Discovery Owners Club

This has been done to death before. The discoveryownersclub is a site where you cannot gain any usable info unless you PAY to do so. Many

*many* other sites offer the same info for free (and quite a few of them are better, too). If *you* are happy to buy what is available free, good luck to you, but I think its a struggle to recommend it to someone else.

I dissagree,

It is well worth the money if you want to join, at the end of the day it is a community of like minded people, and you don`t have to be a member to ask tech questions in the forum and get decent help from decent people.

Yes, you do. Till that site drops the necessity to be a PAID member to post to the forum, it wont be getting anywhere near the visits it would otherwise do, and it'll not be the service to owners that it pretends to be. As far as the *forum* goes, the owner of the domain is effectively charging people to get to material that *other* people being charged have provided. Like I said, if that sounds equitable to you, go right ahead. More sensible people will beat a path to one of the many other forums out there instead.

Are you the same person who complained about the DOC in AFL some time back? If so, as posted in the DOC forum guest section you well know this exists to allow non-members to post and anyone can visit that forum section and verify that questions are asked and answers provided with no requirement to become a paid up member.

You are of course entitled to your opinion but clearly the 1000+ DOC members feel there is merit in paying for membership and access to the DOC forum is just one of the benefits.

We've been here before Darren. The advertising clearly makes considerably more than the hosting costs, so the forums are a pure and simple moneyspinner. Given that the content isn't theirs to sell (since it belongs to those who posted it), that's reprehensible at best. And I cant help thinking that you've a personal motive here, since you did exactly the same thing at PGPSW - suddenly began charging people for access to information that THEY provided to you.

As the person that set up the original DOC forum way back when ..... I would just like to say that the forum is a medium which allows the members of the DOC to ask each about issues quickly. It is not an internet club, and the forum is not the club either. The fee which is paid to gain access actually covers your PLI and provides you with printed newsletters. You are joining a tradional Land Rover Club, the forum is a free bonus.

I've got virtually nothing to do with the site or the club any more, so my post is information only. However I do think it is bad form to plug an established club in such a way.

Why ??

This NG is by far the best, most knowledgable, helpful, friendly leg pulling area you could come across. Most of all its free so has 100% genuine caring contribution.

Thats my bit !!

Comple b*ll*ck$, you tw@t.

;-)

David

What part of this is so hard to understand? The forum is *not* free (save for the limited area set aside to persuade new memberships) but instead requires a paid membership to access. That makes it 'free' only in the same context as the '20% extra' free chocolate on a bar of Cadburys. You cant get your newsagent to give you just the free 20%, and you cant get access to the forums unless you pay a membership fee!

'Mud Club' has none of these deficiencies and is populated by an extremely large contingent of Disco owners, among all other 4x4's. It also lacks the petty and very public squabbling that appears to flood the DOC from time to time! I've nothing against *members* of the DOC, I'm sure they are as a whole very nice people, but I have a great deal against the DOC *itself*. Thats only my view, of course, but I'm just as entitled to is as is the person who started the thread :o)

In news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com, nullified wibbled :

I get my chocolate from either a confectioner, sweet shop or supermarket. Newsagents per se supply newspapers and periodicals.

He's talking about *this* forum, which is free, other than the electric needed to run the computer, the computer itself, the ISP charges and all the other s**te some bored pedant will come up with in a few seconds ;-)

Wow, I like the reasoning there, I've never thought of that, I'll try it!

True enough Ian you almost always get an answer on AFL (note I spelled it the right way for a change to be awkward) though occassionally unrepeatable in polite company - more tea vicar. I looked at the Doc site a while back thought about it but couldn't see any huge benefit to warrent forking out beer tokensand was putoff by the inability to look at posts in the majority of the forum without coughing up, I already have a sub for a monthly mag thanks to my lovely wife, I can google with the best for info and keep an archive of WSM's and most important I share info with all and sundry for no cost tho Dr D did give me a bung last year Shhhhh. Derek

Derek uttered summat worrerz funny about:

LOL!

Hey whats the word on the street then shoe-shine ;-)

Lee

shouldn't that be 'Huggy' mate I just had a thought maybe Snowy should have a makeover on account of the business< ahem> you are in you could paint him red with the white stripe should make you a cert for undercover?

Derek I'll get the cardboard boxes ready

Well I guess it was an open invitation :-))

I am having difficulty with this, I am a member of the DOC and enjoy being so. As another post said, it is an owners club with a forum.We have regular pub meets, events, newsletters and off-road days out which all cost money so if you don't like the idea of having to pay then DON'T. There are plenty of free forums elsewhere so why do people feel the need to have a pop at things like this that they personally don't like? Sitting in judgement of others is not a nice trait.

Andy

I think the objection was that the owner is making money from contributions from members, it's a common complaint, and it can be a hard one to judge. A proper club costs money to run so money does have to be charged, so provided that the profits aren't excessive and are used to further improve the club's facilities then it does seem like a spurious complaint.

ALT LR !!

I can't see why having the forum as a paid benefit is so bad? It is clearly and obviously done as such. People have always been happy to join a club and pay for a magazine. why is paying for a forum any different? A forum costs money to host just like a magazine costs money to print and post.

Are you just unhappy with it because you havent seen it done before?

There have been paid forums on the net for years (I've been a member of one for 4 or 5 years). If the forum is good then there is no reason why it shouldn succeed as a paid site. obviusly there are enough people happy with the DOC club that it makes it a good forum with people happy to pay.

The DOC shouldnt be a profit making exercise (join the club and attend the AGM and find out if you like but i should hope they only make a tiny bit of accidental profit as everything else is ploughed back into the club).

Nobody is forcing people to join it and they could get similar stuff for free elsewhere if they wanted - but is it as good as what they can get there?

Again - would you have a problem buying the local paper to read the ads or paying to place a classified or buying a magazine or joining a club for the magazine for similar reasons. Why should a forum be any different?