my lousy 2 cents,,,,
as of this moment from what i saw there are 2030 members here. assuming you have 10% of that total that love it here, and are repeat offenders, committed to this site and make this place what it is,,,, to carry it on and keep the site growing AND 'keep' up with the growing pains is a no brainer in my opinion.
c.i.....what about setting up a non profit type deal like npr? you would know the ins and outs of that. after all it is a free knowledge forum based on contributions from so many talented people. tax bennies? auctions to raise capital? there are so many options here that could be tapped.
Able2know.org?
CDK:
Since we know how you feel about donations/contributions, etc. why can't the membership somehow send the payment to the ISP {?} keeping you out of it?
Just an idea!
Misti,
I have a problem with the donations, not just my involvement. I don't want to accept donations while there are plenty of other ways to do it.
I simply want to explore the many other ways the site can acheive solvency without resporting to a menthod I have several distinct and major qualms with.
Who knows, one day I may have to eat my words but until then I'll do it the way that makes more sense for the site.
CDK: You have got to do what you feel comfortable with!
Hugs, Jen
"This is my quest, to follow that star
No matter how hopeless, no matter how far...."
Just got finished reading this entire thread. Phew!!!!
Craven
I hope everything works out, but knowing you, I'm sure it will. If you get stuck though, please don't be too proud to ask for help. You may have started A2K, but I consider myself to be part of a family here and losing A2K would be horrible for me and I know many many others.
If you made a CD containing all or some of the threads up to some calendar date of this site with agreement of many on this site without legal problem of copyrights, I could purchase one. Or, sell CDs with some other useful data.
If you make a donation option (rather than fees) for members, I can donate a tiny amount on a regular or irregular base.
Craven,
I liked your idea about an emergency savings account, if we're each going to pay a fee based on willingness and ability to pay. (Some paying more than others, which is fine with me.) That way there will be a reserve if the undesirable happens.........like as you mentioned you should loose your job (God forbid) or some other unforseen eventuality. This would provide some leeway to set up a payment method, like $2.50 per month which wouldn't be difficult for most, if it became necessary. I know plenty would be more than happy to pay. I didn't respond to the banner ad about chosing that opionion because the day I saw it, I was in a hurry and I thought the banners would be as good as the money. But had I had more time that day, and realized it was a better option, I would have filled it out in a second. You've done something truly worthwhile here. And I thank you for it. And I think this thread is a good idea, as well. Better to be prepared for any possibility. I understand your discomfort about too much dependency on you. You're wise to start this discussion, I think.
Yes, ehBeth - and I am no craven with Craven...heeheee....
Glad to have stumbled on this forum -- I've been wondering about how Craven has been able to carry this (financially and the amount of time/effort it takes to switch servers, etc.).
There are lots of good ideas here but rather than respond at length, I'd like to say that a fair subscription fee would be more than acceptable and my only problem is PayPal -- which I have used in EBay frequently and then stopped using because of its privacy issues. I'm more or less boycotting them... and take a pretty hard line about it.
I'm also wondering about a two-tier system (though worried it might seem like a class system) -- a free-for-all set of forums alongside subscription forums. The alternative is to keep fees low (as Lola suggests) and doable for anyone who owns a computer or pays bus fare to the library to use one. Another possibility: an upfront "membership fee" of (say) $20 plus a small monthly "user" fee. That would provide Craven with a margin, a little endowment.
Craven has repeatedly said he doesn't want to maintain solvency with donations, and is not interested in a subscription method either. He intends the basic site to aways be without fee. His interest has been if people will pay some small amount for added benefits, such as email capability, photo galleries, and a few other things I can't remember. These options were listed somewhere in the first few pages of this thread.
Not very many people have expressed interest in paying for these specific additions to the basic site use, and he concluded that going in that direction was not a solution (somewhere around page 10, I think).
In the meantime, more and more people find the thread and say they are willing to contribute a little, or to subscribe....neither of which he wants...not to speak for him, but as I understand it. His interest was in people paying for special additions.
I don't know what he is working out now but it sounds like some combo of not-too-intrusive ads and some special site uses, like photo.
In summary, I am glad this is all being thought about and discussed, and that he works out that the site is selfsustaining financially.
The bottom line is we can't expect Craven to carry the cost of running this show. We must also live with his wishes. c.i.
now we've just got to figure out what it is we 'want' that we'd pay for, so that Craven can provide whatever that 'want' is, so that he will feel like we're getting something for our money.
the problem seems to be in figuring out that want. most of us don't seem to care about ads being there, or not. we don't seem to be baseball cap wearers for the most part. what do we want?
Sounds like we're all stewing over nothing.
Craven asked for a bit of feedback -- and has indicated that he will decide how to handle the problem.
From all indications, we ain't gonna get a chance to throw him bucks -- but I am hoping that he finds a reasonable way around that notion -- something he can live with.
He'll let us know when the time is right.
Oh. I took his opening statement literally...
Yes, it was unappreciated.
A) not hopeless
B) not a quest
satt_focusable wrote:If you made a CD containing all or some of the threads up to some calendar date of this site with agreement of many on this site without legal problem of copyrights, I could purchase one. Or, sell CDs with some other useful data.
If you make a donation option (rather than fees) for members, I can donate a tiny amount on a regular or irregular base.
That is an interesting idea.
