I remember way back when we started The Web Squeeze, the question of having users PAY to either post a question or view a response never came up because in our minds, that’s just non-sense. Before I left, we were talking about the next version of TWS (and the forum) and someone mentioned that the forum should stay free. If Linda, Jacob and I were all in the same room, we’d probably would have look at each other and say: “Duh! Of course!” The only time a payment option came into the mix was for sections of the forum which would be hidden from the public and Google but only for specific reasons (that I’m not going to elaborate on here).
Making money off a forum is not easy of course so it shouldn’t be a motivational factor when starting one.
I’m writing this because I’ve been searching for a .NET problem and I’m pretty sure I found the solution but I can’t get to it because it’s a forum where you have to pay. How frustrating is that! I have to sign up for a Free 30-day Trial. Really? You know what’s going to happen right now? I’m closing that tab with the site I thought I had found my answer to and going to the next one in the Google results list.
And yes, I’ll remember that site so I won’t waste my time next time I’m looking for something.
Paid forums probably think that they get to ask for your money because they have the “best” people answering your questions. Again… really? I’ve been a member of many forums in my time (Sitepoint and TWS included) and, for free, most members will go to great lengths to help out. And in turn, when googling for something, I get my answer right away. Now, that’s a way to get people to come back and maybe even sign up next time!
Tags: forums, The Web Squeeze
