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HAIF for HALF now HAIF for LIFE


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Get HAIF for HALF

The success of the HAIF Dollar Day Sale has shown us that there is a demand for ad-free HAIF -- if it's offered at the right price. So, we've cut the everyday price of ad-free HAIF in half.

There are three subscriptions available:

1. Monthly: $5 gets you unlimited ad-free HAIF for a whole month. That's $5 less than the old price.

2. Semi-Annually: $25 gets you unlimited ad-free HAIF for six months. That's $5 off a month-to-month series of subscriptions. It's like getting one month for free. And it's $25 less than it used to be.

3. Annually: $50 gets you unlimited ad-free HAIF for a whole year. That's $10 off a pair of Semi-Annual subscriptions. It's like getting two months for free. Plus it's $50 less than the original ad-free HAIF for a year.

These are the new subscription rates available to everyone every day.

When you subscribe, you get all the great things you love about HAIF, but with no banner ads.

This is not an attempt to force people into giving us extra money. The regular free HAIF still exists. But we want to give people an opportunity to experience pure, ad-free HAIF if they choose. A bonus of ad-free HAIF is that the pages load much faster than regular HAIF, which is nice if you're on dial-up or a cell phone connection.

To sign up, click on THIS LINK.

Then select the plan you would like.

Even if you want to pay by credit card, select the PayPal payment option to continue. You don't have to have a PayPal account. You can use a Visa, Mastercard, American Express, or Discover card instead if you like and PayPal will still handle the payment.

When your payment goes through, click the "Return to Merchant" link to return to HAIF.

Once I have looked over your information (to prevent credit card fraud) I will twiddle a few bits, and magically the ads on HAIF will disappear for you. Ideally, I hope to make this happen within two to 24 hours of your payment, depending on the time of day and where in the world I am at the time you make your purchase.

Please note: These plans do not auto-renew. I'm really mad at Vogue magazine for automatically renewing my wife's subscription without my consent, and I'm not going to do that to you. I may send an e-mail reminder when your subscription is about to run out, or if I don't you might just notice that the ads are back. I don't want anyone to have any unpleasant surprises show up on their credit card statements, so auto-renewal is not an option.

Think about it. Decide if HAIF is worth $5 to try ad-free for a month. Or sign up for a larger plan and save money. Either way, you're helping support one of the largest forums in Houston, and certainly one of the best communities on the internet.

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The thing is, the ads don't bother me.

Get annoying ads and I might pay :)

I'm happy either way. The ads don't bother me, so even though I could disable them for myself, I don't. Sometimes I even see ads that I'm interested in, but I'm not allowed to click on them so I just google the advertiser and go from there.

The ad-free thing was a response to a situation we had in the Fall of 2006 when people were complaining about the ads, and at the same time we needed to raise money for a new server.

Well, we're on the new machine and things are going swimmingly (174 days, 43 minutes with no problems), but if people want the option of going ad-free it's still there.

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  • 1 month later...

There's a new subscription option for ad-free HAIF.

It's called HAIF for LIFE.

Here's the deal: $500 now, and you get ad-free HAIF for the rest of your life.

I noticed recently that Airliners.net has a similar offer for $999. The HAIF deal is half that. What a bargain!

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There's a new subscription option for ad-free HAIF.

It's called HAIF for LIFE.

Here's the deal: $500 now, and you get ad-free HAIF for the rest of your life.

I noticed recently that Airliners.net has a similar offer for $999. The HAIF deal is half that. What a bargain!

Who will take over after you quit/leave etc.

Do you have a contingency plan to keep the domain and site ongoing with a new owner?

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Guest Marty
Who will take over after you quit/leave etc.

Do you have a contingency plan to keep the domain and site ongoing with a new owner?

Maybe you should start a thread called "Where will HAIF be in 100 years from 2007". ;)

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Who will take over after you quit/leave etc.

Do you have a contingency plan to keep the domain and site ongoing with a new owner?

There are no plans at this time. Though I guess I should leave an extra set of keys (so to speak) in the hands of a mod or two in case I get hit by a bus or something.

So far, HAIF has been on the web for six years. I don't anticipate that changing. All of my current plans involve expanding HAIF and making it stronger.

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  • 1 year later...
  • 5 months later...

I recently re-acquired some semblance of job security and see that you are having to sell your wife's purses to make rent, so: Let's deal.

$500 for HAIF for Life is hard for me to justify but I'd like to give you more than $50.

The way I figure, under normal circumstances most people would be content with an investment that yielded risk-adjusted returns of 7%. If I gave you a string of $50 annual HAIF dues (up front for each year) for five years, the discounted present value of that stream of cash flows from your perspective would only be $219.36. And that's assuming that I'm still active enough in five years that I'd care to continually re-up, so let's consider that a best-case scenario.

Since you're hard up for cash, let's say that your discount rate is higher than usual to reflect your crappy bargaining position. Let's say 20%; you probably are more desperate than that at the moment but I'm going to be generous. That brings the figure down to $179.44.

Now, in the spirit of the Holidays...I'll give you $200, plenty more than is justified by my already-generous assumptions.

Are my terms acceptable?

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I recently re-acquired some semblance of job security and see that you are having to sell your wife's purses to make rent, so: Let's deal.

$500 for HAIF for Life is hard for me to justify but I'd like to give you more than $50.

The way I figure, under normal circumstances most people would be content with an investment that yielded risk-adjusted returns of 7%. If I gave you a string of $50 annual HAIF dues (up front for each year) for five years, the discounted present value of that stream of cash flows from your perspective would only be $219.36. And that's assuming that I'm still active enough in five years that I'd care to continually re-up, so let's consider that a best-case scenario.

Since you're hard up for cash, let's say that your discount rate is higher than usual to reflect your crappy bargaining position. Let's say 20%; you probably are more desperate than that at the moment but I'm going to be generous. That brings the figure down to $179.44.

Now, in the spirit of the Holidays...I'll give you $200, plenty more than is justified by my already-generous assumptions.

Are my terms acceptable?

Let me make sure I understand this...

You see a person is in need, and you choose to take advantage of his situation? Someone's getting coal in his stocking this year. Do you tell bums on the street, "As long as you're down there, can you get that gum off of my shoe?" and then pat yourself on the back for being such a nice guy?

Here's how I look at it...

$200 is four years of ad-free HAIF. I believe you'll be around here more than four years. Therefore at $200 I lose money.

The purpose of ad-free HAIF isn't to generate income. The site brings in way more money from someone viewing ads than paying for an ad-free subscription. The purpose of ad-free HAIF is to give someone the option to see HAIF without the ads if they find them distasteful, or if they're stuck on a dialup line, or have some other personal reason. That's why last year I was selling ad-free HAIF for $1/month -- not to make money, but as a gesture of goodwill.

Ad-free HAIF arose from several requests from HAIF members for an ad-free option, not from a need to raise money. Though I appreciate everyone who has signed up. Right now I believe we have a record number of subscribers. I get a warm fuzzy feeling thinking about how so many people care so much about the forum that they put their money where their mouths are.

As for my personal financial situation, there are only three people on HAIF who have a good idea where things are right now. Two of them have stepped forward as potential investors. One believed in HAIF's growth and revenue generating potential, but he backed out in the summer because of other problems in his company. Another potential investor made a pledge to support HAIF back in September, but other than vague promises, nothing has come of it and it doesn't look like anything will.

I don't want to be specific about what's going on behind the scenes because I don't want people to misinterpret what's going on. If you want to support HAIF, keep posting. Keep telling your friends about HAIF. And keep visiting and reading the forum. That's the best thing you can do to support HAIF.

Oh, and chocolate. I like chocolate.

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I almost never click on online adds....I understand you get "per click"....I am surprised it can add up to where you can do better per click than with subscriptions.....should I be clicking and closing to help you out for the time being?

I just clicked on the AT&T one at the top and the link was broken

http://a.tribalfusion.com/h.click/aymyfboA...7320329;ct.1/01

actually I have clicked on the L.T. Hood one before just to see what LT looked like....wondered if he was "on the forum" as well

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Let me make sure I understand this...

You see a person is in need, and you choose to take advantage of his situation? Someone's getting coal in his stocking this year.

Yeah, I see someone selling his wife's purses on the internet and I do see opportunity, not only to help them out but to get something that I'd value in return. That's what deal-making is all about. Everybody has to consent. Everybody has to be happy with what they got.

Same thing with construction. Prices are down and unemployment is high. It's a good time to build things--if you have the money. The replacement cost of buildings probably won't be as low as it will be in 2009 for a very long time going forward. Plus you get to feel good about yourself because you hired poor people.

Same thing with the used car market. Lots of people are trying to sell nice cars. There aren't enough buyers. If you have the money you can do someone the favor of making a distressed sale happen right quick and also get a deal for yourself.

Do you tell bums on the street, "As long as you're down there, can you get that gum off of my shoe?" and then pat yourself on the back for being such a nice guy?

No! I offer a transaction. A couple dollars per stuck wad of gum should be plenty enticement. It'd take more to get me to unstick my own gum, but then I'm not desperately poor.

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Hey, now wait a second...

In post #6 of this thread you thanked crunchtastic for supporting HAIF. Was she supporting HAIF or merely availing herself of the option not to view ads?

Then in post #12 you thanked people for helping out by signing up on memberships.

All the while people were joining up under the impression that their donations would be helping TheHAIF financially, and you certainly didn't deny it.

Come on now, hardball negotiation isn't getting you anywhere. Let's cut a reasonable deal and help you make rent this month.

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I almost never click on online adds....I understand you get "per click"....I am surprised it can add up to where you can do better per click than with subscriptions.....should I be clicking and closing to help you out for the time being?

HAIF does not make money based on ad clicks. HAIF makes money based on ad views.

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In post #6 of this thread you thanked crunchtastic for supporting HAIF. Was she supporting HAIF or merely availing herself of the option not to view ads?

I'd say she's doing both. The two are not mutually exclusive.

Then in post #12 you thanked people for helping out by signing up on memberships.

Sure. Short-term cash flow is a great thing, much as you illustrated in your earlier post. But what is even more important is the physical act of signing up. It's incredibly hard for people to make the switch from passive reader to active participant in HAIF. It's even harder to make the leap to actually snapping out of HAIF and into your real life and getting a credit card and taking an action. It shows that HAIF isn't merely a casual distraction for someone, it's become part of their life. That's a huge psychological barrier to overcome, and I'm impressed every time someone embraces HAIF not as a stream of data on the internet, but as a community they want to belong to. Now I'm not saying that busting out the CC is the only way to show this; far from it. But I know enough from 20 years in broadcasting that if you can motivate someone to stop staring at the screen and actually get up and do something, then you've gone beyond the silver rainbow.

All the while people were joining up under the impression that their donations would be helping TheHAIF financially, and you certainly didn't deny it.

Every subscription does help financially, obviously, because it's money that goes to pay the server bill. But it's not as simple as you seem to think it is. There's a big difference between someone who pays $5 for a month of ad-free HAIF then views 500 pages versus someone who pays $5/month and then views 100,000 pages. Also, the ads on HAIF are on an open market system so the value of the ads changes from day to day and certainly from year to year. How much financial impact a subscription had 18 months ago when post #6 was made is not the same as the financial impact it has today. But that doesn't mean I don't appreciate each subscription. Again, I'm proud and amazed every time I get an e-mail from PayPal telling me one someone has signed up.

Come on now, hardball negotiation isn't getting you anywhere. Let's cut a reasonable deal and help you make rent this month.

I'm not playing hardball. Just because I'm in a tight spot doesn't mean I'm going to make bad financial decisions. I have to look at both the short-term and long-term benefits. With your offer I get $200 out of people today, but what about when the economy rebounds? Then I end up with high-paying ads and no one to view them. More importantly, if I don't have enough unique visitors viewing ads then the ad company terminates my contract and I get zero ad revenue from anyone. That's one of the reasons it's important for HAIF to have a broad reader base and not be a clique for a certain circle of members.

It's all a lot more complicated than it looks, and even more complicated than I've explained here.

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I'd say she's doing both. The two are not mutually exclusive.

Sure. Short-term cash flow is a great thing, much as you illustrated in your earlier post. But what is even more important is the physical act of signing up. It's incredibly hard for people to make the switch from passive reader to active participant in HAIF. It's even harder to make the leap to actually snapping out of HAIF and into your real life and getting a credit card and taking an action. It shows that HAIF isn't merely a casual distraction for someone, it's become part of their life. That's a huge psychological barrier to overcome, and I'm impressed every time someone embraces HAIF not as a stream of data on the internet, but as a community they want to belong to. Now I'm not saying that busting out the CC is the only way to show this; far from it. But I know enough from 20 years in broadcasting that if you can motivate someone to stop staring at the screen and actually get up and do something, then you've gone beyond the silver rainbow.

Every subscription does help financially, obviously, because it's money that goes to pay the server bill. But it's not as simple as you seem to think it is. There's a big difference between someone who pays $5 for a month of ad-free HAIF then views 500 pages versus someone who pays $5/month and then views 100,000 pages. Also, the ads on HAIF are on an open market system so the value of the ads changes from day to day and certainly from year to year. How much financial impact a subscription had 18 months ago when post #6 was made is not the same as the financial impact it has today. But that doesn't mean I don't appreciate each subscription. Again, I'm proud and amazed every time I get an e-mail from PayPal telling me one someone has signed up.

I'm not playing hardball. Just because I'm in a tight spot doesn't mean I'm going to make bad financial decisions. I have to look at both the short-term and long-term benefits. With your offer I get $200 out of people today, but what about when the economy rebounds? Then I end up with high-paying ads and no one to view them. More importantly, if I don't have enough unique visitors viewing ads then the ad company terminates my contract and I get zero ad revenue from anyone. That's one of the reasons it's important for HAIF to have a broad reader base and not be a clique for a certain circle of members.

It's all a lot more complicated than it looks, and even more complicated than I've explained here.

...ummm, did it ever occur to you to offer a 'donor' option alongside the 'subscriber' option?

The folks that have subscribed seem to have done so primarily because they thought that they were financially supporting HAIF, but I'd wager that most of them have broadband internet access and don't really care about the ads. They just wanted to support HAIF, to give back for all that HAIF has given them, and perhaps to get the little tag next to their name that says 'Subscriber'. And as for that warm fuzzy feeling that you crave when someone displays their love of HAIF to you at your own long-term expense, I'd suspect that donors would be even warmer and fuzzier; good enough for a Chicago winter.

And so I implore you, give your subscribers the opportunity to turn back on the ads and become HAIF Donors.

Do this for me and you shall be richly rewarded. ;)

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...ummm, did it ever occur to you to offer a 'donor' option alongside the 'subscriber' option?

The folks that have subscribed seem to have done so primarily because they thought that they were financially supporting HAIF, but I'd wager that most of them have broadband internet access and don't really care about the ads. They just wanted to support HAIF, to give back for all that HAIF has given them, and perhaps to get the little tag next to their name that says 'Subscriber'. And as for that warm fuzzy feeling that you crave when someone displays their love of HAIF to you at your own long-term expense, I'd suspect that donors would be even warmer and fuzzier; good enough for a Chicago winter.

And so I implore you, give your subscribers the opportunity to turn back on the ads and become HAIF Donors.

Do this for me and you shall be richly rewarded. ;)

I will say I don't mind the Google Ad Sense ads, but the (2) huge animated banners on the top take up a lot of screen space and push the forum down. But the Google ones are fine.

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So I take is from the handful of users who visit and post almost daily, you'd actually make more money from them in the ad version of HAIF, rather than ad free membership? :huh:

It really depends on the user and the going rate for the day.

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Crap crappy crap!

I just turned on ads and can't get rid of them! :lol:

The bottom right by the RSS feed has a pull down menu that says: HAIFy Blue Subcriber, and Haify Blue, and I changed it, but now it's stuck.

And now I have permanent banner ads again because the HAIFy Blue Subscriber option disappears. :o

Save me!

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Editor,

Do you track new members on how they heard about the HAIF? Google search, referred to the site by a member, linked through another blog, etc?

That would be interesting data, I'd think.

There is an required question when new users sign up: "How did you find this web site?"

The options (and results) are:

  • Internet search engine - 2,400
  • Link from another web site - 144
  • From a card someone gave me - 0
  • Word of mouth - 171
  • Newspaper article - 8
  • Magazine article - 2
  • Television/Radio - 1
  • Newspaper advertisement - 0 (makes sense since we've never advertised in a newspaper)
  • Magazine advertisement - 1
  • Other/Don't know/None of your beeswax - 48

I think I added the question to the registration process at the end of 2006ish.

This is, of course, only for people who have registered. There are thousands of people who visit HAIF on a daily basis who choose not to register. They just enjoy reading.

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And so I implore you, give your subscribers the opportunity to turn back on the ads and become HAIF Donors.

This already exists (but is not documented). If you're a subscriber just go down to the bottom of the page. Next to the RSS icon on the left is a drop-down skin selector. Just change "HAIFy Blue Subscriber" to "HAIFy Blue" and you're back to ads.

But note that it's a one-way street. If you want your ads turned off again, you have to let me know because I have to do it manually.

Crap crappy crap!

I just turned on ads and can't get rid of them! :lol:

The bottom right by the RSS feed has a pull down menu that says: HAIFy Blue Subcriber, and Haify Blue, and I changed it, but now it's stuck.

And now I have permanent banner ads again because the HAIFy Blue Subscriber option disappears. :o

Save me!

That's why it's undocumented. I really just use it for testing.

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This already exists (but is not documented). If you're a subscriber just go down to the bottom of the page. Next to the RSS icon on the left is a drop-down skin selector. Just change "HAIFy Blue Subscriber" to "HAIFy Blue" and you're back to ads.

But note that it's a one-way street. If you want your ads turned off again, you have to let me know because I have to do it manually.

That's why it's undocumented. I really just use it for testing.

My luck, I did it right before you posted it.

Why is it one way?

Maybe we are in the mood sometimes, and sometimes not. . . :lol:

Thanks for fixing it!

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This already exists (but is not documented). If you're a subscriber just go down to the bottom of the page. Next to the RSS icon on the left is a drop-down skin selector. Just change "HAIFy Blue Subscriber" to "HAIFy Blue" and you're back to ads.

But note that it's a one-way street. If you want your ads turned off again, you have to let me know because I have to do it manually.

That's why it's undocumented. I really just use it for testing.

That's really unclear, even cryptic, especially to people that haven't yet given you any money. I still suggest my route. Make HAIF Donors seperate and not equal to HAIF Subscribers in the sign-up menu. Give Donors some kind of recognition that doesn't cost you any money, like a better nameplate than the Subscribers.

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That's really unclear, even cryptic, especially to people that haven't yet given you any money. I still suggest my route. Make HAIF Donors seperate and not equal to HAIF Subscribers in the sign-up menu. Give Donors some kind of recognition that doesn't cost you any money, like a better nameplate than the Subscribers.

You can just subscribe and then turn the ads back on, same difference?

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That's really unclear, even cryptic, especially to people that haven't yet given you any money. I still suggest my route. Make HAIF Donors seperate and not equal to HAIF Subscribers in the sign-up menu. Give Donors some kind of recognition that doesn't cost you any money, like a better nameplate than the Subscribers.

I'm starting to think you might have a good idea, but I'm not sure why donors should be unequal to subscribers. They're essentially the same thing, just one chooses to view ads, too. I'd rather people just subscribed and turned their ads back on. That way I'm not taking charity from people (difficult for my accounting and my pride) and everyone gets what they want.

I don't want to end up balkanizing HAIF. Something that Mark Barnes noted in another thread is that all HAIFers are pretty much equal. With the exception of moderators, everyone gets to see and use all of the HAIF content. I fear setting a precedent with unequal classes of HAIFers could lead to fragmentation based on the ability to pay. That's not what I want to happen down the road.

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