by jwsons 20 Replies latest jw friends
Yeah, Simon, please tell! I'm dying to know how you do it...it must be a gigantic job to maintain and trawl through this site every day...good grief...then there are server crashes, service packs, patches, you name it, to be contended with. Congrats on a fine job, Simon!
I'm sure glad we don't vote anymore like we did before we got the truth. Now we get to complain about everything ALL the politicians do!
[SYN], UADA - Unseen Apostate Directorate, Africa
I'm just wondering about the cost - bandwidth isn't cheap, and we aren't exactly a quiet lot.
A fanatic is one who, upon losing sight of his goals, redoubles his efforts.
--George Santayana
Not long b4 i left,
a couple i knew split up and one after the other
was da'd or df'd.
The "local needs talks" that followed
were warnings about internet chatrooms.
And I'm sure there was an OKM
around that time as well that said something about not going onto internet chatrooms.... The reference was re "morality" and "apostasy" cuz...hehe...you never know what you will find there. *smirk* (reproval/association laws/principles/whatever; go hi-tech.)
I can't answer on Big Ray or WOL but re: this site...
It costs $159 per month but this is somewhat offset by the occassional donations (which as very helpful and much appreciated) and from affiliate banner ads (well, I've just 'made' enough to order a DVD from Amazon but it didn't cover the postage which may give you an idea!).
Bottom line is - I certainly don't make any money from this site and it does cost quite a bit in time and money to run but I get a lot from it myself and it's helped us greatly and knowing that it helps others too makes it worthwhile.
Hope this helps.
Simon
Valis gave me info how to send money via internet but it was lost in the process of exporting my e-mail.
Could you put up any helpful info for those who may wish to donate something from afar?
No matter how thin you slice it there are always two sides
If you check the top left of the page you will see PayPal. Click on this to contribute.
this is somewhat offset by the occassional donations
Simon: Is there any way to set up a 'subscribe' feature through PayPal? This could perhaps be combined with an increase in posting limit (say, double?) for monthly contributing members. I don't think it'd be hard for a number of us to donate $5 or $10 a month. Figure just 7 people doing that, and there is half the monthly fee.
A fanatic is one who, upon losing sight of his goals, redoubles his efforts.
--George Santayana
I have thought about offering subscriptions using PayPal but would need to offer something extra like you say, maybe an increased posting allowance, some space to upload pictures, an email account, access to 'members only forums' r something.
It's very kind of people to donate as they do and I would like to offer something in return to those that do.
If I did offer subscriptions I was thinking of something smaller (around $10 a year) so that hopefully more would 'share the cost' rather than it just being a few. I would always keep the forum open / free generally though as well so that people could continue to come, get support, ask questions etc ...
My ultimate aim is to make the forum self moderating and self supporting (ie. I'm not out to make a profit).
(around $10 a year)
10$ A YEAR!
Kinda low, don't you think? I mean, adding any extra service will almost certainly increase the traffic/cost. I should think people would be willing to spend at least a couple bucks a month to cover it! Maybe make it $25 a year (approx. $2/month)?
I think that would be enough to cover several additional features I'd like to see:
- Increased posting level for 'members'
- Members-only thread (password protected)
- Members-only chat (password protected)
- ?Maybe? support for pics? Not much, though, certainly no more than a meg a person.
A fanatic is one who, upon losing sight of his goals, redoubles his efforts.
--George Santayana
I'd add that the password-protected members forum should be seperate from the password protected "adult & disagreement" thread.
If possible.
Too, thanks for the great board Simon - just because there are suggestions floating around for improvement doesn't mean we don't all appreciate what you've given us already!
A fanatic is one who, upon losing sight of his goals, redoubles his efforts.
--George Santayana
