An excellent idea

I have a great idea, not great for me but for most people on this site. It's more than just an idea, it's a vision, an insight. It came to me out of nothing, it was suddenly in my head and I can still feel the positive energy surrounding it, I can feel that it truly is a great idea with great potential. It goes something like this:

Why not make avatars and other stuff on your profile free for all members again? Why not change it back to how it used to be? Custom avatars shouldnt be exclusive for a small elite but available for everyone, custom avatars give the site a better look and feel than the standard ones provided by the site which are in the majority right now. It isn't something you should have to pay for, it isn't something that should be exclusive that's just silly. Using them like this in order to get money is unethical I think, it is not correct, it is wrong. I personally believe that becoming a contributing member should be about wanting to support the site out of appreciation and respect, and not about buying some cool extra options that should be free really.

The reasons for actually changing this back are very convincing I'd say, more convincing and much more positive than the reasons to go on with it. Why not just make that stuff free for everyone again like it has always been? Why not just do that? Think about it, is this really the right way to do it?

That's a worthy idea, Lars.

Wow! It really is an excellent idea.

Indeed. In that other thread you told me how confusing was that Lily and I share the same avatar. I totally agree with you but I have gone through some of the avatars that are disposable for non contributing members and now I'm quite bored to change it. I would gladly do it if I could customize it since I really don't like the avatars that are pre-selected right now (including the one I have).

Hey, super idea, Lars! Let's just let Paulo pay for it!

That's how I've always felt. I've been on numerous other forums and this is the only one that has these kinds of restrictions. Honestly, it's part of the reason I don't visit or post as much as I used to.

You aren't taking the piss out of this more than reasonable idea, are you? Paulo doesn't have to pay for anything, how much money would this really earn him? I don't think it will make a huge difference in the end really but either way fact remains that this is a wrong way to get people to pay, people shouldn't be paying for this in the first place. They shouldn't want to become contributing members just for these options. Giving contributing members extra things like more PM storage and the invisibillity option seems reasonable but the avatar and the custom status should be for everyone and not a small elite, they don't work well in that context.

It's simply more fun for the entire board when most members have a custom avatar, right now most people have the standard avatars to choose from and they are boring and less personal really. Yet most members are forced to choose one of them. Custom avatars give people more opportunity to express themselves and that makes the board more fun in the end I think, while the majority of the members using standard avatars has a bad influence on the entire forum because they are boring. I'm only asking Paulo to consider this idea of mine, to think about what would really be the best thing to do and why.

I agree with you, but let me say that I'm a Contributing Member not for having a different avatar or other extra options.

They shouldn't be paid for that would be silly. I'm not doing this for myself btw, I already have the shite as you can see.

Well I like being elite I think that non-contributing members shouldnt be allowed to use smilies.

BWA HA HA HA HA

Avoiding contributing member elitism is another great reason to change it back.

Come to think of it, back when I joined da site we didn't even have avatars. Or contributing members.

I know nothing about running a website, but I'm sure Paulo is paying for this out of his own pocket. Yes, he obviously gets some advertising revenue, but I can't believe he's actually making a profit, as you've implied.

It would be wonderful indeed if we could go back to the avatar thing the way it was. Paulo said himself the reason he was dropping that feature was because of the expenses incurred which he couldn't afford. I certainly can't blame him for wanting some help with those expenses.

This is merely a suggestion, if the finances don't allow it then too bad. I am only asking Paulo to consider it which I think is worth it. If it turns out he can't do it then too bad, at least I tried. It's a worth a try at least.

Not having shot is always miss, or something like that.