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Closing Off BHW From The World

Do you want to close off BHW to non-members?

  • Please close off BHW to visitors... I don't mind paying a small fee.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Please keep BHW open to the public... I like it the way it is.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    0
  • Poll closed .
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Not open for further replies.
I think closing the forum to new members is a bad idea. As a few others have already said, new members are the lifeblood of this forum. They bring in new talent, fresh ideas, and they keep things juicy ;) Just because they're new to this forum doesn't necessarily mean they're new to Internet Marketing or SEO in general. I've seen some very informative and helpful posts come from 1-post newbs. Yes, the majority of the new people that come here are complete newbs or leeches. However, locking up the forum to keep them out is kind of like throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

Besides, BHW already has a paid-only section -- BlackHatUniversity.com :)

I propose we just increase the Jr. VIP membership requirements and move a few subforums there. Along with disabling the search engines from indexing certain forum sections, that should keep the ideas and methods being shared here alive and kicking much longer. It's a delicate balance for sure, but in the end it will all be worth it.
 
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mark1993 said:
I think what you should do is close reg for free and open up fo member fee lie 100 USD a month make it a premium forum but those who are already members with more than 100 posts can stay less than 100 posts out must pay to join . How's about that?
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Why pay $100 a month to beg for an answer here and get flamed if your question isn't advanced enough when you could pay the same at a site like the BHU one and have them hold your hand? I think that's the point of any price point. What do I get for my fee here and what will I get for the same price or x amount more at another site?

(Just looking at it from the point of view of someone brand new)
 
Closing it down and keep all current members would not get rid of the rats already inside... however, closing much of it down or limiting what is available like the cookie section should work well. Charge a fee or not, that wouldn't stop affiliate managers, I'm sure they could get a measly $200 plus per year to monitor a forum such as this.
 
i voted

CLOSED the forum and pay a monthly fee.

Too many people have abuse BHW forum...And the only way to stop them is through a paid membership...Then they WILL treasure this forum more than ever...as it is NOT free..

Just like real LIFE scenario...free gifts or free stuff...people always are greedy and take things for granted...BUT when you are paying for the thing you want to buy....The attitude is DIFFERENT...you WILL treasure more...This is HUMAN... :)

My 1 cents here.
 
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xhanuman said:
Closing it down and keep all current members would not get rid of the rats already inside... however, closing much of it down or limiting what is available like the cookie section should work well. Charge a fee or not, that wouldn't stop affiliate managers, I'm sure they could get a measly $200 plus per year to monitor a forum such as this.
Click to expand...

I agree if there is worry about the prying eyes of others but putting up a small monthly fee will not do anything but kill the forum from fresh new ideas from outsiders.
 
I vote leave it as is. The fee isn't going to keep out the bad apples just create a false sense of security.
 
Well, i want to add in more point....paying a small fee, will not HINDER fresh people from coming in...in fact on the other hand, you will be surprise that many SINCERE people wish to join this BHW forum.

I would strongly suggest, open up the forum for new registration base on time frame, maybe ONCE month or every quater reopens for new registration for new comers...BUT they must pay a SMALL fee to join....:)

As i had said earlier...many people take things for granted..and they are NOT sincere at all in contributing....they just want FREE Gifts/information...

Peter ;)
 
It's a tough one..Many of us found this place through search engines & now we have our feet in the door why should we close it on the next guy trying to make a buck online or someone who could bring some great info & share some amazing stuff with us. I have no problem paying a fee monthly/yearly but I sympathise with the people from third world countries, undeveloped countries, where $9 is a lot of cash to be shedding out each month , so I think if we go fee based a lot of members would have to leave, not out of choice; simply because they can't afford to stay. There are a lot of helpful people willing to come here & offer services at lower rates and I think we would lose out on that too.

Affiliate managers are gonna have no problems paying a small fee each month to monitor what's going on with their network (if anything) but on the other hand we'll still get invaded by spammers, scammers ''PLS TRAIN ME'' threads everyday.

Just my 2c but I know Dave & Co. will make the right decision.
 
i think there should be a premium section and a regular section, to get into the premium section one's account has to be one year old and 50+ posts, if this forum starts to charge i might as well look forward to other forums.
 
I don't think the solution is in either of the options of the poll. You can't just completely shut it off to new members, but on the other hand, there should be something done to keep a modest limit on the number of new members that come in.

Maybe you should develop a forum "executive" committee that decides this type of thing. There's just too many opinions here to get a definite answer. This committee would make all important decisions about the forum that effected the members. Since new and old members seem to have somewhat differing opinions, I think you should have one person on this committee for every level of posts. For example, one member would have between 0-100 posts, 1 between 100 and 200 posts, one between 200 and 300 posts, and that way everyone has a voice. It could almost be like an election to decide who was on this committee and there could be a re-vote every 6 months or so to accomodate for the change in post counts.

That's just a rough idea that I had and kind of ran with. It's kind of far out, but I think it would help solve a lot of these issues that come up from time to time.
 
I also believe like many that it's time for a change.
I first stopped here over a year ago, and it took me months before making my first post since the quality of the threads was amazing. And I too have noticed the decline in quality over time.

However, closing the doors is not the solution for me. I wouldn't want to be charged either monthly or yearly. I would rather see more restrictions in the free section (no downloads, no cpa, no cs, etc...), and more posts needed to attain JR. VIP status (250 posts with at least 50 thanks received) with a required donation of $50 or so. This would ensure only quality black hatter would meet on the darker side of this forum.

Just my .02$
 
Until this is resolved one way or another, substantive posts and answers to PMs may tend to dry up on this site. I don't post often, but I do try to provide something useful from time to time so this proposal definitely tosses cold water on my willingness to freely contribute useful information.

If I'm going to pay a fee, then I expect to receive, not contribute useful information. I'm not a member of any paid membership site and BHW will not be any different.

Some people don't mind contributing valuable information because they had help along the way. But if this is going to turn into a paid membership site, well...why contribute free useful info? All I can say is if a fee is charged...well it's been fun, goodnight, sleep tight, I'm gone.
 
I voted to keep it open. Of course, this could mean that certain topics need to be kept under tighter wraps.

There are numerous new members here that contribute new and fresh ideas, and I'd hate to lose that vibrancy.

As to the "Jr. VIP Invitation" idea? I foresee factions and gangs of, um ... "gangbangers" (see Jr. VIP to see this tendancy) assembling themselves to carry out plans such as Spammer23, mazemiami and others have previously attempted ... and ultimately failed because newcomers took the time to speak out.

In the cases of a closed or an invitation-only platform, I'd worry about myopia, inbreeding of ideas and "gangs" of influencers deflating the infinite potential and value that is BHW.

In the case of a paid forum, there will be expectations of value delivered on an ongoing basis. Who will be on the hook to deliver that value, those whom are paying?
 
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I quite agree with Clix's suggestion.
Open to public and restructure the internal control. Made more quality instead of closing the membership or paid membership.

If paid membership, make sure it's quality expert here help through the paid members. Current status, is no one responsible for your problem or question unless the certain kind helpful people help along you.

As I see a lot of people going to Download session, the downloads would not make you guys success. Learning from people experience, get people advice and brainstorming your creative idea will cut-short your learning way to success.

Hope that help, Dave.

Just my opinion, the final decision is what the admin want the forum be and objective of the forum!

Essential Clix said:
I think closing the forum to new members is a bad idea. As a few others have already said, new members are the lifeblood of this forum. They bring in new talent, fresh ideas, and they keep things juicy ;) Just because they're new to this forum doesn't necessarily mean they're new to Internet Marketing or SEO in general. I've seen some very informative and helpful posts come from 1-post newbs. Yes, the majority of the new people that come here are complete newbs or leeches. However, locking up the forum to keep them out is kind of like throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

Besides, BHW already has a paid-only section -- BlackHatUniversity.com :)

I propose we just increase the Jr. VIP membership requirements and move a few subforums there. Along with disabling the search engines from indexing certain forum sections, that should keep the ideas and methods being shared here alive and kicking much longer. It's a delicate balance for sure, but in the end it will all be worth it.
Click to expand...
 
I think a very small amount per year is alright. If the fee is like $10 per mth, i think a lot of members will start leaving.
 
Money2spare said:
Well time to take my arse elsewhere-- its been real its been fun but it ain't been real fun--
Click to expand...

As Scuba said, we'll sure miss you! Hope you don't let the door hit your arse on your way out.

Outside of that you will find someone bragging that they Made A Gazillion dollars, but they won't show how"..
Click to expand...

You mean like this? :
http://www.blackhatworld.com/blackhat-seo/ppc/37351-500-week-adsense.html#post357148

or this? :
http://www.blackhatworld.com/blackhat-seo/shit-list/37882-clickbank-unable-process-order.html#post356258

(I always said your gonna miss me when I'm gone)
Click to expand...
How can I miss you if you won't go away?
 
My suggestion is restrict newbies to only certain sections and add a plugin in each post like thanks.
It would work like this
if a member is newbie the button should say senior member and if he receive enough clicks on this button like 100 senior member recommendations then he should be promoted.same should be for every level except executive vip.
i hope i am making sense.It would work exactly same as thank you button except for the fact that instead of thanking that person you are recommending him to a higher position.
like 100 recommendations>>then you are promoted to next grade
then 100 more recommendations>>then you are again promoted to the next grade.

if we do this instead of using the post count system to grade members,members will be graded on the basis of how much value they have given to the forum.
 
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helloall said:
secretboy split that up into seperate ideas.. makes no sense to me
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see basically it wud be just like thank you button.
if you receive enough recommendations to be promoted to the next grade by members here then only you will be promoted to the next level.
what am i am recommending is add another button at the bottom of each of your post which says recommend me.
if you receive enough recommendations by the members here for sharing quality stuff then only you will be promoted to the next level and some more sections will open up for you.
 
i get what secretboy is saying..

100 Pro recs -----> Person becomes Pro Member
100 Sr Member recs ----> Person becomes Senior Member

etc etc

I think that this is an interesting concept. However, I don't think that it will work exactly as you described. I think that becoming a Sr Member would be near impossible unless you were a Godly good Blackhatter that knows as much as the Senior members and exec vips
 
Honestly the small monthly fee would actually be the differnce of who is serious and who is not .

9.00 a month is nothing here in America and other countries I am sure . But others like India and such places I take it 9.00 is alot . So not sure about the 9.00 a month thing . As some parts of the world 9.00 is all that is made in a months time .

I did vote for the 9.00 a month though . As I feel that the amount of spam that comes through here of late buy xx shoes at xxdotIamahookerdotcom or some crazy spam post like that . closing BHW off will change some of that .

Now far as being invite only that is another good idea . With members being responsible for who they invite . So if you invite xx person and xx person is a spammer that is your responsibility . You invited the spammer so in essence you are that spammer .

Well just my 2 cents take it or leave it .
 
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