Free Memberships are Available

[Karen]

Kerry Cassidy has been most generous in extending free memberships to those who are low income and would like to participate in forum discussion. Also people who might fall into the researcher, witness or whistleblower category may ask for a free pass.
Send your request to karen@projectavalon.net. One or two sentences is all I need.
Please be sure to include your forum user name.
If you have not yet registered with a user name please do so before making your request.
If you get a bounce-back, use this address: project-avalon@yahoogroups.com

I'll also use this space to remind people that while the $5/month membership is preferred there is also $1/mo or $12 per year subscription available.

Payment via PayPal (easiest way to pay)
http://www.projectavalon.net/forum/payments.php

Credit Card Subscription and Camelot Tee-shirts
Buy a $12/yr subscription for a friend.
http://www.projectavalon.net/zc/

If you would like to mail-in a subscription payment, donation or
buy blocks of $12/yr gift subscriptions.
http://www.projectavalon.net/Avalon_subs_mail_form.pdf

And most importantly for your understanding:
Why the forum was planned for a subscription base from the beginning:
http://www.projectavalon.net/forum/s...ead.php?t=7775

Karen

[Connecting with Sauce]

Karen,

It is unfortunate that this has got to this stage with Avalon, I come here regularly but for me it is nowhere near the frequency in which I did when the site first started because the quality of posts and information has dropped since the decision to go paid membership and the issues that that brought. It was discussed to death at the time and a decision was made against a lot of options discussed so I don't want to bring that up now.

A short while ago I looked at the maximum online figures and it had a massive number most online late last year before this event above occurred (it was a few 1000's). I've just gone and taken a look and it now says "Most users ever online was 248, Yesterday at 11:01 PM."

What is going on? I came to this site to find the truth and piece together pieces of truthes and connect dots...

I'm not trying to point fingers with this post I'm just being honest with my observations of the happenings with Avalon and wondering if/when a direction change will happen to address the dwindling numbers. 248 people doesn't even seem to be getting close to a whole monkey let alone 99 monkeys...

[Luminari]

Yeah totally,

There's less than 120 people here now including the lurkers that is an alltime low.
Someone seems to have tweaked the forum as well... it now says my age under my avatar on every one of my posts which I swear was not there before.

I just talked to a new 'member' who is not even a member, she can't post but it says 'member' on her profile which I also found strange.

Its been 16hours since the Nexus Meditation and not one participant has reported back.....?

[Karen]

Originally Posted by Connecting with Sauce

A short while ago I looked at the maximum online figures and it had a massive number most online late last year before this event above occurred (it was a few 1000's). I've just gone and taken a look and it now says "Most users ever online was 248, Yesterday at 11:01 PM."

What is going on? I came to this site to find the truth and piece together pieces of truthes and connect dots...

Well, we had two Admin guys, Colin and Gareth. Gareth was busy for some time with a move and a new job. So Colin was handling almost everything.

Then a few days ago or week, whatever, since Colin quit, Gareth has been taking charge of the innards of the forum and changing a few things. I asked him about that change to "most users ever online" and it wasn't anything done on purpose.

[Anchor]

Originally Posted by Connecting with Sauce

What is going on? I came to this site to find the truth and piece together pieces of truthes and connect dots...

Statistics. 48% of them are made up on the spot!

Please don't overlook that there is a lot of material on this site already, over 10,000 threads and 120k posts, also there are still hundreds of active users - don't let the fact that they don't all sign on every day put you off

Perhaps people don't want to repeat themselves.

It is natural for current events to be the main reason new threads get started, but the non-temporal dependent timeless stuff - once written - could simply be read and often does not need a lot of discussion.

A..

[Karen]

Originally Posted by karen

well, we had two admin guys, colin and gareth. Gareth was busy for some time with a move and a new job. So colin was handling almost everything.

Then a few days ago or week, whatever, since colin quit, gareth has been taking charge of the innards of the forum and changing a few things. I asked him about that change to "most users ever online" and it wasn't anything done on purpose.

Oh gosh, I forgot the best news of all from Gareth - he is right now working on moving the forum to a different server where hopefully we won't get those times when the forum moves from page to page slower than a slug! Yippeeeeeeee!

[Karen]

Originally Posted by Connecting with Sauce

What is going on? I came to this site to find the truth and piece together pieces of truthes and connect dots...

I'm not trying to point fingers with this post I'm just being honest with my observations of the happenings with Avalon and wondering if/when a direction change will happen to address the dwindling numbers. 248 people doesn't even seem to be getting close to a whole monkey let alone 99 monkeys...

Connecting with Sauce,

Things are happening behind the scenes. We are looking at what has gone wrong, and what we might do better in the future. I assure you we are not trying some sneaky hidey things - but mistakes do happen, such as way back at the beginning threads were accidentally deleted, so we fixed that by getting rid of the one-step hard delete, so we always have a back-up to reinstall.

I have just tonight given out 6 free memberships and will surely see many more requests over the next few days and weeks. Every time I look at the "latest new member" report at the bottom left, I see someone new.

If you have any ideas for changes let us know. karen@projectavalon.net.

I will be going to some yahoo groups etc to let people know this forum is here. And Bill and Kerry have an audience in Project Camelot that continues to grow as people spread the word.

Hope that helps answer your questions.
Karen

[Karen]

Originally Posted by Luminari

Yeah totally,

There's less than 120 people here now including the lurkers that is an alltime low.
Someone seems to have tweaked the forum as well... it now says my age under my avatar on every one of my posts which I swear was not there before.

I just talked to a new 'member' who is not even a member, she can't post but it says 'member' on her profile which I also found strange.

Its been 16hours since the Nexus Meditation and not one participant has reported back.....?

Yes Luminari, Colin is gone and now Gareth has been tweaking things in the innards of the forum. At one point he changed the post times to say one hour ago or five days ago, etc. A couple of moderators gave him good reason to change it back to date and time.

I never noticed the age thing - you could check in your control panel where you could probably not show your age if you wanted it not to show. I'll probably send Gareth a note to see if he has an explanation - but I'm trying not to bug him too much.

I'm so excited - we are finally moving to a new server!

[Karen]

I just talked to a new 'member' who is not even a member, she can't post but it says 'member' on her profile which I also found strange.

OK, well the member thing is a two step deal. 1) You register and then you are designated as a member. 2) You pay or ask for a freebie and then you can post and you are still designated as a member.

We are working with what vBulletin is programmed to do and to change anything takes some heavy-duty programming skills and time and testing so as to not blow up the whole forum by mistake. Believe me I've had some ideas about some changes that would be nice, but vBulletin is what it is.

[Karen]

And we have 3 more members that will be able to post for a total of 9 new. I will arrange for these in the morrow. Good night everyone!

Karen

[Luminari]

Originally Posted by Karen

Yes Luminari, Colin is gone and now Gareth has been tweaking things in the innards of the forum. At one point he changed the post times it to say one hour ago or five days ago, etc. A couple of moderators gave him good reason to change it back to date and time.

I never noticed the age thing - you could check in your control panel where you could probably not show your age if you wanted it not to show. I'll probably send Gareth a note to see if he has an explanation - but I'm trying not to bug him too much.

I'm so excited - we are finally moving to a new server!

Yes I noticed the post times change.. I'm glad you guys switched it back.

I don't mind the age thing.. I'm not ashamed to be one of the younger ones, 28 is respectable enough.
Hey, it might even help me meet a nice girl..


New server

woot!

[Seashore]

Originally Posted by Karen

Then a few days ago or week, whatever, since Colin quit, Gareth has been taking charge of the innards of the forum and changing a few things.

I think it would be nice if changes were announced to us at the time they take place...

[Connecting with Sauce]

Originally Posted by Karen

Connecting with Sauce,

If you have any ideas for changes let us know. karen@projectavalon.net.

Karen

Hi Karen,

I knew this was debated quiet at length at the same time of going to a subscription in November last year... So I did a search and here are some of the threads which came up with subscription in the search engine.

http://projectavalon.net/forum/showt...t=subscription

http://projectavalon.net/forum/showt...t=subscription

http://projectavalon.net/forum/showt...t=subscription

http://projectavalon.net/forum/showt...t=subscription

http://projectavalon.net/forum/showt...t=subscription

For me I use conscious media network and World Puja Network and these have free archieves and I feel that mild ethical advertising and a combo of paid for latest interviews is a way to go. This was what I said at the time when we had a real buzz on the forum. It also limits people posting who are unable to use a credit card etc, most people will just go else where rather than 'ask' for a freebee.

I feel most peoples view was a forum should not be paid for because relative to how many people use it they should be free and that the funding should have come from another source to keep the posting alive and free.

I had no issue in paying for Camelot in some way but not Avalon. My view still stands.

[waitinginthewings]

Happy Mother's day to all the women who are mothers.

I just wanted to say that the forum fee is very, very, moderate, much less than a bottle of wine, or cigerattes. $5/month or $60/yr. is so cheap, I don't know why people are complaining about this. Look at all the info. they get from this forum, from people posting. I am on a very low budget, & I paid the fee without question. I choose to not waste my money on other usless things, so that I can afford things like this forum. People need to decide what their priorities are imho.

As for the numbers dwindling, I too have noticed it, particularly over this last week. I think there are a few reasons for this 1) the hype of the swine flu is over & people are taking a breather and refocusing on their personal lives 2) those that have left, were probably ready to move on to other things anyway, no matter what was happening here....that does happen on forums. 3) there are many changes going on globally, individually, & energetically that are affecting everything, moving people around, dissolving relationships, marriages, instituions, businesses, etc. Some of these effects are both positive and negative and will challenge us to examine more closely what we are doing and why & if it serves us or not. It asks us to go deeper within ourselves to find out where we fit in now.

I believe this forum will be just find, new members will come forward now, who may have felt shy or intimitaded before, or those who are now ready to take the plunge. All is well.

[Karen]

Originally Posted by Connecting with Sauce

Hi Karen,
I knew this was debated quiet at length at the same time of going to a subscription in November last year... So I did a search and here are some of the threads which came up with subscription in the search engine.
http://projectavalon.net/forum/showt...t=subscription
http://projectavalon.net/forum/showt...t=subscription
http://projectavalon.net/forum/showt...t=subscriptionhttp://projectavalon.net/forum/showt...t=subscription
http://projectavalon.net/forum/showt...t=subscription
For me I use conscious media network and World Puja Network and these have free archieves and I feel that mild ethical advertising and a combo of paid for latest interviews is a way to go. This was what I said at the time when we had a real buzz on the forum. It also limits people posting who are unable to use a credit card etc, most people will just go else where rather than 'ask' for a freebee.
I feel most peoples view was a forum should not be paid for because relative to how many people use it they should be free and that the funding should have come from another source to keep the posting alive and free.
I had no issue in paying for Camelot in some way but not Avalon. My view still stands.

Ah yes, the great subscription fee discussions. I came into the moderating team too late to have much influence over that. I studied what people were saying and made a last ditch effort to see if proper and full out fund-raising, rather than a passive donation button could help the financial picture enough to postpone or stop the subscription fee. But I got myself into some hot water over that one. So I did the next best thing I could and arranged for the freebies and to be the one to organize and follow through to make them happen. Nothing I can do about the ones who don't want to ask.

It is on the table for more discussion as soon as Bill Ryan can free up a time to meet with us, but Project Camelot has taken some turns behind the scenes that take up a great amount of his time and energy - and some of them quite urgent.

I do like the comments from the ones that enjoy the energy of those who stay and pay. This has been my most favorite time on the forum - great bunch of people here. Some have characterized it as "peaceful."

I'll put in my buck twenty though to return the forum to non-pay and switch to fund-raising. If you read Kerry and Bill's responses (one link in my first post) on the subject, they will not do advertising - they looked at all the suggestions such as the Conscious Media model but stayed the course on a subscription fee.

In a one on one conversation with Kerry she pointed out several information sources where she pays the monthly fee - Coast to Coast, Rense, etc. At least with Project Avalon and Camelot you can access all the information for free and that is how she wants to keep it - no paying to get to ALL the info.

Karen

[Karen]

Originally Posted by seashore

I think it would be nice if changes were announced to us at the time they take place...

I'll make sure Gareth sees your comment. I think since he now is singlehandedly in charge of admin he was just making a few tweaks to his preferences for running a forum. It is a bit of effort to announce all these things in this volunteer position which he must balance with full-time work and family obligations. I am just so glad he is still with us and has told Bill and Kerry that he is in for the duration. He told me yesterday he was well on the way to having the forum loaded up on the new server.

[Starlah]

Originally Posted by Karen

I'll make sure Gareth sees your comment. I think since he now is singlehandedly in charge of admin he was just making a few tweaks to his preferences for running a forum. It is a bit of effort to announce all these things in this volunteer position which he must balance with full-time work and family obligations. I am just so glad he is still with us and has told Bill and Kerry that he is in for the duration. He told me yesterday he was well on the way to having the forum loaded up on the new server.

___________________________________________

I was wondering Karen how Gareth knows the age of individual users of the Forum...don't recall telling him or anyone else how old I am...my age is "moot" on this Forum...I like to think my age span stopped at age 45...I've been rolling head over heels ever since...
__________________________________________________ ____
It takes a Fool to know a Fool................................(anon)

[Anchor]

Starlah,

They only know what you tell them.

There is no magic involved - promise.

A..

[Karen]

Originally Posted by Starlah

I was wondering Karen how Gareth knows the age of individual users of the Forum...don't recall telling him or anyone else how old I am...my age is "moot" on this Forum...I like to think my age span stopped at age 45...I've been rolling head over heels ever since...

What anchor said and I just took a couple of minutes to check this out.
For anyone interested ...
Go to your Control Panel
and you can make changes here:
Edit Your Details (age, birthdate, location, etc.)
Profile Privacy
Edit Profile Picture

I decided to let my age show.

Scroll on down the page looking on the left side - you can edit all kinds of options.
I like the Minty or green forum skin, so much easier on the eyes, so I made that my default. You can control who sees your visitor messages and on and on.

I don't know if Gareth could make changes that caused the age to show up for Luminari - and Luminari is not sure whether their age was showing before or not. I just know Gareth had made a "global" change that effected everyone - when the date and time changed to how long ago a post was made - and he could have made other changes as well. I've never seen the innards of vBulletin. I didn't even know we had all those options we could control - like how many posts show up per page.

Anyone can PM any member of the forum if you have questions. I'm not going to pester Gareth right now - as he hasn't yet processed the freebies I sent him last night and today. I do have three more to process for a total of 14 so far. So I'm off to do that!

[Paramartasaya]

"Kerry Cassidy has been most generous in extending free memberships to those who are low income and would like to participate in forum discussion. Also people who might fall into the researcher, witness or whistleblower category may ask for a free pass.
Send your request to karen@projectavalon.net. One or two sentences is all I need.
Please be sure to include your forum user name.
If you get a bounce-back, use this address: projectavalon@yahoogroups.com"

Thanks Karen

I think your post should be always on top, or in another place where every body could see it easily.

[hobbit]

So!,
The magician has re-opened the doorway, thank you.
I have been quietly making tea in the shires , waiting until common sense prevailed.
I must first apologise to Karen for giving Her so much ear ache when the fee business was been introduced, it smacked of a secret society, or masonic lodge to a little hobbit like myself, and I would rather not play by the rules of the devil thank You.

Time always shows the wiser, and I hope wisdom has been gained ?
There's a big ugly dragon that needs slaying, it will kill all to have all the gold for itself, that dragon is the corperate system that feeds the pigs called MPs, they have had their noses caught well and truly in the trough of greed, they have been serving their masters, not ourselves, WE the people.
It is easy to be enticed by the dragon, they are often good looking and very persuasive, but they always are seeking gold.

I loved this site when it was vibrant and almost electric with energy, the dragon has burn't You somewhat, lets take it down?

Kevin

[Karen]

Originally Posted by Paramartasaya

"Kerry Cassidy has been most generous in extending free memberships to those who are low income and would like to participate in forum discussion. Also people who might fall into the researcher, witness or whistleblower category may ask for a free pass.
Send your request to karen@projectavalon.net. One or two sentences is all I need.
Please be sure to include your forum user name.
If you get a bounce-back, use this address: projectavalon@yahoogroups.com"

Thanks Karen

I think your post should be always on top, or in another place where every body could see it easily.

Oh right! I forgot to make it "sticky". {Adding to list of things to do.}

[Karen]

We have added 20 members to our free subscription list! Do not hesitate to ask if you cannot afford the membership or are in a country where you have difficulty getting a payment to Kerry. It was never her intent to exclude anyone for lack of ability to pay. See the first post in this thread for instructions.

Karen

[rhythm]

this is a nice gesture

thank you .....

[NeoEmc2]

Originally Posted by rhythm

this is a nice gesture

thank you .....

Very nice gesture indeed. Thank you Karen!