Supporter subscription.

[wildwanderer]

I'm wondering if the site has plans for a supporter subscription?

I use this site frequently and have gained a lot of knowledge from reading posts and interacting with the membership. Plus is a fantastic and friendly community.

I would be more than happy to give aprox $20 a year to become a site supporter. Wouldn't need any fancy benefits though having permission to upload images larger than 1 mb would be a nice one.

Thoughts?

[Turfa]

Yes, I would definitely be happy to contribute if the option was available !

[ILUVSWTAS]

There's nothing stopping anyone from already donating if they wish.

Yes it's a good forum, but..... it's a no from me.

[wildwalks]

Interesting idea.
I was thinking about something like this for new content I plan to properly launch in the next month or so.
mainly around https://prod1.maps.bushwalk.com/

I want to start the idea of the bushwalk.com been
Community (forum)
Publications (http://mag.bushwalk.com/magazines/ and calanders etc)
Maps (https://prod1.maps.bushwalk.com/)
Learn (how to bushwalk safely)

Happy to look at extra features or a special badge on peoples footers etc.
The money would be handy.

Want to bounce some more 'reward' ideas?

[wildwanderer]

Interesting idea.
I was thinking about something like this for new content I plan to properly launch in the next month or so.
mainly around https://prod1.maps.bushwalk.com/

I want to start the idea of the bushwalk.com been
Community (forum)
Publications (http://mag.bushwalk.com/magazines/ and calanders etc)
Maps (https://prod1.maps.bushwalk.com/)
Learn (how to bushwalk safely)

Happy to look at extra features or a special badge on peoples footers etc.
The money would be handy.

Want to bounce some more 'reward' ideas?

Sounds like you have interesting plans! Makes sense to consolidate all the wildwalks and bushwalk.com services onto one domain name. Be easier to support and each service will help grow the others via cross promotion.

Re supporters benefits.

I think a supporter badge sounds good.

I'd be a bit wary of going to far with the rewards as you don't want to create a two tier membership. I wouldn't support some forums being for supporter access only etc.

As a supporter benefit.. I liked the image mb size restriction being raised (to say 3mb) as thats a slight annoyance currently. I usually have to resize images before I post which can be a bit tricky on the mobile. (I had to download an app specifically to resize images)

Maybe supporters could download the PDFs of wildwalk track notes complimentary. (Though I realize currently PDFs are free for everyone)


Other ideas.. hmm not really sure.. not sure if supporters need too many benefits, it's more just a way to help cover some site costs in current environment of ad blockers etc and say thanks.

Also if we are buying a supporter subscription.. please ensure the ecommerce section is handled securely and our names & addresses / payment details are not included in the forum software database. I'm not that confident in the forum software to keep everything secure. A unlinked system where we pay via PayPal etc and upon receipt a admin then ticks the supporter box in the forum software would be best.

[wildwalks]

Thanks
Yes I am planing on consolidating most of my stuff (and a new app) all under bushwalk.com -- think that makes sense.

I'd be a bit wary of going to far with the rewards as you don't want to create a two tier membership.

This is my main fear with it- so I am weary of feature-based rewards

As a supporter benefit.. I liked the image mb size restriction being raised (to say 3mb) as thats a slight annoyance currently.

This is just because of a server limit I have at the moment -- I do need todo ao migration to open this up more -- plan to open it for all

Also if we are buying a supporter subscription.. please ensure the ecommerce section is handled securely and our names & addresses / payment details are not included in the forum software database. I'm not that confident in the forum software to keep everything secure. A offline unlinked system where we pay via PayPal etc and upon receipt a admin then ticks the supporter box in the forum software would be best.

Yep agree -- the main trick is the make it integrated enough so it does not become another thing to maintain
(maintenance is such a time suck).

thanks

Will get thinking about this.

[Neo]

It would be nice if the forum as is was the 'landing page' so that it appears the same. Also worked the same.

Edit:
How about an optional donation style membership. Could be set at standard denominations $5, 10, 20, 50 and 100. Anonymous other than a tiny icon next to your name, perhaps an annual thanks/reminder to donate again.

Edit again:
Personally I like the free open nature of bushwalk dot com, also I would be happy to potch in towards costs, also I don't need any extra perks if doing that.

[wildwalks]

Thanks Neo
Yep agree -- open and free is always the plan

bushwalk.com/forum will remain the same URL for years to come (will change eventually with new tech).
Currently bushwalk.com redirects to the forum.
But bushwalk.com will become a landing page with the four main options. So there maybe one click to the form (unless you use an existing URL.

Yep I like the icon/badge based acknologment -- and a thankyou note. Maybe at a particular donation level you also get a 'free' calendar each year.

[Dexter]

Interesting idea.
I was thinking about something like this for new content I plan to properly launch in the next month or so.
mainly around https://prod1.maps.bushwalk.com/

I want to start the idea of the bushwalk.com been
Community (forum)
Publications (http://mag.bushwalk.com/magazines/ and calanders etc)
Maps (https://prod1.maps.bushwalk.com/)
Learn (how to bushwalk safely)

Happy to look at extra features or a special badge on peoples footers etc.
The money would be handy.

Want to bounce some more 'reward' ideas?

That's very cool

[Neo]

Sounds good.

Calendar sounds good.

There are all sorts of UL goodies that could be branded! Something Aussie I guess...

[wildwanderer]

Sounds good.

Calendar sounds good.

There are all sorts of UL goodies that could be branded! Something Aussie I guess...

Maybe you get one of those bushwalk.com lanyards/badges to attach to a pack?.

[wildwalks]

bushwalk.com lanyards/badges to attach to a pack?.

ohh I like that idea.
Some kind of small token that is easy to post but clearly shows we are part of something to the offline (and the badge for online).

[ribuck]

I would love to see one-off donations invited for new site features. I prefer this to monthly recurring subscriptions, which I always worry I'll forget to cancel if my interests change (although bushwalking so far has been a 45-year interest, so I'm not expecting it to change soon).

For example, I would contribute towards the development costs for a "Like" button on forum posts.

[wildwalks]

contribute towards the development costs for a "Like" button on forum posts.

Ohh this is a cool idea too.
So he have our own kickstarter style program for bushwalk.com features and upgrades.
Members propose ideas, I estimate the cost then once we have enough in pledges we do the job. Nice, clean and simple.

[ILUVSWTAS]

Hey Matt while we have your attention is there any chance of returning the file size uploads back to 3mg instead of 1?? Lots of people in "the game" are not participating because they can't resize files. 1mg is way too small.

[ribuck]

Lots of people in "the game" are not participating because they can't resize files. 1mg is way too small.

3 MB would be good. The website can still resize them down to 1 MB, which should still be enough for "the game", and for most other purposes.

[crollsurf]

There's nothing stopping anyone from already donating if they wish.

Yes it's a good forum, but..... it's a no from me.

I couldn't find a web page regarding donations. Can someone post a link?
If bushwalk emailed all members once a year and made it a simple Paypal/credit card online transaction, I don't think it would upset too many people.

[wildwalks]

Thanks ILUVSWTAS & ribuck
No worries -- I have just upped it to 3.5mb
There is an upgrade I can do that will compress images on the backend - I will look at that, but for now I increased the space available on the server.

Happy image uploading

[wildwalks]

I couldn't find a web page regarding donations. Can someone post a link?
If bushwalk emailed all members once a year and made it a simple Paypal/credit card online transaction, I don't think it would upset too many people.

Thanks -- No page requesting donations, I think ILUVSWTAS was suggesting you could just send me a coffee or perhaps a z-packs tent -- heheh
Email sounds like it could work. We could have a general donations button on the website and then the occasional email with a 'campaign' for a few new features or something like that.
I am finding this encouraging - not so much about the money but a good reminder of how this community is of value to people

Matt

[GregG]

I am finding this encouraging - not so much about the money but a good reminder of how this community is of value to people

Matt

A good measure of the value of this forum is to look at all the posts over the past ten months of Covid, it is pretty clear that a collection of people whose major interest in life is to be "out in the bush" were suffering in varying ways and to varying degrees, physically and emotionally, from the closure of parks, restrictions on travel and access, and in the worst instances: lockdown. In other words they were goingg nuts from being cooped-up. The forum was an absolute lifeline for such people, I aught to know because I was one of them. For that reason I would have no hesitation in supporting the proposals put forward so far, so keep up the good work mate. Regards, Greg.

[wildwalks]

Thanks Greg

[Dexter]

I am finding this encouraging - not so much about the money but a good reminder of how this community is of value to people

Matt

A good measure of the value of this forum is to look at all the posts over the past ten months of Covid, it is pretty clear that a collection of people whose major interest in life is to be "out in the bush" were suffering in varying ways and to varying degrees, physically and emotionally, from the closure of parks, restrictions on travel and access, and in the worst instances: lockdown. In other words they were goingg nuts from being cooped-up. The forum was an absolute lifeline for such people, I aught to know because I was one of them. For that reason I would have no hesitation in supporting the proposals put forward so far, so keep up the good work mate. Regards, Greg.

Can definitely relate to this. I've wanted to get into bushwalking for years, but it's hard when your partner just doesn't like the idea of camping, even though she loves day walks in nature. Suddenly during lockdown I had friends asking if I'd go on some overnight hikes with them. I was so excited. Only still a noob, but we have learnt a lot and this forum has been an invaluable resource. Not just for gear and location ideas, but keeping us safe too. Another huge thank you from me

[Hermione]

I’d definitely prepared to make some kind of financial contribution. I would though like to see things remain free and accessible to as many people as possible. I suspect that not all forum members are currently in a position to contribute and I would not want that to change what content was available to them.

[wildwalks]

Thanks -- great feedback. Yes, I am committed to keeping it all free and open.
It is helpful to think of ways to make this helpful, but not take anything away from people not able to support financially.
thanks