Just Curious
 

As I move around the board I see a lot of people on here that are "Registered"
Absolutely not bashing or having any negative opinion re these folks , just curious.

In a lot of the cases some of these folks have been here a long time and are really active and injecting great input, so I dont understand why they would remain as non paying.

I've seen people say that they cant post pics etc. when they wanted to expand on a point or participate in a topic that required pics.
There are some sections here you cant read without being more than Registered and again it makes me wonder with those that spend so much time on here and obviously enjoy the banter , why they would want to miss any of it.


Not negative...just curious.

if i could afford to pay i would...

Valid and interesting question. Obviously I can only speak for myself, but will be curious to see how everyone responds.

I "discovered" OSO about 4 years ago so haven't been around as long as some. At first I found it to be a great source of information and so was happy to pony up the entrance fee.

As time went on though I grew tired of the endless bashing. It seemed like every disagreement degenerated into name calling and threats...some veiled and some not so veiled. When IB took over it seemed to get even worse.

I've always been of the opinion that boaters need to look out for each other, and that opinion has been verified time and time again on the water. Boaters, in general, are the most friendly and helpful group of people you'll ever hope to run across. I grew up boating with my dad from a young age, have stepped away from the hobby a couple of times over the years, but always seem to come back. Time on the water is great of course, but it's the people that really make it what it is.....a great hobby/sport for just about anyone who wants to participate.

I don't see that camraderie (for the most part) on OSO. Sure, there are some great people here and some very knowledgeable folks willing to help one another and share their vast knowledge. Unfortunately all that gets lost when the vocal minority are monopolizing threads with their keyboard cowboy antics. I'm fairly active on a couple of other boating forums where this sort of behavior is either frowned upon or not tolerated at all. If/when OSO moves in this direction then I'll be glad to become a dues paying supporter again, but I don't care to read about who hates who, and I especially don't want to get drawn into that sort of rock throwing contest ever again. In the meantime I'll just lurk and hope to occasionally find something worth reading out of the thousands of worthless posts.

Every time my membership runs out, I decide Im not going to renew. I usually fold within a couple days because I cant see something or cant post in certain areas.

At less than 13 cents a day (Platinum Membership), its really cheap entertainment for me since I rarely watch TV. :cool-smiley-011:

Money's tight and I can get the info I want off of here, besides there's several other boating sites I'm more active in that are free.

I have a strong opinion on this...

Many if not all of the forums I usually use, are free (car, boat, sports, etc)...Why pay for this one. Does paying make this forum better than the free ones? The answer is no.

I cant substantiaing the cost of membership to view, or participate in something that is usually free. Also the advantages of the membership are pretty minimal. An expanded inbox and the ability to write in certain forums? Thats not much. Pictures can be loaded by non-paying users using photobucket. Sooo thats a non issue.

If you think about it simple mindedly...Members are paying money to a third party to share "there own" ideas. Doesnt make sense to me.

I fully understand OSO charging for businesses to advertise, etc...Never understood why they take money from the contributors.

To be honest...If this was a paysite forum only; your forums would be pretty bare. Sometimes wealths of knowledge doesnt cost money.

$24.95 a year for Gold membership.

I have 4 websites.
SuperNova19.com and SuperNova24.com
Are two sites I built for many reasons. The main thing was saving the forgotten history and getting the recognition that they deserved.
ChineWalking.com
Was built just to get around the cliques that most sites have. It may be different boat lines or fisherman Vs sail boaters, cruisers Vs drag boats, outboards Vs inboards or V drives, Volvo’s, Mercruisers, glass, wood, etc, etc, etc…….. If it floats you are welcome at CW as long as you follow one golden rule. No personal attacks. We are all grown ups. Being I grew up sailing with my grandmother, like to fish on occasion, owned many junk boats (you could watch waves roll down the floor of one), have 3 boats that don’t have less then 350hp apiece including a 1968 Nova24 race boat with twin 454s to a single prop I’ve seen it all and don’t care what you’ve got. If it floats all’s good.
RockwoodBeach.com
I built it for my neighborhood sitting around drinking beer one day. Main objective, free boat ramp key. That and maybe helping my neighbors and myself keep our housing’s value up just ever so slightly.
So I pay enough to the boating gods.

I am a paying member, but the question I have that many might... where does the money go? OSO is owned by a private company that is not involved in boating and aside from the members is not really involved in the sport. I have been to many races and a few poker runs and don't see an OSO presence......

well theres alwayz SOS !!!!! :lolhit:

no site that compares to this one and the wealth of knowledge ....if it was double the coin $$$ it would still be worth it :drink::drink::drink: