Fewer than half the donors whose contributions made them eligible for free memberships have registered over at Claire’s Cabal.
We had a gratifyingly lively beta-testing period, but most of the newcomers are being very quiet.
How did such a smart, communicative bunch become so reticent?
C’mon down, people! Check your emails from last Wednesday evening or Thursday morning. EZ instructions and free-membership coupon codes are in your mailbox.
While you’re at it, dear readers, don’t forget that generous pay-it-forward donors (thank you, K, our latest) have funded 16 memberships for others who may not be able to afford it. Of those, only four have been taken. So there’s plenty of room. And everybody already in the Cabal is looking forward to seeing both new people and familiar faces.
I’m enjoying the new forum very much. No trolls, nasty flame wars or spam of any kind. A very nice change! If you can join us, please do! It’s not the usual forum mess, by any means. Lots of seriously good questions, suggestions, and other posts abound already!
Come on in, the water’s fine. 🙂
I’ve filled everything out but I am getting this when I log in;
Wrong username or password.
I will try back later today to see if I am able to open the door again.
It’s appears that I can’t register with the Comrade X user name, will try that out later.
Try ComradeX without the space. It appears WordPress is funny about spaces in usernames.
I’ll try to figure out all WP’s odd requirements and post a do-and-don’t list for registrants.
Well…. How to put this….
I really value your writings and enjoy the blog very much, which is why I supported it. I went to the forums mostly out of curiosity. Reading ML’s comments I think I must be looking at a completely different place. I agree with the no trolls, flame wars or spam part of it, but the rest, not really.
Sorry but so far I just have not seen much to grab my attention.
It could be simply that I am not a forum type person. That the type venue itself does not appeal.
It could be that simple for others as well. We really like your stuff. Other things, not so much.
Thanks, I’m in!
Thanks for your honesty, jorge. I know the Cabal won’t be for everybody and though I’m sorry about that, I recognize it’s the reality.
It will also become a richer place over time, as more people contribute to it.
Mainly, I just want everybody who contributed their hard-earned money to the cause of keeping the blog alive to have a chance at getting something in return. If the Cabal can offer that, great. If not, I’ll just keep working and doing the best I can.
I hope most donors will at least register and have a look around. Even if it’s not for everyone, I hope a good number will stay around, contribute, and enjoy.
And thank you, ML. I know there’s a lot still to be developed over there. But the more good people we have, the more value we’ll have to offer.
There is a FB group called “Refugees of the former TCF and GYHD”, started by our old friend, penguinsscareme. I posted on there about the new forum, but the paywall seems to have discouraged most of those who commented on my post (which wasn’t many).
I would be willing to pass along a personal message from you to the group, if you want.
Kent — I had no idea such a group existed! Thanks for posting there — and no surprise that those who responded found the paywall discouraging (it’s an experiment and a risky one; OTOH it’s meant to keep out trolls, which many of the GYHD crowd were — habitually disrupting intelligent discussions with remarks about screwing livestock).
Thanks also for offering to post a message from me. I’ve just heard from PSM, actually, and I’ll ask him about that FB page. We definitely need to do some outreach and you’ve just come up with a new idea.
Jorge, I hope that you’ll keep coming back and give the Cabal a chance. I understand your feeling that perhaps it hasn’t offered much so far, but with a limited number of beta testers mostly looking for bugs and hiccups, that’s to be expected. As it grows and becomes more diverse, I expect it’ll cover more areas of interest and learning. This is also an opportunity to grow something new into the place you want it to be, with input on subjects that do interest you. Let’s move on from the birthing process into the living stuff.
Karen — Thank you for this.
It’s true that the Cabal still needs development. No doubt about it.
While the paywall model is an experiment and a risk, we’ve set things up so that most people won’t pay anything in the first three months.* But while not paying anything beyond their original donations (which were to this blog, not to the Cabal) the members themselves will be helping to shape the Cabal into what they want it to become. And the admins and I will be helping build the site based on member input.
I know the Cabal won’t be for everybody. But those who come in early and participate often get to be its architects.
*Other than one hugely kind soul who paid for a membership that he could have had for free.
Kent- How would I go about finding that facebook group? I recently took my leave of TMM.
EGP- It’s a secret group, so unless you are in it, you can’t see it or find it. I suppose a member can add you. I’ll try.
Much obliged.