Mongo's questions about the future of Planet

[juventus]

I really don´t understand what your questions are Mongo. Can you make it simple. Cause I feel that your question is: Is Jools earning money on this site by advertisers, sponsors and donation? Cause if that is the question, just say it.

And what’s wrong if Jools earns some money threw this site? This site is awesome and used by people all over the world. We should all pay a little sum just to show how grateful we are for it.

That said, I don´t think he really earns money on it if you think of all the ours he has putt inn to it.

And is it a business? Do you pay to use this site? Do you feel the obligation to click on the adds? No. This page is a page of information. Not a store. So the question to you is what do you mean with is it a business?

[Jools]

There are many web sites around, some have come and gone, and one has been incorporated into this site. Gone plecofanatics and incorporated zebrapleco.

Dave,

Plecofanatics, like many other great sites over the years disappeared because the determination to make it run also evaporated. Hosting costs are just one factor. Even the "out-of-the-box" forum sites take time to run (well).

Interesting use of the word incorporated re zebrapleco.com. While I now run it, it's more like another part of the family of sites I run and I've deliberately kept a "hands off" approach so that it can keep its own character and style. At the point I stepped in, it was going the way of plecofanatics and was already blacklisted on several security sites. It's a nice little community and I wanted to continue it.

Websites are like red-tailed catfishes, a lot of people get involved with them without thinking about the shape of their world five years or more hence. They think that the £30 fish they bought has consumed £3000 of light, heat and food and so that red tail is now worth £3030. Not so I am sure you'd agree. Free to a good home is seen in these cases.

I think the fact that Planet is run like a business is a good thing because it means it will be around for longer than most sites and will evolve with whatever's next.

The question really is this a business?

I don't think so if I understand what you mean by business. That is, something invested in to make profit. PlanetCatfish is a labour of love, if it were a business in the profit making sense, then it would be a pretty poor one!

What makes a site is the members, the numbers and the contributions they make, whether it be pictures or posts.

Really? That's a big part of the community aspect of a site (in Planet's case, the forum), but I think the wider user experience and infrastructure is also important. The bigger the site, the more that costs (me). And that's not just hosting, if I was paid £1 an hour for the time I spent on this site...

It was not me who raised business models here.

Yes, but it was you who took that discussion about fish store business models and made it about Planet apparently just because I am the same person that has a business model and technical platform for the former and that I run the latter. If I go and broker a deal with some corporation around their franchised online offering, it doesn't mean that Planet is affected.

In fact, in all truth, it probably means improvements for Planet. This is such a negative discussion, I think Planet (and thus its users) could massively benefit if the other thing took off.

I also appreciate everything has a value. But earlier posts made me think, while some people get recognition for posts, and perhaps there is some sponsorship, is this really a business in the making?

Yes, but value can mean sentimental value, financial value and other things. You may be confusing them.

Even if Planet was sold, you automatically see that as a bad thing? Maybe someone could run it much better than me?

In summary, sorry, but I just don't know how to be clearer than say Planet isn't for profit and that I never have had the intention of building it to become a business for sale. Offer me a daft amount of money for it and it's yours, but I really am rather attached to it!

A bit of clarity please for the members who contribute for nothing.

I hope I have been clear. I hope also those members are happy with the questions their spokesperson is asking! I mean that gently, but how do you know you are representative of the members that contribute to the site?

Our TOS has been the same since we went interactive in 2003.

If someone really doesn't want to contribute because at some potential point in the future I, or my heirs, may sell the site then please don't contribute.

who contribute for nothing.

I am not sure "for nothing" is true. Did they not receive a service? Kudos? Info? Business opportunity? Contacts? Entertainment? Web traffic? Networking? Lifelong friendship? And what did they pay for that? Zilch.

Would any other member who has contributed to the site to comment on whether you share Dave's concerns? Please, speak up.

Jools
Subnote: It's taken me 46 minutes to write this post - which I think I had to write. Would have been nicer to have been able to use the time to add the pic of that new Panaque from western Brazil...