BoomerCPO Posted June 28, 2012 #101 Posted June 28, 2012 $12 a year will get you a LOT from this Site....and ya can't put a price on friendship. Boomer....who sez Trolls are not worth the effort it takes to put a boot to dere butts.
Yama Mama Posted June 28, 2012 #102 Posted June 28, 2012 this hole thing has made the pond monster reappear! It is not good to make the Pond Monster angry! Be ware, he is watching you, and you know who you are! Yama Mama
KIC Posted June 28, 2012 #104 Posted June 28, 2012 Hmmmmmmm KIC..wasn't he that really rude and obnoxious guy that finally "GOT IT"...... ? every family has one....and kic is ours:stickpoke: Geez...they say you only hurt the ones you love.... you guys must love me a lot !! Looks like the only riding partner I'll have for a while rides a Honda 350... Now where did he go ... ?
Caveman Posted June 28, 2012 #105 Posted June 28, 2012 I'll just say, I'm glad to be a part of this family and twelve dollars is nothing to me. Hell man, I'll pay your due's and if you don't feel the same as the most of us at the end of the year then you really are a TOOL!
bongobobny Posted June 28, 2012 #106 Posted June 28, 2012 I have to admit this has been one of the most entertaining threads in a while, right up there with the Dear Mr. Freebird or the WHY threads!! Very original and at least the OP showed maturity enough to respond in an intelligent manner. I really don't think anyone flamed you, and yes you are right there were several chest beaters but what do you expect from members of any successful organization??? We are all proud members here otherwise what would the point be of being a member? As was mentioned several pointed out this is more than a website, it is a FAMILY! Attend one of our events or monitor the site for a while and you will see that! We do tend to be a more seasoned age bracket but we have had members as young as 16 in the past. I have never found a community quite as caring and giving as this group!! Another point I would like to make is that it never costs a cent to just read, and there is a wealth of technical information here. Once again this site is about way more than just technical information. It is also about companionship! I amy be wrong, but the topic of your post, along with your references to socialism and free society suggests to me you are in college in a liberal arts program. I hope this experience has been useful towards your research and education. I am hoping that you are still reading the responses here and so far I haven't seen anyone bid you ill, but rather several invitations to stay around for a while...
RockinRobin Posted June 28, 2012 #107 Posted June 28, 2012 KIC, you don't want to hang out with that rif raf. We would have to disown you. Then who would we pick on?
RockinRobin Posted June 28, 2012 #108 Posted June 28, 2012 KIC, you don't want to hang out with that rif raf. We would have to disown you. Then who would we pick on? OH crap, using my wifes computer again. this was from Steamer.
etcswjoe Posted June 28, 2012 #109 Posted June 28, 2012 I got back on a Venture after my Dad passed for a little therapy and with my bike and most of all this site It has been the best theraphy anyone could ask for plus it saves several hundred dollars an hour on a shrink and after this thread I realize I have not said thanks latley so to Don and everyone elese on here THANKS
Dano Posted June 28, 2012 #111 Posted June 28, 2012 Only the TRUE members on here know of the huge help that has been donated to the wife and I after my accident of last year, the same ones that KNOW what I have donated to all the folks that ask for help over the last 4 years I have belonged to this INCREDIBLE site..... Maybe we'll have to get him out for a ride......
steamer Posted June 28, 2012 #112 Posted June 28, 2012 Dano, we all invited him to stay and join us at a rally or on a ride. He made his choice. Actually he made up his mind long before he posted. You can't help people like him.
dacheedah Posted June 28, 2012 #113 Posted June 28, 2012 Ok, I did the group hug thing and someone is hot and sweaty, can you say eeeeewwwwwww
AKRefugee Posted June 28, 2012 #114 Posted June 28, 2012 Does this make Don our "Dad" ? [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDm6iKH38C0]NEW E*TRADE Baby First Class - YouTube[/ame]
TDunc Posted June 28, 2012 #115 Posted June 28, 2012 Hey Nicholas,(N9VIW) Don't forget to re-up your Ham license next year! Hi Hi OM! I just wish that you could see the advantage and not be so critical. But!! $12.00 >>>>>
Rick Haywood Posted June 28, 2012 #116 Posted June 28, 2012 [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNWYAdIQqP4]Johnny Depp's message for Dad on APWA Lifetime Achievement Award 2012 - YouTube[/ame]
XV1100SE Posted June 28, 2012 #117 Posted June 28, 2012 ...A friend of mine found your site, found it interesting, and wondered (as I did) what the funds go to. ... I think there are two people in this world that have nothing better to do. His "friend" found the site "interesting" ... and then they have the nuts to ask where the money goes ? If the OP is still around.... what was your intent? To find out if having a forum is lucrative? This site is about more than whether or not Freebird makes a profit. Do the members get value from their yearly fee ? If you've read the previous.... definitely. Does Don make money off it? Little. Do any members care if Don pockets a few bucks? Not for what he provides us with.
Acadieman Posted June 28, 2012 #118 Posted June 28, 2012 Okay, okay, simma down nah! I've let you kick this dead horse long enough. No, I'm not KIC, or that sempi guy, or a troll. I'm a FRONT. There's a difference, thank you very little. A friend of mine found your site, found it interesting, and wondered (as I did) what the funds go to. He wanted to know but didn't want to get flamed (for good reason, apparently!), so I offered to do it for him. Why? Because personally, I don't give a $#!t one way or the other- I ride ratty vintage Jap chops. I'll likely never have a fancy bike like a Venture or Star, because I'm too cheap. LOL! So, my registration on this site was solely to carry that one question to you, and man, what a hot button! Seems like I hit a raw nerve, and I wonder if there weren't a few who thought to themselves, "Man, I'm glad someone finally asked, I've been wondering that for years!" Well, I'm your guinea pig. I think it's a completely valid question, and not at all out of line. You could be using it for a kitty for downed riders, or a swag bag from which you hold a raffle, or to fund the eats and hooch at a once-a-year bash (sounds like your Maintenance Days thing), all of which would be excellent and commendable. The point is, out of all the valid responses you could have given, what did most of you give? Manly chest-beating and ostracism. Way to go. I don't believe for a second the claims some of you made that one can only find useful information, camaraderie, support, or gatherings from a membership-fee site. I've been a regular on a number of forums, all FREE, that had an answer to every question, nonjudgmental tech support, and gatherings galore. The difference is that WE do it the free-market way: if you think it's worth it, chip in a buck or ten. If you don't, don't; it's your money. What you do here is more akin to socialism, without the 'guns poking you in the back' thing. But that's neither here nor there, my point is that what you've got here ain't all that special. So, anyway, go ahead and villainize me, call me names, close my account, whatever. We got our answer (in a very roundabout way), my work here is done. Rest easy, this is my last post. Sayonara! I can tell he Loves us ,He will be Back:bighug:
XV1100SE Posted June 28, 2012 #119 Posted June 28, 2012 I just figured it out ! He wants to create a forum just like this one but for the CB350 ! BUT... ONLY if he can make a profit from it ! After reading all the comments about how for $12/year we get huge benefits (and a free lunch at MD).... he'll figure he can easily charge $120/year ! Watch for the Honda CB350 forum coming soon ! He doesn't realize he can recreate the family atmosphere as we have here. What he'll get is something similar to other sites where posters continually flame each other but they get lots of advertising to read. To the original OP... sell the mailing list. Apparently there is more money in scavenging emaill addresses and selling them so members can also get inundated with junk mail.
Yama Mama Posted June 28, 2012 #120 Posted June 28, 2012 Oh yes, you are right there. We have his curiosity going now. He is thinking maybe I can sneak in the Watering Hole, and no one will know I am reading these posts. Our Members are loyal; you cannot deny that. So aren't you at least a little curious about why? I will let you know that this is a unique motorcycle group. There is no other group like this in my experience. We are faithful friends, even if we have not met before. Yes we become friends on this site. We have members all over the world. This website is a special place for all riders to come for what ever reason. I wish you would just read a little more, before you form an opinion. You can not have such a negative opinion, which you obviously do, if you have not experienced any thing at all on this site. I think you have been unfair in your criticism. But this is America, and that was your right to speak your mind, even if it was unfounded. I do wish you well, and hope you change your mind. Yama Mama
Blackjack Posted June 28, 2012 #122 Posted June 28, 2012 I know I'm just the new guy and all so I'm going to try real hard not to ruffle any more feathers, but there seems to be a bit of a hornets nest that was kicked here so I don't know if it's possible not too. My $.02 worth, I think it's unwise to attack the dude. Yes, it's only $12/year. Seems like a reasonable price to pay. I've only been a member for 2 days but have already made a friend and been invited (repeatedly) to the maintenance day that's near me (which unfortunately I can't make). I've been offered PDF's of the service manual saving me from having to buy one and aside from this thread which seems to have gotten a little hostel, seems like a friendly group of guys. If Don makes $1.56/year, $15.60/year, $156/year off the site, great for him. If he makes $156,000 off the site, even better for him. Now that being said, and this is the part where feathers are gonna get ruffled, when I make a donation to UNICEF, ASPCA, United Way or any other charitable organization, I like to know where my money is going (IE if 80% of my donation is going to overhead costs while only 20% is going to the actual cause, I may choose to donate my money elsewhere). When I pay membership dues for any organization, I like to know where my money is going. When I buy something from a business, I know the money is going to buy somewhere between groceries and a 2nd house in the Bahamas for the owner of that business. I don't think that the OP wants to see "the books" or anything but is just kind of curious to know where the money goes, IE into Don's pocket, into a charitable fund for members down on their luck, into meet & greet or maintenance days, or whatever else. I apologize in advance if I've ruffled any more feathers. It's one thing to ask a question, especially from a curious/concerned perspective, but that is NOT what happened here. The thread was started with presumptions, proclamations and statements rather than bona fide questions about the inner workings of the Forum and the people that choose to gather here. A more appropriate approach, for instance, might have been to ask for feedback from Members as to their evaluation of the site and the value they derive from it, given the price paid. That would have been respectful and considerate. Instead, we got a math lesson on the potential wealth pool and a proclamation that the time, effort and energy spent here could easily be defined as a "hobby". Your own comments are well-considered and thoughtful. You did not use stick to swat at the hornet's nest...
Bob Myers Posted June 28, 2012 #123 Posted June 28, 2012 Hey Nicholas,(N9VIW) Don't forget to re-up your Ham license next year! Hi Hi OM! I just wish that you could see the advantage and not be so critical. But!! $12.00 >>>>> Interesting, the call does not belong to anyone in Mo, it belongs to ;NICHOLAS R LENARZ, N9VIW 2103 WING ST ROLLING MEADOWS, IL 60008 USA Oh, and thanks for reminding him to renew, mine expires this coming fall!
saddlebum Posted June 28, 2012 #124 Posted June 28, 2012 It has only been I believe the last three years that we have been asked to pay a membership fee. Prior to that, It was FREE with Don basically supporting it it out of his own pocket, minus occasional donations. As far as I am concerned wether he now makes money of it or not matters not to me. At the very least I hope he does get enough so the site is at least self supporting. If he does make a bit out of it, so what, for all he has put into it all these years he deserves it. No one is forcing your hand, either you feel its worth $12 to you or you don't, your decision. For myself I have gotten more out my $12 spent annually to be a supportting member here, then for any dollar I have spent anywhere else. Information, education assistance and real friendship is all here to be had for those who want it. Try getting this much out of a simple magazine subscrption costing a whole lot more filled with 50 % of worthless advertising and probably generating bigger profits. Sorry Buddy but you are crying up the wrong tree in my book. P/S if you honestly believe it is that lucrative then maybe you should start your own site and bask in the millions you will be earning. Nuff Said. Hey Yammer got room in that cornor for a fellow big mouth? can I bring my teddy bear?
etcswjoe Posted June 28, 2012 #125 Posted June 28, 2012 ...Hey Yammer got room in that cornor for a fellow big mouth? can I bring my teddy bear? I hear you should be aware of Teddy Bears there is a movie out now about that.
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