89ersmate
Thank you for your thoughts.
Sometimes you can be the victim of your own success.
It now costs Danny the equivalent of a QF Senior B744 Capts Salary to run this site and make it available for all to use free.
Having said that, there has never been any change in the "advertising" policy.
The whole point of the Forum would be lost were it to become an advertising free for all.
That is why the ban is for all "advertising" except that approved by the boss.
No exceptions, no other agenda.
Believe me were it not so, every other thread or post would be someone trying to sell you something, to the point where it
would lose that "community spirit" of which you speak.
This is a jealously guarded policy and one of the reasons for the success of PPRuNe.
There have been more than a few, very clever attempts to circumvent this policy and gain free access to the 50+ plus thousand mostly pilot members.
For those not within the publishing business, that is a very serious number.
To put this into context one of the well known and respected International Aviation Magazines can only lay claim to around 2,500 pilot subscribers.
Judicious, discrete and aviation related banner ads have helped defray the costs.
Those advertisers deserve our support, but there is no other motivation as far as a;
commercial imperative to stop any "leakage" of traffic outside the site.
it's simply to keep it the way it is supposed to be .
I am disappointed that
many heavy duty PPRuNers have failed to take up Dannys offer to buy a user thingy to help.
I have been with PPRuNe many years, in fact from not long after its inception, however with another identity. I have seen the changes that have come from the exponential growth of the site.
That is true.
In case you haven't to the new Home Page yet, nothing has really changed it's just got better, and no "the sense of community and willingness to 'push the limits' that was the great strength of the concept in the beginning" hasn't changed either.
This on the New Home Page from Danny who should have the last word on this;
Welcome to the new PPRuNe Home Page
Welcome to the new revamped PPRuNe Home Page. Special Thanks to Marcus Eby, the Marketing Director for the International Pilots Group for donating his time and expertise in redesigning the home page for the benefit of all PPRuNers. We have changed to a dynamic format with constantly changing information which we hope will improve your experience when visiting the site whilst at the same time keeping graphics to a minimum.
Over the last seven years as PPRuNe has grown we have watched with interest as new forums were added to cater for the diverse number of groups who have an interest in professional aviation. We have added forums for private pilots who want to be able to learn from the safety culture (or lack of it) in the airlines. Don't forget that many of us airline pilots started off as Private Pilots. The Pax & SLF (Passengers & Self Loading Freight) forum was added to cater for the large number of end users who benefit from our skills whenever they fly.
PPRuNe was originally set up to cater for airline pilots. Our jobs prevented us from having the normal 9 to 5 office lifestyle which is largely the norm for most people, so we do not get to hear the usual type of gossip and it was only when downroute in a night-stop hotel that we got to meet up with other crew and the rumours could circulate. As more and more people who are involved in our industry become interested in our 'network' we accommodate them with their own forums and now they are the core of the website.
Our most popular forums are Reporting Points where any news that may be of interest to pilots and which encompasses information or discussion that directly relates to our jobs. Wannabes where anyone who is interested in training to become a professional pilot can ask their questions and get their answers. Military Aircrew where the professional pilots of the armed services can and do discuss topics that are of interest to them. Jet Blast, where anything not directly about professional flying gets discussed and fraudsters are exposed as long as the 'hotel lobby' rules are followed. There are over 70 forums to choose from although some are private airline specific and only accessible by invitation if you are employed by the airline.
Feel free to browse all the public forums and should you feel the urge to take part in any of the discussions then just register a Username for yourself and as soon as you are approved you can take part. Remember to read the FAQ's (Frequently Asked Questions) and if you are not too au fait with the internet or computers there is a forum dedicated to answering your questions too.
The PPRuNe community is made up of professional pilots and people from the thousands of other professions and trades that are all a part of one of the most exciting businesses in the world. If you have an interest in the business then you should be reading PPRuNe. After a while you will learn to sort out the 'wheat from the chaff'. The forums are moderated by a team of over 60 volunteers who are involved in the business and have some speciality knowledge of the subject area their forum covers. Our aim is to keep the content relevant and to stop the few troublemakers who are unable to learn 'netiquette' from turning some threads into flame wars.
PPRuNe started out as a hobby but has grown into an organisation dedicated to providing the ability for anyone with an interest and something worthwhile to say, a platform directly to the people who make the aviation world go round. Use it but please don't abuse it. It can be addictive, so be warned!
- from Danny - 15th November 2002 22:05