Various ideas to revive/improve the site
FR

Translated into English.

Original post
AT
Hello,

After 20 years of operation and a 4-year hiatus, we were happy to rediscover this forum following its acquisition by Myatlas.

At the very beginning of the adventure, there was a section allowing members to share their ideas—good or bad, feasible or not—with the team in charge to help perfect the forum.

So, to help VoyageForum regain its momentum and adapt to new audiences and a new environment, why not put our heads together and suggest some improvement ideas in this thread?

I’ll get the ball rolling!

Travel journals are limited to 300 photos because photo storage is expensive. This limitation is completely understandable, and Myatlas found a solution by offering a paid subscription for those who wanted to exceed the free photo limit. Maybe this approach could be adapted here? Limiting without offering an alternative is a reason members leave.
UN UnaMilanese Veteran ·
Hi Agnese,

At the very beginning of the adventure, there was a section where members could share their ideas—good or bad, feasible or not—with the team in charge to help perfect the forum.

Yes. It was closed because things got even more heated there than in "Thoughts and Reflections." I remember fierce discussions, with words flying, about whether Turkey is in Europe or not, or the split of the pseudo-continent where we happened to be born into East/West...

Travel journals are limited to 300 photos because storing photos is expensive. This limit is completely understandable, and MyAtlas managed to overcome it by offering a paid subscription for those who wanted to exceed the free number of allowed photos. Maybe this solution could be adapted here?

As a good old Gen Xer with boomer tendencies, I see VF first and foremost as a place for writing, for text. Recently, journals like Kate and Richard’s with 120 photos or rjulie’s with 49 are stunning, with exceptional photo quality. With over 300, I have my doubts... And nothing’s stopping anyone who’s a frenetic image poster from opening a parallel discussion in the relevant section to add 300 more. Maybe I’m just old-fashioned...

The thing is, I have no idea what level of activity is needed for the forum to be considered profitable and thus sustainable, but a month and a half seems a bit short to get a sense of its future.

Catherine
AT Attila Globetrotter ·
Hi Catherine

It had been closed because things were even more heated there than in "thoughts and reflections."

That’s entirely possible. But why should today be like yesterday? There are new members, a new team.

Out of over 300, I have my doubts...

No one’s forced to read a travel journal.

The (paid) right to post 1,000 photos doesn’t take away anyone else’s freedom.

( This discussion kinda reminds me of CG...)

As a good old Gen Xer

As a good old Gen Xer, I pay on MyAtlas.

All this talk about generations being this way or that—it’s a bit random, isn’t it? 🙂

And besides, I hope all ages will mix on the forum!

And nothing stops someone who’s a frantic photo poster from opening a parallel discussion in the section where you add 300 more.

Actually, it’s not allowed. It’s stated when you open a journal.

MyAtlas was free at first. Then, like VF, COVID hit. Maybe a marketing plan that wasn’t quite on point too?

The site almost shut down before being taken over. Since then, there are paid plans for heavy users (those whose journals cost a lot in hosting due to a large number of photos).

The all-free model funded by ads is yesterday’s business plan, I think.

Anyway, the point of this topic is to share ideas.

The team can do what they want with them.
AT Attila Globetrotter ·
I’ll add that all photos in a travel journal are counted—not just those by the author.

This creates discussions (and tensions, to put it mildly) among participants because some post lots of photos in other people’s journals, which limits what the original author can do...🤪

Maybe only the author of a journal should be able to post photos in it?
VO VoyageForum Globetrotter ·
Hello Agnès,

I’ll add that all photos in a travel journal are counted. Not just those by the author.

Sorry, but that’s incorrect. The author of the journal can post up to 300 photos, regardless of photos added by other members in their journal. I just did a test to make sure there’s no bug on this.

As for your suggestion about a subscription to increase the photo limit in journals, we’ve obviously given this a lot of thought. For now, this idea wouldn’t be profitable, as it would require setting up a subscription system, renewals, billing—all of which demands a huge amount of programming and management (for example, a credit card might fail one month, and we’d have to handle each case individually). Also, we’d have to consider how many members would actually pay for this privilege. It’d probably only be a few dozen members, which wouldn’t be profitable given the resources needed for programming and management. And what would we do with journals exceeding 300 photos if authors cancel their subscription? Delete them? 😕 As you can see, it’s not as simple as it seems. If subscriptions were profitable, many more sites would use this model. The truth is, it’s almost never profitable... 😕 Even big media sites with subscriptions aren’t profitable...

This subscription idea has been suggested dozens of times over the past 20+ years. Yes, MyAtlas.com uses a subscription system, but that doesn’t mean it’s actually profitable. Also, keep in mind that MyAtlas.com is primarily designed for publishing travel journals, whereas for VoyageForum, journals only represent a small part of the site’s traffic.

We closed the “Comments” section on VoyageForum because we were constantly explaining and repeating why certain ideas are good or not. There’s a big difference between an idea and its real-world application. Members want to help, and that’s wonderful, but unfortunately, we won’t be able to comment on every suggestion in this discussion—especially since most of them have already been proposed, discussed, and analyzed over the years.

Thank you for wanting to help VoyageForum continue to grow! 🙂 Rest assured, we have a team with extensive experience in site management, and we’re constantly thinking about how to improve VoyageForum and increase its profitability within the possible limits and variables that aren’t necessarily public knowledge.

Best regards,

François
TA Tatra Globetrotter ·
Hi François,

I’m taking the opportunity of this thread to ask a question about using the site, which doesn’t necessarily warrant opening a new discussion. Why can’t we log in to VF with a VPN? This kind of setup is pretty rare on the internet—I honestly don’t know any other examples. It hasn’t always been this way; is it temporary? I find it annoying to have to pause my VPN to log in. I know I can add VF as a trusted domain, a sort of bypass, but still, it’s odd. 🙂

Michel
AT Attila Globetrotter ·
Hello,

Sorry, but that’s incorrect. The travel journal author can post up to 300 photos regardless of other members’ photos in their journal.

The question was discussed in a travel journal. Some people removed their photos, thinking it would increase the author’s quota. Wrong, according to your answer.

Maybe the message that appears should be changed to warn members about the limit: Your travel journal can’t contain more than 300 photos in total.

And what would we do with journals that have more than 300 photos when the authors cancel their subscription? Delete them? 😕

I’ve wondered the same thing about journals published on MyAtlas.

This subscription idea has been suggested to us dozens of times over the past 20+ years.

Yes, to avoid ads. Not to pay for an extra service. 🙂
UN UnaMilanese Veteran ·
Hey!

(This discussion kinda reminds me of CG...)

CG? What's that?

All this talk about generations being like this or that is a bit random, isn’t it?🙂

I don’t know. The fact is, I often hear younger people talking about stuff I’ve checked out and just don’t get the appeal (Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok...). I chalked it up to age!

We’re getting off the topic you started 😉

For me, what makes VF truly valuable isn’t its travel journals (though I can enjoy reading them) but the chance to interact with members who have direct, often recent experience of the places I want to visit and can give me the insights to make choices and decisions. From that perspective, over the past month, I’ve been fully satisfied. I don’t know if this aspect still interests people, if there’s an equivalent elsewhere (haven’t looked), or what can be done to boost the volume. I’d bet it just takes time.

Cat
VO VoyageForum Globetrotter ·
Hi Michel,

We can only block and identify trolls and spammers on the forum if we have their real IP address.

For example, 2-3 weeks ago, we were bombarded with illegal ads for selling medications and loan offers. With a VPN, these spammers can quickly change their IP address, open a new member account, and start again right away. By blocking VPNs and forcing site users to reveal their real IP address, it’s much easier to block them.

By the way, there’s really nothing secure about a VPN, despite what VPN companies claim. You’re just giving your browsing history to the VPN company instead of your internet provider. It’s also important to know that most VPN companies have been quietly bought up in recent years by very shady companies/holdings...

Best regards,

François
AT Attila Globetrotter ·
...I admit I no longer remember its real VF identity. On the other hand, I perfectly remember its photographic decrees... Kate or Masterpo should have a better memory.

When it comes to questions, I rarely get answers. If the questions are easy, the answers can be found online. If they're specific, VF often isn't more helpful than my own searches. That's why I sometimes make very open-ended requests, just in case... Travel journals are more productive in those cases.

As for the forum format, I think it's a boomer thing—meaning over 40—for younger people—meaning under 35. We’d need to convince them it’s useful.
UN UnaMilanese Veteran ·
For the forum format, I think it's a boomer thing—meaning over 40s—for younger people—meaning under 35s. We’d need to convince them it’s useful.

And what about those between 35 and 40? 😛😏

There are a lot of people over 40... even if we limit it to French speakers. Hey, why not offer automatic English translations of posts? 😎

As a proud boomer—or boomeuse?—I find it way more convenient to have all the info in one place, interactive most of the time, than sorting through tons of sites (it takes me ages, and I’d rather sail the sea than surf the Web).

Cat
RA Ragamuffin Globetrotter ·
Hi Agnès 😉

CG is Christiang, who hasn’t logged into VF since... July 13, 2017!

His last profile showed he was 71 (so 84 today).

Various ideas to revive/improve the site

I still haven’t been notified by VF about the site reopening 🤪 and I’m probably not the only one 😏
AT Attila Globetrotter ·
And between 35 and 40, what are they?

Future oldies who don’t know it yet...

I find it way more convenient to have all the info concentrated here, and interactive most of the time, than to sort through tons of sites

You still have to sort through stuff here. And the interactivity only works for recent discussions. If you revive a 15-year-old thread, you won’t get many replies.

It was easier to navigate back in the day when merchant sites didn’t dominate search engine results.

You’d type in a couple of place names and end up diving into several travel journals. 😛 Now, you land on Booking or Get Your Guide—way less dreamy... 🏴‍☠️ Gotta stop now or they’ll call me an old fuddy-duddy, "ok boomer" in today’s terms.
AT Attila Globetrotter ·
Hey Raga 😉

That’s right, thanks! 🙂 71 is his current age, not his age when he signed up. VF calculates and updates your age if you’ve filled in your birth date.

For the emails, I think I figured out it’s done in waves to avoid everyone showing up at the same time. I also got the message way after I signed up. No idea how the waves are ordered (alphabetical order of usernames, email addresses? Sign-up date on VF?).
KO Kola Globetrotter ·
I also received the message long after signing up.

(I still haven’t received anything)

And then there’s a rumor that all posts made before you get the official personalized email saying the forum is back up will be deleted! 😛 Is that true? 🤪
MO Montagnard74 Globetrotter ·
A total VF blackout? A giant reset? 🏴‍☠️ What’s the point?
KO Kola Globetrotter ·
Well... the smileys didn’t do the trick 😕 I was joking. (we’ve got a few jokers here 🙂)
MO Montagnard74 Globetrotter ·
Hi Agnès, What if we trusted Vf to revive VF? I assume the people who bought this site are professionals and will act like professionals…

My small contribution: participating because I know that activity boosts SEO. Even if there’s less activity right now…

And if young people don’t use the site, so what—we’ll just stick with the old-timers! I don’t use Toctoc or Instagram, and I’m not dying from it.

And like you said: 1,000 online users means at least 30,000 pages read per month. Maybe that’s enough? 🤷🏾‍♀️
MO Montagnard74 Globetrotter ·
Alright... the emojis didn’t do the trick 😕 I was joking. (there are a few of us jokers here 🙂)

I actually took it at face value. Though I joke around pretty easily too. That reassures me—I was worried about a VoyageForum big bang 😅
AT Attila Globetrotter ·
This only applies to members whose username starts with the letter K. ;)

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