With the season coming up, this is a plug to join TKPC. I'd like to operate the site as I've had in the past, but frankly I need to grow memberships. I don't want to raise prices, I don't to make TKP entirely pay to play, and frankly I'd love to publish more content outside of the paywall. However, I do need more people to join TKPC, and if that doesn't happen everything is on the table for how to grow memberships moving forward.
I have a substantial technical initiative with the site platform coming up. Drupal 7, which TKP is built on, hits end of life in about 17 months, not a lot of time in the tech world especially for a solo-founder. I'm either going to have to pay for third-party support for patches, or change a lot of code. So I'd like to see where things stand before I make any decision for how to move forward.
I sound like a broken record, but I'm really hoping the daily lurker, readers and posters decide to get fully dipped. I guess the message is simply this, if you like using TKP, visit daily, then join The Key Players Club.
Comments
I'll pay whatever (within reason). I get my money's worth here.
LOL at my previous job, one of my goals was moving a product from Drupal 7 to Drupal 9. Wild how long they are taking to end support for Drupal 7.
Also, had no idea that TKP was running on drupal. That's cool.
I'll pay whatever (within reason). I get my money's worth here.
I feel exactly as you do.
I do hope more people join though, so that Joe can publish more on the free side for those that can't afford it.
There are a lot of sites running on D7, last time I looked about half of Drupal installs were 7. It was supposed to EOL in 2020 but has been bumped several times. This time around, they specifically said this is the last time EOL will be extended.
Joe, thanks for everything you do for this site.
My plug for TKPC:
Even if you don't value the content behind the paywall, this is an awesome site that has a great community and is 100% worth your support. If you spend time on here engaging with people and reading the news & comments, you should seriously consider supporting it financially.
Best VT community on the internet. Simple as that.
Y'all are gonna want TKP to be working when we start pushing for ACC championships starting 2024, so buy in now!
THE END.
Joe, I don't want to advocate against myself, but I wouldn't mind paying more for the subscription.
I think it averages out to $7 a month right now but I would happily pay $10 a month or more. I'm guessing many other TKPers would too. I don't think the price has gone up at all since you first launched TKP club, but God knows other costs have gone up.
Especially with the price(s) and costs associated with inflation. Speaking for myself but I probably wouldn't bat an eye at $100/yr, etc
They have, and I appreciate the sentiment.
I don't ever post and am nothing more than a TKPC lurker but i super appreciate the community and want to do my part to keep the lights on here, which is why ive remained a member for years. I def hope more people sign up bc this site has made my work tolerable and i would hate to lose it as its been. Go Hokies!
That's my hope too. Unfortunately, I only have a couple of levers I can pull to "force" people to join TKPC. I've already pulled the pay to read TKP produced content lever. And without that, the site would probably be dead by now.
As it stands now, there's 1000s of people who visit TKP daily to read and post comments and threads. I can continue to post these type of threads and "ask" people to look inside and pay if they are daily users, but unfortunately that doesn't move the needle. Thus far only three folks have decided to join TKPC (thanks to them) since I posted this message. I know that if you had to pay to post and read comments and threads, that number would go up. Again, that's not what I want to do, but it's the unfortunate reality that a lot of people won't pay for something unless they are forced to.
Incorrect. You still have the most powerful one left Joe. The threat of a French on the Bench Only Fans Edition. We all want the classic French write ups, most of us likely prefer those write ups without seeing the middle linebacker up in sack city. Will pay more to keep status quo.
And its a win win. Those that do want it will pay for it as hastily as those of us that don't.
I'm more confused than Brad Cornelsen trying to run the ball against 10 in the box.
That came from his boss, who couldn't read complex 2 high safety defense
I am almost 100% positive this has been suggested before and I have no clue how hard it would be to implement but I think an idea could be to keep yearly prices the same (or even a little more) and then offer a higher month to month pricing. Some people may only be "tuned in" during the season and would be willing to pay a higher premium to access the content during that time. Not a grand solution but could pick up a surge in income, especially if Tech outperforms expectations and catches people's excitement that normally aren't plugged in
Or maybe offer a football season special that lasts from mid-August to mid-December (4 months). That's 33% of the year, but if you make it for 45-50% of the annual cost, that might get people signed up. And if you offer a deal to convert to an annual subscription for the difference, you can pick up people that have gotten hooked in that 4 months time.
It's going to take some programming overhaul of the subscription logic, for sure, but if you program in a monthly subscription at the same time, you could get more bang for the buck.
Hope the football team wins more games this fall.
I think membership would be up significantly if we were still consistently a 10 win team. That's got to suck for Joe because the site has continued to improve while the team got worse.
Boom, done. Joined. Been a super lurker forever, for longer than my account is old. Joe, I wasn't sure if it was asking for my username or actual name, but you got actual name. Email linked to this account should be correct. Want to see this place flourish, and being on the road all the time it is a fantastic resource. LET'S GO...HOKIIIIIIES. Or Krogering
Hey I appreciate the spirit, but your payment didn't go through. I think you might've forgotten to hit the submit button because I don't see a failed try. 😅
Lmao. How TKP can it get!
/s I'm sure it was an error. But what a way to join the club! I joined on Mitch Trubi(tch)sky's first non-hurricane interception milestone in 2016. What a great day in history.
Weird. Maybe too much Dork Magic. We should be good now!
just needed to TKP a little harder 😛
Ok, now you're good to go! Send me an email if you want me to change your username or email of your account.
Okay Joe, you got me!
Thanks for getting fully dipped.
The reason I pay is because hosting costs money, I enjoy the paid content, but its not the reason I pay for this site, it's just a fantastic bonus.
If hosting cost more then I'd pay more.
EDIT: for Joe, it's not just hosting, it's the time and effort and I don't want to diminish that, so when I say hosting I mean running the site.
After annoying other TKP members for free the past 7 years, I got high as fuck about a month ago and joined.
I recommend people do that.
I recommend both parts, yes
Hell yeah man.
Living overseas, this site is a lifeline for my Hokie fandom. I don't want to imagine having to be a traveling Hokie without my daily TKP fix. Thank you Joe for this wonderful and wacky community that feels like home.
The Key Play is a SLAM DUNK of a deal!!!
Bust down that door and join us.
What Fireman wants us to think he is doing:
Reality, and basically all of TKP:
Ok ok ok... I'm back on the bus. In a better situation financially
Glad to hear it, and thanks for getting back on the bus.
I am probably putting words in Joe's mouth, but this is really the point of what Joe wants. If everyone that can afford it pays then the ones that can't still get to be full members of the community. We're all Hokies and we're here as a community, which means helping others. While we all talk about joining for French's articles and other great paid content, but for all the unpaid content that is great we as a community can help keep that going for the ones that might not be in the best financial situation to spend on a subscription service like this.
The more members we get means that some one that might have just had their life turned up side down still has a place to come and have an escape from who knows what (layoffs, medical expenses, kids, or what ever else cost way to much money)
That was along the lines of my sentiment, but unfortunately that's probably not how things are going to play out.
Oh I'm aware, I just wanted to say it because I really enjoy the idea and maybe if other people than you say it people might think about it more and agree.
I appreciate you trying to move the ball forward.
We appreciate you for helping to cultivate and mould this community. Seriously, I tried to look at some of the other sites for a bit and it brought me back here
Umm....what were we talking about again? I seem to have lost track of the discussion.
The occasions when I TKP and my browser has signed me out...the lack of ads makes TKP so clean and user-friendly, I can never go back.
French and GIFtorys are worth $7/month alone.
I'm going to throw this out. Could you supplement the TKP membership with Patreon? I value this site more than the current membership level and would love to contribute more. I suspect based on other comments that others might feel the same way.
I was thinking something like this also. A voluntary contribution method. Some people may like the site, but not be able to afford the yearly subscription, but pay $5 here or there. Some others may be willing to pay more for the great content.
Who knows, maybe people might pay extra for me to not submit my long-ass posts. Maybe people would pay thousands to see French eat cheese?
Joe - slap a goal with a progress counter up top with a donation button and see what happens!
For the record, I'd hit that donation button periodically throughout the year.
Put this at the top of every "we won" thread
That's a good idea. Patreon is probably relatively easy to set up, and you're going to catch some of those "The Lady Hokies just won their 25th game, so I'm going to donate $25 to the Hokie Club"-type contributions.
It's a solid idea, but here's why I'm not going to do it. TKP is a business, and the guy who runs TKP has some pride. When I first introduced TKPC it was in the spirit of "join if you can". I had to pump that a bunch. And quite frankly had to deal with people accusing me of "begging" for money. Mind you, I work my ass off for this site. I went down that path because I: 1) trusted people to do the right thing (didn't happen) and 2) wanted everyone to still be able to enjoy the site. At that point in my life I was probably editing and writing 2-3 articles a day and we had paltry TKPC take. It wasn't until I put content behind the paywall that I got the majority of signups.
As it stands now there's a large number of people who post and read TKP forums daily that: 1) run ad blockers 2) don't pay for TKPC.
I'm hoping this will nudge people to "do the right thing" and join TKPC. This ain't Reddit or Facebook, this isn't community at scale. It's self-hosted, self-coded which makes it unique. Ads are worthless. From a business point of view, I need more people who are using the site to pay for it.
I don't post as much as I used to (two kids, busier than ever at work) but I still read a huge amount of TKP content and it is still my go-to online community. Life wouldn't be the same without TKP. The TKPC membership is such a value at only a couple bucks a month. Join us and help this great community continue!
If you can afford it, just do it. You won't regret it and will probably kick yourself for not doing it sooner.
TKP membership is worth every penny for the ad-free experience alone. That you also get the unparalleled community and bonus content is just
icing on the cakeice cream on the pie."Membership has its privileges" dot gif
IMO you need more quotes at the bottom of the page. I've seen them all :(
I vote to quote this in the quote rotation.
I can make this happen.
Well, I finally did it. I probably won't post much but the comments on this site are what keep me connected to the team and really the whole bburg mindset. That's worth something for sure. Thanks to joe and staff for creating and sustaining this thing for so long and to everyone else for making it a community. Go Hokies.
Strong username choice!! Welcome to full dippage
Just wait until you feel the allure of a large number of legs and a green background, that dopamine hits just right and forces you to post again changing that
dragonturkeyJust wait til he sees his first plaid. It's life altering
Now that's an enhancement we need, how many plaids does everyone have.
I think I only have one and I would have never thought that the comment when made would have gone plaid.
Ability to sort "recent comments" by leg count?
I know I have 1. I may have more but my confidence lowers exponentially for each additional #.
Edit: I've got 231 PAGES of comments....yes, a sort-by-legs feature would be much appreciated, joe 😅
Edit edit: Found the one I was thinking of
https://www.thekeyplay.com/comment/761910#comment-761910
Plaids are few and far between.
Thanks for recognizing the value and I appreciate you deciding to pay for it.
Just do it.
Fuck it you got me. Been on here for nearly 10 years. Don't post as much as I used to but I'm on this site too damn much to not get fully dipped.
Thanks for getting fully dipped.
I hardly ever post any more but that doesn't stop me from visiting every day and reading everything. Just don't have anything interesting to say.
Thus far, nine people signed up since I posted this and that's awesome. However, 4 people canceled their subscriptions. Unfortunately, that's the reality of a subscription business. I'm going to let this run one more week, then decide how to move forward. Ideally, there's an overwhelming number of TKPC signups and I don't have to change anything.
People stop using the site and don't want to pay for it. I totally get that. I want the people who do use the site to pay for it.
Fully dipped. Sorry it took so long Joe, but so happy to finally be able to go from lurking/casual posting to being a part of TKPC
Just refreshed my card info. We should be good for a couple years Joe. Very smooth transaction interface.
I feel it is my duty as a paying member to provide an unsolicited plug. This site is worth every dollar I spend on it year in and year out. The quality content is unmatched. There are members with great insight on sports matters one could never have on their own. I often feel I have the "inside track" without actually being on the inside track. Outside of the recent Mehki "Insert a Hot Poker in My Eye" White comment debacle, this site is the straight up tits!!!!
Pull out your credit card and input those digits.
Where else can you find sick memes, fresh gifs, hilarious commentary, biting sarcasm, good friends, a wife, a husband, AND quality, in-depth content all in the same site?
A wife AND a husband!? what a bargain!
Or. Hell, maybe and. You never know.
Usually you have to pay $1 million for that.
Wait, all I got was a KeyPlay bottle opener!
might be more useful than the wife and/or husband
Guaranteed not to cost you alimony down the road.
There's a fallacy alive and well out there today that you can get anything on the internet for free. This has its origin in the early days of the web when advertisers were duped into paying through the nose for murky payoffs and lots of sites could get by on that. The truth, these days, is that advertisers don't pay that much anymore and it doesn't cover the costs. Hosts are then left to try to find ways to fill in the gaps. Some sites find buyers for your data and keep that income stream under the radar. Others go to a completely paywalled system. Joe has always done this with a combination of out of pocket money and blood/sweat/tears and a relatively minor subsidy from merch, donations (in the old days), and TKPC dues. This is not sustainable. Like all good free products, if not properly funded, it will have to either change to a product that is sutainable (lower quality or restrict access) or it will simply cease to exist.
I am just as guilty as anyone else of going the cheap route. I have watched my share of shaky cam versions of movies nabbed from bit torrent. I've sat there cursing my phone as the third ad in a row plays while I'm trying to play a "free" game. I've closed 15 windows in a row so I could see the hokies play on a pixelated free stream. At some point, you realize that you just have to assign a value to something and be willing to pay it or go without. Make no mistake, you are paying, one way or another. Is hours of your life watching unskippable ads worth the $3 the game asks to go ad-free? I've gotten to the point where I don't think it is anymore.
And as for this site, the cost here isn't exposure to the ads (which you can still do just using an ad blocker, if you so desire). The cost is driving the site out of existence and being left with the alternatives for your online hokie community fix. Tailgate fever is gone. FireBryanStinespring is gone. What would you have outside of TKP? Tech Side Line? Gobbler Country? E$PN? Eww, no, and gross, in that order.
Joe has done a fantastic job of coding up one of the best interfaces I've seen for a social network without the obnoxiousness that seems to be ubiquitous in the profitable sites. It's easily worth $7/month to keep it from fading out of existence. Hell, it's a deal at twice the price.
This is where I'm at. I'll pay for good content. TKP, SZD, The Athletic, etc. It helps content creators, and I'm just exhausted by searching for content, dealing with ads, finding ways around paywalls, etc.
Preach it brother.
I used to peruse and occasionally post on Gobbler Country. Then I found TKP and haven't looked back.
I know everyone's financial situation is different, and I have had to cancel my TKPC membership before...having said that I regret that I cut supporting this site out instead of other expenses. This site is worth every penny for the TKPC. No other website interface, writers or community touch what Joe has built here. Please help keep the lights on!
I've been a member before and let my TKPC lapse. I just re-joined. The content and camaraderie on this sight is second to none when it comes to VT sports, and a lot of other topics TBH. I want to see it continue for a long time to come. Thank you Joe for all you do for each one of us! ❤️🦃🏈🏀🥎⚾️
Thanks for hopping back in.
I pay for the ease of use and no ads. I have to get my Hokie Football fix and this is the best place to do it. I can find crazy people to argue with on the internet anywhere. It is just better here.
we have crazies but they're our crazies...it's just..different
Do our crazies just mean more?
Burnt Orange and Chicago maroon or Surrender Cobra blue and 38-Orange, either way, they go plaid.
Of course my screen name would beg to differ......
I am not sure what a watch has to do with crazy.
I learn to read from "Hooked on Phonics" so to me Phech is pronounced "fish" or seikoh is pronounced "psycho". Then again it could be pronounced "Kevin"
You can always argue with me pal (we have and probably will again)
Don't call me pal, buddy
I'm counting on it!
Any updates from Joe or the mods on changes coming for TKP now that we're basically in Drupal 7's EoL?
I am going to put a more thoughtful post at some point, but I am paying for security updates now.
With the rate people are canceling, I doubt there will be site in the long run, so it's a good enough solution for now.
Thanks for the update and sorry to put you on the spot. I figured you were going to post something eventually, but I was curious.
It's cool, I didn't take any offense.
😭😭😭
I appreciate your transparency, even if I don't like how this is looking to ultimately go. I've enjoyed my time here and I appreciate what you helped to cultivate here. It always felt like a place that I could return to from some time away and not miss too much of a beat.
I would just like to say. I have recently started, for the first time, to read the boards over on 247. Mostly to pick up on transfer and recruiting "inside" info when available. However, the boards there are awful compared to here. This is an appreciation post for TKP having never experienced any other VT Football boards before
I'll second this. I lurk around on 247 and TSL (commenting occasionally there) and value the recruiting and insider information from those sites. But the board here is way better than the other sites by far. Much better discussion and dialogue. 247 can be downright toxic a lot of the time and has some pretty arrogant/obnoxious posters.
Also French's X's and O's breakdowns are a massive part of the community here.
Agreed.
I was on the 247 board for years and had to leave because it was so toxic and garbage.
TKP is by far the most reasonable and enjoyable Hokie fansite and I've been on them all.
A long time ago I checked out the other boards and recoiled in horror.
Came over from TSL in 2013(?) and after North End Zone went inactive, I've never even lurked anywhere else (except on Le Sabre for a weekend each November)
I spent some time on 247 while inactive on here, and yes - every single poster there needs years of therapy.
I was on TSL for a long time (before they re-branded from HokieCentral) until that place went to toxic hell, and I found this nice little haven with just the right balance of fandom and Xs and Os.
There's (likely) a large enough group of IT-savvy peeps around here that would pitch in to support keeping the site up / modernized. I'm not much for web development, but I know cloud (AWS specifically) and would be happy to contribute some pro bono consulting. If there's mutual interest feel free to message me directly.