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877 Posts
I can't afford a lot, but will help with what I can. Visiting other forums with all the sponsor's ads is annoying to me,though I understand that sometimes it's a necessary evil. To me it is to the sites advantage to try to be "sponsor free". To Winkin', Blinkin', and Nod-thank you very much. What you guys have put into this site is very commendable and greatly appreciated. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
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3,600 Posts
Interesting topic..... :trink:
It's been discussed amongst the 3 of us before on how to handle this and we've never come to a conclusion on what we were going to do about it. I've looked into selling T-shirts, and other novelties to help off set the costs a bit and have even toyed with the idea of a few non intrusive ads or even a sponsor.
What I don't want are ads inside the forum itself. We've all seen those ads that look like a post or hijack certain words in a thread and turn it into an ad. You'll never see that here.
It's been discussed amongst the 3 of us before on how to handle this and we've never come to a conclusion on what we were going to do about it. I've looked into selling T-shirts, and other novelties to help off set the costs a bit and have even toyed with the idea of a few non intrusive ads or even a sponsor.
What I don't want are ads inside the forum itself. We've all seen those ads that look like a post or hijack certain words in a thread and turn it into an ad. You'll never see that here.
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3,600 Posts
I hate tomatoes so tax away. :mrgreen:
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1,801 Posts
I am thankful that the Membership recognizes that this issue exists. As Charles has said we have had some discussion about it early on. Since the site was so new we did not want to bring up the money issue for fear that members might think that we are in this for the money. I would hope that by now it is clear that the site exists because of our love of the Brand and our desire to share our enthusiasm for everything Case Colt and Ingersoll. The friendships we have made have been a huge bonus.
I can tell you that up until now the operational expenses have been covered by Charles. I am not comfortable with that arrangement, but Charles has his own reasons that he may or may not share. Charles would not accept cash from me, but now that he needs a hydraulic hose he may change his mind. I hope so anyway.
We did agree that we would revisit this issue as the site grew. We never envisioned almost 800 members in five and a half months. We are by far the most active site out there. Where this will lead is anyone's guess. I think it is a good time to look at some ways for the site to support itself in the future.
I have some thoughts on the subject, and I will be sharing them with Charles and Tom. I would also like suggestions from members. How do you think we should go about this? Please feel free to PM me or put some suggestions here. We are always looking for suggestions on any subject relating to making the site better.
Thanks for listening. Jack
I can tell you that up until now the operational expenses have been covered by Charles. I am not comfortable with that arrangement, but Charles has his own reasons that he may or may not share. Charles would not accept cash from me, but now that he needs a hydraulic hose he may change his mind. I hope so anyway.
We did agree that we would revisit this issue as the site grew. We never envisioned almost 800 members in five and a half months. We are by far the most active site out there. Where this will lead is anyone's guess. I think it is a good time to look at some ways for the site to support itself in the future.
I have some thoughts on the subject, and I will be sharing them with Charles and Tom. I would also like suggestions from members. How do you think we should go about this? Please feel free to PM me or put some suggestions here. We are always looking for suggestions on any subject relating to making the site better.
Thanks for listening. Jack
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877 Posts
I have not a clue as to what it costs to run a site like this ($100 a month? $5000 a month?). One thing that could be done is set up a donation thread. If Admin and members want, donation ranges could get the donor a site sponsor or benefactor tag with their name. As for me personally, I really don't need a tag. I need and want the site to continue to exist. The knowledge I have gained and people that I seem "to know" and those I WILL meet in the future are worth more than I would ever be able donate.
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3,600 Posts
Well since you asked. :mrgreen: Just to keep the website up it's a little under $400/year. There are other costs though like the buying of software that we use to water mark stuff, Tom smoked a scanner because he scanned so many manuals ( :sidelaugh: ) and other little things. Time is honestly a bigger factor in something like this than money ever will be. :thumbsup:
In all honesty I haven't given it much thought. I host a few other sites for some clients of mine, a few personal sites and some other services through my hosting company so the "bill" is all rolled into one.
In all honesty I haven't given it much thought. I host a few other sites for some clients of mine, a few personal sites and some other services through my hosting company so the "bill" is all rolled into one.
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877 Posts
I wasn't asking, just saying that I was ignorant of the cost. I already knew time is a major factor in developing and building a site like this and keeping it maintained. Ya'll could also put up a "help wanted" ad. There may be things some of us could help with to get some of the load off you guys backs.
The offer of help is greatly appreciated. At the moment, we seem to have everything under control. In some respects, we have the membership to thank for that because you have been absolutely stellar. Since opening our doors, this site has not had a single bit of ill-will displayed in any thread. Moderator inter-action has been minimal as it mostly pertains to moving the odd thread to a more appropriate forum for discussion or sending out a few PM's to gently explain how we would like to see things done. We have done our best to be even-handed and light-handed with our approach. We make no claims to being anything other than a place where Colt/Case/Ingersoll owners and enthusiasts can come for help and still find a social aspect.Billygoat said:
We are always looking for new ideas on how to make the site better and we encourage all members to put forth their ideas either by e-mail or PM. The recent suggestion for us to have a Member Location Map was given serious consideration and we were all for it but so far, Charles has not found a program that will work within the software package that this site is based upon. On the flip side, our doors are also open to receive criticism and no one should have any fear of delivering comments about what they do not like about the site to any of us in ADMIN. Feel free to tell us if something is not to your liking. I'm not saying that we will change it on the strength of a single objection but we will most certainly discuss it in the ADMIN forum and provide you with a full reply. We hope to learn by all comments submitted.
Please keep in mind that this site is NOT just tweedle-dee, tweedle-dum and tweedle-dummer because Maynard, Rich Groh, Brad, Dan, Ken and Bob are all doing their part in taking the load off the three of us and that is a much bigger thing than many of you realize. We highly value their time and efforts every single day. There is MUCH that happens behind the scenes that the general membership never even knows about. First of all, there is an ADMIN forum that none of the general membership can see on this site that can only be seen by Brad, Charles, Jack and myself. On top of that, there is an ADMIN SUPPORT forum that can only be seen by the four ADMIN and Maynard, Rich, Dan, Ken and Bob. Discussions about site issues along with new ideas are bounced around in one or both forums. As I have said many times in the past, this site is not run by a single person but rather by committee.
SITE COSTS
When Jack, Charles and I began our talks about this site, money was most certainly a topic. None of us wanted to have Google Ads or other types of Ads appearing anywhere on the board. So far, we have chosen to eat the costs of running the site on an individual basis. As the membership grows, so will the demand for greater bandwidth in order to keep the speed of the site acceptable to the people who come here every day. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a bandwidth fairy and we have already been forced to jump from Tier One to Tier Two in bandwidth....so to speak. We know that eventually, Tier Three will be inevitable due to the continuing membership growth and daily usage. When that happens, the costs will increase once again.
The problem with any site is one of getting every member on board with a proposed program. Right now, our membership is approaching the 1000 mark before we celebrate our first birthday. If everyone contributed just ONE DOLLAR per year, that would cover ALL the expenses incurred by ADMIN. However, if the participation in the recent contest is any example of what we can expect, then I don't need to spell out how well that plan would work. So, since you guys brought this issue front and center on the main forum.........YOU tell us what your ideas are as to how we should go about this.
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2,546 Posts
How about contributions based upon value received. If there were an easy way to make a small contribution through Paypal or some other such vehicle then members could contribute when they feel they got something worthwhile.
For example:
When you steal an item due to CL posting then you could contribute 5% of the difference between what you paid and Tom's determination of FMV.
When you get help solving a thorny problem contribute $5.
When you sell something-- 1% of value of item sold.
When you download a needed manual-- $1.
When you laugh at a joke for more than 5 seconds -- $1.
And finally, a big $50 contribution when photos of tweedle-dee, tweedle-dum and tweedle-dummer are posted.
For example:
When you steal an item due to CL posting then you could contribute 5% of the difference between what you paid and Tom's determination of FMV.
When you get help solving a thorny problem contribute $5.
When you sell something-- 1% of value of item sold.
When you download a needed manual-- $1.
When you laugh at a joke for more than 5 seconds -- $1.
And finally, a big $50 contribution when photos of tweedle-dee, tweedle-dum and tweedle-dummer are posted.
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3,600 Posts
Hahaha those are some pretty good ideas Bart.
My photo is in the off topic section....
My photo is in the off topic section....
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2,546 Posts
When you consider how many members have taken their tractors to local repair shops (not Ingersoll dealers) and don't get problems resolved despite big $$ being paid to clueless mechanics, $5 is a real bargain.Billygoat said:
In any event, when Rich pays his "tax" on that 646 the forum will be solvent for several years. :sidelaugh: :sidelaugh:
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1,801 Posts
I have often thought that we could set up a dunk tank at a big show. I would pay $10 to dunk Tom a couple of times!! :sidelaugh:
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260 Posts
I would be fine with making a yearly donation via pay-pal.
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359 Posts
I second the idea of a PayPal account as Bart mentioned. Admin needs to make the donation transaction as seamless as possible. I understand some may not be comfortable with making donations via PayPal but for those I'm not sure how they would be able to donate outside of PMing one of the Admin and working something out.
As Charles mentioned I've thought about T-Shirts and mugs etc. from a place such as cafepress but the logo idea I had would need some work.
Kenneth
As Charles mentioned I've thought about T-Shirts and mugs etc. from a place such as cafepress but the logo idea I had would need some work.
Kenneth
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