Disney Magic on web boards *flush*

monorail_man

monorail_man

Account Suspended
Original Poster
Also I think alot of the "disney" magic that is dying is on some of the web boards.

I am a member of a few (as are alot of you I'm sure) and I notice a HUGE difference in the different boards.

Am I wrong in thinking thease message boards should be a place to relack and enjoy disney and have fun.

But some boards (that will remain un named) are so uptight. Cant' post links in your signature even if the link is for a thread ON THAT BOARD. Can't post images in your sig or have an avatar unless you PAY to join the board. Can't post an "Official" thread because only the Admin have the right to post "Official" threads.

Sorry to vent but I just cant understand why people create such boards then treat there members so "child" like. Power goes to their head and they don't let their members have any freedom or fun.


The above is one of the reason I LOVE WDWMAGIC so much. There is alot more freedom here then the other sites.
 
imagineer boy

imagineer boy

Well-Known Member
I know what you mean! I've seen other forums that don't let any of their members have any fun. They make their boards Too Practicly perfect in every way. They edit posts that have the least amount ofoffensive things, they delete posts when members get off task on any thread, the works! I mean, its just no fun. I do love WDWmagic. Its the best board out there!
 
ImaginEAR

ImaginEAR

New Member
Yes, that's one reason I love WDWMagic... and the Disney Corner... nice people there. And here. :)

imagineer boy, I LOVE your avatar!
 
celticdog

celticdog

Well-Known Member
I can see why some boards are restrictive. It does cost money to run a website and if you have alot of up/downloads it uses a lot of bandwidth. Just ask Steve, this website cost $1000 plus a month to run. Luckily Steve has financial support from sponsors as well as members, if not, we would see alot more restrictions.

Don't just look at the magic, be part of the magic, become a Premium member.
 
monorail_man

monorail_man

Account Suspended
Original Poster
celticdog said:
I can see why some boards are restrictive. It does cost money to run a website and if you have alot of up/downloads it uses a lot of bandwidth. Just ask Steve, this website cost $1000 plus a month to run. Luckily Steve has financial support from sponsors as well as members, if not, we would see alot more restrictions.

Don't just look at the magic, be part of the magic, become a Premium member.
Click to expand...


I understand that it cost money to run thease boards. But if your going to offer part of the board for free, then make it ALL free. As far as bandwith, thats why you do monthly cleaning. Any "useless" threads with no replies within a month, gets deleted.

It's easy to say "be a part of the magic" but not everyone is rich. some peopel have bills that they must pay. Cost of internet alone is bad enough. shouldnt have to pay to visit the sites too.

Would be like you pay $60 to go to the Magic Kingdom. Then have to buy tickets (like the fair) to ride each ride.
 
wdwmagic

wdwmagic

Administrator
Moderator
Premium Member
monorail_man said:
I understand that it cost money to run thease boards. But if your going to offer part of the board for free, then make it ALL free. As far as bandwith, thats why you do monthly cleaning. Any "useless" threads with no replies within a month, gets deleted.

It's easy to say "be a part of the magic" but not everyone is rich. some peopel have bills that they must pay. Cost of internet alone is bad enough. shouldnt have to pay to visit the sites too.

Would be like you pay $60 to go to the Magic Kingdom. Then have to buy tickets (like the fair) to ride each ride.
Click to expand...

Just wanted to clarify a few things, as I think you are confused over some definitions.

Monthly cleaning doesnt help to reduce bandwidth.

Bandwidth is the amount of data transfered across the Internet, from the web server to the clients browser.

Removing old threads does not reduce the bandwidth, it just reduces the amount of storage required. Storage would be disk space on the server, which is normally not a prohibitng factor.

As an example, a website may have one thread that is 1MB in size, but if 18,000 people view that thread, that is 18,000MB of bandwidth transferred, and that is going to cost a lot of money to carry out.

Just to give you an idea of what it takes to run WDWMAGIC:

- 2 webservers
- 1 mail server
- 1 database server
- Several Windows 2003 server licenses
- VBulletin forum license
- Photo album license
- Reviews system license
- Colocation fees at a datacentre
- A LOt of monthly bandwidth
- A person who can do something with all of the above

The upfront cost of that is over $15,000
The monthly cost is over $1000

WDWMAGIC is not a business. It is operated by an individual, me, as a hobby. Therefore there is no way that I can offer the site without some way of offsetting the costs.

The money that you pay for your ISP is purely for your connection. none of that money goes towards the websites that you visit.

How do you expect sites to be free for you to use? They have to be funded in some way, typically:

1. Large corporations that absorb the cost as a running expense(ie Disney)
2. Heavy sponsorship/advertising
3. Membership/payment

It seems to me that people are happy to pay for newspapers and magazines, but very few are happy to pay for a website that they probably get far more out of than a magazine.

I would be interested to from you as to why you think everything online should be free, and if you were in my shoes, how you would finance the site.
 
E

Erika

Moderator
Believe me, I have my bills. But $5 a month is a pretty good deal. That's less than $1.25 a week (excluding February ;) ). To me it is absolutely worth it to shell out a dollar here and there for a few hours' fun. The way I look at it, if I want to use the services, I might as well pay for them. The money, after all, does have to come from somewhere. Steve's already done so much. I don't expect him to additionally absorb the costs of my entertainment out of the goodness of his heart. Like you said, not everyone is rich.
 
Legacy

Legacy

Well-Known Member
Look, I am by no means rich. However, I appreciate this site. It provides me an escape from the real world, and provides me a vitual circle of friends that supports me. I pay because I feel I owe it to Steve. He takes so much of his time and energy into a website that (I feel) a small percentage of its members really appreciate. The least I can do is donate $5 dollars a months. And trust me, its worth it. You really start to appreciate the site when you actually help with it, rather than just sitting back and doing nothing.
 
cherrynegra

cherrynegra

Well-Known Member
I think what you're forgetting mono_railman is that your $5 monthly contribution goes to support a site that you yourself say you enjoy. Now, truly. What is $5 a month? You practically spend that on a cup of coffee at Starbucks. How many times have you gone to the movies and after seeing something awful wished you could get your money back? Now ask me if I've ever said that after spending more than a couple of hours here on the boards a day. It's all relative, and I look forward to seeing you become a Premium Member one day. :wave:
 
celticdog

celticdog

Well-Known Member
monorail_man said:
It's easy to say "be a part of the magic" but not everyone is rich. some peopel have bills that they must pay. Cost of internet alone is bad enough. shouldnt have to pay to visit the sites too.
Click to expand...

Being rich has nothing to do with it. Most of us here have bills, but we understand the cost that is required to keep this website available, or any website for that matter.

The cost for your ISP is the transportation to get you to the websites. Comparing the cost of ISP's and websites is like saying: "I spent so much on airplane tickets to WDW, that once I arrive, I should get in for free." As Steve stated, this is a hobby. Hobbies cost money, some even get so big that outside help is needed. Sometimes that help comes in the form of restrictions, other times it's though donations. If you want more access, become a member. Skip a cup of coffee once a month and make a donation.
 
monorail_man

monorail_man

Account Suspended
Original Poster
The main thing is like this. This board offers everything like Avatars, sigs, and stuff, for free, and ask for a donation. That makes it better saying "Hey here is a great board, can you please help us out a little now and then?" That makes me more willing to give a few bucks when I have it now and then. But for a board to say "Here is part of a board. You can only read a few forums and you can't post images, avatars, or have ANY fun unless you pay a yearly fee." That makes it alot less fun and makes me alot less willing to "donate" any thing.

It's all in presentation.

When I get my bills caught up and have a few extra bucks. God knows I will be glad to donate something to this board. I understand 100% what it cost to run a board. I had my own board once.

The point of this thread was to compare the way this board is run and presented vs. the other board in question. The people here are so laid back and fun to chat with. they don't get all uptight if you ask questions (no matter how stupid) they will answere them and maybe joke a little. If you make a mistake and post something wrong. they will inform you of your mistake. not send you a PM informing you but then ban you before you can read the PM.
 
ogryn

ogryn

Well-Known Member
monorail_man said:
<snip> If you make a mistake and post something wrong. they will inform you of your mistake. not send you a PM informing you but then ban you before you can read the PM.
Click to expand...

I take it you are speaking from experience there :lol:

The extra features don't bother me too much (ok... the lounge is nice), but I began to feel guilty for the amount of bandwidth I was using (I'm here a lot :lookaroun). If I wasn't here so much, then maybe I wouldn't pay. But I think it is fair.

To get people to pay, you have to give them incentives. :wave:
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom