Jeff How do you pay for all this?
Well, if you add the ads, coasterbuzz club, and the T-shirts(not sure how much the $$ from those lasted), then that could end up as quite a bit.
doesnt matter to me where he gets the money, im just thankful that he can keep it running.
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"Cornwallis, swim for your life or you're gonna get caught in the whirlpool."
I have ridden the future, and it's name is......X!
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LocoBazooka--Sevendust, Nonpoint, Stereo Vent, Mushroomhead
Korn Tour (With no name)--Korn, Puddle of Mudd, Deadsy
I'm almost breaking even, but this doesn't count the money I spent more than a year ago on hardware and software. That part is still on the company credit card.
The major expense is the T-1 ($1200/month), and POP Forums makes up a third of that, ads another third, and on good months, the rest is made up by club memberships.
If you enjoy the site, want a reprieve from ads and appreciate how much faster it is compared to most other sites, your club membership is appreciated.
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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
"There's nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, when it's all in your mind. You gotta let go." - Ghetto, Supreme Beings of Leisure
Something that has always perplexed me about this website is that the Webmaster/Administrator can humbly ask people to pay $20.00 to join up, yet have the gaul to make comments like "nobody gets to be a bigger jerk on this site than me" on an all-too-frequent basis.
Am I the only one who thinks that there's something wrong here? This just doesn't sound like good business sense to me. If you want to make money, Jeff, a little decorum might be in order. I can tell you one thing - it'd be a cold day in hell before I'd give you twenty bucks.
My suggestion: If you're into public humiliation, and you like paying for it, there's probably better avenues to explore than a rollercoaster website.
I wouldn't be so sure that the goal of this site is to make money.
If net software development is part of what makes Jeff tick, this is a perfect place to run software through it's paces. Sure the big fish sites get more hits and run big dollar software, but the little guy seems to be the prime target for software like this.
For the access, I think my $20 was a bargain. Pony up guys, mow a couple yards, save the duckets and send it in.
It's never too soon to learn that the best things in life are never really "free".
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Okay, I guess I post too often to be a lurker now.
ophthodoc said:
Something that has always perplexed me about this website is that the Webmaster/Administrator can humbly ask people to pay $20.00 to join up, yet have the gaul to make comments like "nobody gets to be a bigger jerk on this site than me" on an all-too-frequent basis.
I personally, have no problem with him saying that. I only wrote a check for $20 for one year. As Jeff stated above, he writes a check for $1,200 PER MONTH. So as a ratio, that's about 720:1...and believe me Jeff's "jerkiness" does not approach that high of a level. ;)
Besides, If you don't act like a jerk, Jeff won't act like one in response...I have been here for almost a year and a half and Jeff has not yet acted like a jerk to me once! ;)
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Le roi est mort. Vive le roi.
Thanks Great America!
*** This post was edited by redman822 on 10/3/2002. ***
Actually, Jeff's "jerkiness" alone is worth $20. The coaster stuff all icing.
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I started out with nothing and still have most of it left.
Really I think paying the $20 just to watch "nobody gets to be a bigger jerk on this site than me" Jeff is worth it! I think it is great that he isnt afraid to say what he thinks on His site! He doesnt tip toe around people "just to make them happy". (Which is why I like to keep my mouth shut most of the time so I dont say something stupid and get the "jerkness" taken out on me!)
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We have waited all through the years for the 6 jokers cards...Carnival of Carnage, the Ringmaster, the Riddlebox, the Great Milenko, the Amazing Jeckel Brothers and now the 6th and Final card...the Wraith. What will happen now?
Whatever floats your boat, guys, but I'm never in favor of pandering to some guy's ego. If you enjoy paying to see someone's head swell, then that's your business. Far be it from me to tell you how to spend your own money. If Jeff gets your rocks off, good for you!
And CoasterDad64, I'm not complaining about twenty dollars, that's beside the point. Twenty dollars would be the least of my worries.
*** This post was edited by ophthodoc on 10/3/2002. ***
The 20 bucks is NOT the issue, I agree. I've already gotten WELL over 20 bucks worth out of the membership regardless of "ad-free" or not. But there are some out there who have been turned off by Jeff's comments along the way.
That's why I've never understood why Jeff doesn't use the good cop/bad cop approach to things. Use his own name for business issues, overall board management,and for general discussion. THEN, have an alternate phantom "moderator" who can handle all the sticky icky discussions, and for thread closing/deleting with "jerky" comments. He could be a jerk using this name while still portraying what IS his normal self with his real name. I think this method would still keep the noise down, but might present himself in a better light which could get the swing vote from people like opthodoc who like the site, MIGHT like to join, but have been offended at some point or another.
Just my opinion, of course. I've never been insulted or offended even though I've disagreed with some things he's done. I realize this is, after all, just for my amusement.
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Getting a B&M will always beat out having to take a BM.
You think it's ego driven? Either you have a poor sense of humor or you just don't get it. I'm not here to make money or satisfy my need to feel important (real life satisfies those needs just fine, thank you), I'm here to enjoy myself. Redman is right... if you don't act like a moron there is no problem. I'd appreciate it if you kept your judgement to yourself... you don't know jack about me.
I think CoasterDad's comments kind of get at the meat of it, not just because of what he said, but because he's a guy I've been in some pretty heated discussions with. Along with several out-spoken members of the site, he illustrates that you can disagree all you want, just don't be stupid. Stupid people are the bane of my existance.
I don't need CoasterBuzz to feel special... I get that every day from real humans like my wife, my volleyball kids, my co-workers and my close friends (and even my cats, which I theorize are really reincarnated humans).
Some days I'd feel better about not having CoasterBuzz at all. It can be a burden at times. But hey, like someone above said, something has to be a test bed for software I write.
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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com
"There's nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, when it's all in your mind. You gotta let go." - Ghetto, Supreme Beings of Leisure
ophthodoc said:
that the Webmaster/Administrator can humbly ask people to pay $20.00 to join up, yet have the gaul to make comments like "nobody gets to be a bigger jerk on this site than me"......
Since when was Jeff humble about asking for $20? I sure thought the first E-Mail I got about the Club read, "Gimme twenty bucks, ya Jackass! Ya freakin' waste of space and bandwidth!"
And how do you have 'gaul' exactly? I want some gaul too....I think.
My suggestion: If you're into public humiliation, and you like paying for it, there's probably better avenues to explore than a rollercoaster website.
Public humiliation? Oh gimme a break. Only in the minds of the thin-skinned, slightly dim and.....struggling not to use the Theory of Nobody....not gonna say it or post a link....there. Whew.
For crying out loud, everybody gets laughed at here. People have plenty of fun laughing at themselves and each other. If you think Jeff can't take a joke, guess again. And again. And that's just off the top of my head.
If $20 would buy people a personality, a sense of humor and fix their low self-esteem, I'd e-mail some folks a map to the nearest store.
-'Playa
(who just read that Jeff's CATS make him feel special. Okayyyyyyyy.........)
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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.
*** This post was edited by CoastaPlaya on 10/3/2002. ***
As I've expressed many times, I'm a member of the somethingawful.com forums. Forums that have in the past year become pay-to-read. $9.95 one time gets you into the forums. But it's no guarantee on keeping you there. You see, Lowtax, the administrator and owner of the site, has some great rules that he wrote up. I'm going to link to them, but beware on clicking the link, it contains a little bit of profanity, so if you object to that, DO NOT CLICK.
http://www.somethingawful.com/forumrules
Read those, then come back here and I dare you to complain about Jeff's policies in the least bit. The funny thing is, the SA forums are at 8,000 members and growing. Even with $9.95 membership fee, and even with rules like that. People there actually BELIEVE it's a site owner/admin's right to do what they want, as nobody is MAKING them look at the site. And the forums are still my favorite on the Internet, hands down.
Makes you think.
So next time you want to smack and mash the keyboard in such a way to put down the site OWNER, without whom you wouldn't even BE HERE, do us a favor and smack yourself in the head instead.
-Natalie
*** This post was edited by Natalie on 10/3/2002. ***
I too am a member of the amazing Something Awful forums, and to elaborate on what Natalie said I'll add in my thoughts.
It's all about knowing when to keep your mouth shut. They actually suggest over there that you lurk and not post until you feel like you can fit into the discussion. There's that factor of knowing that if you say something stupid, the site's admin can make your $9.95 go bye bye anytime. Some people here just don't get how leinent Jeff's rules really are.
I just wish people could quit their nonsense whining and enjoy the site for what it is.
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Jeff Tobe
tobejeff@pilot.msu.edu
I was just about to post a response using the word 'tingly'....and then Mantomatic showed up. Never mind :P
Awww isn't that just soooo cyuuute though? Can't you see them in their apartment, holding hands as they sit in front of their PC....
"Okay--you post first, SnoogleBear, while I massage your toes and..."
"Then yewww can post, SnuggleWuggles, while I massage your back and neck!"
And then the giggling and the kissy-face noises start and you don't quite know whether to pinch everybody's cheeks or projectile vomit.
-'Playa
(using the aforementioned 'sense of humor', for those playing along at home)
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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.
*** This post was edited by CoastaPlaya on 10/3/2002. ***
Closed topic.
