Nameberry had to change. AI means we can’t survive on ads, and chatbots can now tell you the meaning of Leopold or give you ten Hindi nature names. But we’re smarter than AI about baby names, so we reinvented baby naming for the third time to bring you a completely new set of tools and data analysis beyond the reach of AI, now or ever. Sign up today to post in the forums, see future popularity predictions for every name, generate new name ideas based on any list, save and sort your favorite names in a completely new way, all ad-free. It’s only $4.99 for the first three months to try it out, then $4.99 a month or $19.99 for the entire year. Lounge members will receive free access so go to the Lounge for a special link and code. Nameberry basics will remain free and ad-supported. Looking forward to seeing you on the other side!
Well this is highly disappointing, a heads up would have been nice, I hope for $20 a year we can at least change our profile pictures lol
I don’t want to be negative, but I raised a few possible issues on another thread so posting them here too..
I think a lot of us come here for a sense of community. Putting a paywall on that is going to make the community smaller.
Is there a reason the subscription model has been applied to both the main site and the forums? To me, they are like two separate entities. I rarely use the main site, but I use the forums every day. To be paying for features that sound more like they’ll be on the main site, just so I can access forums, is possibly not something I’m interested in.
We have a lot of younger teenage members of the community, who may not be able to purchase subscriptions. I started using NB as a 13 year old and it’s a hobby that’s stuck with me for life! But my parents would never have paid for a subscription to a baby name website for me.
[name_m]The[/name_m] forums also get a decent amount of traffic from what are essentially temporary users who are here to name a baby and then leave (at least until they have another one!). I’m not sure I would be willing to pay for a subscription just to post? I’d go to somewhere like r/namenerds or another forum (although none are as open-minded as this one so that would be a shame!). I think it’s going to make the forums a lot less active. I think the community here is one of the most amazing things about the site, and I worry this change is going to impact that.
[name_m]The[/name_m] community is one of the best ways to get new name ideas and share them with others. I’d rather have an active community, as it is now, than be paying for features to do the same thing. I don’t feel like I need a tool to give me new name ideas when the community here is already so good at that. It takes away the community aspect, which I think is a big reason so many of us stick around
There are also still ongoing issues with customisation, for example the profile picture issue which we haven’t had an update on since [name_f]October[/name_f] last year. To pay for the site, I’d want features like this back at the very least
i echo that this is a really disappointing update. i absolutely understand the severity of ai competition, and completely get the need to make a change. however, i’m confused how ai has anything to do with the community her on the forums? it feels like a money grab, to be honest.
i know that ads were recently removed from the platform, which was greatly appreciated, and i know costly, however i’m sure almost everyone would agree that we would rather see ads than be forced to pay to participate in the forums.
i think this update will mean we lose a lot of regular members, as well as many future members who don’t want to pay to participate. i understand the need to deter bots and trolls in some way, but this doesn’t seem like the way.
i also second @searose and a lot of the issues they brought up. especially the lack of profile customization features currently. the profile picture issue has not been addressed, despite many users vocalizing how important it is to us.
this feels deeply disrespectful to the community you have built for years here on the forums to spring this on us.
Forgive me if I’m wrong but doesn’t a paywall to use forums defeat the purpose of forums? I think the [name_f]Name[/name_f] Advice tab (and most of the categories, for that matter) will be rendered useless since I usually notice it’s users who don’t use Nameberry forums that much or new users that are looking for advice on their baby’s name, and now they won’t be motivated to ask for advice and way less people will be able to give advice. This is super not cool and a poor business choice 
I already paid for the app which has its own issues and I don’t know if it’s really worth it to give more money, no matter how much I used to love Nameberry and names
more from where I’m coming from
If any of you are familiar with Watcher (on YouTube), this reminds me of a similar mess up they did a few years ago now. They were leaving YouTube, moving all their content to an exclusive streaming service only that you had to pay for and was not cheap, and were very passive aggressive to viewers in the announcement video. People were, and reasonably so, very upset. A few months later it became posting new videos on the streaming service first and then posting it on YouTube, probably because they weren’t making the profit they hoped for. They lost so many followers and even I don’t really watch them anymore. They used to be one of my favorites. People don’t respond well to change where you have to pay for something that used to be free. I would just keep this in mind.
Thanks for being upfront about this. My forecast is that only a very small fraction of people sign up. I wish you well, though!
I have never known a forum to require a subscription to participate. What about new parents who want to post once or twice for help? They definitely won’t pay to do that. What about teens who post for fun, whose parents definitely wouldn’t pay for them? What about people who are here just for fun and community? This seems like a move that would kill off the forums pretty quickly.
I also second the idea that requiring payment is unreasonable when features like profile pictures still haven’t been added back or even updated on.
This feels like a move that both ostracizes new users and betrays old users.
I’ve been chatting to a fellow user (@angelastella5)and we’re wondering about a discord. Wasn’t there one in the past - does it still exist, and can we post it here for everyone to join?
Sorry I’m not trying to spam but one more question
I noticed ads came back recently. I’m guessing this is why. But normally the premium model is to remove ads, but you can still engage for free.
Why not offer premium without ads, but give an option to post and use the forums for free with ads? It seems like that’s how most subscription models work in my experience
Whereas currently we’re being asked to pay to both post and remove ads. Others have already said they’d be happy to use for free with ads
Having to pay to post is my main issue I think. I’m going to miss the sense of community
I am wondering the same. I’d happily pay for premium if it was going to keep Nameberry free for those who need it to be.
ETA: this query has been addressed by Pam in here
Nope
I would be up for joining a [name_f]Discord[/name_f]!
I agree with what everyone’s said so far. This change will shut out many users, and i honestly feel blindsided.
10 years of using these forums :\ I’m honestly heartbroken, especially to have it taken away because of AI. It feels like AI is taking everything away lately, and I don’t even want it!!!
this subscription also isn’t working, I have subscribed but it’s still telling me to subscribe
Strongly agree with all of this. I wouldn’t count myself as a particularly vocal user when it comes to these kinds of things but I’ve been here since I was a young teen and this makes me really, really sad. I understand this won’t have been taken lightly but it just seems so completely detrimental to everything that makes these forums loveable.
i still would love clarification on how ai is affecting the forum side of nameberry. it honestly feels like an excuse to require payment. transparency and more answers would be appreciated.
I could not be more disappointed about this. I don’t want to say too much because frankly, I’m angry and don’t trust myself to be level headed. But a little market research among the berries would have told you how poorly this would go down. This makes me feel like the community matters nothing to those on high, and that sucks. It really sucks.
Wait, what? [name_m]You[/name_m] mean you subscribed and you’re not in?
Turns out I made a mistake when subscribing
Hey everyone, I know you’re disappointed and I’m so sorry. Our alternative was shutting down completely. We have all been working without pay for a year and it’s getting worse with Google [name_m]Zero[/name_m]. We were forbidden last year from running ads on the forums so have paid for them ourselves – $2000 a month. We very much value you but we need you to value us as well.