To All It May Concern, (Esp Admin/Mods)...

[themagician]

'...This is absolutely none of my business, but will there ever be a point when Black Hat World says, "NO MORE - WE ARE FULL" - You can only sign up with an invite, or wait until other members drop out, or are banned.

Like I say, none of my business as I am merely a lowly guest here and a most humble servant of BHW and not the mighty power of Admin or Mods...lol

Hopefully this will start a debate, the outcome of which might be quite surprising'.

themagician

 

[Rambo]

I would like this to happen. I would like Black Hat World to either become a paid monthly subscription or a capacity of members.

That would make the forum much more closer, more family like.

I dont know if this would be good for Dave though. Obviously the value of his site will raise as the site grows and its overall up to him.

Interesting to see what others are thinking.

 

[Laser]

A closed and secure forum would definitely help the longevity of some techniques and strategies practiced here.

Isn't to bright to tell the warden that you're making a jailbreak tonight at 11:00 pm with 5000 inmates and you'll be using tool X, tool Y, and tool Z. Then you'll be driving a hot pink getaway car headed to Crusty Crotch Nebraska,,,,

Google spiders this forum and indexes the shit out of it,,,
This only helps those that close the "loopholes" we use to make money.

Say "NO" to spiders!

 

[cpaaddict]

yeh invite only would be good like the vault and few others do.. far too many leechers on here and also other people we may know and not want lol

 

[themagician]

'Mmm! Bit concerned that this is 3 x Brit's comments. Not sure where Laser is from. Hope this is not a British anally retentive response...lol

May we hear from others from around the world with your opinions, please. I am very cosmopolitan and would welcome your opinions. (Cosmopolitan, not as in magazine - more, Been around the block and then some...lol)...and of course, would welcome Admin and Mod's comments, when you've finished counting todays takings...lol.

themagician

 

[themagician]

oh nooooooooo

a monthly pay?

well if someone wants to pay for me

but then isnt the whole point of this site to get money for dave?
meaning he would need new members posting on bhw- bst making donation etc etc

No-No-No-Not a monthly pay. A closed forum where people are only allowed in when there is a space, or by invitation and recommendation from an existing member.

Lots of forums do it! (Doesn't make it right, which is why I ask for your opinion).

themagician

 

[drd26]

At this point unless the server and bandwidth costs are exceeding the revenue generated from donations (and ads) I see no point in closing the doors.

To limit the number of members allowed we limit the number of ideas that will be shared. With each new member the possibility of the next big idea shared exists. We were all new members once to BHW and also to IM, so I feel everyone deserves the chance.

About going to a paid membership, well not everyone can afford to give money at the beginning or on regular intervals. Some give by donating money, others by sharing ideas, and some by offering services to which you may need. On a side note... I find the fact that those who typically recommend going to a paid membership usually aren't BHW donors some what amusing.

For those that want invite only there's a forum here for you already. We're all aware, or should be, that to become an Exec VIP you must be voted in and invited by those that are already VIP's. So, if your true desire is to be part of the BHW elite then get to work.

Basically I'm of the sentiment that "if it ain't broke don't fix it." We're going to periodically have issues with the way things are now, but changing to any of the other suggestions will only cause a whole new set of problems. The way things have been set up and handled to date have acted to grow this forum into what it is today. If we continue to tweak what we already have we'll grow stronger with time.

 

[themagician]

At this point unless the server and bandwidth costs are exceeding the revenue generated from donations (and ads) I see no point in closing the doors.

To limit the number of members allowed we limit the number of ideas that will be shared. With each new member the possibility of the next big idea shared exists. We were all new members once to BHW and also to IM, so I feel everyone deserves the chance.

About going to a paid membership, well not everyone can afford to give money at the beginning or on regular intervals. Some give by donating money, others by sharing ideas, and some by offering services to which you may need. On a side note... I find the fact that those who typically recommend going to a paid membership usually aren't BHW donors some what amusing.

For those that want invite only there's a forum here for you already. We're all aware, or should be, that to become an Exec VIP you must be voted in and invited by those that are already VIP's. So, if your true desire is to be part of the BHW elite then get to work.

Basically I'm of the sentiment that "if it ain't broke don't fix it." We're going to periodically have issues with the way things are now, but changing to any of the other suggestions will only cause a whole new set of problems. The way things have been set up and handled to date have acted to grow this forum into what it is today. If we continue to tweak what we already have we'll grow stronger with time.

'...A most intelligent response, thank-you. However, couldn't my enquiry be a tweak that enables BHW to grow even stronger? More members does not mean better, after all. For me quality beats quantity every time. (Of course, I am not thinking like a forum owner who has bills to pay).

themagician

 

[drd26]

'...A most intelligent response, thank-you. However, couldn't my enquiry be a tweak that enables BHW to grow even stronger? More members does not mean better, after all. For me quality beats quantity every time. (Of course, I am not thinking like a forum owner who has bills to pay).

themagician

I guess any change to the existing forum could be labeled a tweak. Some simply have more impact on the community than others. My main issue with invite only is the type of member invited and their interests can tend to get skewed by those delivering the invitations. So if we were able to implement some sort of system that would limit invites, or have them earned based on a certain criteria it could work to strengthen the group. However, this still wouldn't be the route I'd choose.

 

[entity]

I think instead of shutting down the forum from new members, we should rely more on the reputation points, and people who have less than 100 rep points couldn't see some sections of the forum. I'm sure that admins/mods could change a couple of things on the forum, so those sections don't get indexed by Google. This is better than simply relying on donations, as employees of Google/affiliate networks wouldn't spend a lot of time on building their rep.

 

[mazemiami]

I vote

no spiders
a paid monthly subscription/ or limited members invite only

 

[Belexandor]

The answer to this already exists. If we would all make a concerted effort to "live" inside of the Jr. VIP forum then it would liven up substantially. Let the noobs trade ebooks and the occassional groundbreaking idea in the general forum. We have a place to have much more private discussions. Notice that every single post in this thread had been by a Jr.VIP or Ex.VIP (with one exception) yet, it is still in the general forum.

I'm glad I donated and I AM concrned about the influx of new mwmbers but it's a simple thing for those of us who have been here for a while to just avoid discussing serious methods and such outside of the Jr.VIP area.

$.02

 

[entity]

The answer to this already exists. If we would all make a concerted effort to "live" inside of the Jr. VIP forum then it would liven up substantially. Let the noobs trade ebooks and the occassional groundbreaking idea in the general forum. We have a place to have much more private discussions. Notice that every single post in this thread had been by a Jr.VIP or Ex.VIP (with one exception) yet, it is still in the general forum.

I'm glad I donated and I AM concrned about the influx of new mwmbers but it's a simple thing for those of us who have been here for a while to just avoid discussing serious methods and such outside of the Jr.VIP area.

$.02

Yeah, you're right. We, the Jr. VIP, Executive VIP members should use the VIP section more.

 

[blackhatcatz]

What about this idea? If you want to join, you can either be invited in. Or you have to get accepted by the mods. Just like thevault. I don't have any idea for criteria but this is just my .02cents.

I also think limiting members or getting quality members are very important and should be implemented if it is financially sound.



All the best,


catz

 

[elliotps932]

I don't think there should be a monthly payment for current members, but defiantly for new incomers, along with invite required.

 

[younglungs]

i agree, i don't think we're taking advantage of the VIP forums

 

[bintbiz]

i believe a monthly payment is not a good idea. right now i cant afford it and i will loose this great place for learning
if they think its ok maybe just closing the doors for new members and only for a time then reopening again. then you can charge a fee to the new people who would like to join

 

[cparainmaker]

Monthly payment, private invite, and an interview process get rid of the peeping eyes of google and affiliate networks and get rid of the other selfish losers here example below

i believe a monthly payment is not a good idea. right now i cant afford it and i will loose this great place for learning
if they think its ok maybe just closing the doors for new members and only for a time then reopening again. then you can charge a fee to the new people who would like to join

 

[Essential Clix]

Instead of charging monthly for the forum, how about just making certain sections of the forum invisible and harder to reach, such as the CS forum? Question is, which sections?

As for my reason that I disagree, I've seen a few noobs come in here that are quite smart and full of good info. Naturally, they aren't really noobs, they're just new to BHW

 

[premiumsource]

I agree. But on the other hand there are so many dumb people on here too, and don't get me wrong I know they need to learn but I flip when they want to be spoon fed.

Instead of charging monthly for the forum, how about just making certain sections of the forum invisible and harder to reach, such as the CS forum? Question is, which sections?

As for my reason that I disagree, I've seen a few noobs come in here that are quite smart and full of good info. Naturally, they aren't really noobs, they're just new to BHW