After much thought and consideration I'm doing away with free memberships...
There are many reasons, some of which have been mentioned or alluded to before.
Basically giving free access to areas of the site unfortunately encourages signups from, in the main, people who just want something for nothing and are really not interested in being a part of the site community that is Club Motorhome.
We have a core of extremely helpful and sociable members and I'm very conscious of their time and efforts welcoming newbies and helping with 'one-off' forum posts asking for some kind of assistance from people who never respond or who are never heard from again.
Apart from all the original content that is our stopover information, downloadable eBooks etc etc, Club Motorhome is all about growing a membership of like minded enthusiasts, not just a list of names etc and for it to work it needs member input - even if that's 'only' by paying a subscription to support the site. Suggestions for member input are >>>here<<< - a list that is pointed out to EVERY member that joins...
Free access also makes it very easy for spammers to register and proceed to flog their products/services/self promotion etc. Hopefully as members you see little of this because of some of the security software that I run and my personal vigilance and input.
So, my apologies if the latest move causes any inconvenience to any existing (genuine) free members but the decision is made and all future memberships will require subscription.
Existing current free memberships will continue until their expiry date. I hope that those members appreciate the true value of the website and community, then upgrade to paid membership but that can only be their decision.
There are many reasons, some of which have been mentioned or alluded to before.
Basically giving free access to areas of the site unfortunately encourages signups from, in the main, people who just want something for nothing and are really not interested in being a part of the site community that is Club Motorhome.
We have a core of extremely helpful and sociable members and I'm very conscious of their time and efforts welcoming newbies and helping with 'one-off' forum posts asking for some kind of assistance from people who never respond or who are never heard from again.
Apart from all the original content that is our stopover information, downloadable eBooks etc etc, Club Motorhome is all about growing a membership of like minded enthusiasts, not just a list of names etc and for it to work it needs member input - even if that's 'only' by paying a subscription to support the site. Suggestions for member input are >>>here<<< - a list that is pointed out to EVERY member that joins...
Free access also makes it very easy for spammers to register and proceed to flog their products/services/self promotion etc. Hopefully as members you see little of this because of some of the security software that I run and my personal vigilance and input.
So, my apologies if the latest move causes any inconvenience to any existing (genuine) free members but the decision is made and all future memberships will require subscription.
Existing current free memberships will continue until their expiry date. I hope that those members appreciate the true value of the website and community, then upgrade to paid membership but that can only be their decision.