The Future of GoHaynesvilleShale.com: A question for members

Much has changed since the website went live in 2008.  The Haynesville Shale was a huge issue across NW LA and E TX and for good reason.  A declining oil and gas industry was revitalized and intense competition in the new age of unconventional exploration and production was an economic stimulus for land owners and businesses.  The membership over a handful of months surpassed 20,000 members.  GoHaynesvilleShale.com became the go to resource for mineral owners looking to get information and have their questions answered.

Now, over seventeen years, the Haynesville Shale has matured and a number of other unconventional plays we have followed have emerged, proven uneconomic and faded away.  The Austin Chalk, Lower Smackover Brown Dense and the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale have all come and gone.  Portions of the play area have contracted and expanded as drilling and completion technologies have advanced.  New mineral plays have emerged like the Smackover Lithium play evolving across SW AR and E TX and possibly portions of N LA.  It will take a few years to see how that plays out, proves profitable for companies and enriches some mineral owners.

Over the years interest in and participation on the website has waxed and waned.  A normal progression as those O&G plays come and go and mature.  The Haynesville Shale may very well have new life with additions to the producing fairway on the east and west edges.  Some members have an interest in the emerging Western Haynesville play especially as it progresses eastward and more major operators become involved.

The challenge for GoHaynesvilleShale.com is twofold.  The site host has caused problems and limited the ability of members to fully benefit from the functionalities that were once operational.  Attempts to fix and address those problems have been less than totally successful.  A new host would take care of those issues and make being a member more valuable but there is a cost involved in creating a new platform under a new host.  And the number of active members has declined.

The website has been free to use for all of those seventeen years and has undoubtedly benefitted many hundreds of mineral owners.  The number of active members does not include those who regularly view the discussions on the website but do not join as members because they do not care to post discussions or make replies in ongoing discussion threads.  It would be ideal for those non-members to still have access to the website but how does that impact the cost versus income balance required to keep GoHaynesvilleShale.com online and available to help members and non-members?

While we explore the cost of a new host and site format, I would like to make a couple of suggestions and ask for comments from the members.  There are one-time costs involved and then ongoing monthly hosting costs.  If ad revenue and donations exceed the monthly costs, the website could remain online.  If members who continue to benefit from the knowledge provided wish to make a donation to help cover the one-time costs that would help defray the expense of the new host and site architecture, that would be a big step in keeping GoHaynesvilleShale.com online and helping mineral owners.

What do members think about a modest annual subscription to be a member who can post discussions, reply in discussion threads and fully access all the different portions of the website?  Should anyone be able to view the site for free even if they do not post?  Maybe a subscription for access and a somewhat greater one for the ability to post?  Do you value the benefits of GoHaynesvilleShale.com enough to help keep it online?  Do you have any suggestions on how to accomplish that?