Closing Off BHW From The World

[darklegion]

I vote to keep it open to the public, this is how I became a member here.

I have not contributed much yet but once I find out a winning method, I will be sure to share with a select few members.

If I were to be charged a membership fee, then you can say bye bye to me and never will I be able to share tips with the very same people who taught me a lot.

 

[Bill Gates]

A great place and a great job being done by Mods/Admins and members alike.

If it becomes fee paying it will become like many other forums out there so please keep as it is (you know how I voted).

We need to probably have more people to moderate which will in turn CAN reduce the amount of things (lower level) that you need to attend to personally. It's about delegation I guess I'm trying to say. There are lots of capable people in this little world you've created.

Plus, it would be sad to see a spin off of this site get started because the gates close to BAU (Business As Usual)!

Either way, provided the content is good and there are people to help in IM I'll be staying!

 

[budicemerlang]

maintaining thousands of member already take cost as we are know that BHW has option tobe the donors to have support community, but how many would become donors?

Here, people can learn to earn money with the various methods , people can even have the thousand of ebooks and the tools without having to pay to download.

I agree it BHW be closed from World

 

[jazz99]

Yes, close it to the world, Jr Vips donors and above, no monthly fee

 

[jonshannow]

Closing the doors is not the way to go. As for invite only? You have got to be kidding me This would kill this site. And increase corrupt behavior.

I think a small fee paid each month and a vip invite only section is the best options.

 

[CyberDilemma]

I think the forum as a whole should remain free and open in order to continue draw upon a broader spectrum of thought but the search engines should not be allowed to cache threads. I also think there could be a paid VIP section (between Exec VIP & Jr VIP possibly) to discuss, share and protect advanced subject matter.

 

[kojakfull]

My vote is none of the above in the poll. Close the doors and make the registrations for referral only. Most contributors here don't make money from the members they helped and thats the BHW i know.

 

[kelvintco]

Me and my friends used to play online game until some bastard come and bring unbalanced to the game (bots, gold hack, equipment hack etc..) when the game was in BETA.

As security measure, the game developer decide the game to goes P2P = Pay 2 Play. Guess what? It wont stop. Bots keep coming back, people hacking everywhere and the game ecenomy become worst.

I vote Free for all but now I change my mind. Limit the forum for certain member. If they want to join certain sub-forum they need to pay... just like now.. like you guys said Jr VIP got some access to some part etc.

Theres no way to avoid this kind of people, u ban them they make new account. Ban IP they will use proxy. Best way is just ignore them.. and hope they will go away.

 

[peter1988]

Super BIG surprise turns out now....currently the Poll is over 55% voted to leave this forum open....by the way..this poll voting will be closing soon ??

 

[ironlifter76]

I agree that the forum should close to new signups, Could even get rid of a few newcomers. But I do not think a membership fee would be fair.

I couldnt stay if there was a fee.

Can ya add a poll answer:
Close it off and no fee....

I have to agree with xplicit...add another choice - close it with no fee. But, also agree with the suggestion to make it open by invite only and those invites from Jr.VIP's and above. It may limit new talent coming onboard. But, hopefully the invited ones would bring their ideas and talent along and keep the forum fresh. For me, at this point, a fee would make it difficult to stay...and I sure want to stay here and associate with all the talented people here.

 

[bhf123]

Let's remember, there is not a site online that operates in a vacuum. Exclusion simply breeds more competitors faster -- We all know there are probably other many other entreprenuers waiting in the wings to quickly fill any gaps. To wit: a large copywriting board that recently closed whose members are being quickly absorbed elsewhere. There are many creative minds here, think outside the internet marketing box and go for an even bigger vision.

 

[affiliatenow]

I believe the site should be closed to new free members, but give existing members a way to earn their membership through participation

 

[Essential Clix]

Honestly, there is nothing you can do to stop account managers/spies from joining this forum and possibly even working their way up the ranks. Invitations and fees sound good in theory, but if someone wants in bad enough, they'll find a way in; they always do. Account managers & spies have friends too, you know. And they DEFINITELY have enough money to spare for a little membership fee. Hell, for all we know, there may be a CPA account manager in the Executive VIP area... Doubtful, but possible.

I know it seems like I'm saying one thing and then turning around and saying another, but the system we currently have in place seems to be working well enough. We have 2 levels of VIP membership with private forums, and certain sub forums that aren't accessible unless you have at least 30 days on the forum and 50 posts. Those sub forums are also completely blocked from being indexed in the search engines.

There is no way to share information on a public forum like this (or private forum, for that matter) with 100% certainty that the information won't be leaked to the networks/authorities, but these little speed bumps we have in place help to keep the information from being leaked out so fast. This is the delicate balance that we have to maintain, while still allowing new members to join and keep the flow of valuable information coming in. If you cut off that flow, the forum will stymie and eventually die; much like cutting off circulation to a limb.

I'd like to add that Dave's reason for even considering this is not based on money. Hell, if that were the case, he wouldn't bother putting up a poll and asking for your opinion -- he'd simply lock up new registrations and require a fee. So squash all that noise, Dave's concerns are the same as yours.

In the end, this decision is completely up to Dave. This IS his site and he can do with it whatever he pleases, and I will support his decision either way. If you guys are seeking a private (paid-only) forum to join, check out blackhatuniversity.com (also owned by Dave).

 

[peter1988]

peter thank you for stating the very obvious...

the best idea so far is just to get more moderators going...and a more tighter control on stupid posts. none of that warning crap.. if they spam bring down the ban hammer. If they post aff link after beng told not to ban them...If accs are inactive for a month ban them

You are welcome...and agreed with what said...those SPAMMERs really irritating...sighzz...

Now over 300 people has voted Leave the forum Open...

Edited : Whatever the outcome is, i will always be with blackhatworld...
Yah, look at my signature-->> i LOVE BHW ! :biggthump

And how about you guys ?

Peter

 

[tonlilaz]

Dave started this thread because the increase in members was causing him too much of a workload - most of the ideas and suggestions, if implemented, would probably make him wish for the good ole days when he only had a few hundred emails to bother with.

Tests, applications, reviews before being able to become a member? Get real. Information on the net is supposed to be free? The info is free you're just paying for his forum idea, labor, the hosting, bandwidth, coders, software, etc., etc., etc.

He built the site and everybody came and if he wants to monetize it for himself that's his right and he should do it. He seems to have alot of forums so maybe he wants to show (and make) some steady income and sell it? However much he makes shouldn't concern anybody else.

So Dave should do whatever the hell he wants to do with it.

well then, dave should charge per pm that'll cut down the # of pms... lol, a dollar a pm.

 

[stupiddumbass]

Theres still the question of wheres the money gonna go if there is a Membership fee. Small fee or not this place will make someone very very very rich. And that is the number reason why this is been brought up. Dont get me wrong I would bring this up as well if I was the creator. But to take things into to consideration The integrity will die off if it becomes paid. Then we must ask our selves why did we join in the first place.

If there is a fee, then where will the money goto. And dont tell me server costs and other crap. If we are all gonnna make someone rich then I hope to become rich because of that. I make a nice chunk of change and I have to say that I have grown a ton in the last month and a bit since I become a members. But WHERE will the money go?

A solution to the problem of too many members is INVITE ONLY. I love that idea, because it will help me bring in my network of people who I think are deserving of this forum. The quality of this forum will go up with the right boundaries. But we must take into to consideration that this forum can become a monster in the industry and if that happens and it gets way too big, Let it be known that some big smack downs will be coming down on this forum just like mininova.org and the piratebay.org.

Servers crash becuase of hackers and leeechers which is why piratebay and mininova both had substantial court cases es and are barely surviving today.

Here is my solution:

1.pre existing noobs have to follow a protocol to be given access to other parts of the forum.

2. New noobs who try to join after our newly implemented rules have to qualify and prove themselves. Because we all know that we all were once leechers. But in todays society if you dont prove yourself to be capable of making some type of contribution then whats the point of having you around.

3. Invite only given to members with an certain number of thanks. With that said anyone that contributes and people download from there thread they, should !HAVE TOO! say thanks to upgrade another members rep or level of membership and showing our appreciation for they're contribution. Create a new plugin that forces people to say thanks and the download link be revealed! Have a hide feature that hides all download links.

4. Give the option of upgrading manually through paid membership. This will entice people to pay for leeching and get the goods on the hott stuff. I think if your willing to pay then you should get access. But of course we have to atch out for undercover haters. Or give the option of working for your upgrades. This will entice people to become contributers and offer access to certain areas.

5. All new invited must meet a protocol to stay as active members. Maybe they need to be thanked for a certain number of times like 20 times before they can get access to anything. This entices them to find a way to earn there way around and prove themselves worthy to be around people who are willing to make them rich for free!

here is my over view:

1.pay for access to certain levels of the forum But The owner must contribute some of
that money to bettering the forum and memberships! Like scripts and technology!

2.Earn your way or pay - if you do neither you get banned! and marked as a leecher!

3. If you cant find a way to become a contributer then come back when you capable of!

4. Invites given to a number of thanked threads - promotes reward for contribution

5. Have upgrades for a certain number of thanks and quality posts. Implement the HAVE TO thanks for downloads. And implement the option for Quality rating for great threads.


6. I find that certain quality posts will get a small amount of thanks even though we worked very hard to get this info to everyone. Which is why I think the Have to feature should be there.

But hey Im just stupiddumbass,

 

[Uncle Kracker]

well then, dave should charge per pm that'll cut down the # of pms... lol, a dollar a pm.

Not a bad idea!

Theres still the question of wheres the money gonna go if there is a Membership fee.
.........
.........
.........

It's hilarious that members (noob or veteran) actually think they're entitled to know what happens with membership money, how is that any concern of yours? You have a lot of good ideas, you should open up a forum of your own and try them out. Somehow I don't think you'll be telling your members what you do with your money.

 

[luke69]

My .02 cents,

** You can keep the site close for most of the year, and open it up certain month(s) for
newcomers.

** You can make it free, except that a member would have to make a contribution to the community, i.e. software, method, etc, three times a year or any variation thereof.
If member doesn't have anything to give, then a "fee" will be assessed, whatever that
may be.

** Close it down, and make everyone pay.

Ultimately you can test all three variations or anything in between to see what works best
for your own taste.

Peace

 

[dramtulla]

another approach:

new sign ups have access only to e-whoring methods, and if they don't make $50 in there 1st month then they don't get access to the rest of the forum. lol.
If they succeed then they donate $25 to BHW as proof of there "achievement"

(joking but lets see affiliate managers join, turn into ho's and we pimp them)

 

[justthinking]

Stupid: What do you mean where does the money go? To the owner of the site. When you go out to a restaurant, do you ask the owner where the money goes? No. You do understand why people are in business, right? To make money. Duh!