Brucer said:
when i know what my money is going in for i will donate...
And that is a fair enough concern to have.
Donations are all going to be used to keep this site alive. And, if recent weeks are any indication, keep it growing into the future.
I think I've said this before, but when I decided to light this site up, I was doing it as a hobby. My goal was to have 250 members and I figured I was being real optimistic at that. I was willing to cover the cost of the vBulletin license and a $6.95/month hosting package out of my own pocket. We're now at something like 1,240 members and I really need to make shift on purchasing yet another hosting package to provide enough resources for us to keep growing. The downside to all this growth is the site has turned into a money pit. And if we're going to keep the site alive, it is going to need to be fed.
As I said in another thread, enough people have indicated they want me to stick this out that I have decided that is what I am going to do. But with the site continuing to grow, I cannot fund it out of my own pocket. I have living expenses too. And every hour I spend working on this site is an hour I am potentially losing income derived from working on other Web sites for customers, at $50/hour, mind you. I am willing to work this site hard, but I have to prioritize everything. I'm not going to tell paying customers they have to wait, just because this site requires a bit of my time, because that amounts me to donating $50/hour. I was born at night, but it wasn't last night.
As long as we can keep funds on account to cover operating expenses, we are going to be right here. If members want some added functionality and we have funds to cover the expense, we'll make the additions. When the money runs out...
Steve, I appreciate your generosity and I also recognize you have sent donations in one more than one occasion. Don't feel as if you have to try to carry this place on your own shoulders, OK?
If we can get a few people willing to donate a few dollars every couple months, we can stay afloat. When a dozen people donate and then the donations suddenly stop, the well runs dry.
And I appreciate that times are tough, they're tough on me too. I used to use some of the income from other Web sites to help fund this one. But that source of income is just as strained as anything else right now. I've had times when I could make $800-$900 in a single weekend, working on Web sites. Now, I'm picking sh*t with the chickens, trying to drum up business. So I do understand. If a member cannot afford to donate, then they cannot afford to donate. Maybe someone like Youngster is pressed for cash, but he can sure share his wisdom with other members. If everyone will share what they do have, then things will work as they're meant to work.
The donations taken in from 1 January through 31 March were enough to cover January's expenses. This is the third month I've covered the expenses and I've done that out of loyalty to the forum sponsors, who had paid a few months in advance. If they were paying on a monthly basis, we would have been gone back on 1 March. I just refused to take their money and run out, so here we are.
I see some donations have come in overnight. I'll get busy and catch up some of the updates the site needs. The vBPicGallery license needs to be renewed, so it can be updated. The GARS Article and Review license needs to be renewed. vBulletin has released an updated package that I need to install. The script we use to generate sitemaps for the search engines needs to be updated. And as much as I hate the thought of it, I am going to have to purchase a larger hosting package. So I will get busy and get everything caught up.
I really do appreciate everyone's concern about the future of the site. It's been very satisfying to see how many people appreciate what this forum has become. I give you my word to keep after it, as long as we can keep the bills paid.
