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. :)
- i feel that it is not worth it. given the overwhelming bombardment of ads over the last two years, the bb is useful at times but not as valuable as it once was to me.
- i valued the time i spent here, but frequently get burnt out on those that come here and do not show the same respect to a bb that i do. how many times do people have to post the same exact thread? it is quite easy to use and research this bb.
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.
unfortunately, i have noted that many others do not seem to value this bb in that manner. they come in, act poorly, shout (use all caps), expect others to work for them (research things when the answer can be found easily and rapidly by google, or search), or spout about "professionalism" yet write in a manner that should have gotten them failed out of grade school.
(if i ever see the words/phrases: bsn, union, dui, criminal record, florida pay rates, eating their young, catty, or "do i really have to have a whole year of rn experience before" - again, i may run amok).
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.
(please not, that for these very reasons, i often take extended breaks from this bb. as such my membership money would be wasted.)
- i have seen/known premium members that have had been bounced with no notice sent to them. i have seen really good posters, that have been bounced for fairly minor issues. and i have been censored at times, for things that others would not have been censored for. as i obviously am not a good judge of what will get one in trouble one day and not the other, why pay into a loss?
- the vast majority of posts/posters that get into trouble - they occur in the premium forums. if i am locked out of them, that is one less source of problems.
- i don't like the "premium" idea. it reeks of elitism. when i had a premium membership, i really disliked the fact that the bb "marked" us. i would have preferred for it to remain unknown.
but then i decline to purchase most designer goods because i don't like wearing trademarks.
- and first and foremost, i do not feel that i can speak freely what i think here. there are forums in which i can freely speak...and those i support and they support me.
i also feel that bb gains a great deal from us, in that many of us are a great resource for information. and these are the threads that i frequently inhabit, giving information to others on my specialty. i try to avoid the really redundant threads or redirect them to an immediate source of info. staying out of the more gossipy ones makes me hopefully more of an asset, whereas the premium forums frequently turn me into a liability.
money, money, money, money! i simply have none. i'm hoping to pass the nclex soon and get a job. and as (you know who you are) suggested to me, premium membership will be one of my "gifts" to myself"
also, i would like to support this site, as it has been very helpful and educational for me. any question i've had has been answered moreso by the members of this forum than any of my other sources.
to caroladybelle: i consider allnurses a great learning experience. for a true novice such as myself, many posts (including yours) are tremendously helpful and i learn from all experiences. that's why this forum is valuable to me. think also that your posts can teach others not to behave rudely or in an ill-mannered way. can help with spelling-grammar, verbal expression. can help others see the need for professionalism, etc., etc.,
Specializes in Med Surg, ICU, Infection, Home Health, and LTC.
i joined just because. lol. i have followed allnurses.com with it's sharing and posts since i can remember it being online.
i used to post on another nursing board years ago but got frustrated with the same postings all the time and the limited subjects. there seemed to be one or two who were always a blessings to the rest of us seeking information while another one or two ran the board into the ground with fussing and sniping at each others posts.
i love the way this board is layed out and the great variety of topics and areas of nursing skill. i don't post very often, but love to read and learn what others have to share and there are just sooo many areas that i can search and read. if i have an honest question other nurses help me find the answers and i have not ever read any negative responses to anyone's posts.
i don't remember ever seeing any rude or nasty posts or any flaming. i really don't remember seeing any trolls hogging space and making mundane posts. it has been a pleasure whenever i come to this board.
i did choose to join by mail as i do not trust pay pal and all the spam i get about pay pal accounts etc. i am leary of online purchasing period in this day and age, but received an answer back when i wrote and asked to join and have enjoyed it the entire time. ((i hope i can remember when to renew lol.))
I joined after I took my NCLEX and more or less became a premium member the same day. Initially I found allnurses to have a wealth of information on nursing in the US which I felt I needed to emigrate over here and be prepared. Allnurses quickly became very important to be as I made many new friends from both from the UK and the US, some of these friends have helped me out in times of trouble.
I too had accessed other sites where the moderators were few and far between, and more often than not posters became rude, rasist, sexist because posts were not moderated correctly, so whilst we may be slighlty strict on here I feel we are fair and stop horrible situations occuring.
I am a new moderator and have a lovely job of moderating the Uk forum-where posters tend to know each other well so there is rarely a need to stop or close anything.
Almost all of the above. I wanted to support the site because I have found it so incredibly useful over time, but I couldn't justify the cost for a long while. The discount made it much easier for me to decide to join. I haven't used many of the benefits yet, but it's kind of nice to know they're there if I want to use them.
while i am not that well versed on the costs of a BB, it seems that there are enough ads on this site to keep it well supported.
Seems like it, but coming from a long tradition of family owned and operated businesses, I'm sure none of us have any idea of the costs or the effort that's gone into making this site what it is today.
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.
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It is.
I understand gr8rnpjt. I thought it was paypal only. I have a paypal account but a few days ago got a notice that it had paid $350 on an e-Bay item that was being shipped to Maine! We're closely monitoring my credit card that paypal draws on. It hasn't shown up on the credit card, yet. But I sure didn't want ANY paypal activity. I used a different card to pay for the premium
today. I sure hope it does not "revert" to my paypal account.
I upgraded to premium to help out the board that has been a source of inspiration (and in some cases, perspiration LOL) for me. It just seemed right that I would pay to use such a valuable source. The amount wasn't very much to me for what I was getting in return. I would have LOVED to upgrade using the discounted rate because my membership will lapse soon, but unfortunately I don't have the funds. I am out on disability for high risk pregnancy and then of course there's that little matter of a NEW BABY on the way. VERY EXPENSIVE. So... while I appreciate the site and I believe that the premium membership is worth it, I will likely be back in the blue lettering very soon myself.
Specializes in ED, ICU, MS/MT, PCU, CM, House Sup, Frontline mgr.
I was not impressed with what little difference a Premium member is able to do vs. a non-member. I am not interested in the Journals or posting to the break rooms etc. It would be nice to have additional access to something more related to nursing.
And as many others have said, I too am not rich and my budget is tight. However, I do have other subscriptions I choose not to renew and so I shifted that $20.00 to this website.
I would not have done so until I received acceptance into Nursing school if it was not for the recent drop in price. The reason being, I do not think it is fair that full-time pre-nursing students do not receive the $20.00 price that full-time nursing students receive. Pre-nursing students are struggling too.
And before anyone flames and notes that pre-nursing students may or may not get into Nursing school, I want to point out that Nursing students may or may not graduate so that is not a good point.
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?
Actually I want the money to go to maintaining this site, and trying to make it better. If I want to donate money to homeless victims, I give to charties that are for that purpose. I have run websites and servers before. They can be extremely expensive to maintain. If there were a huge excess of money bacuase everyone decided to pay, sure donate some, but please don't think that this or any website that is any good comes free. SOMEONE is paying for it.
while i am not that well versed on the costs of a BB, it seems that there are enough ads on this site to keep it well supported.
I've run sites before. Most ads are almost never clicked on and even when they are and you go through with purchasing something, the webmaster can normally expect 2-5 cents for it. If more people payed, maybe the ads could be removed. That I would like to see. There are a lot of them, but money to run the site has to come from somewhere. I'm curious, how many ad links have you clicked on? I know I haven't clicked on many.
I'm not trying to get anyone fired up, I just want people to relise the reality. This website costs quite a bit to maintain from my guess, seeing how extensive it is. please don't assume to much about running websites till you have done it. It can get very expensive.
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Drysolong
512 Posts
money, money, money, money! i simply have none. i'm hoping to pass the nclex soon and get a job. and as (you know who you are) suggested to me, premium membership will be one of my "gifts" to myself"
also, i would like to support this site, as it has been very helpful and educational for me. any question i've had has been answered moreso by the members of this forum than any of my other sources.
to caroladybelle: i consider allnurses a great learning experience. for a true novice such as myself, many posts (including yours) are tremendously helpful and i learn from all experiences. that's why this forum is valuable to me. think also that your posts can teach others not to behave rudely or in an ill-mannered way. can help with spelling-grammar, verbal expression. can help others see the need for professionalism, etc., etc.,