www.CostaRicaTicas.com

See the VIP MEMBER INFORMATION ! link at the top of any CRT page.

An "upgrade" from regular member to lifetime member is $99.

A lifetime for a new member is $138.

[/quote]

This last comment by Loco Mike is emblematic of the main reason why this board now sucks! It used to be a bunch of guys having fun and, yes, giving each other shit, but in a playful, light hearted manner. Part of the reason is what so many people knew each other; while that exists to some extent, it has now changed. Many of us have moved on to new places, and only come to back CR once in a while. So, keep calling people names and not contribute anything useful- that is "smart" behavior.[/quote]

Sorry but your memory might be failing you. Yes, historically, there was more bantering going on in the past but there were also many more post wars and head butting contest back in the day. Almost everything that could be argued about has been argued about at one time or another on this site.

When you quote somebody you may want to put the quote in context before calling someone out. Buying a membership every year for four straight years was a dumb move on his and others part. If they would have just let loose of another $60 at one point it would have been done with forever. In his case it was cheap and stupid. After one year, of being a paid member and posting regularly on this website, you should be able to determine if you like the site or not.

Complaining about not receiving something for nothing , while acknowledging you not longer support any of the sponsors because you no longer go to the CR, is also sort of lame. Everyone who is on this website more than a couple of years obviously likes the information and entertainment provided by it or they wouldn't be here. The only way for this website to exist is for people to buy memberships and for sponsors to buy ads. The members patronize the sponsors and it all works out.

Finally, at the risk of being redundant, the memberships pay for themselves if you use the discounts the sponsors offer. I don't feel like I am out any money for joining CRT as my membership fee has been reimbursed to me many times over in the form of discounts. If you are a newbie and you go to CR once or more per year, buy a membership and make use of the discounts made available to you, then your membership will pay for itself. Joining CRT is a good deal !

Estabam is not a cheap guy..... he has paid by the year a few times

he did a great trip report about ... Mde ... via FB etc

This is the thanks..... lets work it out Admins... Tomas would know what to say

+1
There are some non-paying members who were VIP in the past who rarely, if ever, come to CR now. The discounts no longer have value for them. They continue to make extremely useful, reliable and valuable contributions to the international threads. I'm thinking of guys like Blue Devil, who now lives in Colombia. Should they have to pay to continue to share information that is of immense help to others when they receive nothing in return? Their contributions will be lost under the new arrangement.

And as far as the international section being an "add-on" to a CR board, it was put in place less than six months after the board was launched when there were maybe 500 members and fewer than 100 who posted. Pretty much been on the landscape from the get go.

_________________
It's faster horses, younger women, older whiskey, and more money--Tom T. Hall
No man is a failure who is enjoying life--William Faulkner

They do receive something in return, a place to post, share and receive information. Yes they should have to pay. There is more to this website than just getting discounts. The past VIP's had the option to purchase a lifetime membership or successive yearly memberships. They thought they would save some $$$ and it didn't work for them. None of these long time posters are banned they just need to pony up some $$$ and keep on posting.

...And it would be damn fine if these guys shared personal reminiscences and past history (that they can legally talk about) with us. The "old days" aren't coming back--no way; times and tides have changed--but history does have meaning. In Real Estate it's location; in history, it's context. And not some musty stuff either...

_________________
"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED

I think if you read the posts on transportation by Srlim, you would pick up some money saving tips and some great overall knowledge about flying as well as the aviation industry - as interesting and as valuable as his posts can be........if he is going to post, he still should pay. For that matter some of my posts are really funny and I feel I add to the site - but should I get a free ride - hell no.

(We had for many years a posted, since passed, with the highest post count - Irish Drifter - he was superb on knowledge, and would gladly share it - yup, he paid.

You post:

Their contributions will be lost under the new arrangement.

Why - we both know the answer to how to prevent that from happening - I wonder how cheap and entitled some guys are to bitch over the cost of VIP or Lifetime VIP membership - if these guys were VIP's before, for $100 they could upgrade to lifetime - even if its been a few years, I'd bet the Admins would welcome them.

BUT STOP MAKING EXCUSES FOR BAD BEHAVIOR, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE SOLUTION IS SO APARANT AND SO INEXPENSIVE

This is a board for Costa Rica - if these guys want to post elsewhere (ISG for example) fine - no problem.

And were I running the board, frankly its not in the interest of my advertisers - most of whom have business in Costa Rica - to promote other destinations - especially galling that most of those who do are non paid members - just making the point.

Also - interesting to note - Blue Devil has been silent in all these threads - maybe he realizes you can't defend the indefensible

You also lament 2 posters - nature - and message boards - hate a vacuum - I suspect others will take their place, I assure you

On a personal note, the "discounts" were never the trigger for me - I just think if you are going to get value - and you can define value any way you wish - from something, you should expect to pay - you guys make it sound like we are talking a lot of money - its really not.

Any day(s) in the past can be "the old days", if I choose to remember them fondly, even yesterday.

IMO, going back to "the old days" is just my ego wanting to remember something I have created as pleasurable in my memory . If I am living, and creating my desires in the present, I am busy making "the old days" now. All of my life has been full of "the old days". My intention is to create more with each day that I am allowed to walk this earth. I have been blessed in this life with much more than I deserve. For that I am thankful.

If I choose to live in the NOW, there is no need to try and remember "the old days" as more than they were, great times that can be re-created at any given moment I allow myself the space to create them.

If you see a fat, old man in the SL with a sh*t eating grin on his face, feel free to buy me a drink. Also, since my Spanish sucks, help me out with the ladies.

My intention with my upcoming trip to CR is to make more of "the old days". If you happen to be there, and choose to, hop on for the ride, it will be joyous.

Health & happiness to all..........

_________________
It's not the size of the wand that put the rabbit in the hat, it's the magic in it!!!

Yo fellow contributors:

As most know, many of the old guard (from circa 1990's) have left CRT. I seldom post anymore but now and then drop in to see what is happening. I guess that "musty" comment can include me although I take issue with it.

Urban Dictionary: Musty
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Musty
Urban Dictionary
To Must, To be musty; To emit a horrific odor. To smell extremely bad. To smell like armpits, boiled ass, chopped onions and fried corn simultaneously.

A number of us who have paid a number of times on the old site CRS and currently CRT as well as others....have posted hundreds and thousands of times. But, the luster has worn off and many of us seldom travel to CR. Our participation in Costa Rica began long before many of the current "new" members could even find CR on a world map. Some were not even born or were in diapers.

I have made friends on this site that I cherish very much. To me, the past chicas and travel in CR is forever embedded in my memory. The remaining living friends are ones that I enjoy today...not memories.

Yea, the term "musty" certainly fits the Circus persona if you ever read my post many years ago. I enjoyed writing stories and entertaining the members but most things come to an end. This old fart is no longer a paying member. I paid my dues over the years. But I encourage new members to join and support the site monetarily. Nothing is really free in this world. The internet does not send out welfare checks.

Best to you and family,
Circus

I'll have to state first and foremost that I am " on the fence " regarding most points in this thread. However, I completely support Estebanh in creating a valid thread about a perceived injustice on the part of the Administrators of the site. IMHO it is counter-productive and blatantly wrong for other posters to derail the thread with comments personal in nature as to Estebanh's perceived reasoning in creating the post in the first place.

Let's focus on the topic, and not the WHYs of the posts creation. Now, with that said, I'll make a few unimportant comments based upon my own experiences with CRT.

1. if CRT had been a PAY-ONLY site, I would not have payed for it, bothered to read it, and may not have ever traveled to CR (and it should be stated - would not have patronized any of the sponsors).

2. if the search system worked better, I would not have asked so many questions, gotten bit (or bitten back) so many times, and in general, prolly wouldn't have had as much fun posting.

3. there is much out-dated information that was once the hallmark of CRT. Many original posters no longer are here (or there) and it is up to the new(er) members to add the corrections in. However, I have many board-friends that refuse to post for their own reasons.

4. the forum style is outdated, and the admins need to be faster at addressing issues and complaints.

5. I chose to pay annually (rather than lifetime) for 2 reasons: when I leave the board my password will expire (thus keeping someone else from activating my account), and more importantly, the site requires a constant revenue stream to survive, and I am happy to pay an annual fee if it helps in some small way to maintain the longevity of the site.

Again, get off Estebanh's back about his complaints. And also remember, it's not our site. We pay to use it, but that's it. If I don't like the service, I simply don't pay for it.

_________________
bypassin' kinky, and usin' the whole chicken!!!

[quote="BashfulDwarf"

Again, get off Estebanh's back about his complaints. And also remember, it's not our site. We pay to use it, but that's it. If I don't like the service, I simply don't pay for it.[/quote]


And that's the point - he has over 1500 posts - and he does not.

No one - certainly not me - has suggested it become a pay only site - but if you are going to post - I think its reasonable that you support the site - I mean we are not talking huge money to do so - what $39 for a year and (because he was a former VIP - maybe $100 for lifetime - regardless, not big money at all).

Boil it all down, and that's my gripe - and then to complain about it, specifically about moving a forum to the VIP section - that's ballsy.

I do agree with you about the search function <so called> I've never found it particularly easy to use or very helpful.

As far as guys refusing to post - well, you get out of something what you put into it - if you don't post, don't bitch.

I'm so done with this and I did not post in answer to yours for hours - I just think the point(s) Estebahn makes are not defensible - and paint him as a cheapskate - if he had 30 posts, maybe not - but he is a regular poster.

Blah, blah, blah.

The title of the thread is "how to ruin an internet forum" and everyone including the OP has seemed to want to drive that concept into a battle about cost. I come here rarely now, although I used to be here all the time. The reasons tied to that were never about cost and I've been a lifetime member for about 10 years. The reason this forum went down the shitter is information and board culture, too much filter on the former and not enough on the latter. When long time member were leaving in droves it had nothing to do with the price. Most of them had paid the price and would happily have paid it again. I would repay the lifetime membership again, doubled, if I could get any content that was worth a pinch of shit. All of the vast quantites of content that wasn't just tied to a small handful of gulch venues disappeared, and the general atittude of the membership became us/them, with the camaraderie, helpfulness and bonhomie that had made this site so good becoming completely absent.

Stop arguing about the $40. Nobody who really cares about the site gives a shit about the $40, or the $100. They're gone because this has become a poorly run website full of assholes, if we're going to call a spade a spade, and new membership isn't fixing it because they adopt the existing vulture as their own, and that culture sucks.

I come back now and again out of a sense of nostalgia and because I met many great guys here, and made some lifetime friends here, so I'm tolerating the warts a bit more. If I was a newbie coming in here I can't think of any reason why I'd stay.

I would like to reply one last time. Since I wrote my original post, I have been accused of bad behavior and branded as "Stupid" and "Cheap". I may be dumb, but I am not stupid. I dont think I am cheap. I have paid VIP 3 or 4 years. I have said I would pay again if I visited CRT, but now I am a MDE man. You guys who advocate for a paid site are wrong when you think most of forums are paid. The VAST VAST majority of forums are free. This forum has always been free to use, with a VIP membership available for extra features until last year when the new owners took over. I don't believe this forum was originally conceived as business enterprise, more of an enthusiast's endeavor to help out guys in the hobby. The fact that it became a source of revenue for the original owners was an added bonus and I am happy it became such.

Many guys have reached out to me. There are quite a few guys like me, who dont visit CR now, but have made friends over the years. I started reading the Information Around the World Section because I wanted to try something new. I will return to CR someday, but I am a Colombia lover now. I wrote a trip report in July and had over 2000 views. I have helped many guys on their first trip to MDE. One friend of mine who mine just bought a condo in MDE. One man from Italy read my report and made his first trip to MDE last month. I have followed other writers and now have Phillipines, Thailand and Argentina on my radar. This is the result of the free flow of information that has been available on this site, from VIP and non VIP's. No other Internet forum serves this community like CRT.

The bottom line is that the Trip Reports Around the World section, was moved to the VIP area where it would die. They dont want you wandering away from Costa Rica. They want your dollars to stay right where they are. CRT is now just an advertising arm of CR business. The "Useful Idiots" and Admin shills want to shut me up.

@SLRM



Up until last month, Other International Info was an integral part of the forum, as originally designed by the founders of CRT. Now, Barry B, who runs Poblado (MDE) Rentals, is not allowed to advertise any more. That section was probably the most active on the site, which pissed off the powers that be.


I feel like this site, which was once just a "forum", with members/brethren exchanging ideas, to a focused marketing site, selling hotel rooms, whores(metaphorically) and liquor. You guys are not "members" any more, you are customers.

More pages of speculation and still no comment from the Admins?
Well looks like one admin has changed his signature line which pretty much nails Estabanh's theory-

Quote:

Costa Rica, the Number ONE party destination in Latin America!

WooHoo CR rocks all other countries suck!!