It is free..those advertisements cost you nothing. Nothing makes you click on them. Apparently there are a lot of people on there that don't click on them and follow up with their credit card. So it's still free to them.
There is nothing wrong with a club having something restricted to members only.. Oh yeah wait, those are called benefits!
I pay for the bandwidth over which those adverts are downloaded. Okay, I guess I put more value on my time spent scrolling past spamverts than you do.
As for "club" benefits, GS is not a club. It is a business, and Club may be part of the name they've adopted, but make no mistake, it is a business selling you a service. Nothing wrong with that either. These forums will be here only as long as it is good for business.
If you are paying for service that charges you for the bandwidth you use, then you can always elect in your browser settings to not show pictures, animations, play sounds, etc. There are options for that. Yes GS is a business. But what service am I receiving am I getting from it? I receive certain benefits if I choose to take advantage of them. But GS, provides me with no service.
Brian RVing Illustrated
2010 Keystone Sprinter Select 31BH
2001 Coleman Santa Fe
wbwood wrote: Yes GS is a business. But what service am I receiving am I getting from it? I receive certain benefits if I choose to take advantage of them. But GS, provides me with no service.
I don't know, you tell me. Why are you a member if you don't receive any service? Is it just because you want to be a member of an exclusive club?
As for me, I'm only a new member because of the magazine, which is a service, and Camping World discounts, also a service. I could care less about membership in a club.
I'm not meaning to dump on your exclusive forum idea. I have nothing against that idea. My prediction is that it would suffer from lack of activity.
rockhillmanor wrote: So you are saying that no one is allowed to post their experience good and/or bad with a specific company because you don't want to read it?
Posting real life experiences about any company is NOT bashing, it's stating what happened. And come on they 'added' this forum for Good Sam Club because the company wanted to hear and know where their short comings where, not to hear nothing but posts about how great they are.
Go to the Rallies forum and post and read there.
Quote: I for one do get tired of non members bashing the organization
and I am going to post it one more time......
Just because a forum member does not sport the GS logo on under their profile name does NOT mean they are not a member of Good Sam.Get the facts straight before you point fingers.
I do not have the Good Sam logo under my profile name and I AM a member of their services.
I did not say that. Did you read my post? I applauded Marcus for providing that outlet. I was merely suggesting an additional area for GS members. Of course there will be members who are not happy and they will post that. But no matter where you are on this forum, you will have non members posting and putting down something in a posting that has nothing to do with how much they dislike GS. Read just about any posting on here that has anything to do with the club, and there will be those who post on that persons posting about how terrible the company is.
The rallies area is about rallies and get togethers. Its not specific to Good Sam ralies.
I was not pointing fingers and I never said your name. Seems like something personal there on your end dealing with you being a member and the logo not being under your profile. Just because you elect to have your membership posted under your username, does not mean you would not have access to member only areas. That way, you can have access, but still remain your image of not appearing to be a member to others on the forum. Even though, you did just admit to being a member...
Once again, what services are you receiving for being a member?
wbwood wrote: Yes GS is a business. But what service am I receiving am I getting from it? I receive certain benefits if I choose to take advantage of them. But GS, provides me with no service.
I don't know, you tell me. Why are you a member if you don't receive any service? Is it just because you want to be a member of an exclusive club?
As for me, I'm only a new member because of the magazine, which is a service, and Camping World discounts, also a service. I could care less about membership in a club.
Those are benefits. Not a service they provide. I'm a member to be part of a group of fellow RV'ers. Camping World does provide services. You are rigt, but you do not have to be a member to receive those services. If you are a member, you may receive discounts, or benefits. Something which ou are entitled as a member.
Lets compare to BJ's Club. Another business. Yes it's a club. But is it providing service to it's members? It does provide services, but you pay for those services. I don't have to be a member of BJ's to shop there. I can get a pass and they will charge me an extra 15% to my bill when I check out. Being a member, I can get the benefit of not paying the extra 15%. I have to figure whether or not the benefits outway the costs.
rv2go wrote: Each of us can have their own opinion, but I think the forum should be open to anyone.
I agree, as I stated in OP, i'm not saying making the entire forum available only to members, but having an area just for members. Therefore not making the entire forums available to non members. You can still keep everything as it is, but perhaps add areas, just for members.
Also, regarding exclusive forum areas, I think the GS IT staff has about all they can handle just getting membership packets out in a reasonable time frame with reasonably accurate info. I really don't think they are up to the task of enhancing login security here at the forums.
Looks like you are going to have to get your own site....lots of bashing going on...LOL!!
Actually, if you notice with Good Sam's magazine, they appear to be listening to the folks who are "bashing" them, though they are (thankfully) taking it as constructive criticism, and are doing a few things to improve the organization.
One of the main gripes has been the flood of junk mail (though I'm sure that GS liked to think of these as reminders) that we got.....now, they say, they will cut back on that. It will also save them a bunch of money
Good Sam may be somewhat of a Club, but it's open to anyone who wants to join, and quite honestly, like AARP, the more the better. It will give us a bigger voice for our RV concerns.
Bill & Claudia / DD Jenn / DS Chris / GS MJ Dogs: Sophie, Abby, Brandy, Kahlie, Annie, Maggie, Tugger & Beau RIP: Cookie, Foxy & Gidget @ Rainbow Bridge.
2000 Winnebago "Minnie" 31C, Ford V-10
Purchased April 2008 FMCA# F407293 The Pets
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