Thanks for the reply. I can see how images may make the forum look bloated but most signature photos are loaded off a different site and aren't hosted by MyG37. Now granted I don't want a 800x600 JPG taking up forum space, but I don't think all photos are bad. Sure it doesn't help their rankings but it makes the users happy. I would say limit the photo size and, let people link to their own personal site (not a sales site) to show off their car. Who knows you might just get a link back.

As for the ads, you're right. Too many is a bad thing, but I only see 1 banner at the top with a text ad below it. Sure its clean, it doesn't pollute the board, etc ... but there are ways to maximize ad revenue without degrading the cleanliness of the board. Hundreds of car boards manage it and they have millions of users. It doesn't seem to bother them. The biggest thing I see is having vendors support specific forums. Just like tirerack.com sponsors the wheel/tire forums on many boards. Maybe myG37 isn't interested in turning a profit, and that's fine. Charging your users extra for something that really doesn't cost you any more is kinda silly.

As for the content thing. I am entirely correct. I have been making a high 6 figure income online for several years so I know a thing or two. Yes inbound links do play a role in getting ranked in search engines, but ... you still need lots of content. If I set up a blank page that just says "Hello" and get a million people to link to my site, I will only rank at the top when someone searches for "Hello." Sure I catch the "Hello" crowd, but I'm totally missing out on the "Hi" crowd. Using Google (and who cares about anyone else anyway) inbound links affect your PageRank. PageRank, Inbound links, content, outbound links, keyword saturation, and a million other things actually determine where you rank. "Content is king" is the motto in the online marketing game. The more phrases you can rank for the more people that will show up. Adding content will always get you better rankings than any other strategy. Why do you think every blog, video site, forum, e-commerce site, etc .. has a place for you type in your review, idea or opinion? Its not because they want to hear what you have to say. Its because it's free content they don't have to create, and that content increases their rankings which in turn results in more visitors which (if done correctly) turns into increased ad revenue. Welcome to Web 2.0.

 

I would also like to know...

 

Rules are "Rules," I guess!! how's this signature?

 

It's 'Premier' not Premium. You guys sure have a lot of complaing to do for having a combined post count of less than 20.

 

DiamondG, don't hate on people now because they're new. That's harsh and doesn't foster a good community.

 

^^ The point is, most of the people complaining never read the rules. For one, having several lines in the signature will clutter up the websites, its easier to keep people from posting up huge pictures by limiting what they can post in the sigs, especially when they are not a premier member. Many people will put links / images with links & advertise in their signatures without actually being a big part of the community. Its easier to keep the place clutter free with smaller signatures.

 

Wow, I don't think I've ever seen such petty things get people so riled up.

We have a "less is more" philosophy" here and believe that having multiple lines in your signature and having huge sig pics are distracting, cluttering, and extremely annoying when reading threads. These rules were put in place a few years ago on G35Driver and were carried over to here when the forum went live. These rules will NOT be changing......period.

If you have any concerns or questions feel free to PM me.

 

I don't think it's about being "petty" more so that most users won't accept the adage "rules are just rules" especially when they're confronted with a policy that seems very backwards in 2008 when you compare it to many other sites of higher quality.

Add to the fact that some of the admin have attitudes that are not conducive to feedback in improving the site, it becomes frustrating enough for users to speak out.

I believe sigs and avatars are more about identity and if users can't have that right from the start, it becomes an issue. I'm all for having limitations, just not so much that it hinders the actual development of an online community.

I suggest to users then that if there are no changes to the sigs policy, that's fine - leave your sigs as-is, in UBB code and ugly. It just confirms how many people are affected by this shortsighted policy that may be just a tip of the iceberg.

 

so much for "suggestions"

i'm done posting on this forum

 

While I understand what you are saying, I still disagree. The rules around the signature, signature picture, and avatar are clearly outlined. Whether some people agree with them or not, these are rules that have been put in place by the Staff. We can't have rules to please everyone, but we decide on things that are best for the community as a whole.

Sig pics and Avatars can be had by anyone here, so long as they are a Premier member and follow the guidelines that have been put in place. Becoming a Premier member is much more than having a sig pic and an avatar, however only you can decide if the cost is worth it or not. If you don't want to become a Premier member, that's fine, no one will ever ask you to become one.


IMO, the Staff here do a great job listening to member's feedback and adjusting to the growth of the forum. There were numerous members that wanted an Entertainment section in the Lounge.......guess what, we created it for them. But again, the Staff have to make decisions on what's best for the community as a whole and what's best for the forum. If a suggestion by a member makes sense and is a positive step forward for the forum and community, hey we'll implement it. Having said that, not all suggestions by the members will be in the entire forum's best interest and will not be implemented. In this case about having more than one line in your signature, having a sig pic, and having an avatar, those are things that will continue to be reserved for the Premier members.

Lastly, this is a forum that has lots of great members and lots of great information on the G37, if you let trivial things like avatars and sig pictures ruin your experience here than I think that is rather sad. If those things are truly that important to you, than you have the option of becoming a Premier member.

 

Personally, I really don't care much about putting a sig/avatar on this site. I do know that others really enjoy sigs/avatars and it does foster a greater sense of community.

For those who state reasons of clutter simply go to the User CP and turn them off.

For those who complain about seeing ads on this site or any other, use a good ad-blocker. I run one with Firefox and rarely see an ad on any web site.

 

And yet, you offer the ability to "distract, clutter, and annoy" users by offering premier memberships (or by permitting staff to post avatars and big sigs). See, I think people are upset because you don't REALLY have a good reason to limit sigs to one line . . . it seems like an attempt to get people to pay $20 for something that isn't worth $20.

 

When I spoke about sig pics being distracting, cluttering, and annoying, I was speaking about overly large sig pics........hence the reason why I used the word "huge". That is a reason why we have size limits enforced.

Look, if you don't want a Premier membership or think it's not worth it don't get one. We offer it to the members here, just like we've offered it to the members on G35Driver for years now. Whether you see the benefits as being worth it or not is totally up to you.

 

Garnet, I don't want to belabor the point, but it seems that most of the staff's concerns are about pictures, whereas many of the users concerns are about signatures longer than 1 line, explaining what they've done to their G37, etc. Why can't there be a compromise (i.e., no pics but 2 or 3 line signatures)?

I know it's a rhetorical question, since you're already said "These rules will NOT be changing......period," but do you see why that upsets the users . . . after all, you're the ones holding the big stick and not justifying how 2 or 3 line signature blocks detract from the site in any way.

My $.02

 

Like it's been said already, rules are rules. They were made long before most of us mods/admins were even part of the site. The owner's of the site decided that is the policy, and most people don't want to accept that. People start showing an attitude like they "deserve" to get whatever they want. If everyone posted their concerns or feedback in a respectful manner, I don't think you'd see any staff members getting upset.

Either way, I think its pretty clear the stance isn't going to change about the signatures & avatars. If you don't want a premier membership, nobody is forcing you to get one, but just like anywhere else, free memberships come with more limits than premier memberships.