The new features:
One unified login and members area for the whole site.
Unlimited pictures
Site messaging
Video chat room
User profiles
Distance displays
An ultra boost in speed.
And many more…
Take it people think we dont like the way it is in here but then again we are just the members i am sure it would have been better to talk to us.
I have to say I willnot be leaving SH in the near furture i will give it a go under new ownership.
People always resent change which is why i have quoted the part i have
I would like to ask if Elliot is actually a swinger and if he has an indepth view of it or is this just a buisness venture?
My bit of advice to Elliot and the takeover company will be to talk to the members ask them what they actually want (which i dont see vidio chat as one of them) why would we want to pay for extras that we have never needed in the past I find totally unnaceptable.
so what can i say besides
TALK TO THE MEMBERS ELLIOT BEFORE MAKING CHANGES
Well, in the spirit of good will, here's how I think this site could make a profit without annoying the regulars.
1) While web devlopers always see the potential for improvement (I know, I am one!) fundamentally, this site isn't broken, and doesn't need fixing. Enhancements like a site-wide log-in are not important to the users, and the site does not lose traffic because we don't have that now.
2) Saving on the outgoings: This bandwidth-heavy portion of this site is the photo ads, if you want to make savings and improve the site, some sort of automated filtering of the huge number of bogus photo ads is probably top priority - 'Women Seeking Men' is a prime target for scammers and your competitors to do damage.
3) Keep the ad-ons visually seperate. A paid webcam site is a good idea, but trying to bolt it on to SH will meet with resisance. Why not build a different site for that, then use the banner ad position top right (and free memberships for use if you feel that's viable) to drive traffic to it?
4) We accept the paid for links in the Shopping menu on the left. Expanding, or renegotiating whatever deals are in place for those links is probably the first thing I'd look at to boost revenue.
I'm shocked and dismayed that Mark didn't let us know personally but I'm sure he had his own reasons and I wish him the very best - my only regret is that I never got to meet him personally but I hope that he still comes in every so often to let us know how he is doing.
Eilliott - I hope you understand that this place is like a family and while I personally welcome change I hope you will respect all that we've done here. and I hope that nothing much will change in terms of the atmosphere on here.....
I will stay here though.....we WILL all be okay....
i'm with the 'wait and see' brigade on this one - sarah, bloke, Prevert, Mr&Mrs Beds - it might be good, it might be crap.
But they know it's the people that make this site - so they're not going to do too much too quickly. Lose the people and they've lost their investment.
And if it all goes wrong - there's a whole wide internet world out there - i'm sure we'll all find each other somewhere else if we have to.
it might not seem like it now, but we have the power, not them
take care all xx
Surely you don't use your primary email account on here ???
I suppose my only surprise is that....people are surprised :shock: was there really that kind of naivity around that folk thought the place would plod on forever without a commercial gain being made or being sought?....surely not.
Like everyone else I can only guess at events, but if you guess at a site starting out in a small way, with the owners not really knowing how it would grow and form itself, but then finding perhaps to thier surprise that the time and effort and I will also guess at a bit of cost as well, has made it grow into something that is much bigger than they envisaged and into something that now has a workload thats seriously impinging on life and a commercial value that can't be ignored, what would you do?...yep sell it! and why not. What the hell is so wrong about realising a worth on something you own and deciding to take that worth to provide for you and your own, cos I'm buggered if I can find fault in that.
So now there are new owners and those owners are going to try and make a shilling or two with thier new purchase. They have made thier initial announcement and already a few sticks and stones have been chucked over the walls at em. commercialism, greed, scammers, blah, blah, blah, well so what, someone sees an opening, sees an oppurtunity to add to thier existing business does the leg work splashes out the dosh and thats ohhh so wrong?....eerm no it isnt, its real life, you might not like it but thats pretty much how the world works, someone puts in the work, some starting capital and a business is born and on the back of that with a bit of luck comes a copper or two, ohhh and that terrible word as well....shall I say it?...shall I? ..go on then say it.....PROFIT.
Change can often be unpallatable, we all like the comfort of what we know, but change is ineviatable in nearly everything we do, touch and get involved in, sometimes for the better sometimes for the worse, but as sure as eggs are eggs it is with us all.
I ain't trying to piss on peoples concerns, but thus far its been said that the existing membership is gonna be uneffected, sort of tuped over and thats fine by me and if the time comes that the place changes into something that I don't like, or into something I can't afford, then I will open that same door that I opened when I walked into the place...the one marked 'free' and gently shut it behind me.
Best of luck to the old owners and best of luck to the new.
On the issue regarding privicy etc etc.
We are governd by data protection, all details are confidential, and will not be used, sold or let out what so ever. You have my gaurntee on that.
With regards to popups, no, we will not be having any popups, at all, no more ads than there currently are on the site, thats not the way we do things.
And postie - no im afriad you cant ;p
OPEN INVITE TO THE NEW OWNERS
I don't know how much you have seen of the forums as they stand but......
A lot of folks have made a big point about community and the way WE are.
I don'y know where you all live however heres the invite.......
Calista and I have arranged a get together of folks from the site tonight in Derby.
I openly invite any/all of you to come along and see/meet the kind of people you are going to be dealing with.
I know its very short notice, but that seems to be the theme of the day lol.
Morbius.
As someone who has only been logging on to the forum and chatroom for a short few months, Maybe I shouldnt say anything, but to the previous owners I would like to say thanks for all the hard work you have put in in creating something unique and quite wonderful in a commercial world , your reward should be the opinions and sadness now being express by the regular users that the site has been sold and may change, for my part I hope that the community I have found here doesnt change.
To those who are worried that the site may change for the worse may i say give it a chance guys, we dont really have a lot of choice but to give the new people our support and if they are found unworthy of that, to perhaps move on and build our own site!
As I used to say to mrs. sexyluke, suck it and see!
Luke
xxxxx
Devils advocate question here:
If all the volunteer mods and ops stopped doing it and you couldn't replace them with other volunteers, would you have to charge for the existing site then?
Jas
XXX
: Money is involved and a profit and loss account has to be kept in the black so things will be sold on and a profit made.
:worship: :worship:
and :shock: at the extra traffic (?) going through msn and right now.
) 
