Different color between members

[IceDolphin]

This one thing I want to, no I need to make clear, Donating is giving something for nothing in return, the second they add benifits IT IS NO LONGER DONATING it just becomes buying. I hate saying this phrase, but that is an undeniable fact.

[Warrior84]

Those who buy premium already get a "premium" badge. IMO I think that's enough. You can already see who's premium and who's not, and in comment sections the "premium" badge is also clearly visible. There is no need for more fancy stuff, that kind of stuff should be for staff only.

Edited July 23, 2014 by Warrior84

[IceDolphin]

Agreed Warrior84, Took the words out of my keyboard.

[Deleted3619564User]

You are right IceDolphin about the word "donation" but if a user makes a donation, it becomes a premium member and there are already differences (as Thandal correctly wrote and as you can read in the "buy premium" section). My suggestion is not about a different treatment between users and i'm not speaking about to buy something, but simply i'm talking about something like a "gratitude" to the premium users (who "sustain" the forum) to be more "visible". Today there is written "premium" in the user section and it's good. I wrote another idea to give a premium member a new "plus".

If coloring isn't a good idea, i suggest to group the users in "sections". If admins do not think it's a good thing, no problem ... as the title of the section of the forum is ... publish your suggestions here!

[Thandal]

Alenet;

 

Slight correction, I said read the description on the "Go Premium", not "Buy Premium" page...

[Thandal]

This one thing I want to, no I need to make clear, Donating is giving something for nothing in return, the second they add benifits IT IS NO LONGER DONATING it just becomes buying. I hate saying this phrase, but that is an undeniable fact.

 

No, actually, it isn't. There are an enormous number of situations where one can make a monetary contribution to an organization and receive something of nominal value in return, but not have "purchased" anything. Think "coffee mugs from NPR" in the US, or "paper poppies from veterans on Armistice Day" in the UK.

 

There is no fee-for-service involved here, no guaranteed level of access, and no cause for action if something were unable to be delivered. Dark0ne voluntarily refunds the contributions (and I stress that word) of Premium members who express dissatisfaction with their decision to contribute. But that's because he feels strongly that people who are unhappy being here shouldn't be here, and should be given no reason to stay and whinge.

 

The Nexus is not a commercial enterprise, and it does not have "customers". It is a cooperative community, and it has "members". (The overwhelming majority of whom are here entirely free of any fiscal considerations whatsoever.)

[Thandal]

Yes Thandal. That's right! In fact i wrote "This could be a little "plus/benefit" for who helps to you carry on a forum as good as this.".

I am a premium user for months, i will remain a premium user and i'm happy to donate to people like you because this is the best game forum in the network.

 

You're not donating to me! :laugh:

 

All but a handful of us are volunteers. I think the number of paid Staff is less than a half-dozen, and the majority of them are the coders that Dark0ne brought on-board to improve the overall Nexus experience in the face of the surge in demand over the past year-or-two. (Of course there are also a number of employees of the hosting services, etc., who help keep the Nexus in operation. Not talking about them.)

 

As a matter of fact, I went from having a one-year Premium Membership to contributing at the "Lifetime" level even after becoming a Moderator. (Call me a sucker for a good cause. :tongue: )

[Deleted3619564User]

Ahahah! Sure! I know i donate to the forum! :)

As you know the word "you" in english is used for single person or people. I'm talking about "you all" (forum). I wrote "people like you" not "person as you"! ;)

 

Anyway for me the thing is clear (and know is clearer then before). Probably the misunderstand arises from the buy premium way.

In the top right corner there is written "Buy Premium". A user clicks there, then choices the member type (period) and there is an "about membership" page with description of the service and the "add to cart" button. Is there a word like "DONATE" or "DONATION" ......no. Am i wrong? That's a payment to buy something (benefits). In the last line the description reports: "Premium Membership is not required to use the Nexus sites, and you should only pay if you would like these added benefits."

 

REPEAT! If you (all) use my money to maintain the site or to buy a beer in a pub!, for me there is no difference, i'm happy to donate/pay for a site like this.

But by that description in the membership purchase page, you already create a discrimination between users, so my request was justify.

If i want to give you 100 euro for a donation is a thing, subscribing a recurring payment to be a premium member is another.

 

I'm sorry if I've intented a diversification between paying users and non-paying users.

 

Thank you for attention.

[JimboUK]

On the forum it says "Buy", there is a set price list, we're charged VAT, the blurb says "Premium Membership can be bought", it's reasonable for anyone looking at that to see it as a purchase, not a donation. Selling premium memberships is nothing to be ashamed of, the site needs money to pay the bills and people are willing to put their hands in their pockets to buy extras, there's no need to dress it up as an act of altruism on behalf of both the users and the site. I remember a few years ago a guy had a problem with a premium membership not activating, he posted on the forum and the first response was a member of staff telling him it was a donation rather than a purchase, understandably the guy became hostile because he felt he was being cheated, as would anyone not familiar with the honest way the site is run.

 

This "It's a donation so we don't technically owe you anything" (and I've seen that inferred) line makes the place look dodgy, which is a shame because the site is fantastic when it comes to peoples money and Dark0ne couldn't be more open and honest.

[Thandal]

@jim_uk;

 

I agree the language should be consistent ("donate" / "contribution", not "buy" / "payment") and the distinction is important because there is no sales or service contract between the Nexus and the Premium Members.

 

To go back to another personal example, I've authorized an automatic monthly "payment" to my local public radio station. If they go off the air for hours-to-days (which has happened) am I entitled to a refund? Are they operating a scam? Was I defrauded? What agreement can I point to in court and say they broke their end of the deal? If I'm upset enough, my only recourse is simply to cancel my membership. (Which is what it's called in that case as well.)

 

Same thing here. Premium Members voluntarily contribute, they get some perks for doing so, and the Nexus could not operate without their support! But people who take the attitude that, "I paid for the service so you By-God better provide it!" get the response/clarification above.

 

Dark0ne goes out of his way to respond to individual problems that Premium Members might be having, especially regarding processing their donations or membership status change appropriately. But if there's a technical issue between that member's computer and the Nexus servers, (e.g. ISP-related) or it's something that's affecting everyone, (Premium or not) then there's not much he can do specifically for that member.

 

(And I know you know this jim, but for others who may not: The Moderators have no special inside track to the Nexus. We come in through the front door just like everybody else. Failures to connect, slow response times, and interrupted downloads affect us just as much as anyone else, and there's nothing we can do except "clear the cache", "log-off/log-on again", "try another browser", or "try later". :pinch: )