Premium Forum Memberships now available -- enabling massive account upgrades

[skip to my lou]

Hello All;

I have recently made available a Premium Forum Membership option for those who would like to help support ChessChat and also benefit from some very major account upgrades. For a minimum donation of $25, you can be entitled to a one year account upgrade, which includes:

• Unlimited Attachment Space
• Administrative Functionality to Move/Delete/Open/Close threads you have started
• A massive amount of additional space for Private Messages (more than one could ever use!)
• Capability to edit shoutbox messages
• Ability to see everyone who is on-line
• Black Text Username and Premium Member Bar under username on forum posts
• Ability to post, edit, and delete your own calendar entries
• Reputation feature enabled, but negative reputation is disabled (for all members; but premium members receive additional reputation power)
• Ability to hide reputation
• Ability to see who assigned reputation points to you

To sign-up for the upgrade, simply donate at least $25 via PayPal (If you would like to donate via Direct Deposit or Cheque, please PM me for information). Once your donation is submitted, your account will be upgraded, typically within 12 hours. Please notify me by private message with the transaction ID.

*LINK REMOVED* - Please see new thread.

For more information, please feel free to contact me, or reply to this thread.

Regards,
Karthick

[Spiny Norman]

Karthick, you're to be congratulated for making the effort to move the site towards a financially self-sustaining future. We all appreciate the effort that you put in, especially those of us such as myself who spend such a lot of time here. I'm more than happy to make a financial contribution, and I'm sure many others will feel the same way (as evidenced already by the explosion of "Premium Member" graphics). I trust that taking a little of the financial pressure off you will make the task a bit lighter for you too.

A small marketing suggestion for you: How about making the "Premium Member" graphics in the left-hand column a link to a page that explains:

1. An explanation of the benefits of premium membership; and
2. A historical view of how this board came about, and how much time/effort/money has been invested to get it to where it is today; and
3. A link to the PayPal payments site/page so that its easier for new Premium Members to sign up

Another thought .... the $25 is a good starting point for regular users to get in at (i.e. entry level support for the board), but you might also want to think about additional sponsorships or donations (i.e. benefactors) and how those might be encouraged.

I would be prepared to offer an occasional gift to be provided to a randomly-selected new Premium Member. Perhaps a nice bottle of Shiraz from the in-laws winery, or something like that. Contact me via PM or email if you'd like to pursue any ideas like that.

[arosar]

The in-laws' winery? You lucky bastard!

Any winery we know?

AR

[skip to my lou]

A small marketing suggestion for you: How about making the "Premium Member" graphics in the left-hand column a link to a page that explains:

1. An explanation of the benefits of premium membership; and
2. A historical view of how this board came about, and how much time/effort/money has been invested to get it to where it is today; and
3. A link to the PayPal payments site/page so that its easier for new Premium Members to sign up

Will do when I get a chance.

[Spiny Norman]

The in-laws' winery? You lucky bastard! Any winery we know?

Not well known by a long stretch. "Dead Horse Hill" is in the Heathcote area of Central Victoria. This district is well known for its excellent shiraz production. They produce only a couple of hundred cases each year, so its definitely boutique. My wife's cousin owns it. The winery itself is really just a bunch of bedraggled looking vines in some old sheep paddocks, but it does produce a good drop. De Bortoli provide the actual production equipment and advice on the processing.

The 1998 vintage won a gold medal I believe. I have seen some of those earlier vintages selling for as much as $70 a bottle in selected restaurants in Melbourne. I generally buy a case each year, but didn't last year for some reason. I know that one of the best steak restaurants down here used to stock Dead Horse Hill (Charcoal Grill on the Hill, High Street, Kew).

I've still got two (2) bottles of the 1999 in the pantry ... one of them I will greedily keep for myself, but Karthick can give away the other one to someone if he likes.

[skip to my lou]

I'll be changing the following feature later tonight:

"Ability to see everyone who is on-line"

Since we've received a few complaints, we will be removing this feature. Instead of the feature, normal members will not be able to go to invisible mode, and premium members can.

[Rhubarb]

I've still got two (2) bottles of the 1999 in the pantry ... one of them I will greedily keep for myself, but Karthick can give away the other one to someone if he likes.

It's a good thing you're giving the bottle away, Frosty, or you could be accused of flogging a dead horse (I'm sure your wife's cousin has heard that joke a million times).

[Spiny Norman]

It's a good thing you're giving the bottle away, Frosty, or you could be accused of flogging a dead horse (I'm sure your wife's cousin has heard that joke a million times).

Yeah, they'd get it every day probably. The name comes from a particular hill at the back of Toolleen (15 minutes north of Heathcote) where they had to shoot a mob of horses in a drought back a few years (like 60-80 years ago).

Good name tho'. Rhymes with "sauce" ... I'll have a steak and a bottle of Dead Horse any day!

[Rincewind]

Yeah, they'd get it every day probably. The name comes from a particular hill at the back of Toolleen (15 minutes north of Heathcote) where they had to shoot a mob of horses in a drought back a few years (like 60-80 years ago).

Good name tho'. Rhymes with "sauce" ... I'll have a steak and a bottle of Dead Horse any day!

Isn't there a 'Dead Horse Gap' up in the Snowies? I vaguely remember some story about a herd of brumbies perishing there, giving it the name.

[antichrist]

I went through one of thoses droughts were tens of millions of sheep died. The river had completely dried up. We used to bath once a fortnight with only half a bucket of water. We would wash our feet every night, the water been recycled and recycled.

Now you know why I am on the nose.

[firegoat7]

what the hell is going on here....Bill, Frosty..Kegless???? say it ain't so Kegless??....say it ain't so...cmon you wouldn't lie to me.....c'mon mate you wouldn't buy your title would ya?

[Rhubarb]

^ FG, the admins asked for donations almost a year ago (when we were still one big happy cough family) due to mounting expenses. I was so impressed with STML's pgn viewer with in-game text commentary and some other developed features that I made a small donation. When premium membership came in, it looks like previous donors were automatically upgraded, the upshot of which is I got my premium membership at a slight discount.

So you can say that I donated in recognition of the chess features rather than making any political statement.

[firegoat7]

Honestly I have no problem with it. Its your money and STMLs site.

[arosar]

I've been thinking about becoming a premium member but there seems something uncool about it. How often are we suppose to make this contribution? And is it tax deductible you think?

I ask because the other day, on my way to work, I was ambushed by some Afghani chick. Good looking sort. I couldn't say no! Before I knew it I signed up for $35 / month!! FMD!

AR

[ursogr8]

I've been thinking about becoming a premium member but there seems something uncool about it. How often are we suppose to make this contribution? And is it tax deductible you think?

I ask because the other day, on my way to work, I was ambushed by some Afghani chick. Good looking sort. I couldn't say no! Before I knew it I signed up for $35 / month!! FMD!

AR

Amiel

Personally, I was always persuaded by your argument that because you bought chess books from Australian outlets, then you were a supporter of chess in Australia.
Since then you have become the photographer_of_choice at the places to be seen, and you have gone up in my estimation.

If going premium helps you become invisible then I don't see any problem with that.

starter