NEW FORUM: HN Extra

JonDMiller said:
We are still going to write, podcast and do most all of the things we have been doing, the way we have been doing it. Much of the insider info Rob and I get through the years has gone on premium forums, or not at all. Most of the stuff you hear, you can't report right away or at the least, you dont want it generally disseminated to protect your sources. The paywall makes it more likely that we will share it. It's always been that way, it's just that it's difficult to provide tangible examples.

As I have said elsewhere, Rob and I often talk or text and say 'Wish we had a premium board, this would be where we could go with this'. Such as last October,when we were privy to the truth of the matter behind the Eno situation...that would have been premium board material...but since we didn't have one, we chose not at all.

That being said, that doesn't mean your or anyone has to like that...it just is what it is.
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If you can say it on a premium board why can't you say it on a free board? Either way you are releasing the information from one of your sources. Either way it gets out. I don't see the difference other than charging for it.

*Just noticed your answer to a similar question. Still think it's weak, but I don't have to agree.

Also, what about Rob's recruiting information? Is that going to be for premium members only?

I've been here since you launched this site. I remember at the beginning you were gung-ho about offering Hawkeye fans a free site. Now you're right back to a premium membership for inside info platform. If it's a business decision because you need to get more money out of the site then I understand. Gotta do what you gotta do. It's just a bit disappointing because I believe it goes against what you originally started this site for. Which I was a fan of. It's 2017. Information is everywhere. It has nothing to do with me not being able to throw $36 at you. I just don't think it's worth it to get information a few hours or maybe a day earlier.
 
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I am not into intrigue and speculation and conspiracy theories. Therefore, I just signed up for a 1 year deal; I think giving this proposition a one year look is fair. I have made a deal with myself to give up 1 pint of beer a month so I can justify the expense; trust me, I still have plenty of beer numbers to rely on.

Frankly, I don't see this as a big deal, other than the possibility of a really cool experience. To "gamble" $36 on this experiment (which is what it seems to be), is no great commitment. Thanks, guys, for giving something different a shot.
 
The premium message board isn't for everyone. We realized that before we decided to give it a shot.

Jon and I believe that people do want a place to talk about Hawkeye athletics without there being trolls, ISU or otherwise. If someone enjoys the trolls as part of their message board experience, we have good news. You'll still be able to have that on our free boards.

I have friends and people I've gotten to know through the 15 years I've been monitoring message boards that have stayed away from the HN boards because they don't enjoy that experience. They said would come around if we did a premium board. And we've had a steady flow of people subscribing today.

Different strokes for different folks.

I will still publish recruiting stories like I did today on Tyrone Tracy. There will, however, be more information that doesn't justify writing a story that I will share on the premium board, tidbits and whatnot. I'll also be more inclined to answer questions on recruiting and Hawkeye sports from folks on the premium board. And that's not to say I won't answer them on the free board or engage in conversation there. But I'll stop first and more frequently on the premium board.

Our content - stories, columns, podcasts, etc. - still will be free, however.

As someone wrote earlier in this thread, we're not taking away anything you've been getting for free. We're adding to the site experience for those folks that wish to take part. It's optional.
 
RobHowe said:
The premium message board isn't for everyone. We realized that before we decided to give it a shot.

Jon and I believe that people do want a place to talk about Hawkeye athletics without there being trolls, ISU or otherwise. If someone enjoys the trolls as part of their message board experience, we have good news. You'll still be able to have that on our free boards.

I have friends and people I've gotten to know through the 15 years I've been monitoring message boards that have stayed away from the HN boards because they don't enjoy that experience. They said would come around if we did a premium board. And we've had a steady flow of people subscribing today.

Different strokes for different folks.

I will still publish recruiting stories like I did today on Tyrone Tracy. There will, however, be more information that doesn't justify writing a story that I will share on the premium board, tidbits and whatnot. I'll also be more inclined to answer questions on recruiting and Hawkeye sports from folks on the premium board. And that's not to say I won't answer them on the free board or engage in conversation there. But I'll stop first and more frequently on the premium board.

Our content - stories, columns, podcasts, etc. - still will be free, however.

As someone wrote earlier in this thread, we're not taking away anything you've been getting for free. We're adding to the site experience for those folks that wish to take part. It's optional.
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RIght, but simply by adding a premium board you are absolutely taking away from the free side. Because it creates a division in the site. So the free board won't have near as much participation. Which has already been an issue. Good posters will leave to join the premium board so the free side will be diluted.

Look, I own my own business. I get it. You have to pivot and adapt in order to survive because things change. I don't mean to be disrespectful of the decision you guys have made. I wish you luck with it. It's just a big pivot from where the site started and I'm not a fan. No hard feelings.

By the way, I don't think anyone likes trolls. It's just easy for me to either ignore them or have fun with them.
 
Just tried clicking on the "recruiting" forum header and the link isn't working. Is this intentional or a bug?

Thanks!
 
DP5555 said:
RIght, but simply by adding a premium board you are absolutely taking away from the free side. Because it creates a division in the site. So the free board won't have near as much participation. Which has already been an issue. Good posters will leave to join the premium board so the free side will be diluted.

Look, I own my own business. I get it. You have to pivot and adapt in order to survive because things change. I don't mean to be disrespectful of the decision you guys have made. I wish you luck with it. It's just a big pivot from where the site started and I'm not a fan. No hard feelings.

By the way, I don't think anyone likes trolls. It's just easy for me to either ignore them or have fun with them.
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We get it that you don't like it. If good posters leave the free board then there's obviously demand for a pay site (which there is plenty of so far). There are a TON of new posters over there so far who've made the comment that they've lurked for years but never participated because of the trolling and now they will because of the moderation.

What I don't get is how adamant you are that Jon and Rob can't run a business how they want. It's not like you're going to lose out on anything because the idea isn't that there's a bunch of top secret, for our eyes only info. When you boil it down it's basically paying a small fee in order to have a moderated board, which a lot of people have wanted for a long time. I mean this respectfully, but after a couple of these posts what you're doing is akin to flopping on the floor at Walmart and throwing a fit because mom won't buy you a GI Joe. If you want what's being offered, great; if you don't then it's your choice--no one's forcing you to swipe your card. At the end of the day, if there wasn't demand for it no one would join, but that's not the case.
 
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DP5555 said:
I've been here since you launched this site. I remember at the beginning you were gung-ho about offering Hawkeye fans a free site. Now you're right back to a premium membership for inside info platform. If it's a business decision because you need to get more money out of the site then I understand. Gotta do what you gotta do. It's just a bit disappointing because I believe it goes against what you originally started this site for. Which I was a fan of. It's 2017. Information is everywhere. It has nothing to do with me not being able to throw $36 at you. I just don't think it's worth it to get information a few hours or maybe a day earlier.
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I understand that not everyone is going to like it. And no, we are not 'right back to being a premium' site. Rob's recruiting articles, all of our articles, are still going to be free. The podcasts are still going to be free. There will still be free message boards...you can't monetize breaking news, so it will be here and free as well.

"I just don't think it's worth it to get information a few hours or maybe a day earlier" Of course, this is your call and frankly, it's what it all comes down to. The HN Extra forum will be more than just a place where some things get posted first...it's going to be a safe haven for those who have been requesting such a place here, or desiring it, free of trolls, free of the name calling and penis contests that break out here all the time.

As I am sure you can tell, I don't visit the message boards all that much...because people just aren't civil anymore...or there is a cadre of folks who just want to come here and try to assert some anonymous superiority over others. So I just let you all have Thunderdome. But I don't care for that. I do enjoy convos and debates with folks who want to do those things respectfully. And that, above any other aspect, is what I am going to enjoy most about the HN Extra forum. Rob and I have wanted something like this since he came back here in Dec 2015...because of this reason, and not because of the revenue aspects. Both Rob and I are employees...and we want our 'office' to be as pleasant an experience as possible.

So again, this won't be for everyone...and it's your call if it's worth it to you...but it's not that this site has gone premium...most everything that has been free will remain free. In his 17 months here, Rob has written more free recruiting articles than if you took all the free recruiting articles from every Iowa based website combined over the last five years, at a minimum. That will continue.

Being honest here, this reminds me of the ditty where a man and his friend meet up at a bar after work every day for years, and one of the men buys his buddy a beer every day, all those years. Then one day, he doesn't buy his friend's beer, and the friend says 'Hey man, what's up with this? How come you didn't buy my beer?' But it's not even like that...we're still buying...most everything is still free for you, and everyone else.

You're welcome ;)
 
NCHawker said:
must be by invitation only. slump shoulders, sink hands into pockets, kicks grass...
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LMAO!!!!!! You noticed Jon responded to my comment about the mechanics of the pay site by asking "How so". That's not a criticism as it is not unusual for there to be glitches with new programs. Also since I work for "big brother" the techys are always throwing something new at us and half the time it doesn't work on our end. It may work perfectly fine on their end at their desktop because the system was developed on their own desktop.
 
In my personal opinion Jon if you really want to get serious about a legit forum just make people use their real names and quit hiding behind a fake name. I think It would add a lot to the pay site. Then maybe people would actually think twice before they take out personal attacks on other posters, the coaches, and the players. You could even list below their name the state they live in. It would be a serious improvement on the forum.

Now is the perfect time to do it since you can use the credit card as verication and if that makes you a little nervous (someone steals a credit card) have every person text or email a picture of their drivers license. Since I have been on this site Jon I always post in a respectful way as if my real name and state were right there for everyone to see.
 
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BigD said:
In my personal opinion Jon if you really want to get serious about a legit forum just make people use their real names and quit hiding behind a fake name. I think It would add a lot to the pay site. Then maybe people would actually think twice before they take out personal attacks on other posters, the coaches, and the players. You could even list below their name the state they live in. It would be a serious improvement on the forum.

Now is the perfect time to do it since you can use the credit card as verication and if that makes you a little nervous (someone steals a credit card) have every person text or email a picture of their drivers license. Since I have been on this site Jon I always post in a respectful way as if my real name and state were right there for everyone to see.
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I dont disagree with you at all, and I would love this. The reality...traffic likely drops 75%, along with revenues. Just being transparent here.

But one day, before I kick the bucket, I want to have a forum just like that ;)
 
JonDMiller said:
I dont disagree with you at all, and I would love this. The reality...traffic likely drops 75%, along with revenues. Just being transparent here.

But one day, before I kick the bucket, I want a forum just like that ;)
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Just a suggestion then; Why not take a poll on the pay site and see how everyone there feels about it?
 
BigD said:
Just a suggestion then; Why not take a poll on the pay site and see how everyone there feels about it?
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I'm not sure why people would post differently if they had to use their real names. It's not like you, Jon, or Kirk know me by name anyway. I would still just be some random guy to everyone.
 
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