Post by Admin on May 28, 2018 11:14:34 GMT
Proposed Evolution of the P2P Independent Forum
The P2PIndependentforum.com (P2PIF) started out in November 2013, when P2P was a somewhat different proposition, and the regulatory framework for it’s operation barely existed. We received some initial legal advice around regulatory issues which resulted in our much lambasted refusal to allow the publishing of borrower’s names or anything which would easily allow for their identification. Since this time not only has the P2P environment moved on but so has other legislation such as GDPR and regulation around social media.
As members may be aware we have lost nearly half of our volunteer staff team in the last year, whilst the number of forum members has risen by just over 25% (>1000) in the same period. A contributory factor in a number of staff departures has been the perceived increase from ‘regulatory’ risk coupled with the awareness that it is our individual personal ‘assets’ that are on the line should anyone ever attempt to sue or litigate against the forum. That we may be able to successfully defend any case is irrelevant as to merely mount a defence would have cost implications.
At the present juncture this issue is a serious factor in staff recruitment and retention and, if not overcome, will likely result in the loss of more staff. It is imperative that it is addressed if the forum is to continue to be able to function into the future. To this end we are proposing moving to an incorporated not-for profit structure.
Identifying shills and people pretending to be something they are not takes up a noteworthy amount of staff time. Some members also feel that posters would be much better ‘behaved’ if their identities were ‘available’ should the need arise. Thus, in the longer term we would ideally like to move towards a ‘Know Your Customer’ (KYC) system. Taken together with the need to raise revenue to support a company and this forum from November 2018 onwards (when the domain is up for renewal) this points towards hosting and software independence and is something we also intend to progress in the medium term.
Following on from the helpful turn to the discussion after our recent shut-down – here onwards - it has helped crystallise our view that we should attempt to raise most of our funds via the Platforms, and through advertising, thus we are proposing collecting funds in three ways ~ Advertising; A Referral Link Page; & Donations:
Advertising
Once incorporated we are intending to look at gathering revenue through adverts; this may be arms-length through something like VigLink or Google's AdSense, or depending on appetite we may look at direct advertising from Platforms and other interested parties. We would not anticipate more adverts appearing than Pro-Boards currently have, and would likely use a similar layout. As we would have to 'buy out' Pro-Boards adverts first running adverts would, on the face of it, be much more efficient on an alternate platform and forum software, so we will be looking at evaluating the feasibility of a forum re-location further.
Referrals
We are looking to develop a dedicated referral page where referrals go to the P2PIF(inc) (without the need for it to invest in the Platforms/products). If there seems to be enough appetite for this concept from the Platforms we hope that members here would look to use the links on the dedicated page in order to help us generate an income rather than look to other members or elsewhere for them. If this were implemented it would have an impact on the forum rules as referral type links and/ or touting for referrals would not be allowed. This may also have an impact on the many ‘Bloggers’ who use this site, but we hope that the membership in general would empathise with our need and approach.
Donations
We are also proposing two polls which we will run below to help us gauge forum member sentiment.
The P2PIndependentforum.com (P2PIF) started out in November 2013, when P2P was a somewhat different proposition, and the regulatory framework for it’s operation barely existed. We received some initial legal advice around regulatory issues which resulted in our much lambasted refusal to allow the publishing of borrower’s names or anything which would easily allow for their identification. Since this time not only has the P2P environment moved on but so has other legislation such as GDPR and regulation around social media.
As members may be aware we have lost nearly half of our volunteer staff team in the last year, whilst the number of forum members has risen by just over 25% (>1000) in the same period. A contributory factor in a number of staff departures has been the perceived increase from ‘regulatory’ risk coupled with the awareness that it is our individual personal ‘assets’ that are on the line should anyone ever attempt to sue or litigate against the forum. That we may be able to successfully defend any case is irrelevant as to merely mount a defence would have cost implications.
At the present juncture this issue is a serious factor in staff recruitment and retention and, if not overcome, will likely result in the loss of more staff. It is imperative that it is addressed if the forum is to continue to be able to function into the future. To this end we are proposing moving to an incorporated not-for profit structure.
In order to achieve this we need to cover running costs for a company limited by guarantee, and to be able to afford independent legal advice so that we can re-appraise legal issues around the forum rules, and the forum operation more generally. The forum staff would not draw any income and would still be volunteers, but it would also enable appropriate professional indemnity and other insurances to be purchased for them.
Identifying shills and people pretending to be something they are not takes up a noteworthy amount of staff time. Some members also feel that posters would be much better ‘behaved’ if their identities were ‘available’ should the need arise. Thus, in the longer term we would ideally like to move towards a ‘Know Your Customer’ (KYC) system. Taken together with the need to raise revenue to support a company and this forum from November 2018 onwards (when the domain is up for renewal) this points towards hosting and software independence and is something we also intend to progress in the medium term.
Following on from the helpful turn to the discussion after our recent shut-down – here onwards - it has helped crystallise our view that we should attempt to raise most of our funds via the Platforms, and through advertising, thus we are proposing collecting funds in three ways ~ Advertising; A Referral Link Page; & Donations:
Advertising
Once incorporated we are intending to look at gathering revenue through adverts; this may be arms-length through something like VigLink or Google's AdSense, or depending on appetite we may look at direct advertising from Platforms and other interested parties. We would not anticipate more adverts appearing than Pro-Boards currently have, and would likely use a similar layout. As we would have to 'buy out' Pro-Boards adverts first running adverts would, on the face of it, be much more efficient on an alternate platform and forum software, so we will be looking at evaluating the feasibility of a forum re-location further.
Referrals
We are looking to develop a dedicated referral page where referrals go to the P2PIF(inc) (without the need for it to invest in the Platforms/products). If there seems to be enough appetite for this concept from the Platforms we hope that members here would look to use the links on the dedicated page in order to help us generate an income rather than look to other members or elsewhere for them. If this were implemented it would have an impact on the forum rules as referral type links and/ or touting for referrals would not be allowed. This may also have an impact on the many ‘Bloggers’ who use this site, but we hope that the membership in general would empathise with our need and approach.
Donations
Hopefully a fairly straightforward concept, no strings attached donations can be given by anyone. A poll to gauge forum membership views on this is also being mooted.
We are also proposing two polls which we will run below to help us gauge forum member sentiment.
