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news An important note on lifetime accounts

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Dear DNForum members,

This is an important note to all lifetime membership holders (memberships of any type).

I would like to inform you that after careful consideration, I am considering canceling all lifetime memberships on DNForum.com. While I understand that this may come as disappointing news to some of our members, we believe that this is a necessary step to ensure the long-term sustainability of our forum.

In 2 words: Lifetime offers are Unsustainable

I am sure, you understand that maintaining a forum of this size on the internet is a costly endeavor, and unfortunately, the people and companies who sold lifetime memberships did not consider the long-term costs associated with running a forum. I believe that every business must be able to sustain itself, and I hope that all DNF members can appreciate this decision to ensure the longevity and very existance of our community.

The plan is: Effective May 31, 2023, all lifetime memberships will expire. Moving forward, the primary difference between a free account and a full account will be the ability to have a signature, larger inbox, and access to exclusive forums.

I encourage you, and all of our members to discuss this decision in this thread over the next 30 days, until May 30, 2023.

Look, the winners will be everybody! This will help us to get a new life into the DNF, and I am 100% confident that we will be able to have much more new content and visitors than it has today, and that the winners will be everybody.

Nobody enjoys a niche business forum that is weak!

Best regards,
Helmuts
 

dragonzpit

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@Helmuts the only time lifetime strategy is sustainable is when you have plenty of traffic and you are targeting all tiers. Anyways, I can't upgrade at this very moment, since we're in recession and there is barely any traffic on this forum.
 

Helmuts

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@Helmuts the only time lifetime strategy is sustainable is when you have plenty of traffic and you are targeting all tiers. Anyways, I can't upgrade at this very moment, since we're in recession and there is barely any traffic on this forum.

No problem at all! :)

Best! Helmuts
 

dataware

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I've been here since 2002 and I agree that the administration should focus on new members ... we have options now and some members do well with smaller groups and great services. This forum just didn't keep pace with all the changes and it continues to 'lag' behind. For many reasons I would not pay again. I think DNF needs to step it up and ask members for ideas and get more creative. OLD MEMBERS are assumed to be here and most do not login anymore but we keep in touch in other ways and places ...I understand the dilemma. There are so many other ways to make changes and make the site profitable. Another platform raised well over 11M to expand operations and everyone is on that new forum while DNF has lost its shine. If you want that shine back ... you've got to buff it up and attract traffic ... I've got an idea ... or two but would rather share them privately. Just my 2 cents ... focus on the 'next' generation of domainers like our kids ... :)
 

Helmuts

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I've been here since 2002 and I agree that the administration should focus on new members ... we have options now and some members do well with smaller groups and great services. This forum just didn't keep pace with all the changes and it continues to 'lag' behind. For many reasons I would not pay again. I think DNF needs to step it up and ask members for ideas and get more creative. OLD MEMBERS are assumed to be here and most do not login anymore but we keep in touch in other ways and places ...I understand the dilemma. There are so many other ways to make changes and make the site profitable. Another platform raised well over 11M to expand operations and everyone is on that new forum while DNF has lost its shine. If you want that shine back ... you've got to buff it up and attract traffic ... I've got an idea ... or two but would rather share them privately. Just my 2 cents ... focus on the 'next' generation of domainers like our kids ... :)

Thank you. The work has started!

Upgrading the account is fully optional :) It is for the domainers who need to stand out today!

Best wishes!
Helmuts

p.s. are you planing to attend the London Domain Summit?
 

dragonzpit

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The bottom line is I won't be subsidizing the new owner's acquisition costs. If my account/activities are part of the domain's supposed worth, why should I pay again just to have basic features such as a signature? I mean, you might as well disable all non-paying accounts.

Sorry mate, you're delusional if you expect us to debate what a hosting server costs monthly etc. Either you run a forum and build your base up or you don't. Expecting existing members to pay again the membership tier price annually is a hard no from me.

DNF has been sold so many times it's really impossible to find content indexed on the internet. From the previous vBulletin software to xforo the transition killed all the links! One or two sales of the forum ago - lost count - the incompetent mods removed all sigs and even the membership tier indicators! So now you want me to prove to you I paid for my lifetime membership from 2004? It went to Adam Dicker's pocket and that's it. If you want to monetize the forum you need to find advertisers.

Well said, and yes there has to be alternative ways for new owners to monetize this forum.
 

Biggie

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domainable

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"🆂🆃🅴🅰🅻 🅾🅽🅲🅴, 🅸'🅻🅻 🅽🅴🆅🅴🆁 🆃🆁🆄🆂🆃 🆈🅾🆄 🅰🅶🅰🅸🅽.
(Guy buys a website w no money to operate it, blames the loyal members, and unilaterally cancels contracts despite not being in licit possession of a gavel). Worst of all, they sit and say, "Yes, sir, may I have another?" All p.r. is good. Shouldn't we make Helmuts famous? #FirstAndLastPost

"🆂🆃🅴🅰🅻 🅾🅽🅲🅴, 🅸'🅻🅻 🅽🅴🆅🅴🆁 🆃🆁🆄🆂🆃 🆈🅾🆄 🅰🅶🅰🅸🅽.

"
 
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domainable

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Well said, and yes there has to be alternative ways for new owners to monetize this forum.
Thank you. I was disheartened by people not seeming to have a problem w/ someone blaming paid customers as a way to profit - in a most-decidedly illicit manner. Thanks for speaking clearly (and courteously) w/ such spot-on precision! You're the kind of person I've been imitating (or trying to) for more than half a century. Best wishes.
 

domainable

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Which means those gold members cost nothing at all! I'm afraid that "unsustainable" is both a logical fallacy and a distraction from what's transparently true. I beseech you to forgive any perception of (unintended) disrespect in stating that you have to be in legal possession of a gavel before you can even begin to address the ethics of unilaterally cancelling paid contracts. As my British relatives often remind, "𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭, 𝐬𝐨 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞." smh. How could I ever trust you again if you so overtly take what's not yours to take?
Thank you for the correction. It was 14 years ago.

I am sure, you as a business owner understand that lifetime offers are unsustainable. I would even add that today this is irresponsible to offer these (in 2008 they probably didn't think about this). Would you offer lifetime maintenance for development works you offer to your clients? .. our 1st mission is to get the forum back into 'into the green' :)

Respecting the amount you paid, I could consider switching your membership to the new upcoming one for an unknown time (can't guarantee 'unlimited'), but, will need a receipt. Without it, it is impossible. Please check your emails.

We can clearly see in the system that these memberships were given left-to-right :) .. there are lifetime gold members who even haven't posted a single post :)

Best wishes,
Helmuts
ch
 

Helmuts

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domainable

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HI

You bring up an interesting perspective.

to me
dnf, when conceived, was not a business,
it was a forum that provided a platform for it's members, to do business.

as it grew, so did it's value
therefore, advertisers wanted to be seen here
and buyers and sellers wanted to be here, because this was the place to be.

lifetime memberships were an investment for those who bought them and an investment in the future of the forum.
it also showed that people were willing to put their money where their mouth is, by purchasing these accounts.
as badges gave credibility.

the difference between those who came after Adam is that they made the forum free for all and removed all badges and membership levels.
but if the forum is going to reinstitute the same model of free/premium and exclusive (corporate), while dropping those prepaid levels who helped finance and sustain it.. then to George's point -
that may alienate some, especially if/when you only considered them as liabilities, without accounting for the asset of their past and potential future contributions.

as a draw, lure, hook or bait, one could consider allotting those perks to previous exclusive/premium members who opt to come back.
and since "word of mouth", moves faster than the smell of shit, then getting off on the "good foot" would be good publicity.
in that situation, you're investing on the potential effect from a goodwill offering.

and if anyone is counting, that's 3 goods in a paragraph! :)

imo....
While always grateful to see confirmation of the timeless aphorism that we tend to only seek, and only see (and/or invent) the facts that support our position, set aside the ethics of unilateral cancellation of a paid contract. I implore you to consider one thing: WHAT IS THE GAIN/LOSS?

The single most ENORMOUS reason I have broken & shattered more world records than a dozen Olympians combined is 20,000+ consecutive days of reading a book each morning, and spending MOST of the day imitating the people who do "it" better than I do. There is no faster shortcut known to humans. ("Even tho we had to use a baseball bat on poor old Grandma's knees, we GOT her recipe for perfect cookies"). THE PEOPLE YOU ARE LOSING ARE THE ONLY PEOPLE WE WANT TO LEARN FROM!

Who do we want to learn domaining from: a guy w/ no money and a defective business plan, if it even merits that title.... oooorrrrrrr, wealthy, successful, experienced domainers?
For all that, you get points for authoritative-sounding manipulation. Hope you use it for good, charity, community, etc. Best wishes, best wishes.
 

Helmuts

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Would it be unreasonable to surmise that you've not had a lifetime contract unilaterally and ex-judicially cancelled? :)) #Love #love
could you please explain what has been canceled? .. I am a little confused what you are saddened about
 

domainable

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ARRRRgh. Can someone PLEASE email to me the 41 min I micturated defending other people's interests?.

Gruff semi-disgruntled thanks to @Helmuts for his courtesy in replying to my email. Screenshot 2023-07-06 121843.png
 

Helmuts

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