Daniel wrote on 06/25/11 at 23:40:23:

If we use Google then you have no control over which Ads appear, it will vary according to the page content and the whereabouts of whoever is looking at the page.

Stefan Buecker wrote on 06/25/11 at 13:51:16:


Quite a lot of them keep a check on the lines discussed here, but I assume that most don't bother to post here as they simply don't have the time, it's amazing how much chessplayers have to work to make money these days, I'm always receiving emails saying that they have to finish a book by the end of the month, edit another one this week, while playing the Japanese league and a GM tournament somewhere else, etc. By offering them a stipend it would make it worth their while.

Are there other ways to make revenue streams?

1) What other chess forum sites do you have a precedence for membership fees (this oughta help figure out the best route!).

2) Isn't continuing to subdivide the forum really just a way to continue to push the problem of organizing it better off into the future.

Something I think would be good if you go the route of making some kind of fee to participate in the forum would be a trial membership (3 months free to the forum and maybe one sample free dl of a subscription section). It would keep the in flow of new members to see if they find the value in their money before they contribute rather than being straight away turned off by the fee. The question I guess I have is if you went fee based does this mean the entire forum would not be seen by guests or that they just could not post (if the latter then the fee is silly).

Maybe an opening of the month thread should be started? Each month a different opening is selected. To participate in the thread there should be a smallish fee lets say $5 and the prize could be either a year's subscription for free or $100 or some kind of lesson etc. The best posts would be summarized in the next month's subscription update that would reveal the winner. It might bring in some additional revenue.

I have to imagine there is more ways like this idea to get nontraditional revenue streams than just 'subscribe or advertise!' 

You could always try to get an additional tool section added to the forum such as 'recent games in tournament x,y,z, which usually ended up with their own thread anyhow. Only now, it would be an efficient tool that a person could purchase for a smallish sum (say .99cents). There all sorts of ways to innovate!

Somehow, the better threads end up longish and far too hard to follow if you weren't there when they began. Perhaps there should be some kind of system whereby a pgn is created of that thread and each person can be .50 cents for the convenience of getting the pgn over sifting through the thread endlessly.

Stefan Buecker wrote on 06/25/11 at 10:25:24:


I think this is a thing that would be worth paying for, but not sure if all sectionistas will manage to do this. There are probably some reasons for them not doing this now. One is that they might have to keep some novelties for their games rather than a forum. Also, since the updates aren't really always on time, I suspect some don't have much time/too low priority to even go in here and answer posts.

BPaulsen wrote on 06/24/11 at 13:05:17:

Yes, interesting, I wonder how they do that?
Obviously I am not a contributor to their site so I get an entire screen full of Adverts, even 3 of their first 5 boards seem to be Ads!
Well, I suppose it is a possiblity.

One of the message boards I frequent has two options:

Free: individuals have to deal with ads everywhere.

Paying: no ads to deal with.

That might be a viable option.

To be honest, I would hope that a ChessPublishing membership would provide free access to the forums, especially since most of the valuable forum content is provided by forum members themselves.

Advertising seems like the most reasonable solution to me (and perhaps ChessPublishing members get an ad-free version).

One obvious deduction from all this is that the Forum will have to generate some money.
There are two alternatives: advertising or subscriptions.
Of the two I would definitely prefer the 2nd as I find adverts on Forums (and sites in general) very obtrusive, in addition advertisers tend to like sympathetic treatment which might be liable to compromise the Forum's objectivity.
I have already received suggestions from some members to make the Forum paying (much like certain other successful Forums), and if we decide to take this route there remains the question: how much?
I think a smallish sum would be best, as this should certainly be sufficient to dissuade trolls, time-wasters and spammers, without chasing away serious contributors, while at the same time providing enough money to run the site.
I suppose Moderators would have free memberships, and ChessPublishing.com subscribers (or perhaps Gold Plus members) would pay less.