BCM new test site

[mak]

OK, were checking out the our new Bus Conversions Website.  The board is this same board, but it has lots of cool other features, such as having your own bus page for your photo's etc.  Please check it out, it requires an email and password to get in, but that's it, and you know we do not spam or sell the info, just keeps the bad guys out.  It's free and very cool, but still under construction.  I would like some of you to try foruming a group such as GMC's or Eagle or MCI. again it's free and keep it simple and allow anyone to join your group if you want. The free classified ads are for anyone, please try posting one. That is the problem area were working on now to make it easier to post.  The home page has RSS feeds of the board and classified ads, so you can see those post while working on your own bus page if you want.  Anyway, please give it a try and tell us what's good, bad and ugly. 
Thanks
mak

http://busconversions-gobusing.ning.com/main/authorization/signUp?

[technomadia]

I would very highly advise against going with Ning.  They have been in serious financial trouble in last couple of years, and have significantly reduced their staffing as their funding has twindled.  I do not trust them to remain in business, as such - any effort you put into it could one day just be.. poof.. gone.  They have serious security problems with hackers on a frequent basis, many of which remain unresolved month after month.

While some of their features are spiffy (they were developed while the company had lots of VC funding), a lot of their stuff remains annoying to manage and use, and some complicated to figure out even for the tech savvy.  Their customer service is horrible.

I've managed a Ning group there for several years, and we'll soon be making the jump to get away from them before we're left stranded when (not if) they go poof. They've implemented price increases on their 'free' accounts in the past, holding you hostage to paying them or dealing with an exodus to another platform.  I've had to hand hold several of our group members through getting started in our group, and frequently accounts get locked out for no apparent reason.


Seriously - anything you go with should be SELF HOSTED - where you maintain control of the platform, content and memberships.  Do not rely on someone else's (failing) business model (especially if it is free) to become the central point and archive of this community. That is just asking for troubles.  Because when they abandon the project, you will have no way to get your content out and start over.

- Cherie

[mak]

Most of the platform is on our own hosted site.  If we could find someone to do all that needs to be done, I would host it all... but time and  money is always a problem.  So, well try it out, keeping the good stuff on our own hosting platform.
mak

[buswarrior]

Check the mail.

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[mak]

In regards to ning platform, it is $90 a month. so it is not a free service. Also, all the content is owned by BCM.  And, we do host most of the info on our private site. Thanks for the input.
mak

[buddydawg]

I really like the ability to create photo albums, especially the uploading of larger files than is available here.

[eagle19952]

This is one of the few boards that I frequent that does not offer a facility for me to contribute to its longevity.

[mak]

If the BCM people sign in and we get all the numbers, it will be helpful. We might also put up a donation page or some premium pages to generate some money.  The key is getting the guest to register. It makes us more attractive to advertisers. As it stands now we have 4 visitors to every member. So please encourage people to register.  We really don't spam or eblast our members. by registering It does cut down on the spam. We should have 10,000 members if all the guest would sign up!
Thanks
Mak

[jbnewman]

As it stands now we have 4 visitors to every member. So please encourage people to register. 

That's actually an incredibly high ratio. A 20% login rate would be envied by many.

-jbn

[Songman]

I always hear how expensive it is to run forums. And then forums add advertisers, and change hosts to get better deals...  I started the Eagle forum 3 years ago and so far it has cost less than $300 for the entire time it has been online. No, we don't have the traffic that this site has, but we do have the growing room to handle it so that is not a valid argument. I just don't understand why people are 1) spending so much to run forums, or 2) saying they spend so much to run forums. I've been running forums for years and have never done that.