Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

Ken Crippen wrote:

Veeshik_ya wrote:

Ken Crippen wrote:So, the question come up: if that is not enough, why don't you just join?

Maybe I'm misunderstanding, are you asking me why I don't join? I am a member.

I don't remember seeing your name on the membership list. When did you join and I will check.

Nice try.

Veeshik_ya wrote:
Nice try.

I already know your name, so it really is not a bother.

Ken Crippen wrote:

Veeshik_ya wrote:
Nice try.

I already know your name, so it really is not a bother.

Congratulations. Best of luck in the upcoming election.

Veeshik_ya wrote:

Ken Crippen wrote:

Veeshik_ya wrote:
Nice try.

I already know your name, so it really is not a bother.

Congratulations. Best of luck in the upcoming election.

Thank you. I appreciate your well-wishes.

TodMaher wrote: Well, The Coffin Corner is biggest expense. Just stop printing and mailing the thing.
Personally, I would just get rid of the whole paid membership/Member's Only. The website costs next to nothing to run and could be paid by a small number of donations.

I respect Tod's opinion, in that he has been very generous in making an excellent source, profootballarchives.com, available at no charge, and pays for it out of his pocket and whatever donations he might receive. I imagine that you could add a bulletin board to that site, and maybe lure over the folks who despise the Forum and other sites that they don't have to pay for.

Still, the vast majority of our members (I'd peg it at 75%) do not visit the Forum and could not care less about participating in it. Mostly, people show their support by paying annual dues. In return, they use the website to look at archived images of research aids, and most of them look forward to getting their print issues of the Coffin Corner in the mail, in the same way that they like getting Field & Stream in the mail. There's been talk, of course, about barring non-members from the Forum, but we'd have few people here if we were to do that, and it would be even more dull than it already is.

Mark L. Ford wrote: and most of them look forward to getting their print issues of the Coffin Corner in the mail, in the same way that they like getting Field & Stream in the mail.

There is still something to be said for a hard copy. Look forward to tearing open that envelope when it comes in the mail, kind of like how I still love the smell of newspaper, even though I made the decision last year to quit buying the USA Today after buying 95 percent of the issues printed since it debuted in the early 1980s. Back then, it probably had the best sports statistics available in any newspaper. Today there's virtually no statistics in it. And in terms of general news, I was reading a ton of it online and couldn't justify their (100%) price increase last year. By the time I went through the physical paper, I had read all that news already. Times have changed.

In that regard, Tod's point about keeping it online to minimize costs makes sense.

Veeshik_ya wrote:

Mark L. Ford wrote: and most of them look forward to getting their print issues of the Coffin Corner in the mail, in the same way that they like getting Field & Stream in the mail.

There is still something to be said for a hard copy. Look forward to tearing open that envelope when it comes in the mail, kind of like how I still love the smell of newspaper, even though I made the decision last year to quit buying the USA Today after buying 95 percent of the issues printed since it debuted in the early 1980s. Back then, it probably had the best sports statistics available in any newspaper. Today there's virtually no statistics in it. And in terms of general news, I was reading a ton of it online and couldn't justify their (100%) price increase last year. By the time I went through the physical paper, I had read all that news already. Times have changed.

In that regard, Tod's point about keeping it online to minimize costs makes sense.

Perhaps offer a digital subscription with membership, with the option to purchase a subscription to the physical version to members? Just enough to cover the costs involved with the physical subscription, noted to members as they opt-in for that.

Has there been a survey of members as to their preference/willing to pay for physical archive/etc. in the context of costs involved/keeping membership fee stable/opportunities to increase membership and increase the reach of the organization?

Would it serve the organization to offer a subscription to either a digital or physical version to non-members?

Naively, I am just asking.

I'm old fashioned. I like my football on real grass, my beer cold, and my Coffin Corner on paper ...

Ken Crippen wrote:

Veeshik_ya wrote:

Ken Crippen wrote:So, the question come up: if that is not enough, why don't you just join?

Maybe I'm misunderstanding, are you asking me why I don't join? I am a member.

I don't remember seeing your name on the membership list. When did you join and I will check.

Honestly, Ken, I don't know if I'm a member. I don't remember when I joined (it sure as hell wasn't October 11, 2014, as it says on the "members" link in the top right corner), so I don't know when my membership expires (or expired). I got the mass email in January saying "hey, everybody please remember to renew", but that's it. (Well, in fairness I also get the emails from Andy every couple of weeks trying to sell me books and DVDs....)

The old forum at least had that thing by your name that said if you were a member or not. Shouldn't there be some place on the site where I can find out when I need to renew? Isn't that something that's kind of basic for a membership-based organization?

Jeremy Crowhurst wrote: Honestly, Ken, I don't know if I'm a member. I don't remember when I joined (it sure as hell wasn't October 11, 2014, as it says on the "members" link in the top right corner), so I don't know when my membership expires (or expired). I got the mass email in January saying "hey, everybody please remember to renew", but that's it. (Well, in fairness I also get the emails from Andy every couple of weeks trying to sell me books and DVDs....)

The old forum at least had that thing by your name that said if you were a member or not. Shouldn't there be some place on the site where I can find out when I need to renew? Isn't that something that's kind of basic for a membership-based organization?

All memberships expire December 31. I just checked the membership list and I do not see your renewal.