Is there still a need for the forum?

Huw

The subscription for the forum is up for renewal in a few weeks. It's incredibly expensive: more than the bill for renting the server for the main site. It's never been profitable and revenue from the main site has subsidised it.

However, looking at the September usage and comparing it to last September, page views have halved and only 80 users have logged in, which works out at a cost of about $40 per user per year.

Discussions seem to have migrated elsewhere, mainly to Facebook, although not necessarily in the Brickset group.

There are therefore several options:

- Show adverts to everyone
- Charge a subscription
- Take the hit again and subsidise it to keep it running
- Don't renew and kill it off

I suspect the first two would have much the same effect at the latter. The first is obviously the easiest to implement, and the effect on income could be seen straight away, although I suspect many of you would just use ad blockers.

What are your thoughts? Is there still a need for this forum?

Huw

TheOriginalSimonB

I'd certainly miss this place if it wasn't here.  Other than the occasional post on the main page I'm not "involved" anywhere else.  I certainly don't do facebook.

Don't know if I'd go to $40, but would certainly be willing to pay something.

CCC

I guess linking income from the main site to forum users is tricky. I use the main site because I use the forum. If the forum goes, then any income from me clicking links on the main site also goes.

I don't use the brickset facebook pages, I looked a few times then never went again.

I always found the comment sections within the articles like a mini forum even though they are not meant to be. And they are very muddled, like the bricklink forums.

Bumblepants

I would miss it very much. I always use the amazon click-through to buy anything from the main page just because I spend so much time here.

Idea: Everyone that remembers the Fairy Bricks raffles from a few years back would probably be down for a 'Brickset Forum Servers' raffle. While not as noble, I think most of us would be happy to offer prizes and buy tickets in support of our community. I would also volunteer to help organize such a thing (or whatever really if better ideas are suggested) to help out.

Shib

I like the forum and would be sad to see it go, and if I'm honest it would probably reduce my visits to the main site (most are either click through on # links unless I'm looking up something specific) but completely understand that it needs to be worth your while to keep going. 

I dislike the use of Facebook groups and pages, I use Facebook as a means of keeping in touch with people but worry about how much people rely on it for stuff like this now - if Facebook decide they want to start charging for hosting fan pages you wind up back in the exact same position. 

I'd prefer a small subscription to adverts but in all honesty I wouldn't pay more than £5 a year and I suspect you'd loose more users by putting in a subscription model than if you had a discreet level of advertising. So I guess advertising is more logical than subscriptions, even if its not a popular choice.



Still I guess if you do kill the forum it'd probably be good news for my bank balance as its my primary source of deals. 

560Heliport

I'd definitely miss this forum! I don't do Facebook or any other form of social media, so if this goes away, I won't have anywhere to go for LEGO news. I'd be willing to pay $40 a year, rather than see ads.

milamber

I'd miss it hugely if it were to go and, like others, only visit the main pages of Brickset after reading the forum. If the forum wasn't here I doubt I'd visit Brickset at all much.

datsunrobbie

I'm one who visits both the main site and the forum every day, and would miss the forum if it goes. Maybe ads with a subscription option to hide them would be viable? Some sites I visit, like Ars Technica, have that sort of option. With the amount of blank space on the desktop version of the forums I think there's plenty of room for ads without them being obnoxious.

BooTheMightyHamster

I'd definitely miss the forum - this is my only source of Lego info, and while the main site is more 'factual' and thus extremely useful, I do prefer the forum, though obviously they both serve different purposes.  I use it quite a lot - or at least I think I do.  The stats may tell a different story.

From your initial post, 80 users at $40/year suggests a running cost of approx $3,200.
According to the main site, Brickset has just shy of 211,000 members, so if you were to look to the users to fund it, it wouldn't take much.

I support a couple of people using Patreon, and I'd be more than happy to put a few dollars (or even pounds) your way to keep the forum going.  267 people paying £1/month would cover your costs, and I reckon if you produced a 'I saved Bricket' badge or sticker (or brick), you'd get plenty of people prepared to chip in.

snowhitie

There's definitly less people around on the forum than there used to be, but I would miss it too. I love the reviews and the main site, but I am a big fan of the community here too and it's provided me with some good friends over the years.

I would never do Facebook, not just because of Zuckerberg and his evil intentions, but also because there it's just a continous stream of chats, and no way of 'grouping' things in a thread.

I too am willing to help organise a raffle or actually give a couple of pounds with Patreon or something similar, but 40 would be too much given my current budget. Ads would be annoying but wouldn't stop me personally from using the forum.

You mentioned before that hosting the forum on a different site woud be difficult since it would be a Sisyphean task to transfer the info, but if the other option is loosing the forum alltogether, I think I'd prefer that. I have no clue about costs or the like, so can't give any tips to this effect.

Speedman29

I use the website loads for set searching and getting the latest LEGO news, the forum for discussions, I'm a member of the FB group, but rarely use it.

Some relevant adverts would be ok, but sites that have side bars, heads and footers full of adverts are a turn off. As others have said even a small sub would likely drive people away.

sid3windr

Interestingly, the only feedback you'd get from here is... the people who frequent and love the forum very much. I'd miss it a lot, there is no ongoing discussion or anything like it on the main site, and Facebook groups are not a substitute for the forum at all.

I'll gladly assist in trying to transfer the forum somewhere else, although of course that does mean if you run your own software, you also have to maintain it...

The community and friendships that were formed here are irreplaceable imo - even starting fresh would be better than nothing at all; I'd not go as far as preferring the forum over the main site, but.... ;-)

(I knew this was going to happen as soon as the facebook page was launched though)

sid3windr

Other sidenote: I have no idea how this forum can cost over 3K to host yearly. It doesn't even have actual usable features other than a like button and some javascript hack to replace set numbers with links. :-P

pxchris

I would miss the forum tremendously! And that's coming from an active Facebook user. For me, this forum is by far the best place on the internet for fun and informative LEGO discussion, much more so than Facebook, Eurobricks, or any other site I've stumbled upon.
Also, I've been a part of migrating communities from traditional web-based forums to Facebook groups and it's always been an absolutely horrible experience, for both the users and the moderators.
I for one would be fine with advertisements that weren't extremely intrusive. However when I take a look at what the current ads on this forum look like when I'm not logged in, I would consider them to be definitely of the intrusive variety.

MaffyD

In some respects, the answers you'll get on here will be self-selecting. If we are on the forum we're not about to tell you we don't want to be on it any more. No-one is being forced to use this site instead of FB or EB or whatever - we choose to be here.

I suppose what matters is why we're on this forum. Personally, I like the way the site is organised, I like the post structure and how new comments are handled, I like all the regular threads that keep on getting updated, and I like the people on here.

Also, it's a gateway for me to the main site - I go to the forum first, and then on to brickset.com, not the other way around. You might want to look into that before making any decisions.

While you're here, you might want to put a link at the bottom of this forum to the main page. Next to Privacy Policy maybe. I know that it's only 1 click from the Privacy Policy to the home page, but maybe not everyone knows that, and in long threads, back up to the top can be awkward.

I could easily deal with it becoming ad-supported (infer from that what you will) but would not be averse to paying a subscription to be here (although that would depend on the cost, something I'm not going to speculate on).

I could also move over to FB. I've been on there for ages, so returning wouldn't be too hard, but I'd worry about things being... annoying.

I think would lose contact with some people though. I may not talk to them every day, but enjoy and appreciate every time I interact with them. It won't be the same if moved to another platform.

Thanks for reading.

Edit: coming straight here from the Secret Santa 2018 thread is very sobering, by the way.

Paperballpark

Wow, only 80 members used the forums in September? That's pretty bad tbh, especially considering how many members Brickset has.

Objectively, paying over $3000 a year to 'indulge' 80 people (for want of a better word) isn't at all feasible, although it could be argued that they're probably the more 'hard-core' people.

I do come on here most days, although if I'm honest, probably a bit less than I used to. Facebook is ok, but it's not really geared to ongoing discussions and things like that. Maybe people don't want that all that much anymore? Maybe they're happy to just dip in, see what's being discussed at that moment in time, and dip out again? I don't know.

I did notice the other week that there was barely anyone online, when there used to be loads of people on here at once.

So from your four options, and again looking objectively, I can't say that yes it's worth taking the hit again to keep it going. I don't know how much the Skimlinks bring in, but I suspect not very much, and clearly nowhere near enough.

As others have said, a subscription may be feasible, but not at $40 a year. As you say, it would probably have the effect of killing it off.

So that leaves two options - show ads to all, or kill it off. Obviously going down the ads route means committing to another year and another $3000+, so I'm guessing you're relatively confident that putting ads on a part of the site that only 80 people used in the past month will be enough to cover at least a good proportion of the cost of running it. I'm not sure I'd have that confidence, but then I don't have the numbers!

I'm actually stunned that Vanilla charge you so much for so little usage, but then I guess it's probably based on page views over the previous year.

I'll have a think. Remind me to chat to you about it at STEAM on Friday.

klinton

I would be willing to pay a subscription fee, if that's what's necessary. This forum is my first stop for Lego info. I'm not always actively posting, but I read the forum daily. I think I visit here more frequently than the main page, tbh. When something new and exciting is happening, people are discussing it here almost instantly.

That, and the people on here are all just great folks. It's a genuine pleasure to talk to most everyone on here. Even when people disagree, the comments are seldom petty or in bad taste. I would absolutely miss that genuine goodwill, as it's pretty much unique online.

Switchfoot55

I'll chime in where others have as well and express my appreciation for the forums. I love the community that has been built and sharing of information between users. It is something that I look forward to on a daily basis and would deeply miss it if it were to shut down. 

I was a part of a very large online forum community for several years related to another hobby. They ultimately ran into the same issue and had to make some decisions. The solution ended up being a combination of ad-based revenue along with optional subscriptions/donations. These financial contributions had a few "perks" to help entice users: Unique tags (along the lines of Eurobricks), Avatars, "paid member only" portions of the forums, among a few other things. The founder of that forum was able to keep it going for quite some time after that until he himself lost interest and passed it along to a new leader. 

I don't envy the decision you're being forced to make. But hopefully there is a way that makes it reasonable/profitable for you while still being able to have a fourm for users. 

sid3windr

I love this forum and its members enough that I'd sponsor a (Linux) (virtual) machine to run the open source version of Vanilla on. I'd even admin the host so the Brickset crew can concentrate on the forum itself...

But it would be great to take along all content of the current cloud-hosted premium version though :-/ Either way such a migration is very hard to get fixed in only a few weeks, too.

KungFuKenny

Switchfoot55 said:

 The solution ended up being a combination of ad-based revenue along with optional subscriptions/donations. These financial contributions had a few "perks" to help entice users: Unique tags (along the lines of Eurobricks), Avatars, "paid member only" portions of the forums, among a few other things. 

I have been a long-time lurker (since 2015 or so) and have only recently become an active member of the forum.  I am in the group of users who come to the forum first and then click through to the main page.  I also use the links on the main page (Amazon, etc) for my online Lego purchases, and it's a shame that there is no way to quantify what percentage of those main page "buy" clicks can be attributed to the forum users.

I would be happy to participate in a scenario like @Switchfoot55 has described.  A tiered reward system like Kickstarter works well for hard-core fans because inevitably there will be a few who will pay a premium for a more unusual/limited reward, in the process subsidizing other users who aren't able to contribute as much.

Hope this helps-- I have enjoyed the years of laughs and good conversation and would hate to see the forum die.

mustang69

This is the only LEGO related forum that I am really a member of. I use the main site daily and browsing the forums is a large part of my day on pretty much a daily basis. I would much prefer to have to deal with ads than for the forums to be shut down. Like others mentioned, I think ads with a subscription to get rid of them is the way to go.

catwrangler

I've been away a lot what with health/work stuff this year, and when I came back recently I thought it seemed oddly quiet - I hadn't realised it was part of a more longterm trend and I'm a bit shocked and sad to realise this. I often read the comments on the main page, but it doesn't feel like a community the way the forum does, and it's hard to keep track of the discussion.

A few thoughts: 

- How attached are we all to the forum because of the community itself, the utility of a forum system (versus FB, and I agree with people above about its problems), and how much because of the archive of old threads?

- Is the price a set one, or based on the amount of media being hosted? If the latter, is culling some of the older, more image-and-video heavy threads an option? (I realise that's a massive can of decision-worms, but if, for instance, there's a lot of old stuff which is not being viewed much, yet is a big part of the cost...)

- Is a middle way possible, by finding a cheaper forum host, if you were prepared to lose the existing forum history and just have everyone re-register elsewhere? IS losing the existing history an option? 

I do very much like the idea of doing a fundraiser, and as a community we have a good track record with those, though it would need to be well promoted off the forum given that we're obviously a smaller (active) community than we used to be. A Patreon is also a really interesting idea, and something else I'd happily support, though it might be something for the future, given the time sensitivity here. 

One bit of wisdom from someone who has been through several decreases in activity on forums I've modded on: if a fundraiser is to happen, it has to be promoted positively. Less "Save the Brickset forum!" and more "Be a part of Brickset!" It's a subtle distinction, but people in general seem poorly motivated to save something they perceive, fairly or not, as being in decline.  

RogerKirk

This is the only Lego forum I visit, so I would miss it if it were to go. I tend to prefer the forum over the main site and visit a few times most days.

That said, the cost is huge and hopefully something can be done to keep a forum in some format at a lower cost.

I worry that starting over completely with a new set up would mean many people wouldn't re-register and the lack of content would fail to get new members signing up. It could kill things off.

One thing to consider as well, is if there can be anything more done to boost activity, so it becomes less expensive per user.

Russell844

I am on the forum several times a day. This is the only forum I really use.

adiemc

The forum is one of the first things I look at in the mornings.  It's a welcome escape from my caring commitments, which have of late become more difficult owing to a decline in my mum's health especially as I haven't had much time of late to actually build.

I don't post an awful lot but I certainly enjoy reading through the various posts.  As mentioned by others there is a definite sense of a community here and given the way so many discussions on other forums and social media just descend into name calling its a nice to visit a site where that is a very infrequent occurrence.

I'd be happy to pay to subscribe if necessary

Redbullgivesuwind

I agree, I would miss the forum. Sure I dont comment all the time but i enjoy reading the threads. The variety of topics missing from the front page is great as well. I also prefer that this is no where near the hellish state of the comments section on the main website. 

But I understand that it is expensive and for 80 people it is not worth keeping going. I suppose I would just move to another forum but it would not be as good. 

CCC

Would adverts on the forum really do much. Serving up possibly irrelevant adverts to 80 users won't generate much income will it? Whereas adverts on the main site (even when logged in) would presumably be seen by many more users.

Switchfoot55

I think the burning question is: would @SumoLego get to keep his "likes"?

KungFuKenny

Switchfoot55 said:

I think the burning question is: would @SumoLego get to keep his "likes"?

And how much would he pony up to keep them from disappearing into the ether?

Lego_Lord_Mayorca

Drat, did I forget to login during the month of September? Sometimes, I view the forums at work and I don't automatically sign in like I do on my home computer. I feel like there have been less discussions I felt passionate enough to post in, so the fact I am not logged in half the time hasn't really bothered me. But now I'm worried since all these signs point to the situation Huw described.

At the inception of the forums, I considered them a mere curiosity. I joined Brickset years before then and I appreciated the site for doing collating Lego set data and news much in the same Brickshelf served as a Lego image and instructions hosting site. I didn't expect to engage in any meaningful discussions with other fans of Lego. But eight years later, and I can't imagine Brickset without the forums and the people who populate it. I've enjoyed reading all the ripartes, the jokes, even the frustrations and debates. We've got some real characters here, and I don't think we would enjoy each other as much if the forums didn't exist or if we were relegated to Facebook (which I am on, but have not joined the Brickset page. I really don't use Facebook all that thoroughly).

I hate advertising of any kind, but I guess I could stomach it here as long as it wasn't embedded within topics or between posts. Limit it to the sides of the page. And if it comes down to shutting the forums down entirely, give us a way to archive or save our post history. There are some good stories saved in the various topics we have made over the years (the legend of the white rangefinder comes to mind).

I hope, at any rate, we still have the forums in their current, ad-free incarnation for a little while more. And as far as members logging in, perhaps those people that join the forums just to post one asinine question or comment in just one topic discover there is more to this silly, but nice, place and make a habit of it. Just make it more habitual than I have, apparently!

bandit778

I'm another in the camp for really missing the forum if it goes and I've said before when this has come up that a suitable subscription fee wouldn't be out of the question especially with the benefits that come from being a forum and Brickset member.

I've been on here since 2015 and apart from a couple of self imposed sabbaticals (usually after the Christmas period to relieve my aching wallet) I come and have a read virtually every day just to see what everyone is talking about on here and the main site.

Admittedly I've not been as active with posting this year on either site due to life stuff reducing disposable income and time available for hobbies for a while but it's still my go to place if I find a deal somewhere that I think others will find useful and for keeping up with the latest goss and opinions for stuff that's coming up.

I've definitely noticed a decline in numbers in recent months, a fair number of the old guard seem to have drifted away to other realms for one reason or another and the forum seems to have become a more serious place instead of the 'down the pub with like minded individuals ' atmosphere that it had in the first few years after I first joined (that in turn led to friendships with people who I would never have met otherwise) and the community hospitality that used to be such a big part of the forum and what got me initially hooked on the place isn't as predominant as it used to be (although the Secret Santa threads still keep the old fires burning).

I still enjoy the forum and all it offers but the days of big Fairybricks raffles, or a bunch of complete strangers raising over £10,000 for charity and the generosity that came with it from fellow members (and the two all night raffles as a result)seem to be a golden era that's dwindling away which is a shame as active participation in events like these gave this place a lot of life.

I hope a satisfactory solution can be found to keep the forum and it's community alive as once something like this goes, it never comes back and I'd hate to think that the Bricksetters way becomes the shallow, self promoting, re-post someone else way that seems to take over every other social media platform.

Kerre

Many things I agree with have been said already so I'll stick to my initial thoughts. 

This forum is a significant part of what makes the overall Brickset offering so attractive because of the interaction with other Bricksetters. I do read far more than I post but without the forum the site would be just be that - a site.

As ads without conversion hardly bring in something worthwile these days displaying ads for logged in main site users wouldn't make that much of a difference. It would also require a redesign as it's now designed for maximum annoyance to make you sign in - something I think it's very effective at. Ad blockers would also be an issue. Since I pay dues for organizations and clubs I'm part of that aren't as enjoyable as what I get back from Brickset and its fantastic community, I'd personally have no issue supporting a solution bringing in additional funding like what @Switchfoot55 described. 

lowlead

I am one of the long time lurker - recent poster members and in a very short time span I have come to enjoy these forums far more than the ‘other leading brand.’  I feel like this site has a much more relaxed membership with a much better sense of humor!

I’m ready and willing to donate if/when there is a mechanism in place to do so!

FowlerBricks

I would be really sad if this forum closed down.

Mr_Cross

I'd be gutted to see the forum closed down. I come here every day, several times a day. I might not comment every day, but this is the place I come to for news and discussion. I dislike facebook, for multitudinous reasons.
I seldom go to the other place as I was never very happy there anyway.
I'd struggle to justify a subscription but I'd donate or take part in fundraising events. I wouldn't mind appropriate adverts down the RHS... I suspect I'd often be tempted to click through to a LEGO deal if it was just hanging there. Is there a way to have the amazon discounts info posted there?
I think as an AFOL, I am isolated in a few ways, including the fact that we have no local LUGS and I'm a stay at home parent. For many reasons, I only have short windows of time to give to the hobby currently. I don't have LEGO fan friends in meat-space. This really is my conduit for the social side of the hobby. I like it here.

lowlead

...oh, and Facebook is evil.  Thank you.

560Heliport

I enjoy this forum so much that I'd be willing to pay $10 a month... thus subsidizing two fellow regulars. C'mon, people! Step up!

KungFuKenny

560Heliport said:

I enjoy this forum so much that I'd be willing to pay $10 a month... thus subsidizing two fellow regulars. C'mon, people! Step up!

Sign me up also- if it helps I can help cover a couple of subscriptions too.

BooTheMightyHamster

To anyone thinking 'Why should I pay even a small amount towards keeping the forum running?' ask yourself this...

”How much cold, hard cash do I save each year as a direct result of being able to claim 15% discount on Afol days, because I'm a member of Brickset?

Even at a conservative estimate I bet for most people that's worth at least £25 a year.

SumoLego

Switchfoot55 said:

I think the burning question is: would @SumoLego get to keep his "likes"?

Nobody can take those away from me!  And it's not a contest.  

I love this Forum and would be very sad to see it disappear.  I also understand it makes little sense to dedicate that level of resources to service a statistically small community.  I certainly would advocate against keeping the Forum open if there would be a negative effect on the main site. 

(I'd be very disappointed if the database were ever to go away.  The main site what brought me here, and -whispers- I'd be willing to pay for access to the main site.)

I also think the moment the Forum were to go behind a pay-wall, we'd just be temporarily extending it's inevitable demise.

SumoLego

Bumblepants said:

Idea: Everyone that remembers the Fairy Bricks raffles from a few years back would probably be down for a 'Brickset Forum Servers' raffle.

I could certainly offer up $1000.00 worth of product for such a raffle.  If this ends up being a fundraising option - I'm game.

KungFuKenny

SumoLego said:

Bumblepants said:

Idea: Everyone that remembers the Fairy Bricks raffles from a few years back would probably be down for a 'Brickset Forum Servers' raffle.

I could certainly offer up $1000.00 worth of product for such a raffle.  If this ends up being a fundraising option - I'm game.

I can also chip in some nice sealed/retired sets for a fundraising venture

lowlead

560Heliport said:

I enjoy this forum so much that I'd be willing to pay $10 a month... thus subsidizing two fellow regulars. C'mon, people! Step up!

“General, Count me in.”

*patiently waits for the proper reply...*

SumoLego

KungFuKenny said:

I can also chip in some nice sealed/retired sets for a fundraising venture

Sounds good!

KungFuKenny said:

And how much would he pony up to keep them from disappearing into the ether?

Apparently, some portion of a pony...

Brainslugged

I'd also be gutted if the forum went. I love reading the main website news and comments, before coming here for the 'real' discussion.

How about some sort of VIP tier of Brickset membership. We could be charged a small fee to have access to the forum and in return we'd get some exclusive Brickset stuff that (hopefully) wouldn't cost too much to produce. Like a minifig or other printed items.

I'd really miss the feeling of community and kindred spirits if the forum went.

Switchfoot55

Well, using my latest calculations and market demands, ~32.9k likes is the equivalent to roughly 95% of a pony.  

Joking aside, and not that it fully matters in the grand conversation of this thread, but it is members like @SumoLego, @stlux, @snowhitie, @CCC, @Paperballpark, and so many others (not to mention all of the WV fanatics out there) that have truly helped grow my interest in and passion for LEGO. I've learned a tremendous amount from the collective forum!

BUT, I recognize that the financial impact to one can't/shouldn't be justified by the warm fuzzy feelings of others. 

I hope there can be a great outcome of this conversation that benefits all involved. It sounds like some great suggestions by others above. I'm confident things will live on!

Gremer

I don't really pop in much anymore, I usually just go to Eurobricks and read. I'm not much of one for talking, and EB generally gets leaked information first and has a larger population.

That being said, I certainly wouldn't mind ads. Or, what about moving to a free forum site, like freeforums or proboards? I've been on a few of those and in general I find them to be fairly good.

oldtodd33

I would be willing to pay the $40 a year to keep the forum going. This is the only social website I visit and is well worth the cost. 

brickmatt

I don't post often, but read daily; I didn't have a chance to comment earlier, but like others I enjoy the community and would miss it if it left. I was planning on mentioning the tiered subscription idea as well, with a basic subscription to read/post ad-free; for higher tiers, perhaps there are some experienced designers and/or builders in the community who would be willing to offer monthly Q&A sessions, building tips, instructions for mini models, etc. Other ideas for behind-the-paywall perks would be potentially exclusive contests besides the ones on the main page, perhaps a weekly podcast, or possibly an exclusive piece of branded merchandise for subscribers who pay for a year.

I'd certainly be willing to pay for the forum even without extra perks; I feel like some of the advanced features on the main site could also go behind a paywall. For example, you could read and comment on the news, browse the database, and enter a collection up to a certain size for free, but with ads. There could be again, an option for a basic no-ads plan, with the next tier up offering access to the Advanced Collection Manager, unlimited collection size, and the archives of other materials such as catalogs. Those are probably used more by the dedicated AFOLS who'd be willing to pay for them anyway.

It's a big commitment so I understand if you end up letting it go, but I'd certainly be willing to become a subscriber if you want to go that route.

jmeninno

Ok...so...this was an unexpected topic to come across...especially from finding it via the 2019 Brickset Secret Santa thread!

I've only been on here for a few years (maybe 4 or 5, I'm too lazy to look), but I check this forum MULTIPLE times a day.  I get my news, my leaks, my sales, my ideas, and my giggles from this forum.  This forum is as much a part of my hobby that is LEGO as the actual bricks themselves.

I think the question is NOT do we need to keep this forum, but how do we ensure it never shuts down!?!?

Happy to participate in fundraisers, raffles, some sort of a subscription based service, etc!

Bosstone100

I'm good with a yearly subscription. This site helped get me out off my dark ages in 2011. I visit here whenever I can and if I break that $40 by the numbers of hours I'm reading posts, it's a friggin steal.