New home page at AdvRider

[drlewall]

I remember when ADV use to be fun...

[LadyDraco]

I think the banner thing is the adds...
I never see the adds as I have it set up in a way I don't get them..

Everything changes .. The Earth , Your Bike , Even we all change...

NO big deal...

[bluestar]

Yeah, I'm not really thrilled about being spammed in alerts. With it now being a commercial venture, I expect a lot of changes. Mostly not for the better.

[LadyDraco]

Jut hit the unsubscribe button...
I like some of the newsletters..
If I don't like one I just hit delete ..
I don't get a lot of email to start with . SO it's no biggy .

[drlewall]

I think the banner thing is the adds...
I never see the adds as I have it set up in a way I don't get them..

Everything changes .. The Earth , Your Bike , Even we all change...

NO big deal...

NOT ME! GET OFF MY LAWN!

[TheModThatBannedYou]

I remember when ADV use to be fun...

Yeah, before all the TB porn rulez clampdown, we were banning idjuts left and right. Them were some days!

[drlewall]

I remember when ADV use to be fun...

Yeah, before all the TB porn rulez clampdown, we were banning idjuts left and right. Them were some days!

an occasional 3 day vaca was needed, and welcomed. Apparently now there is a limit on that and a 3 strikes you out rule came into play.

[LadyDraco]

I remember when ADV use to be fun...

Yeah, before all the TB porn rulez clampdown, we were banning idjuts left and right. Them were some days!

More rules ???

[MrKiwi]

Times are achanging at advrider.

The increasing emphasis is the new homepage aimed at a younger audience and those who never stray into the basement. It is also 100% controlled on who can start threads on the front page. We are limited to posting a response.

It's a blog based approach with comments that can be posted.

The ride report side of Advrider.com runs the risk of being lost in this new direction.

To be fair, the membership is an aging one so they are trying to make it atttractive to gen Y. Good luck with that I say. An adventure motorcycle forum like Reddit!

[Delicate Snowflake]

...

It is also 100% controlled on who can start threads on the front page. We are limited to posting a response.

It's a blog based approach with comments that can be posted.

These are interesting observations.

I have seen identical moves on two other websites/forums [not motorcycle or travel related]. Once they decided to move from 'we have created a large following amongst enthusiasts' to 'now we will generate revenue from our userbase', their actions were the same as you describe.

This implies that there is a 'standard model' out there for web/forum hosts on how to capitalise on their website and 'stock' of willing consumers.

The ride report side of Advrider.com runs the risk of being lost in this new direction.

Well spotted.

It also creates a void that will be filled by another website.

Personally I feel this portion of the members that get 'cast aside' [so to speak] explains why the revenue-generating mk-II of these websites never converts their entire userbase over to fees, and never meets the revenue predictions they originally estimated.

The richest person I have met [from internet generated monies] sold his website & forum so that the new owners could 'monetarise' his userbase. He did very well out of the deal, the new owners were left with the battle to convert users into paying customers.

---

I have a personal preference for sites that try to make money from the outset, and are honest about it, e.g. 'please use the links at the bottom of the page for your Christmas purchases from Amazon', or 'please consider becoming a Patreon for $3/month'. The content and web/blog/forum just keeps doing what it's doing, users are happy, and most seem to generate enough revenue for their needs.

[diogenes009]

It seems to be the cycle: Create something that is attractive to a group of people. Grow that something to a decent size. Destroy that something by trying to make it something else. For extra points turn it into the very thing people were fleeing when they found your something in the first place (Looking at you, YouTube).

When the business school graduates, marketers and other bad idea fairies show up, things are going to go downhill fairly fast.

[LadyDraco]

All good observations. And thoughts...

[drlewall]

It seems to be the cycle: Create something that is attractive to a group of people. Grow that something to a decent size. Destroy that something by trying to make it something else. For extra points turn it into the very thing people were fleeing when they found your something in the first place (Looking at you, YouTube).

When the business school graduates, marketers and other bad idea fairies show up, things are going to go downhill fairly fast.

Man crush in full bloom in 3......2.......1

[Delicate Snowflake]

When the business school graduates, marketers and other bad idea fairies show up, things are going to go downhill fairly fast.

That would make a great signature line

I am going to steal your phrase 'bad idea fairies' to use at work. We are already inundated with MBA's sadly.

[TheModThatBannedYou]

Times are achanging at advrider.

The increasing emphasis is the new homepage aimed at a younger audience and those who never stray into the basement. It is also 100% controlled on who can start threads on the front page. We are limited to posting a response.

It's a blog based approach with comments that can be posted.

The ride report side of Advrider.com runs the risk of being lost in this new direction.

To be fair, the membership is an aging one so they are trying to make it atttractive to gen Y. Good luck with that I say. An adventure motorcycle forum like Reddit!

My two cents: Most people will skip the homepage and head to the sections of the site they already like to hang out in. That won't change at all, and for those folks who become supporters, the visuals of the site will be little changed.

Some will look to the new homepage, and scan the headlines of the articles there. Those aren't threads, they're curated stories (with comments enabled). The bet is that current members might find the stories interesting, but people new to the site will get a sense right up front of what's covered in the forums on the site, and dive in.

I think the ride reports will thrive.

[drlewall]

I "was" going to be a supporter, but there was no pay pal option...

[MrKiwi]

Times are achanging at advrider.

The increasing emphasis is the new homepage aimed at a younger audience and those who never stray into the basement. It is also 100% controlled on who can start threads on the front page. We are limited to posting a response.

It's a blog based approach with comments that can be posted.

The ride report side of Advrider.com runs the risk of being lost in this new direction.

To be fair, the membership is an aging one so they are trying to make it atttractive to gen Y. Good luck with that I say. An adventure motorcycle forum like Reddit!

My two cents: Most people will skip the homepage and head to the sections of the site they already like to hang out in. That won't change at all, and for those folks who become supporters, the visuals of the site will be little changed.

Some will look to the new homepage, and scan the headlines of the articles there. Those aren't threads, they're curated stories (with comments enabled). The bet is that current members might find the stories interesting, but people new to the site will get a sense right up front of what's covered in the forums on the site, and dive in.

I think the ride reports will thrive.

Time will tell. For my part I am happy to pay a fee to be rid of advertisements and content that I can bypass the new homepage if I want to.

However, I think some of the front page curated stories are aimed at bypassing the forum altogether. And I've had it suggested to me that the new owner is trying to steer clear of the so called 'redpill guys' - whatever that term means. Probably wise to for health and sanity reasons

I hope the front page helps to generate new interest in the forum threads but if the aim is to avoid a certain type of member then I'm not sure of how that will happen.

Having said all of this, I freely acknowledge the owners of Advrider.com should take the forum and website in whatever direction they so desire and if I don't like it I am free to go elsewhere. And I don't say that sarcastically, I say it with full respect for the notion that he or she who pays (owns the site) is the sole arbiter of what they do with their property they own.

[TheModThatBannedYou]

I "was" going to be a supporter, but there was no pay pal option...

You can pay me, pal... but the PayPal option is, apparently, in the works.

[diogenes009]

When the business school graduates, marketers and other bad idea fairies show up, things are going to go downhill fairly fast.

That would make a great signature line

I am going to steal your phrase 'bad idea fairies' to use at work. We are already inundated with MBA's sadly.

[diogenes009]

The problem with the "experts" is that many, if not most, are not smart enough to do what they are meant to do. Many of the remainder are too full of themselves to actually learn about the thing they are supposed to be helping and just do counter-productive, inappropriate, rote exercises that are in the book.

So they break the thing to save it. And, management is like a kid paging through the Christmas Catalog: They just want a shiny, without caring what it does or understanding what it doesn't do. They just assume the degree bearer or super consultant must know something they don't.