operating cost. Finally, the fall out of peoples credit cards expiring, declines, and charge backs can quickly eat up any margins profits a model like this might bring in...

Thus, I propose a solution that will your supports will respond positively too and rather than dimish your following and subscriber base, indeed raise it and be vastly more profitable. I do hope, you will find the time to respond as it addresses everyone's needs and employs a skill-set I am proud to say have made me financially well off.

Hope to hear back,
Adam K.

[nibiru]

Sounds good and fair...the cosmic lesson for this is : Service to self- service to others in a balanced format.
Just please, i repeat, please open up diversity in payment methods... Not all of the users have credit cards, others do not move around with debit cards and for many others paypal is unexisting in their home countries...maybe a bank account number could work as an option also...and thank you very,very much for opening this forum...
Long live for project avalon !

[Karen]

Yes, there will be other payment options, including a PO Box for Snail Mail. PM me if you want to use Snail Mail. I don't have the address now, but will get it.

Originally Posted by nibiru

Sounds good and fair...the cosmic lesson for this is : Service to self- service to others in a balanced format.
Just please, i repeat, please open up diversity in payment methods... Not all of the users have credit cards, others do not move around with debit cards and for many others paypal is unexisting in their home countries...maybe a bank account number could work as an option also...and thank you very,very much for opening this forum...
Long live for project avalon !

[Mercuriel]

Originally Posted by macleodmunro

Maybe members who have got a bit of spare cash can help out more.

Sheesh - I PM'ed Bill offering to pay for One Full Year here for all of Us and I've yet to receive a reply...

Maybe if You Guys pester Him about My offer - He'll take Me up on it and have the decency to reply to Me. I know Hes busy but a week later and still no answer. Not even a No TY - Nothing...

Hmmm...

[Bill Ryan]

Originally Posted by Mercuriel

Sheesh - I PM'ed Bill offering to pay for One Full Year here for all of Us and I've yet to receive a reply...

Maybe if You Guys pester Him about My offer - He'll take Me up on it and have the decency to reply to Me. I know Hes busy but a week later and still no answer. Not even a No TY - Nothing...

Hmmm...

Hi, Mercuriel:

Many thanks. We very much appreciate the offer. As you probably know, we left for a UFO Conference last Thursday, and have just returned last night. I personally am a couple of hundred PMs behind and have not yet seen or read your message. We were not ignoring you, and we do thank you for contacting us.

Your offer seems very generous... but we're not sure exactly what you were proposing.

The costs of running the site itself are nominal: a few hundred dollars a year at the most, with all conceivable extras. The original subscription idea, described here when we first launched the site, was for $30 per year with the forum fully accessible but read-only for non-members.

At the time most, people thought that pretty reasonable. We thought that maybe a thousand members might pay that, giving us an income, supplemented by Camelot donations, that would just about enable us to remain viable.

After this I'll post some more about the problems we're trying to solve, and the solutions we're considering. As I explained above, we're not trying to exploit anyone - this is hardly our style! - and our whole ethos is about providing information for the world that no-one can be said to own. But if we don't find a creative way of remaining viable, all our work may be forced to cease.

Very best wishes, Bill

[Mercuriel]

Originally Posted by Bill Ryan

Hi, Mercuriel: Your offer seems very generous... but we're not sure exactly what you were proposing.

Ask and Ye shall receive...

I was drawn here, and for a reason. I didn't know what reason when I came here but I AM sure it was to help out in whatever way I could...



That said - Here I AM to help. Tell Me what You need Bill / Kerry and We'll iron it out to Your satisfaction...

Please PM Me and We'll get the ball rolling or You can reply here and I will read the Posts as They come in...

This will not be the first or last time I've put the White Hat on. It is after all - What I've Incarnated here to do - Help out in whatever way I AM able to...

[Relin]

"It seems people are confused about the nature of non-profit and for-profit. PA and PC cost money to run. The mods aren't making any money and I doubt Bill and Kerry and setting anything aside for retirement. Anyway, check out the cost of gas, hotels and plane tickets back and forth between Arizona and Vegas and Australia and Russia and the rest of Europe, and you'll get an idea of what kind of money it takes to bring us the videos they let us see."

Did anyone put a gun to your head and tell you that you had to do this project. I enjoy doing many things that take up my time and effort, but you dont see me crying poor and asking people to support me in my hobbies.

Only people who don't plan or invest wisely would be having financial problems. I've always been sceptical about the ultimate goals of PC. In my opinion it's nothing more than another income stream for the Bill and Kerry retirement fund... PC is all hype and no substance..

If you're both strapped for cash why don't you do what the majority of humanity does - work for a living.

[Carol]

Relin, I'm somewhat surprised at your unkind comments directed to the owners of this forum as you are their guest and here at their expense. To imply that they do not work for a living is a bit harsh considering that the Pulic Service work that they have been doing for the past several years has been at their own expense so that they could provide a variety of informational topics to the public for free. They are humanitarians, who have given everythng that they have (time, energy, personal resources), or own (all of the interviews, websites and now forums) to others so as to benefit thoses whom come in contact with them. The information and data they are providing has been for years free-of-charge. Your comments are mean-spirited and do not belong here.

To ask for a subscribtion to help cover out-of-pocket expense so as to continue this work is more then reasonable. The on-going belly-aching is not. Both the Project Camelot website and a major portion of the Project Camelot/Avalon forums will remain freely available to those who are members here.

Subscription to a new sub-forum is being explored and may be the way the forums' owners decide to go in. Much of this is still to be determined. Please be patient and exhibit the type of respect that the forum owners have extended to you.

[Dean Plejaren]

you are their guest and here at their expense

Carol I find this a bit odd you saying supporters are expense. First if you think about this properly without 'guests' they would have no site at all. Viewer sponsorship can easily cover running costs. Everyone knows that. You can even make money from it. It isn't expense. Second it's true they work for a living, and it's doing this. You do realize they get paid every time they do a conference they are not running around doing all this for free. Where would they get their money for the time to do this thin air? No this is their work. It's definitely a business. If it was non profit where is the budget to prove what has happened? No budget publically avaliable it's a business. I have herd they are running out of money but I wonder where did they get the money they were running out of was it inheritance?

To ask for a subscription is verification we know it's a business. Non profit never charges users. You actually can't say it's non profit and then charge it's a blatant contradiction.

Like Relin mentioned if they are going broke from the organization because it's costing them too much than they are earning from their living. Then it is a case of poor planning that's correct. If not just admit it's a business and what they do for a living. Nothing wrong with providing a service this way. Yet if you claim it's non profit when it's a business then yeah that becomes dishonesty.

Lets not kid ourself.

Originally Posted by Dean Plejaren

Non profit never charges users.

Perhaps you would prefer a
PBS style beg-fest replacing access periodically. The logical time to do that is when they release a new
interview. Twenty minutes of begging (get on the phones! as Gene Scott used to say) to ten minutes
of interview. They could even throw in a coffee cup at the five hundred dollar level.

I beg to differ with you regarding nonprofit 501C3 organizations. They do indeed charge with all monies
being turned back into the organization for the benefit of patrons. Run down and try to watch a nonprofit
community theater production. It's going to cost you. Especially if it is a class act. That doesn't even include the fund raisers.

[Dean Plejaren]

Ok I admit I don't know if it's a business or where any of the money is coming or going. But I do know my definition of non-profit which is something that people never have to pay for. That would be my idea of non-profit keeping it free. To be fair I know non-profit can mean for some equaling out a business to the degree it makes no extra money. But this is not non-profit to me. I see it as total sacrifice while keeping things free. You have to make money and that would be a separate thing. As long as you give out more than you charge people are willing to support the value of it I guess this is all a matter of balance.

[pineal-pilot-in merkabah]

Originally Posted by Relin

"It seems people are confused about the nature of non-profit and for-profit. PA and PC cost money to run. The mods aren't making any money and I doubt Bill and Kerry and setting anything aside for retirement. Anyway, check out the cost of gas, hotels and plane tickets back and forth between Arizona and Vegas and Australia and Russia and the rest of Europe, and you'll get an idea of what kind of money it takes to bring us the videos they let us see."

Did anyone put a gun to your head and tell you that you had to do this project. I enjoy doing many things that take up my time and effort, but you dont see me crying poor and asking people to support me in my hobbies.

Only people who don't plan or invest wisely would be having financial problems. I've always been sceptical about the ultimate goals of PC. In my opinion it's nothing more than another income stream for the Bill and Kerry retirement fund... PC is all hype and no substance..

If you're both strapped for cash why don't you do what the majority of humanity does - work for a living.

insta ban this troll moron also lol @ retiring.. what planet are you on shmuck.. what aare you doing here?? expecting life to carry on as normal ?? we dont need your sort on here ty.

[jaby]

Originally Posted by Mercuriel

Sheesh - I PM'ed Bill offering to pay for One Full Year here for all of Us
..

Cheers, mate.....

[Dantheman62]

You are the man!!!, or woman!!!Mercuriel :jawdrop :

CD/DVD

100 for 179.00

Mixonic
http://www.mixonic.com/mcm/mixonic/index.jsp

Includes:
• CD duplication
• Black disc printing
• Full color 2-panel insert
• Thin jewel case

Minimum order is 100, upload your data and cover art to their system ships in 3 days

And as I posted before for latecomers

globat.com

166.00 for TWO years 5 terabytes storage and transfer, 5 domains hosted on one account

Tell em both livingmoon sent ya

Now stop whining about money

[LadyShankari]

Last time i was here i saw a post about how many people send them money all the time. they travel all the time, i wish i could travel all around, poor things such a ruff life. the cost on the site seems measly. ive seen them video out of what appeared to be thier house or where they were at least staying, it looked like a mansion on the water. im sure traveling all over the world constantly is expensive. or maybe they see this to get rid of people, as so many have recently got on here. so no ill not pay,ssems a ridiculous idea really. They obvioulsy have money as they have been traveling all around all the time, or at least that what i thought. not the average peopson out there can afford it. gee when was the last time i went somewhere, as probolbaly most of us are home on puter , and cant afford to go anywhere, let alone travel the world. yes a agree it is good work, but they were already traveling all around before this.

[whitecrow]

Originally Posted by LadyShankari

They obvioulsy have money as they have been traveling all around all the time...most of us are home on puter , and cant afford to go anywhere, let alone travel the world. yes a agree it is good work, but they were already traveling all around before this.

And there you have it, the other horn of the dilemma. I think that some kind of scheme to raise funds to support the work is a great idea. I'm not against some advertising, merchandising, whatever it may take to keep the site up and running. I have made it clear that I do not think it's right to charge for a forum like this, and that because I think that would be the WRONG way to fund this, I would leave. Also because like LadyShankari, I'm barely getting by. For me, luxury is a pizza, not a trip to Australia.

Last but not least, the law of the market applies. If the work fills a need, it will survive and prosper. If it doesn't, it won't. I won't pay for something I can get for free elsewhere, number one. Number two, I have some worthwhile things of my own to say - it's not necessary for me to buy people to have conversations with.

There are legions of reasons not to use money to constrain the flow of ideas. On the other hand, if you were to charge a li'l ole fee each time a video was watched, would that be constraining or facilitating the flow? I don't watch 'em, so I need others' input on this. Seems to me that would bring in some money but still leave the forums open for conversatin'.

[Bill Ryan]

Originally Posted by zorgon

Now stop whining about money

We're not.

We're being transparent about how we're thinking. When a member has not understood our circumstances (see below for an example), we've explained.

This is a consultative thread. The responses have been very helpful and are all appreciated - Ron, including your very good info about DVD replication costs.

Originally Posted by LadyShankari

ive seen them video out of what appeared to be thier house or where they were at least staying, it looked like a mansion on the water.

That was Michael St.Clair's hotel room!

Very best, Bill

[Gale]

Originally Posted by Simon

So am i to understand that subscriptions paid to Avalon, for Avalon, will be used to pay for Camelot research? If this is the case, then it is apparent that the donations made to Camelot are all of a sudden insufficient? If members are paying for a subscription to Avalon, then Avalon is where the money should be spent.
This also brings me to a question about how the money would be spent at Avalon. After the small hosting fee is paid, what will happen to the remainder of the funds?
A further question regarding information posted at Avalon - Who owns this info once it has been posted? According to Bill, the original poster no longer owns the information once posted, so who does? Surely the official owner of the info posted by members, is the only person who can charge people to view this info.

I would also like to know who has been deleting my posts, and why? I have had no explanation as yet, and to the best of my knowledge, i have only posted truthful facts.

Simon, you are not going to get your questions answered.
This project is no longer about truth. It has been infiltrated and over run. Just look at the moderating Carol and her minions do and to who.