Premium membership reservations?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

For the record, I'm not asking this in any official capacity.

I'm just wondering what kinds of things hold people back from upgrading to Premium membership. The cost? Not feeling the need to post in premium forums? Not having ever really considered it? Other reasons I haven't thought of?

Again, I'm not acting as a mod in this post. I'm just being curious. It took me about six months to upgrade. I wanted to reach a point where I felt I would be sticking around. And I wanted to see if I really felt the site was worth paying for. I guess the answer is obvious. :)

Thanks for your input.

Specializes in ER (new), Respitory/Med Surg floor.

Originally Posted by sphinx

A little bit of both that you mentioned. It's not that I don't have enough money. Just that *for me*, the opportunity to post in the premium forums is not worth paying for.

:yeahthat: While the perks of being a premium member are nice, I get all I need being just a registered member.

Same here! I don't see much difference between premium and registered users only you can add footnotes, avatars, and exclusive posts in some areas. While that's nice it's not worth the money to get those features. I like it just registering as is. If there were added charges just to register while this site is awesome I still would not pay for membership and would not come. I don't want to because the cost isn't worth it. Also other chatboards can be found without cost. However this site is by far the best. Sounds rude but I just woudn't add something like this into my budget.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I became Premium because this site has been the source of countless answers for me. As Roy said, it was an issue of honor- I would have subscribed even without any perks to being a Premium member. I want this site to stay around, I want to have this wealth of information and experience at my fingertips, and so I support it.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I finally became a member this week. Yeahhhhhhhhhhhh

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I don't choose to be a premium member because I don't like the idea of paying into a system that is not democratic. AEB:

Certain threads being killed by mods just because it gets off topic/heated.

That disagreeing with a moderator in a public forum is a violation of the rules.

If those rules were done away with, I would definitely consider being a premium member because I could feel good about supporting it.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

i took the risk of signing up for 2 years. but i do have a question where does the money go to? but you know what i would like to see and hear that the money would go to homeless victims like the hurricanes families or helping children who are fighting cancer. how many in here would like to see that also?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Case Management.
I tried to get a premium membership back in November or December but don't have/don't like paypal. If it was set up to take a debit card/credit card....I would be a paying member.

_________________________________

It is. ;)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Pediatrics Only.

It took me forever to join (just did a few days ago) due to money issues. Its not that we dont have the money, its that I'm watching what we spend.

We moved to Houston from Pennsylvania in September and ended up making some pretty big purchases for our apartment. On May 12th, I'm getting married :) So we had a wedding to pay for, which is back home in PA. So wedding fees aside, we have plane and hotel tickets.

However, I'm a sucker for a good deal, and couldnt pass up only paying $20. I was actually planning on joining up after we got married, but since the deal came along, I decided to do it earier.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Thanks, everyone for sharing your thoughts and opinions. Your answers have given me valuable insight into different perspectives.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the number of responses and hope others will add their two cents' worth as they come across this thread.

i took the risk of signing up for 2 years. but i do have a question where does the money go to? but you know what i would like to see and hear that the money would go to homeless victims like the hurricanes families or helping children who are fighting cancer. how many in here would like to see that also?

The money from premium memberships goes to pay for the equipment and the internet bandwidth it takes to keep such a gigantic board humming. This site isn't run by some anonymous corporation, but by one man who devotes an incredible amount of time and personal resources to keeping it alive and well.

Here is a link to a Yahoo article that gives a bit of background about the site.

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060410/lam087c.html?.v=1

I'm not sure about the division of finances between ad revenues and premium memberships, but I do know that Brian is not managing all of this from a villa in the Bahamas. He is still working as a nurse to support his family and, for the most part, he's just a regular guy (albeit one with a ton of talent and some incredible accomplishments under his belt).

We staff members are all volunteers and are honored and happy to participate.

My problem and it doesn't totally make sense to me even is I was a little offended after I became a premium member that others that weren't premium members were getting the benefits without paying. What do I mean? Some posters would start threads on obvious "break room" topics in the general nursing discussion. Some posters knew it was inappropriate but did it because they knew it would take a while for the mods to catch it and then the thread would simply be moved to the breakroom or Current Events.

Initially, when premium membership became available, there were a lot of wrinkles to be ironed out. Even now, several years later, glitches still pop up. I don't know how the technology works when someone lets a premium membership lapse, but occasionally, they can continue to access premium perks. As soon as the staff finds out, the situation is corrected and the member is PM'd. But as was pointed out above, this can take some time.

That's where we appreciate your help. Any member can click on the little red triangle at the bottom left corner of a post (in the white space under the name) to report something questionable. Whether it's an offensive message or spam or a premium perk being used by a regular member, this helps us become aware of problems more quickly. After you click on the triangle, you'll be asked for the reason you are reporting the post. Tell us and we'll take a look. Most times, you'll get a PM thanking you and letting you know the matter was taken care of. This is a great way for members (both regular and premium) to help us keep this place in good working order.

A great BB is a social interaction with others - like a group dinner or a party - when you enter into it, you should at least have the good manners to investigate how to use it and explore the territory - before taking over or making a scene by behaving rudely or inappropriately.

While this can be excused because of some issues, it grate on one's last nerve at others. I am a nurse that has to tapdance her way around civility and the rude habits of the general public - I don't feel like doing so online. But here, I do still have to do so.

I don't choose to be a premium member because I don't like the idea of paying into a system that is not democratic. AEB:

Certain threads being killed by mods just because it gets off topic/heated.

That disagreeing with a moderator in a public forum is a violation of the rules.

The line between freedom and civility can be a tough tightrope to walk. Oftentimes, forums with little or no supervision rapidly degenerate into flame fests, political battles, and exercises in vulgarity. We do our best to keep these things to a minimum here. Occasionally, we err on the side of caution. Sometimes we don't go far enough. And sometimes, we get feedback that says we did both at the same time!

As for disagreeing with a mod in public, this tends to hijack a thread and polarize the subscribers. Anyone who has a gripe can PM staff members and let us know what's on your mind. (I will tell you that you're more likely to have your message taken seriously if it's written in a civil tone.) We've re-opened threads and/or apologized for misunderstandings when we felt we'd made mistakes and will continue to do so when the situation warrants.

Thanks again for all the input. I loved reading the great variety of opinions and hope they will keep coming.

Take care,

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.

I joined because I simplly didn't have the nerve not to, with about 10,000 posts at that time I would have been embarrased not to go premium. I don't take a "what's in it for me" attitude, rather an "if it helps Brian, then o.k. I obviously like the site with 10,000 posts." Money isn't the issue, it took me an hour's work to pay for it.

I have too much a big mouth not to be able to have access to all the forums. :)

Is the site perfect? No. What I enjoy far outweighs what irritates me.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I have to wait until I start to work...I aslo have a few irks I need to iron out first before coming back....

I also have to keep in mind that our dollar is not as strong as yours in the USA so the "student" price works out to be the regular price in the end.......:o

Z

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Utilization Management.

I frankly prefer that a discussion board be moderated. The ones that are not moderated are ruined by trolls and wackos.

So a thread or two gets closed every now and then, for what you might think is a ridiculous reason. Another thread opens up with the same question, different posters, and stays open.

One person uses ***** to bleep a naughty word, and it goes by without a fuss, and another gets a warning, a word change, or a thread closed.

Who said life was fair?

As I said, on other boards, where one can supposedly say anything, there is a culture that also disapproves of saying anything that is not politically correct (or incorrect, as the case may be) and it just as effectively silences posters.

There are secret rooms, de facto moderation (whether stated or not, the BB owner always has the option to "moderate"), and just as many "elitist" and/or rude members.

So I paid. I paid mostly for the ability to get technical information and expertise while networking with other professsionals, and I expect to pay for that. I'm surprised that for all the services offered here, it's not the other way around, and we don't pay to use the regular forums instead of the more personal forums.

I also like the arcade, chat, and other features, as well as a chance to "let my hair down" and post about off-topic issues.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I tried to join yesterday, but for some reason it would not except my credit card information.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment