I just wanted to take the opportunity to welcome all those of you who are coming from what's sure to be the mass exodus from FSW. I know that I'll miss the wonderful variety of people and threads and topics that I found on Rinkside, and I'm hoping that you all will find it comfortable enough here to stay!

Please, pull up a seat, and join on in! We're so glad you're here!

__________________
"The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg."
--Thomas Jefferson

www.signingtime.com ~sign language fun for all!

It will be interesting to see how many former FS World posters find their way here. Iskater is not getting any money from me!

The way they handled their change was appalling. And I've told them so. Anyway, I hope more of us turn up here!

i agree. i've been at fsworld for a while although i do not post much. i think the change is ridiculous and would not pay even if i could afford it. i'm glad that rinkside has a place to go cause that's definitely what i would have missed the most

I thankfully found my way - I'd just hate to lose everyone from Rinkside, they're such a wonderful bunch. Hopefully as many as possible make it over here.

Azlynn/IrishDancerAndSkater

So glad to have found my way over here! Welcome everyone--I hope we see lots more familiar names.

Hi all! I just couldn't believe it when I read the news of the change at FSW. And here I believed they were just going to go down for upgrading.
I'm not really interested in the full range of services Iskater provides. Hopefully, many FSW members will find their way here.....

Welcome to all the new members

Hi. I'm refugeeing from FSW as well. I was sk8spice there, but never posted much. Hopefully I'll be able to open up a little more here!
I also thought it was particularly slimy the way they made the changeover, but hey, what can you do.

8)

I've been a member there for a acouple of years, but I refuse to pay $70 a year for service. No thanks.

Happy to be here!

Hi, everyone! So glad to see us grouping together somewhere friendly again. I was panicked when I thought I'd lost Rinkside -- it was an awesome place!

Hope everyone makes it over OK. Have a great weekend!

[quote:301654cdf5="flippet"]I just wanted to take the opportunity to welcome all those of you who are coming from what's sure to be the mass exodus from FSW. [/quote:301654cdf5]

[color=green:301654cdf5]Thanks Flippet.
I'm glad I was "invited" here, as I'm not paying for any site. :?
There's another couple of websites for additional skating bits and pieces at :

[/color:301654cdf5]http://groups.yahoo.com/group/UKskaters/
and
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Rinksiders/

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MEL
Absolute Skating

Hi guys! Well, I'm still in a state of shock. I hadn't checked my email yet today when I got an IM from LeslieM. She said Elsy2 said that everyone was moving to a new board. When I asked why she said because FSW wants to charge us now. WHAT????!!!!!

I'm sure there will be a mass exodus, as flippet has said. I'm going now to read the Iskater email to see what the heck is going on!

Lastly, hi to all my FSW buddies. I'll see ya back here soon.

Thanks! I'm also coming over from FSWorld. It was so nice of them to give us a warning before deciding to charge so much money for the use of their boards!

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"Keep a positive attitude!" ~ Marie-France

Well, from a marketing point of view, they handled the change to a paid-for service poorly, and they definitely did not put forth a strong value proposition in their email message.

"We hope that all members of FSWorld will become iskater subscribers..."

Marketing 101: We are supposed to care what THEY HOPE? They didn't even write the letter to address us, they wrote it in the style of "we, we, we" which, on top of the shock we all have right now, further alienates us from the situation. If they had posed it differently, maybe I would have considered a small fee to keep up my activity there.

So it looks as if they were unable to attract regular advertisers, or bring in revenue through their online store, even with the membership doubling in 19 months (as they pointed out in the email), so now they're turning to us. I understand that they need to pay for software and hardware upgrades, but I just don't see asking the users to fork over $9 a month. That's more than I pay for several magazine subscriptions.

Someone over there has to get on the ball and start attracting advertisers. While the US economy isn't the healthiest right now, skating is still going strong, skaters still need quality equipment, skating apparel and accessories. In a few short weeks when I worked on my club's competition, I was able to secure nearly $1000 in advertising. And that was a one-time local competition with 200 competitors. Iskater could bring in a lot of money by working with the general skating community, through hosting online stores (I know one successful equipment vendor who doesn't have enough time to set up his own online store but he's game to do it), advertising, holding auctions, and creating additional services. But who knows, maybe the skating world is behind the general business world in terms of embracing electronic marketing (which does not have the same momentum as it once did, but the numbers are still there). And it's probably just easier to ask us for money.

OK, so now I go to the site and they're offering the summer free. That's not the same message in the email (the email links to a page that says $8.99 monthly or $64.99 a year). Already their messages conflict.

I'm probably just still a little peeved. Thanks for letting me rant.

Thanks for the welcome, Flippet. Its good to hear everyone's "voices."

Hugs, Beth

I'm so glad to find my Rinkside buddies

I everyone!! I agree with what has been said and I am glad I am here, too!

Thanks for being a great group of people!

Hugs!!

Danielle Cox

I can't even believe it. I went there everytime I got on the computer, even if just for a minute or so. It was like getting a new Skating Magazine everyday! What creeps! I'm here for good. Thanks to Adrian Chew for having a place for us all to congregate!

Well......it's about time all you new people joined us. Welcome!

Sandra

Nothing like getting booted off the ice!!!...just when I had perfected my waltz jump too!!

I hope the whole Rinkside gang shows up here!!!

Formally known as Ifigureskate....

Well I'm not a refugee but,
when I went there tonight to
check on things, to my surprise it wan't there.
I don't post much but,
love to read what's going on in the skating world.
I visit this sight often too as I like the people on it.
I'm sure the peopple will love it here too as I do.
Helen4

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"Thake Care & Keep Smiling"

hey adrianchew and everyone here.
im a skater, been on FSWORLD since Canadians, then a bunch of us skaters started our own convo. im sure tons of u saw it. and then today we got cut off! it was :? aweful, mean, and cruel.
FSWORLD was great to us, but it is dissapionting they would just do that like they did.
i was wondering if u dont mind if i forward this link to the bunch that was on FSWORLD? its just basically a means of communication, we are spread across the country and only get to talk so much, so anything like this is helpful.
nice to meet everyone here, i hope i like it

took a while I was already registered on the private board but took a while to get on here! Nice to see lots of people here .... hopefully the trend will continue

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The best whisper is a click

[quote:2f0fca2df0="TashaKat"]You're disturbing me or you're disturbed[/quote:2f0fca2df0]

You're 15 year old niece with the really cool name!

:wink:

Danielle