I would guess the only complications to what you're suggesting, dmaui, is the boundaries between what's free and what we are charging for?
 
The whole purpose of the charge, is to help support the hosting fees, not to be mistaken for us charging to view... that's really not the purpose of this at this point in time.
 
I will create a discussion forum on the site to those interested in this, I've received 2 emails thus far, so we'll collaborate on what we actually want to do from there on out. It's a joint effort. Later on, we may decide to continue forward on this, but it's not so much a business adventure as it's an opportunity for us ViArt members to get together and gather ideas and elaborate on stuff ourselves.
 
 
Hope this makes sense,
 
Dan

Dan, sounds great. I think I must be the one person who emailed initially?
 
I used to use a cart called ecommercetemplates. It's designed for use with Dreamweaver, FrontPage, etc. It's a wonderful product, frequent upgrades. but of course I came to ViArt because of its richer feature set.
 
Anyway, they have one of the most impressive user communities I've ever seen, AND there are several official and unofficial "developers" who make add-ons for profit. Most of the add-ons are like what Dan is proposing, that will not be overwritten by upgrades.
 
I mention this as an example of a "everybody wins" approach where ViArt, the developers, and the users all get something great from the synergy of having other resources hosted by other parties. I hope Hollyland will flourish too.
 
I think ViArt is just a speck away from becoming fiercely popular, and allies like Dan will make it happen quicker and better.
 
Thanks to all who enthusiastically contribute to making things work!
 
Greg

Greg,
 
Actually, I didn't get that email from you, but I will add you to the list.
 
we have 4 of us total now.

Current listed responses:
 
1. Dan
2. Chris
3. Ned
4. Greg
5. Riyaz
6. alkatraz
7. dmaui
 
Others in this thread that have expressed interest but have not replied:
 
Five5

Dan,
 
What I was thinking of was using something like vbulletin as the structure. With something like vbulletin, you can set permissions for guests or registered users. For the general Viart area you could make access free, but to support the site, offer extra "goodies" like mods, themes, etc. that the registrant would need to pay an annual subscription to get access to.
 
For an example of this, check the volvospeed.com forums. Most forums are free, but to sell in their For Sale forum, you have to be a supporting member.
 
I"ll send you an email now.

I am in Dan.

i emailed you ___@jdmbuysell.com

We don't need to make it complicated, dmaui?
I don't mind what Dan needs - $5 0r $10 makes no difference really.
I have emailed OK to Dan.
 
Chris
 
I am a bit late on my response - only saw page 1
Good to see such enthusiasm and well done Dan

Alright ViArt users!!! I've started on the site, and I'm hoping to have it ready for everyone starting on as early as monday. Once it's live, anyone interested will be able to join but will have to pay the fee of course. Those already interested and emailed their response thereof, will be notified by email that it's ready!
 
Thanks for all of the enthusiasm guys!!
 
PS - I've got someone that's willing to build custom templates as well, so here it all goes.

Hi Dan,
 
I have not been paying attention or I would have responded earlier - count me in please.

I'm not suggesting unnecessary complication. I'm just wondering that if we charge everyone, we may not be able to build the community quickly or significantly. If the idea is an exclusive club, that's not an issue, but if the goal is maximizing participation and exchange of information, a tiered membership makes sense.
 
I do have some experience in online community building, and just wanted to share an opinion.

i have 7 years forum/community building and 2nd the use of vbulletin; i also recommend making most of the site free with a paid option for premium content.
 
membership only sites are extremely difficult to get started successfully

Firstly great work Dan, although as an non techie I feel I would not be able to contribute much to the content I know I would find the site very useful....as I do this forum!
 
Only an idea but do you think that Viart would consider allowing us to use their hosting space (section of) for free for the first year or beyond perhaps..... + the new site could also include an affiliate link to generate sales of the Viart range of "software" generating income for general maintenance.
 
I am just a little worried that the participatation levels may be lower if there is a charge (or not so much the cost, but the exclusion of anybody that has not paid). I think there are a lot of potential clients out there who may go ahead and purchase the Viart kit if they see there is a great resource available such as what you propose. The charge would lock them out....but obviously the more Viart users the merrier from a contributary point of view.
 
Before making the purchase I monitored this forum for some weeks and finally went ahead after seeing that there was help at hand.
 
Just a thought and all that said I still think the $5 or $10 would be money well spent on my part.
 
How do I pay the $5 or $10 ??
 
p.s With regards to the viart manual, wouldn't it be good if there was some type of built in manual e.g a question mark which could be dragged onto each relevent function within the admin area......a bit like pressing F1 in microsoft access > the nuts and bolts of what a particular function is for and how it works.

Just to add, I would be quite happy to fund the set up and even if everyone else at a later stage was allowed free access once the annual running budget requirement has been reached.....so much do I think that unpaid access would be the best option !

This isn't about creating a private enterprise as I have said. This is about getting people that are seriously committed to the cart, an option to re-invest in what they have. By spending 5-10 dollars, anyone can do the math on it, it's only going to about pay for the hosting fees.
 
So, as I stated, I've already started it, and I'm going to be opening the link to people this week. So just be patient as I roll out a stylesheet for it and notify all of those that have responded.
 
This is truly something I'm really excited about.

Dan, you are spot on, well done. This will prove to be invaluable - have you asked Viart for a link on this page?
 
Chris

Dan, first thank you for getting this going. I know all the folks on this thread appreciate the work.
 
I do wonder if maybe I misunderstood you at first. Were you thinking just 5-10 up front for those first wanting to get the thing going, but free for everyone else from that time forward? If so I'd be fine with that. However, if you want some continued financial support, I think having a large "free to the public" area is critical to maximize participation. To gain a little support income, either strongly encourage donations or provide a paid area with extra goodies. The reason I suggest the paid area over donations is that it has the potential for a better cash flow, because the user is getting something for this money (in addition to that warm feeling inside).
 
I realize you aren't trying to make money with this, but I think everyone would agree that getting your hosting paid is very important and also a little extra for your time administering the board wouldn't be out of line.
 
A link from Viart would be vital, for sure. And a reciprocal link back to them, naturally.

The site has been created and named: http://CommunityExpansion.com
 
I am excited to announce that it will be available for login as of end of business on Friday!! !!

junglist119
 
The site is presently undergoing some reconstruction as we're updating our site. If you have a specific question, please let me know. Otherwise, please visit VirteCart on November 12th 2009 for more information.
 
Thanks,
 
Dan

I've never dealt with a software company before where the user community was so dissatisfied with the quality and currency of the documentation that they took matters into their own hands to document the software.
I know you're all devoted Viart users, but doesn't anyone, especially Viart itself, find this not only alarming but also an extremely disturbing direction to be taking?

Dan is a good guy and should be credited with providing such a resource.
 
My only concern is the forum. Those who join with Dan - probably quite a lot - will, inevitably, use that forum exclusively.
 
This means that this forum loses a lot of valuable input and that will be sadder for those new to Viart who need such peer support.
 
I hope this does not happen.

No cart is perfect, and ALL full featured carts have frustrating learning curves.
 
I've been with ViArt 2 years and really like it.
 
Junglist119, your comment is poison and useless. Each of your 3 posts became more contentious. Please go find a cart that you like somewhere else. I am asking ViArt support if they will please delete your posts.
 
Thanks support, that was fast!