From: sprinter [#8]
4 May 2006
To: Harvey only (HARVEY-ONLY) [#3] 4 May 2006
What type of Logos are you going to have? If it's corporate logos how are you going to get around the legal rights of the corporate owner?
From: Harvey only (HARVEY-ONLY) [#9]
4 May 2006
To: sprinter [#8] 4 May 2006
Any corporate logos, which are not included in the 700 so far, are only to be used after the engraver has the license to use them. They are supplied as raw artwork, not as a license to use. Same as all of the other sites.
You may use them in any legal manor. You must have the corporate permission to use those logos legally.
From: sprinter [#10]
4 May 2006
To: Harvey only (HARVEY-ONLY) [#9] 4 May 2006
Good luck with that idea, when I was at Scanvec we tried that for our member site....after about 50 letters from lawyers the idea was dropped. Even though the site had disclaimers and it was supplied in raw artwork it made no difference. The only sites getting away with it is off shore and they don't care.EDITED: 4 May 2006 by SPRINTER
From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#11]
4 May 2006
To: sprinter [#10] 4 May 2006
That's been my concern. The idea itself is great, although, I'm not looking for legal hassles.
From: Harvey only (HARVEY-ONLY) [#12]
4 May 2006
To: sprinter [#10] 4 May 2006
Then maybe the safe thing is to not add the corporate logos. Thanks for the info.
The others are general engraving logos, all 700 of them.
From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#13]
4 May 2006
To: AnthonyC [#5] 4 May 2006
Anthony,
Thank you. I appreciate your kind words of encouragement.
You've become a good friend and an inspiration.
In the same way I knew it was time to leave my position as an awards shop employee; I'm equally certain, it's time to take my career to another level, which will focus on the educational side.
I look forward to helping our forum members up the ladder, that's been so good to me and others in our industry.
From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#14]
4 May 2006
To: GBengraver [#6] 4 May 2006
Greg,
I'll have to mull that one over. Looks like I'll have over a year to think about it. :-)
From: sprinter [#15]
4 May 2006
To: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#11] 4 May 2006
It was a costly process for Scanvec to have their lawyers answer all the legal claims by the copyright holders lawyers and promiss to remove the Logos.
From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#16]
4 May 2006
To: Florida Don (FLORIDADON) [#7] 5 May 2006
Thank you Don.
I'm sure there are others in your boat and I realize the new format won't appeal to everyone.
Here's the good news; a person doesn't have to spend $99, in order to take advantage of our site.
The ability to float in and out, at will, for 30 days at a time, will probably come in handy for those who find themselves with an emergency on their hands.
With some companies charging $75 for tech support calls, our monthly fee will probably be less than a single trip to a business, where you order through a speaker and are directed to pay at the second window. :-)
I agree with your assessment of sponsored forums. The only (banner ad) advertising you'll see on this site, will be from suppliers who have an exclusive offer for our members.
From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#17]
4 May 2006
To: sprinter [#15] 4 May 2006
Costly and time-consuming, I suppose.
Not a good combination.
Thank you for the info.
From: Rodney Gold (RODNEY_GOLD) [#18]
4 May 2006
To: ALL
Hmmm..... I dont get any huge value out of the site , but myself and many others contribute greatly out of a sense of free interchange of info on the internet. We are the folk that do add value to the forum.
I understand the financial dillema , but to be blunt I cannot see myself paying subs to this forum to do so - the clipart wont tempt me either. How many of the other folk that do chip in more then ask will want to pay for the privildge of doing so? Where does one draw the line when it comes to this?
One of the photographic forums I belonged to (robgalbraith) , habituead by pros etc changed to a pay forum , was only a week ago and I no longer go there and their traffic has dropped dramatically. Everyone said yes , they would pay (only $25 for a year) but when it came to crunch time , most declined. We just all moved elsewhere.
I would also like to know whether the archives will be free to read as these should not be included in any subscription based forum, they were given free , so should remain so.
How will newbies even gauge the value of the forum if they have to pay to read?
Many other issues come to mind , but to cut a long story shot , I think that when this forum becomes a pay to view/read/post entity , it's finished.
I would seriously try to cut some other deal , perhaps with advertisers or suppliers or find another means of supporting the forum other than asking users to pay. If this is indeed the premier engraving/Laser forum on the internet , then suppliers should be queueing up.
I wouldn't care a whit if I saw ads on the forum at all , I dont think there will be an issue in terms of them calling the shots either.
I think this is a very bad move.
EDITED: 4 May 2006 by RODNEY_GOLD
From: UncleSteve [#19]
4 May 2006
To: Rodney Gold (RODNEY_GOLD) [#18] 4 May 2006
Rodney,
Many of us consider .22/day worth it for the entertainment factor alone, not to mention the education, sourcing and comraderie.
When things get hectic, what else can you do for under a quarter (US) to break the tension?
From: JHayes55 [#20]
4 May 2006
To: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#17] 4 May 2006
David L., Harvey, David T. - Count me in for the ride - wherever it goes I want a front seat - bugs on the windsheild and all.
I do have a question - you have a lot of couples and companies who have more than one person who particiaptes on the forum - I will assume a membership is for a single individual - or is for a company / family???
From: Rodney Gold (RODNEY_GOLD) [#21]
4 May 2006
To: UncleSteve [#19] 4 May 2006
Uncle steve , thats not the issue - if I had to pay for every forum I visit or contribute to , it would cost me a fortune. But good luck with it all , I just wont be paying to spend my time and effort answering questions or giving tips or contributing - I will just post elsewhere where I DONT have to pay for it - sawmill or the laser engraving forum or DSSI engraving or whatever else pops up. I think the importance of this forum is overestimated and don't think its worth $99 a year.
From: UncleSteve [#22]
4 May 2006
To: Rodney Gold (RODNEY_GOLD) [#21] 5 May 2006
Rodney, actually that IS the issue.... value for our $$.
I agree that most of the forums I visit and participate in would not be worth a fee in my opinion. But for others it would be.
That is why I decided that this forum IS one that I would get my money's worth from.
You know we will miss you and your great contributions to the value, but there is more to this forum than "Rodney" that makes it worth my investment to me. BTW, it IS tax deductible as a business expense for most of the members.... so here in the US of A the government will actually pick up roughly a third of the cost...
I wish you well in your endeavors and you will be missed. :-(
From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#23]
4 May 2006
To: JHayes55 [#20] 5 May 2006
Joe,
An annual membership will be good for two people from the same company, i.e. husband/wife/owner/employee.
From: sprinter [#24]
4 May 2006
To: ALL
I'm with Rodney on this one, I can't see paying for what is free on other sites. My feeling is that the majority of the people that are giving tips or contributing will also go to other sites as well and not be willing to help if they have have to pay to help out. I wish David all the luck for his new venture, but I feel his perceived value of EEetc has been set to high.
From: JHayes55 [#25]
5 May 2006
To: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#23] 5 May 2006
Thanks for the info. That seems fair enough for me. I assume when your ready you will post all the details we need for payment.
From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#26]
5 May 2006
To: Rodney Gold (RODNEY_GOLD) [#18] 5 May 2006
Rodney,
I'm not surprised to find that you see little value in this site; I'd say that's primarily because you're a special case.
Just as you see the awards and engraving industry related trade shows, as too limited a venue, for a person of your breadth and width of knowledge, by natural extension, an awards and engraving industry related forum will hold little in store for you.
I agree with that assessment.
Despite the harbingers of doom, my entire career has been a story of hatching success by "doing it all wrong."
As an employee, my bent for taking on most any job, which was considered lunacy and too risky, by most engraving outlets, saw the shop I worked for, flourish, with customers coming from all over Southern California.
When I decided to go on my own, the concept of having a business with almost no inventory, which relied heavily on engraving customer-provided merchandise, wasn't given a snowball's chance.
Today, I enjoy a unique niche, in having fellow engravers, who find many projects too daunting, as a goodly portion of my customer base.
I don't consider myself a special case at all.
My message has always been one of encouraging people to get started on any level, in any way possible; which, over time, with sound businesses practices, which we regularly discuss here, should see their collection of small victories, turn into profitable independent businesses.
You mentioned that the photo site you belonged to, turned into a pay site a week ago. Isn't it a little premature, to call their change of format a resounding failure?
You no doubt, have a collection of posts on their site. What is/was their answer to your concern over archived information?
Will we see a drop in traffic?
Most assuredly; I absolutely expect it.
Does that mean our traffic will stagnate, at whatever level we begin with?
Very doubtful.
I'll go so far, as to say, there are many people who currently view the forum, as lurkers, who will come out of the shadows, with amazing posts, once they know, what they consider to be "insider" information, won't be available to the general public.
Who knows? Maybe a new "Rodney Gold" will emerge.
quote:
How will newbies even gauge the value of the forum if they have to pay to read?
There's no mandate to join for a year; or at all, for that matter.
If newbies take a leap of faith, in the way of a $10 investment, which, by the way, is less than two gallons of gasoline, in many parts of the world, they'll enjoy 30-days of access.
During that period, if they don't see something of value here (which is extremely unlikely) they never will; but they won't have gone broke, in the process.
quote:
I would seriously try to cut some other deal , perhaps with advertisers or suppliers or find another means of supporting the forum other than asking users to pay.
I'm actively in the process of cutting a deal with industry suppliers, as well as paid members.
The deal with industry suppliers, is an opportunity to advertise to a prime demographic, with their only costs being a paid membership and an exclusive offer to our paid members.
What's in it for paid subscribers, other than the supplier offers, is my heightened sense of responsibility, to ensure they get their hard-earned money's worth.
I don't take that responsibility lightly.
In the end, the irrefutable law of supply and demand will prevail.
Our members will demand and we'll supply. :-)
From: Stunt Engraver (DGL) [#27]
5 May 2006
To: JHayes55 [#25] 5 May 2006
Joe,
Yes, we'll post an official announcement, which will contain more details.
I hadn't originally planned to raise this topic, before making the official announcement, which would have come very soon.
Having our .org name unexpectedly in limbo, compelled me to let people know, that regardless of if we ever fly under that name again, the site may have been down, but we're far from down and out.
It was time to announce our next level.
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