Hi guys,

My original intention was to post quite a comprehensive response to most of the questions, which could, hopefully, be helpful to at least some people. However, I didn't feel well during past days, so this is just a short summary:

As it was correctly mentioned there, BrainKing is no longer my top interest. Many things changed in my life since 2002 and I had to adapt to certain aspects that are not directly related to the site but still affect my free time. Furthermore, after 13 years, I am not as enthusiastic about board games as I used to be. But nobody needs to worry about turning off or deleting the site, unless some kind of really bad disaster happens, which is very unlikely in this part of the world. Membership fees are just a small portion of the income that BrainKing generates, so even if those who never stop complaining would finally decide to stop supporting us, the site would still remain profitable.

More info later. And Happy New Year.

Aganju: Sorry I was agreeing with you I just added to much to my statement.

Marshmud: ok, but why did you address that to me? I said the same thing, and I perfectly understand why he doesn't chime in. And I agree that we 'need' very little change.

Aganju: He has told us clearly what his priorities are. The same people complain. I suggest if you feel your not getting your moneys worth stop paying and play elsewhere where the owner is involved as one thinks he/she should or buy the site for 50g usd and fix it. You can find good programmers for 40usd a hour. That will eat up that 30euro membership pretty quickly.

IMO we dont need new games and new features as much as we need what we have fixed.

ThunderGr:

Nuke 'em !!

Bernice: I think he doesn't answer because this discussion comes up about every six month, with the same arguments and points each time, and after the hundredth time there is really nothing to add from his side. Or maybe he is just enjoying Christmas with his family.

Bernice: "Do not use a cannon to kill a mosquito" ;)

Brian1971: tick, tick, tick, tick, tick.

Justaminute: I guess none of us knows the cost of maintaining the site and how much is leftover as a profit for Fencer. I guess he would have to weigh in on our discussions. However, sadly he is silent up to this point. That just goes back to one of my original points if I were to continue to support the site, I would wish the owner of the site to be committed to me as a consumer to keep the site evolving and growing. without the consumers there is no game site. We have discussed how to afford this site, but it comes down to one thing, what does the top dog think and is he willing to make the site a high priority. I guess we wait for his response.

Bwild:
even if it was 300 members that is an annual revenue of Euro 7000. Hardly cashing it in particularly for someone capable of creating a site as complex as brainking.

Bwild: the 100 or so black rooks are included in the 300 total so not really.

Bwild: agreed....no argument there :)

Times 300 + paying rooks
Makes me think maintenance is fairly covered
Then add 100 plus lifetime members and the various bishops and Knights
Now I appreciate playing games and the comradery but it really seem the one who should be most grateful is the guy cashing the checks
Jmo

Merry Christmas everyone!

Dice Cheater: Merry Christmas to you and yours, DC

Dice Cheater: Happy Christmas to you thank you.

Season's greetings!

Would it help if you Message Fencer?

Mélusine: I don't think Brian was being "arrogant" either. I would think all of us who have been around this site since around the beginning, miss the days when Fencer was so involved constantly. Yes, things change. I (and I'm sure most) accept that. Priorities change. Life changes.
I guess in my "hope of hopes" it would be for a bit more attention to be made? In Fencer's defense, he HAS responded to some things that needed to be taken care of recently.
It seems like there may be a bunch of old bug reports that have long gone unfixed? I can't think of any personally. At least none that have affected me.
But little things too. Like the BKR graphs. They would look better if those graph lines were continued. (They stopped a couple years ago). Again, it's very unimportant in the big scheme of things, but I guess it would be nice if such things were kept up.

This is NOT meant to be any sort of complaint. I love this site and am here every day, multiple times every day. And have been for over 12 years.
I'm just saying I understand why some of us "miss the old days". And yes, it would be SO cool to occasionally get a new game. (Quarto is a new favorite of mine from another site)

Of course my MAIN hope is that Brainking sticks around for a lot longer.
Oh, and I too would love if there was a Christmas deal! I still need a few "colors" (from the sales) to complete that Achievement to get a Black Rook.

I'm ok with Brian, I'd like to see this site evolving a little. Speaking about how much it could cost, I must admit I don't know.
I think by saying this I'm not arrogant with Fencer, I just say what I'd like and if Fencer reads these words, he has an idea what people want.
It's also true that without ads, it's more easy to play, we aren't disturbed. And also, who would agree to see the subscription increasing ? It's an interesting debat.
About the price, we have, in France, other interesting sites with a suscription less expensive I'm here more for the friends than for the games.

♥♫βaβyĢіґŁŁє♫♥: Nope, just been really busy with work lol

Aganju: Of course some places I have been on, non-paying users see ads and an incentive not see ads is to become a paying member. That could work here as well. However advertisers want to see that there is enough traffic each day to make it worth advertising on a site.

Brian1971 (and all): don't forget that many gaming pages spam you with advertisements right and left. There are no ads here.

For some people, it doesn't matter too much or not at all if part of the screen contains an ad every click, for others it is quite annoying.

A site that makes money from ads can afford to be free and still invest into improvements. An ad-free site needs to earn the money to pay for the upkeep before there is any extra left. It is everybody's personal choice, conscious or unconscious, which one he prefers and where he takes his money (or his clicks).

Bernice: Hello Bernice I am doing good thanks and hope you are to.

crosseyed: How ya going Hun :) long time no see.

Brian1971: Well put Brian.

Wow I didnt think my comments and views would cause such a commotion. I do not post normally as I am too busy playing my games and find in most cases when people express themselves they are verbally abused for it. I never said that I was ungrateful or unthankful. I did say I spend a lot of time here and do enjoy playing here. However as a consumer I do have a right to let the ownership know how I feel as well. The internet games sites are numerous. Some better than others. This is definitely one of the better ones. However the best ones do upgrade and do things to improve the experience to bring in new members and encourage more paying users to meet expenses and turn a profit. I have seen this site sadly become stagnant and seen players I used to play all the time leave the site altogether. If this happens you will have fewer players and less paying members to sustain the site anyway. I DO NOT WANT TO SEE THAT HAPPEN. I do love playing here. However I notice for example that ponds are getting fewer and harder to fill up than ever. I see by running a fellowship it is harder to get players to fill teams for tournaments. My position is not one of arrogance, it is one of concern for a site I have been addicted to for many, many years. However financially it is only best to see if it is worth the continued support of the site through membership or if I should consider other options. I am dedicated to the site, I just wish to know ownership is just as dedicated to the expansion of the site. I know Fencer is one person and has other priorities. I would like to know that Brainking is near the top as we are paying for the privilege of playing here.

Oh yeah last thing, MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HANUKKAH, ETC. Hopefully that is still ok to say here without being verbally beat up.

ThunderGr: You're alright mate, I can totally see your point of view. Kudos for starting a little Christmas cheer and action on the forum :) ☝

Bernice:

ThunderGr: Without wanting to start an argument you come over as being very arrogant.

crosseyed: I said what I wanted to say. If you think it is arrogant for some reason(although I have no idea how that could be, since it is not my site or my work), you are certainly free to do so. No need to blame the translation as an excuse for what you deem improper or whatever.

I will never stop being amazed of how people treat the one that exposes arrogance as arrogant. However, I can say I am pretty much used to it by now. You cannot beat people's choice for preferences over truth, anyway.

ThunderGr: I am sure most of what is posted in the discussion boards goes over Fencer's head so to speak. There was a time when I was very dissatisfied with this site when there were many times I could not play my games. I think Fencer was not happy with some of my comments back then. For quite some time now this site had been stable and I enjoy playing in this site.

crosseyed: I ditto you 100%.

beach: I agree with you 100% beach.

ThunderGr: That last part of your message came over as being arrogant in my humble opinion. I will put it down to being lost in translation.

♥♫βaβyĢіґŁŁє♫♥: I liked the offers Fencer put at Easter and Christmas. As sometimes I shared my membership with a player who could not afford membership.

beach: Of course, I guess you missed the point why I responded to Brian's opinion that way, right? I did not put down his opinion, I just exposed the irrationality and arrogance in using the "I want my money to be put in good use instead of just being taken" argument. Implying that someone gets your money without providing any service in return equals to accusing someone of theft.
I think this is especially insulting when you actually receive more than you pay for. And, yes, I think we should be grateful that Fencer is still putting up with that behavior, which I assume was what made him lose motivation for putting effort to this site, to begin with.

hahahahaha..............the silly season has started LOL

ThunderGr:   to say we should be thankful is very condescending.   Yes you are entitled to your opinion, but I don't think you had to put down Brian's opinion to make your point.

beach: So, Brian was stating his opinion being harsh and inconsiderate and he is entitled to do it that way because you agree with it, while me stating my opinion in the same way(while being accurate and consistent with reality, and without the inconsiderate part) is something you think I am not entitled to?

Sorry but I do not think you sound any convincing at all :p.

Merry Christmas to you, too :).

ThunderGr:   wow don't you think you were a bit harsh!!! Brian was just stating his opinion he is entitled to.  Many of us have been here almost since day one.  We all enjoy the site that is why we actually PAY for memberships.  Merry Christmas to you too!

Brian1971: Objectively speaking, site maintenance costs. The amount of $3/month per subscribed player is hardly enough to support site maintenance, not to even think about improvements and innovations. It is common for people to only think about what they wish for, disregarding the fact that this would cost those granting the wishes much more than they are willing to compensate for.

In short: You should be glad that you can play on this site with $3/month, considering that your money is not enough to cover the maintenance costs. This type of arrogant thinking is what leads site owners to shut down their sites and get rid of ungrateful people. :/

I just checked the conversion rate of Euros into US dollars. If I were today to renew my membership for another year it would cost me $39.57 to do it. I know when you break it down it is just over $3 a month. However I would like to think that for the money I am paying I would see some additional games added or something new during the year to make it worthwhile. I can play games anywhere. Just sustaining the site maybe is not enough anymore. I love playing here. I have my own fellowship and as a disabled person I spend lots of time on the site. Being on a fixed income, I want to know that my money is being utilized in a positive way, not just being taken and nothing new being done with it.

Backoff: nice to see you back. I was worried something might have happened to you.

crosseyed: I agree with you about the best place to play games, but I used to look forward to the sales on Christmas and Easter.

♥♫βaβyĢіґŁŁє♫♥: I just dropped back in after a few years away and nothing much seems to have really changed. That's ok though, I kinda like it the way it is :)

♥♫βaβyĢіґŁŁє♫♥: Whatever I still think it is the best site to play games in.

Justaminute: bk used to be my favorite internet site years ago. But, many people have left the site and it has gotten stale with nothing new happening or maybe we're just getting older and have outgrown it.

Aganju:
I agree Brainking is a great site but having been a member for 5 years I am getting a little bored with it as nothing changes. I only play on this site but I have looked around and sites like Goldtoken have improved hugely since I joined Brainking and I will probably try another site next time. I might decide Brainking is still the best and return after a year. but I might not.

coan.net: I think so too.
From what he wrote here before, he has other priorities, but as long as BrainKing is about paying for itself, I doubt he would shut it down. It would be equivalent of throwing its value away, and that would be a bad financial decision, considering it could instead be sold for about its value. Which was discussed in other threads before and is not negligible, or it would have changed ownership already.
So I think we are good to keep going *as-is*. Don't hold your breath for any changes, but it is good enough as-is.
Yes, it could be improved, but what couldn't?