Please Keep it simple

For all topics which do not fit in the other categories.

Moderators: rcperryls, Rose, karen4bells, Serinde, Alex

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Rose
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Post by Rose »

You know I never thought of it in that way but now that you have OPENED my eyes I am a bit hesitant to feel happy about how we have been manipulated. Have to work on my feelings about this before any new comments will be made.
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Alex
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Post by Alex »

Serinde, I am sorry you feel that way. I am also surprised too. It's a shame because the reason that we did start the forum up was so that we could sell advertising space on its front page. We had no intention at the time of merging the two sites. But when this forum became the friendly place that it is, we listened to the members and decided against selling ads on it because the feedback we were getting was that people liked the clean and simple theme.

It isn't cheap to deploy and run a forum with monthly competitions, so it has to be funded from somewhere. If the forum was not funded, it wouldn't be the great forum that it is. There are other costs involved which you would not be aware of, such as advertising and design/development time. What I am saying is that you can't have one without the other and I must say that when I read the posts, I am delighted with the results. Our members are really happy with this forum and the way it has grown.

This forum is going to be exactly the same as it is now, except it will have a 'tab' at the top of the page linking it to the other site. The members will be the same and there is no obligation to go and buy anything from the shop, so you have not been conned into anything. Everthing will be the same.

I expected you to be happy - you know we listen to the members requests and always try to do everything that is asked, so the same goes for the shop. We will listen and respond. E.g if we are asked to stock a certain product or offer a certain service, then we will (if practical). What other shop will listen and react like this?

I believed that the shop can only be a benefit to the forum members because it will keep the forum funded without changing anything about the forum. In addition, if the shop is cheaper than others, then surely that is an advantage? Remember, there is no obligation to go and buy anything from the shop. :D

I was particularly surprised about your comments claiming that we collected information about your likes and dislikes etc.. so that we could set up the shop. THIS IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE. The forum was started by Bagpuss, who is a 100% genuine member and cross stitch is her hobby; you can see from her posts that she puts every effort in to helping anyone who asks.

Joan, we will be changing the shipping prices for overseas. Credit cards are already accepted, so we will correct that typo. And spelling mistakes will be corrected.

:D
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Serinde
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Post by Serinde »

Come on, Alex. No one presumed that the forum was free to run. Where was the backlash when advertising was suggested? I don't remember it. In fact, someone (apologies for forgetting whom) remarked that we must all remember to click so the site was able to pay for itself.

When I joined there was no competition and so there were no prizes to pay for. That was your idea. And it brought it a lot of members, most of whom do not post. But I reiterate: the prizes were never the point.

Who mentioned Bagpuss? Not me.
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Alex
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Post by Alex »

Well, I respect your opinions and comments, Serinde.

I have never suggested advertising in the past.

Ok, so you have no objection to ads being placed on the forum? We could forget about the 'tab' system and just put an ad to the shop instead. What's the difference?

The competition prizes are actually a small proportion of the cost of setting up and running this forum. It has cost a lot to advertise this site on Google and this is the NUMBER ONE reason that the community is what it is.

I mentioned Bagpuss because you said that we were collecting information so that we could use it for marketing purposes. This is not true - Bagpuss started the forum off and is upset to hear that you think that it was all done 'almost' dishonestly.

I must say this - this forum has only been going for a few weeks; it is without a doubt, a success. The forum members are (generally) very happy with this forum. Would this forum have been so successful if it had not been advertised on Google? The answer is no. Serinde, I don't know how you found it, but probably through Google. Therefore, I can safely say that this happy bunch of people wouldn't be here if the forum was not advertised on Google. And what pays for Google......?

Sorry you feel this way.
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Becca
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Post by Becca »

I just wanted to add my opinion. I joined this forum because it was about something i am interested in, the members seemed really friendly and helpful, and it was free and easy to join. I did not join for the competition, in fact i only found out about it after i joined. I stayed and carried on posting because i really enjoyed interacting with the other members and learning new things about cross stitch. I can understand you need to finance the forum somehow, but i honestly believe the competition is not necessary, i think all of our regular posters would stay competition or not. I am shocked that there was this plan behind all this that we didn't know about and that you didn't think to tell us. Perhaps we wouldn't be upset at the idea if it had been made clear in the first place. I understand what you're saying that we don't have to have anything to do with the shop if we don't want to, i guess i just feel a little hurt that we have basically been lead to believe that this forum is something which it isn't. I myself am the owner of a forum and i know it's hard work, i just hope this place will continue to be somewhere where us stitchers can come and chat, make friends and share tips, not somewhere that just has the intention of making money.
StitchingAgain
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Post by StitchingAgain »

Ok... it's time for me to write... lol! :lol:

I think it's great that you have set up a shop. I was worried that this would all come from your own pockets, and now I don't have to worry about that anymore!

That the site will be linked to this one/ or vica verca shouldn't matter at all. I would, as most here, prefer that the site stays the same... please, no annoying popup ads! *hates popup/popunder ads* And preferable not full of advertisements all over the place. This is not to say that you shouldn't advertise here, but maybe just a link with offers of the week or something on the main page here, at the bottom (so it's easy to see for those who want to check it out, but also easy to ignore for those who want to do that).

As most have mentioned, we really like the forum just the way it is! Now, it really shouldn't matter if the money comes from sponsors (as I said, I didn't like the idea of it coming from your own pockets) or from your shop to run it. Where ever the money comes from will not change the community that is growing here!

I have been checking out your online store ,adn you got a lovely wide variety of stuff there (I have of course been drooling over the Christmas kits! lol!), but I got some problems as I go into the online store... the pages are too wide for my PC screen, I got an 17".

Anyway... thank you for a great forum!
catkin
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Post by catkin »

:( Well I have to add my bit now like it or not. I am not very wise to the ins and outs of how these forums work and have to admit that I have discussed with my family on how these things start up and run with no advertising etc coming in. As far as the competition prizes are concerned I would refer you to the post started by bagpuss which asked 'Preferences for Prizes'. Stitchin again asked bagpuss about the source of the prizes and she clearly stated that they come out of her own pocket. I then said that I'm sure that regular members would not mind paying a subscription or donating to the prize fund as it was not fair for bagpuss to do this on her own. Others agreed.
Also looking back on the early posts I was under the assumption that bagpuss and yourself were not known to each other and that you were responsable for starting the forum (welcome post Jan 30th " Hi Alex nice to meet you . So you are the man with the terrific vision') Is that not the case? I thought bagpuss was just one of the first members and she put herself forward as a moderator. Please can you clear this up.
In reference to my recent post about adding a list of web sites which had been added to forums by members, I hardly think that it would be a conflict of interest as we can still suggest websites in our day to day chat. They would be viewed by everyone anyway so whats the difference in listing them in one place as they come up.
I will still be visiting the forum for now as it is a life line for me and I would feel sorry to loose all the stitching friends I have made. But I would ask this before anything else is done please be upfront about the forum and let us know exactly who's idea it was and how it came about or I'm afraid it will end as quickly as it began.
Joan
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Alex
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Post by Alex »

Hi Becca, thank you for your comments. Please read the previous posts in this thread and you will find that there was no 'PLAN' to set up the shop from the outset. I said before that the original idea was to place ads on the forum to pay for it, but we decided against it because we listened to the feedback from the forum members. The feedback was that the majority of you like the forum the way it is and prefer the clean and simple layout of the site. Therfore, we are not going to clutter it up with ads giving it a commercial feel.

The competition has nothing to do with this issue. It is not a major factor in the success of this forum and, in proportion to the other costs, it is not very expensive to run. And yes, you are right, most of the members would stay, competition or not. The competition is just a bit of fun. And it will stay.

Hi StitchingAgain and thank you too for your comments. I am glad that you think it's great that a shop has been set up. Rest assured that there will be no pop ups and there won't be ads all over the place. And no links either. Yes, that's right, the forum will be exactly the same as it is right now - which is how everyone likes it.

One thing I would like to do is reassure you all that this place will not change. We all owe the success of this community to YOU! It is the content of a forum which makes it work and we have no shortage of good content. :D
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Alex
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Post by Alex »

Hi Joan, yes Bagpuss has paid for the prizes out of her own pocket. Every one of them. The shop did belong to Bagpuss (I designed it for her), but she has recently been dignosed with a health problem which prevents her from working. I have taken over the running of the shop because of this. Bagpuss was one of the first members and it was me that nominated her as an administrator when I saw the effort that she was putting in to her posts.

Adding a list of web sites is still possible. Apart from the conflict of interest, I was hesitating because I didn't want to give the forum a commercial feel. I am not sure if it would simply attract people who want to advertise for free - what I call 'hit & run'. At the moment, the posts contain genuine help and advice because the members are genuine - If we allow people to post up their web sites, we could risk the quality of our memberlist dropping. But hey, if enough of you ask for it, you know what will happen - you'll get it. I have already deleted one account because it was a 'zero poster' and just wanted to put it's commercial web site up in it's profile - it wasn't interested in becoming part of the community, just wanted some free advertising.

I have deleted posts which are just blatent adverts - you don't get to see them. I believe this helps keep the quality of the site up.

Like I said, if enough of you want a links page, a links page is what you will get.

:D
catkin
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Post by catkin »

:) Thanks for trying to clear up the points I mentioned.I'm still not 100% convinced about who is funding what but that's your business at the end of the day. I did know bagpuss was unwell and indeed asked if anyone knew how she was, on a recent post , as we hadn't heard from her for a while but as yet no one has replied.
As for the links it would purely be links that other regular users suggested in the day to day chat but I think there would have to be a vote on it. You say you don't want it to have a commercial feel but you are doing just that by adding the shop button so that argument doesn't stand up. In the time since I joined I have kept an eye on the member list. There seems to be a few members who correspond regularly, a few who do now and again and a great many we never hear from so I think a vote from the regulars should do it.

Joan

ps sorting out the shipping cost is great but remember the vat for us non uk residents. One very big web shop takes off the vat and ships at low cost so will be hard to beat.
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Alex
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Post by Alex »

Trust me Joan, the prizes were out of Bagpuss' pocket. I thought Razzamatazz said that she was in and out of hospital, but I can't remember exactly without going back and looking.

I can't agree on your point about the shop button giving the forum a commercial feel. I can't see how one button can change the feel of the site. In my previous posts, I am explaining the different ways of funding the forum and one of them was by selling ad space which indeed would give a commercial feel. I's possible that the links section would also spoil things because if there is a facility for people to 'advertise for free', we may attract the wrong crowd. For example, it may attract other web site owners to come along and therefore the content of the posts could start becoming more commercial - you know, joe bloggs comes along and starts talking about his/her website.

A poll is likely.

I can't take off VAT, simply because VAT is not being charged in the first place. Also, there is a price promise guarantee, so if you can find an item cheaper elsewhere......

Lastly, I am aware that there is a problem with the width of the site - some of you have to scroll to the right to see the whole page. This will be corrected soon.

Thanks to all for your inputs.



:D
welsh wendy
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please keep it simple

Post by welsh wendy »

Hello all :)

I love to window shop as probably many of you all do so I think it is great to have the shop however I cant find a link anywhere for it on my screen could someone please let me have it either by private email or at this posting. Thanks :)
StitchingAgain
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Post by StitchingAgain »

I don't think it's sorted out yet (as I don't think the shop is ready yet...), but the shop is to be found at http://www.uniquecrossstitch.com , and it has a neat little tag on top so you can choose if you want to be in the shop or here... I guess that's what it's gonna be like here too. I'm still drooling over the Santa ornaments! lol!
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Alex
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Post by Alex »

StitchingAgain is absolutely right!

The shop has not been officialy launched yet and is still in the 'polishing' stage. When it is launched, there will be a tab at the top of this forum, just like on the shop. Another reason that the shop has not been launched yet is because there is a lot more stock to be added - more stock and a wider range.

:D
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Becca
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Post by Becca »

So am i right in saying the shop isn't finished yet and there is more to be added, but at the moment it is actually working and you can buy things from it?
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Alex
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Post by Alex »

Hi Becca,

yes the shop is actually fully functional right now. When I say that it has not been laucnched it is because there are a few little changes which need to be made - just cosmetic ones really - and spelling mistakes and so on. Also, putting more stock in (which of course doesn't affect anything).
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Becca
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Post by Becca »

Ok i see :D *goes to have a proper look round the shop*
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Alex
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Post by Alex »

Oh and by the way, I know we have all been calling it a 'shop', but it will grow in to much more than just a shop.

Just like this forum, all your comments and feedback will be listened to. So hopefully, the new 'site' will shape itself in to a valuable resource for cross stitchers. There could be sections for free patterns, downloadable documents, and any other section that is required.
Last edited by Alex on Thu Mar 30, 2006 5:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
welsh wendy
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please keep it simple

Post by welsh wendy »

Hi Alex :)

Just been to the shop what a great place to visit on a cold wet grey day.

I am looking forward to seeing the complete package when it is finished. :)

Good luck to you all :)
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Rose
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Post by Rose »

Well I went and read over ALL the post and I have thought about what was and what wasn't said. I am a bit disappointed that the shop idea wasn't put out in the public forum but just alittle. :cry:

I understand the need to have an income so that the site can continue I would truely be dissappointed to come one day and see that the site was gone. I love talking to the ladies and see what advise they are will to give, they are my friends. So I will continue here and possibley slip over and have a look at the site.

Alex your time is appreciated(spelling?) thank you for that. Please in future let us know what is going on behind the scenes and we will support your efforts.

Ladies sorry to say in todays world what makes things happen is money and if Alex and Bagpuss need this to help us with this web site well so be it. We all seem to love the site and want it to continue so lets hope that it can. Lets not take this so personally what is done is done and know we know nothing is free. The worlds fault not Alex's.

My feathers are officially unruffled :lol:
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