Just to be clear about Trad Gang and your membership ...

[Rob DiStefano]

1. only contributing members can access the private members classifieds - ALL the rest of trad gang, its heart and core, are still there for you to use and enjoy should you wish to do so, for free, no cost, no strings.  It's only the CLASSIFIEDS that requires a membership monetary commitment.  ALL SPONSORS - full, associate and corporate - will automatically have classifieds forum access.

NOTE: unless you are a full, associate or corporate trad gang sponsor, to access the 2014 contributing member classifieds, you will need to be a 2014 contributing member.  the annual start/end date for all contributing members has always been november 1st of the current year.  we have taken advance 2014 contributions in september, and now october.  these contributing member sponsorships are good to november 1st, 2014.    

2. trad gang is NOT about the classifieds. our focus is on sharing trad bowhunting information and to further our sport. if you become a trad gang member just for the classifieds, then trad gang is definitely not the place for you.

3. the new classifieds has been discussed on the powwow for months. this is nothing new. our reasoning for making such a move has been a large conversation at trad gang. folks who didn't get to see and participate in this discussion were usually too busy at the classifieds.

4. though the contributing member annual fee is $30, it's been made quite clear that a way to get back your dollars, and more, will be made accessible to all contributing members.  more on this later ...

5. PLEASE do not make public posts about our policies! email [email protected] with all your questions and concerns.

6. there is no classifieds forums password.  we manually update each contributing member's registration to automatically allow them access to all the classifieds - this simply takes time.  please bear with us as the number of classifieds access requests has become enormous!  thank you!

thank you all for your understanding and support.          

[Trumpkin the Dwarf]

[gnihsifnamk]

this thread should be a sticky, at least for a few months

[JEFF B]

   

[rice]

Thanks Rob!
I have not decided whether to be a contributing member or not yet, since normally all I used them for was to buy the occasional bow.
My wife would just as soon I wasn't able to use the classifieds for that very reason.
In the end, I will probably send in my $30 dollars.
Its nice to know I can still read all the wonderful stories and information even if I don't become a contributing member.
Thanks again!

[4dogs]

I hope that alot of folks dont look at this as strictly a pay per use for the classifieds. I think it is still important to become a contributor just to support the site, help with expences etc.. Alot of other reasons to become a contributor than just buying and selling.

[centaur]

I have been a contributor for a few years, before the issue of the classifieds ever came up. This site is worth it to me; I don't see what all the hub hub is about. We all get lots of entertainment and information from TG, so to me, at least, it is worth a few bucks to enjoy the site. JMHO

[ARCHER2]

     For Rob, Terry, & anyone else that helps run this awesome sight. 4dogs you are exactly right sir, well said!
Charlie  

[b.glass]

What centaur said. I have been a contributing member several times and I rarely use the classifieds. In nearly ten years I've bought a bow through the classifieds exactly one time. There is way more to this site than the classifieds.

[Chromebuck]

Originally posted by Rob DiStefano:
2. trad gang is NOT about the classifieds. our focus is on sharing trad bowhunting information and to further our sport. if you become a trad gang member just for the classifieds, then trad gang is definitely not the place for you.

Originally posted by Terry Green:
We are trying to create the safest, funnest, creative, and most legitimate Trading Venue for Trad Gear on the web.

 

Either way I really enjoy this site and will continue to play, even for cash...

[30coupe]

I've been contributing for several years now. It has  nothing to do with the classified ads, although I have bought and sold there and will again. I contribute to keep this site up and running. The information that can be gleaned here is worth a lot more to me than the contributor fee.

[ronp]

Originally posted by 30coupe:
I've been contributing for several years now. It has  nothing to do with the classified ads, although I have bought and sold there and will again. I contribute to keep this site up and running. The information that can be gleaned here is worth a lot more to me than the contributor fee.

X2.  Well said.

[Tim]

Trad Gang is so much more than the classifieds!  

How many of you use the Shooters Forum for advice, the Pow Wow to share your stories and learn old school methods of fletching, string making, etc.  How many of you have reached out to folks in other states for advice on hunting, vacations and possible relocation?  How many have shared photos of your families enjoy this wonderful sport? How many have searched posted photos for hours looking for the right wood combo?  How many have searched the vendors list for products?

I could go on for hours about the incredible "resource" this site has provided for folks who all share the same interest.  This is where folks come to show their success and get help when their struggling.  Most of the time I come here just to check in with friends, as my wife says...."my face book".  I also buy and sell stuff.  

This site has grown immensely since I signed on in 2003.  Since that time I've seen several changes, some I've agreed with others I question, like many of you.  I don't know Terry personally but I do know his heart has always been in the right place and his goal was too make this a campfire atmosphere where folks become friends and share their passion for traditional archery.  So far that is exactly what he and the mods have done.        

As for the $30 charge to use the classifieds. Traditional archers are known to be a frugal group of individuals who would rather improvise and make it by hand than buy it.  I hear you and share your frugal spirit, but my $30 check is in the mail. I find it difficult to understand why folks feel it necessary to debate over such an issue that is more than fair.

[ronp]

That is very well said, too, Tim.  I'll add that there is a ton of good reading and valuable info in the archives threads.  I think a lot of folks pass over that section.

[Mudd]

[Rob DiStefano]

Originally posted by Chromebuck:
 

Originally posted by Rob DiStefano:
2. trad gang is NOT about the classifieds. our focus is on sharing trad bowhunting information and to further our sport. if you become a trad gang member just for the classifieds, then trad gang is definitely not the place for you.

Originally posted by Terry Green:
We are trying to create the safest, funnest, creative, and most legitimate Trading Venue for Trad Gear on the web.

   

Either way I really enjoy this site and will continue to play, even for cash... [/b]

as TERRY has said many Many MANY times - trad gang is NOT about the classifieds, it's about sharing info and experiences concerning our sport, trad bowhunting, and to support its continuing future.

THAT SAID, if there IS to be a classifieds at trad gang (and if some of you remember, the classifieds got so out of hand here at one time that we had to shut it down! ack!), we want it to be just what terry said above.  

you can have it both, in the best of ways possible.  that's the bottom line we're trying very hard to create for The Membership.

[larry]

I've been a member on here for over ten years, participated in all the forums, never needed anyone's protection for the buying and selling I've done on here, still don't. I'll do my selling/swapping and buying elsewhere. will still enjoy the rest of the place though.

[jcar315]

Others have given voice already to what I would add. Happy to be a Contributor here on TG!

[Terry Green]

Originally posted by centaur:
I don't see what all the hub hub is about. . JMHO

Yeah Centaur....

Hub Bub?....some are going off more like Ape Sh.t.


If you were to see the folks that are loudest, most belligerent, and obscene, and being escorted to the door, you would see they only use the classifieds...that's why all the hub bub is about.  That's why its all happened in the last 24 hours.....they never saw any of the posts about it over the last two months.

We've even had people thinking we were going to charge for the whole site.....and one person asked if we were shutting the site down.

I remember inviting GUEST for FREE to many a hunting camp...They got to hunt, eat, sleep and enjoy the evening fire and fellowship...

Yet not ONE....not ONE....EVER complained about the $10 a day donation to the corn fee.

[twitchstick]