SteveCole

1 hour ago, THS92-GWR-NO said:

Hey, need help. 

I started a trial period to get RM gold too, but haven't been upgraded in here and is still bombarded by ads on both web and phone. Help? 

Hi,

RMweb Gold isn't included within the free trial: https://www.world-of-railways.co.uk/information/about-rm-web-access?openPageId=90281a09-f71c-4046-ab5f-ac20eb0d8380

Thanks,

Steve

6 minutes ago, 2ManySpams said:

Just for clarity... Folk keep mentioning signing up for RMweb Gold. As far as I can see that's not available anymore and the only product currently on offer is the WoR subscription. It does however seem that as part of WoR you get a 'Gold' membership of RMweb. 

 

Is my understanding correct?

That's correct. RMweb Gold now forms part of the World of Railways Plus digital membership. https://www.world-of-railways.co.uk/membership

13 minutes ago, Simond said:

does a user having an adblocker somehow get reported back to the advertiser (and if so, presumaby by means of cookies?) and if so, does that reduce the revenue to RMW?

 

It seems to me that if I go and make a cuppa during the adverts on the telly (or change channel or whatever) ITV (or whoever) doesn't lose out.

 

If RMW doesn't lose out, what's the issue with adblockers?

Using an ad-blocker means the advert is not shown and therefore reduces revenue to RMweb. We hope that once an 'ad-free' membership is launched users will use this as their ad-blocker

17 minutes ago, bimble said:

I suppose part of it is how you see RMWeb, as the experience, or part of the experience.  I came to RMWeb looking for a model/railway forum, knew nothing about BRM (apart from possibly seeing one in WHSmith).  Adverts have always been part of forums as they pay the bills without direct payment from members.  Now I'll be honest, none of the benefits of Gold Membership I would use.  I'm not a reader of BRM (I'm sure it's a wonderful magazine and all, just not interested), and I'm not a reader of digital magazine (so the archive isn't of interest), and the other benefits such as increased PM/image storage are things I don't need.  So for me the question becomes 'is £50 a year to get rid of pop-up ads worth it?'

 

But what it does mean is that my time on the forum, even to use it as a resource is dramatically down on what it was from before.  Adverts I don't mind, but pop-ups and especially auto-playing video pop-ups annoy me to the point where I don't know if I'm going to come back.  I've already stopped coming here when at home because the smaller screen on the laptop made it annoying.

 

I don't know how much  a subscribed member who has all these ads thrown in their general direction make towards the upkeep of the forums, but if there was a Silver Membership who's only benefit was no pop-ups for a few quid, sign me up as interested. (and I don't even mind the ads at the side, literally pop-ups and auto-playing video pop-ups)

 

I'm not going going, but the annoyance is greater than the joy for now so I'll see you in a bit.

We're working on a 'silver' membership that includes a 'no ads' benefit.

1 hour ago, 5BarVT said:

I too want to see RMWeb succeed and will happily pay for Gold membership.  If I go for WoR now, will I be able to ‘downgrade’ later?  And related to that, how far away (approx and without guarantee) is your ‘new Gold only’ product?

Paul.

If you pay for 'Gold' via a monthly Direct Debit you'll be able to cancel should you want to 'downgrade' once we launch a second membership.

5 minutes ago, Nick C said:

 

I've emailed a few thoughts on this...

Thanks Nick. I'll reply.

10 minutes ago, 4630 said:

 

Steve, whilst I acknowledge the need for advertising on the site to support its running costs, should I and possibly other World of Railway Plus members be concerned from the word in your above reply to @Kristhat I have highlighted?

 

Is a change in the offing to the 'no ad' policy for the World of Railway Plus category of membership?

 

I assume that if a change to the policy is being planned that it would take place at the time of the annual renewal for a member, rather than during an existing subscription period?  I'd appreciate your confirmation on this point. 

 

Many thanks.

 

 

Apologies, a bad choice of words from my end. WoR+ members will continue to see no Google-type ads.

2 minutes ago, Kris said:

Just some feed back about the video ads, Andy, maybe it will be of use for you and those in charge of the advertising during discussions.

 

These are a significant intrusion, over and above the existing very high level of advertising. They make the experience of visiting RMweb poor at best. I had though that the pop ups and very slow scroll down of the advert box at the top was bad, but having these videos on every page is vile.

Hi Kris,

We're currently testing a few things and looking at how we can cap frequency based on whether the user is a World of Railways Plus member (they currently see no ads), a signed-in member (who will see fewer ads) and a non-member (who will see more ads). We are also looking to launch an 'ad-free' membership. You may not like the ads but we need to test in order to make an informed decision as to whether they say. 

Steve

Good morning everyone. Apologies for not replying sooner. I was out of the office without access to email or the web. 

As you will have seen, we are testing some new adverts: the main change being the full screen pop-up that some of you have commented about. I am told that this pop-up is appearing just once a day per device, that's it (if this is incorrect, please message me direct and I'll find out why). All pop-ups should have either a cross in the top right corner or a 'close' button - both will delete the advert. I apologise if you find it intrusive. Like Andy has said, World of Railways Plus members don't see any non-trade adverts.

RMweb is incredibly expensive to run. The server space required is huge and therefore incredibly expensive. There are associated staff costs too. RMweb is free to use and we have no plans for it to become otherwise.

As always, we will continue to monitor what adverts are effective (both financially and in the best interest of users) and what's not.

Kind regards,

Steve

Publisher

36 minutes ago, Budgie said:

I'm trying to open the latest BRM, but I'm having no luck. So I tried to open last month's copy, which I had no trouble opening and I couldn't open that either. The message I got says "These pages are available to subscribers only". I was under the impression that Gold members are subscribers. What am I doing wrong?

 

Have you logged into World of Railways Plus here: https://www.world-of-railways.co.uk/membership ?

10 hours ago, Neil P said:

Can we still see the magazines on the EE app? 

No. All 5 magazines are now available to read via the browser within the WoR Plus membership area so one log-in gives you everything.

16 hours ago, Budgie said:

Thanks. What happens about the extra £20 on the subbscription?

If you're on a recurring direct debit payment your membership cost remains the same as it is now. 

1 hour ago, Budgie said:

What happens to my existing gold membership if I do nothing?

Existing Gold members are automatically upgraded to WoR Plus.

Hi all,

Thanks for your comments. Just to reiterate, the digital archive includes the 750+ back issues plus ALL future issues whilst you are a member. Essentially it's a subscription to all five magazines with the added benefit of hundreds of back issues.

In terms of trackplans and video, we'll be uploading more each month. Next week will see a new trackplan and new video go live. We have lots of ideas for exclusive WoR+ videos for the coming months. The same goes for competitions, we'll have new comps each month.

You only get RMweb Gold access when you pay for a full memberships (i.e. not the free trial). RMweb Gold memberships offers:

•    The ability to sell products in the RMweb.co.uk ‘Classified’ area.
•    RMweb.co.uk unlimited image size ability per post.
•    RMweb.co.uk increased PM storage.
•    RMweb.co.uk Private Personal Image Gallery. 
•    Exclusive RMweb.co.uk Gold Private Forum.

Finally, regardless of how you pay for your memberships - monthly, quarterly or annual - you get access to everything listed. 

Hopefully this helps answer a few of your questions. 

Steve

We are looking into this. It's actually been in place since September but appears to have been working fine until recently. Once you either consent or manage options it shouldn't appear again for a long, long time. The problem appears to be with Apple devices. 

We're now testing a reduced frequency. It's a test though so you may experience different tests over the coming days.

13 hours ago, Steamport Southport said:

However as pointed out numerous times it's not the adverts in general which is the issue. It's just one extremely annoying one that has appeared over the last few days. 

 

It even appears in the reply box whilst you are typing and slows down the website. 

 

 

Attached screenshot to point out what I mean as some aren't quite understanding the issue.

 

Hi all,

For those who don't know me, I'm the publisher of the railways department at Warners. I thought I'd step-in as it's unfair on Andy to be taking the flack about a commercial decision made from my desk.

RMweb is an incredible website but it incurs pretty substantial running costs...without going into too much detail you're talking tens of thousands of pounds. It offers us amazing marketing value for BRM, we're able to host adverts from companies within the trade and now have RMweb Gold. All of these are great revenue streams but it still leaves a pretty big shortfall.

I'm going to be really honest, Google advertising generates a decent amount of money that will reduce the loss we currently make on RMweb. Some adverts work well, others don't so we're continually testing to find the right balance. The advert at the bottom of the page is one such 'test' and whilst I appreciate your comments (and we do listen) we need to test a little longer to be able to make a decision on whether to keep it or not. 

As Andy said, RMweb Gold members don't see any Google adverts and get a load of additional benefits thrown-in, including access to the BRM Digital Edition each month and huge back catalogue. 

Steve

On 25/04/2020 at 14:51, beejack said:

Just received my subcribers copy through the post today but minus the DVD. 

The welcome column mentions that this is sadly only available to digital subscribers for the time being due to the current situation. 

 

With previous digital editions I've purchased and indeed the recent free digital sample of the March edition, the DVD is hosted on YouTube.  So why couldn't you have made it available to paper subscribers via a link printed in the magazine? 

I know that there will still be a few who prefer or can only watch via a dvd player, but at least you would have allowed as many of your subscribers as possible to view the DVD.

 

 

Print subscribers were sent an email (where we had an email address) with a link to BRM TV online. I'll message you the link.

1 hour ago, pharrc20 said:

Looking on https://www.world-of-railways.co.uk/Store/Back-Issues/british-railway-modelling there does not appear to be an option at present to buy a paper copy of the April 2020 but there is for the previous Spring 2020 edition, which I already have. Any ideas?

 

Thanks Paul

Sorted, you can now buy online. Sorry for the mix up. We thought we had sold out of the April such is recent demand but we've actually got about 300 kicking about due to the Ally Pally Show being postponed!

Did you know that for an extra 25p you could subscribe and get the next two issues as well? After this the subscription goes to a Direct Debit but there is no minimum term. Of course, we hope you love the magazine and continue wanting it, but if you don't you can cancel with ease. Click here to see the offer.

45 minutes ago, pharrc20 said:

Looking on https://www.world-of-railways.co.uk/Store/Back-Issues/british-railway-modelling there does not appear to be an option at present to buy a paper copy of the April 2020 but there is for the previous Spring 2020 edition, which I already have. Any ideas?

 

Thanks Paul

Hi Paul,

Let me check why that is. I'll come back to you.

Steve

5 minutes ago, halsey said:

Just contemplating this to relieve boredom

 

Is access to the archive assisted by a search facility?

 

Will the magazine continue to be produced ………………..

Hi,

Yes, Exact Editions has a great search facility. Type in a search term - a layout name for example - and it'll bring up every mention from the archive.

And, the current and all future issues are uploaded a week before the print magazine goes on-sale.

Hope this helps,

Steve

Hi all,

Due to the current restrictions on leaving your house and with WHSmiths temporarily closing 60% of its stores, it's not easy getting hold of BRM (and our other titles). 

But, you can buy it direct from our website with free UK postage: https://www.world-of-railways.co.uk/Store/Back-Issues/british-railway-modelling

We also have many subscriptions offers which are being regularly sent via email. If you're not getting these emails and want to consider a subscription (both print and digital) please message me direct.

Stay safe everyone,

Steve 

12 minutes ago, keefer said:

A new one for me, only since this morning - banner ad spaces down the RHS. Two large blocks run the length of the page. Appears on all 'menu' pages but not in the actual threads (Samsung Tab A, using Chrome browser):

We're currently testing a few advert configurations throughout the site.

24 minutes ago, pauliebanger said:

Hi Andy,

 

This is a genuine request for information. No criticism intended or implied.

 

How do you get the free admission to Warley?

 

The 5 free issues will be delivered by post, the Goody Bag must be collected from BRM desk at the show (a perfectly reasonable condition), but there is no info that I can find which explains the procedure for obtaining a ticket for one's prefered attendance day or some other procedure for gaining free entry to the show.

 

Of course, without attendance, there's no way to obtain the goody bag either.

 

I realise you may not be in charge of running this promotion, but you are 'our man in BRM'.  Can you offer some enlightenment as to how to claim free entry, please?

 

Best regards,

 

Paul

The ticket will be sent, first class on Monday morning.