Invitation to discuss contributions here

11 years ago

It's been tempting over the last couple of days to chime in every time I see the PBS pledge drive for $$$ to HMF.

I know there are other sites that operate without asking for $$ from its users/contributors. An internet database that relies on member feedback is only as good as its participation levels. Would you expect participation--whether active or passive--to grow or dwindle if a user fee were imposed?

I've belonged to free forums/databases that provided a wealth of information and discussion at no charge. I've also belonged to a couple that solicited "donations" from its members & later were discovered to be using the donations to fund their own private equity ventures.

I'm not extremely fond of handing out cash, no matter the amount, when I don't know exactly who's using it or how it's being used. How did HMF come up with the amount they are asking for? Are they certain it will fund the expansion? There's just so much anonymity involved in a venture like this that I think it's reasonable to forgive people if they are relunctant to shill out more cash for what may likely be a very marginal added value.

Currently we have how many sites for roses dedicated to catalogueing & discussion? Is it best to have them spread out over several domain names or would rose enthusiasts be better served by 1 place that can be counted on as THE go-to source? (I'm talking gardeners, hybridizers, historians, AND commercial growers.)

Has anyone checked into running the site as a for-profit entity? What happens if the people/person/?? running it can no longer do it? ("Going concern" of business.) It seems to me that merchandising and information go hand in hand with roses and if we could get the people providing the product as involved, proactive, and passionate in discussions as the folks here, well, wouldn't that be fantastic? The excuse that setting up a fully-functional website to sell your product is "too hard" or "too time consuming" just doesn't fly in this day & age. How often do we hear pleas from the ARS that they need to get more young people involved in growing & caring for roses? Luddite mind-sets and lack of technology are not the ways to cater to later generations.

A couple of us have mentioned that other hobbyist website we enjoy. Someone should really check it out as they have done a fantastic job of creating a profitable haven for people who share a specific passion.

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Comments (9)

zaphod42
11 years ago
I think their method of operation is fairly standard comparatively. Like Pandora and Hulu, you are given a base amount of free services. Whether you need the upgrade is individual and based upon your level of involvement.

IMHO, the $25 a year is lower than would be expected. Rose people are pretty dedicated, passionate....obsessed, even. What is $25? One new rose, maybe. Its worth that to have access to all the data when trying to make informed selections.
seil zone 6b MI
11 years ago
I've been donating to HMF for several years now because I think they do a marvelous job and because I rely heavily on them for rose information. I also spend hours there just browsing and looking at photos and learning new things. It's really a rose treasure trove!

I'm on several other garden and rose sites and I do contribute to most of them so I would not object to donating here too because I am on here daily. Since I don't go out a lot and don't have to have expensive cups of coffee and fancy clothes or dinners I consider it my entertainment budget.
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ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
11 years ago
Considering the many, many times that I've availed myself of HMFR, the yearly fee seems very reasonable to me. For my purposes I could use the site without paying anything and I did that for some years until I was made aware that the money was needed to keep the site going and fully functioning. It's the price of a rose or a not-expensive dinner for two and I have no problem with contributing to something I use constantly.

Ingrid
User
11 years ago
I am a tiny bit ambivalent about this, although I did cough up for membership, mainly because of the US majority usage. I also subscribe to Peter beales forum (free) which does have some useful database info but a tiny membership...and herein lies the rub because for me, it is all about user involvement. I have an inbuilt bias against company run forums as their agenda is mainly, either openly or covertly, to sell us stuff, GW has been a useful source of info and, I suspect that I would be more inclined to pay to use it rather than HMF. I also think that I do not make full use of HMF and in truth, could probably have got by without paying for premium membership...but I got excited and carried away. I never make comments or access much of the info on HMF, have failed to rate anything and only just got around to listing my plants (and only those I could remember at the time and have not updated the list). Of course, all these failures are my own, nothing to do with the virtues or otherwise of HMF.
Not working at the moment either, so unsure whether I would renew my premium membership.
ogrose_tx
11 years ago
Same as Seil and Ingrid - I use them almost every day, and for the information I get, the small price paid is worth it!
TNY78
11 years ago
Ditto here :) For me its an invaluable tool when I'm looking at roses. Whenever I'm on a nursery website looking at roses, I keep one tab open to the nursery and another to HMF. I like to look at real people's photos and comments of roses (and clematis) and not just the one picture the nursery puts up. With some nurseries offering HMF discounts (like Vintage Gardens) I more than get my money's worth.

Tammy
Poorbutroserich Susan Nashville
11 years ago
I'm an HMF premium member. I enjoy checking out member gardens and nonprofessional photos of roses growing on site. It's invaluable when looking for photos and info.
I have books but none of them are as comprehensive and up to date.
Susan
flaurabunda
Original Author
11 years ago
Everyone makes great points and I can't disagree with any of them. Like Suzy said, it's all about user involvement. I also agree that many of the sites that are run as for-profit businesses DO aim to sell you something, but it's been my experience that what they aim to sell you is what you're already shopping for----roses or rose-related paraphenalia.

I do wonder if anyone has looked at the possibilities of click-thrus or footer ads for the companies that we already frequent, and how many other small suppliers might benefit if they were more proactively linked.
nastarana
11 years ago
I use HMF obsessively on a daily basis, and am happy to support their work for the very modest fee requested.

Please note that they accept NO ADVERTISING, unlike so many other allegedly public service sites. I love being able to peruse the HMF site undistracted by ads supposedly tailored to my preferences.

Invitation to discuss contributions here

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zaphod42

seil zone 6b MI

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