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It's time to catch everyone up on the state of the T-Bucket Forums.

Growth of the forums has exceeded our wildest dreams. When we opened the doors to this site, we figured it was going to be a pretty small-change site and if we ever reached 250 members, we were going to be really lucky.

We're currently at 718 members, 90 of those arriving in just the last 30 days.

We saw forum activity sag a bit in late July and August, which was right in line with the trend we anticipated seeing. Now that we're into September, people are starting to spend more time at home and forum traffic is beginning to climb back up. Our daily unique visitor average is running at an all-time high and is up 65% over last month. After just 6 days, the monthly count is already at 31% of last month's number.

The vBSEO script is quietly plugging away and generating very good numbers. The percentage of visitors arriving from the search engines has gone up 5% in the last 30 days.

The number of keywords being used in those searches has gone up 43% in the last 30 days.

The number of pages on Google has gone up 76% in the last 30 days.

We've gained some 1850+ new posts in that same time period.

Simply put, the forums are growing very well, even through the late summer months. Every single one of those numbers is positive.

In spite of all those positive numbers, the forums are very close to their own end times. And, I'm sorry to say, it might happen sooner, rather than later.

When the site was established, it took a chunk of change to get it going, but it was established as little more than a hobby site and it's ongoing, monthly expenses were rather insignificant.

As the site grew, it became necessary to improve the server the site resides on. And that was going to increase the operating budget to more than we were going to be able to afford. It was the story of the rock and the hard place. We needed more resources to keep growing, but we couldn't afford the resources.

Fortunately, several members demonstrated their generosity, by digging into their own wallets to help keep the forums alive. As the donations came in, we established a separate account for this money. Some manufacturers saw how we were attracting their primary audience and spent some of their own profits to advertise on this site. I hope everyone recognizes the companies and individuals that got behind this site with their own hard-earned dollars.

We soon were able to afford a much better hosting environment. And the forums kept growing, to the point where we needed to upgrade the server's memory. Not a problem, we had the money in the bank. And the forums kept growing, so we invested some of the donated funds in an Articles script, to display your technical write-ups. As we continued to grow, we invested some of those funds on the vBSEO script, which has really fanned the flames of this site's growth.

And then, a thread appeared on the forum, stating that we needed to have t-shirts to promote and show support for the site. My initial reaction on it was to ignore the demand for shirts, because there was simply not enough money to purchase shirts and not enough time in the day to process and ship orders.

More and more people weighed in, wanting t-shirts. So, against my better judgment, we started looking into getting shirts made up. We felt that we might be able to make a few dollars on each shirt and then it wouldn't come down to people making donations to the site and not having anything to show for it. This way, they could add to their own t-shirt collections and the site's war chest could keep growing.

We got a design made up for the shirts and then sat down to look at the price quotes on the shirts. And we posted a poll to the site, trying to gauge demand for the shirts. The poll showed we had need for about 4 dozen shirts, which was a pretty big investment. Frankly, a bigger investment than the site's bank account could cover.

The price on this quantity of shirts was going to result in a $20 price tag for the shirts and we felt this was too high. So, after some haggling and compromise, we worked out a deal that would allow us to sell the shirts for as little as $15. However, it was going to require an order of 7 dozen shirts, rather than just 4 dozen.

And this is where a fool and his money parted. We emptied the site's bank account and then I went into my own pocket to cover the difference.

Remember what I said about my initial reaction to the entire t-shirt idea? Somebody give me a few swift kicks for not sticking to my instincts.

We've sold exactly 14 shirts. The gross sales figure comes nowhere close to recovering the nearly $400 of my own invested money, not to mention getting money back into the bank to cover the site's operating expenses.

So, on Monday morning, I went back into my own pocket to cover the monthly operating expenses for this site. Remember what I said about the site expenses rising to a point that we could no longer afford to cover? I was right, I really couldn't afford to spend the money, but my only other option was to pull the plug on the site.

And now, the site's continued growth has us to a point where we're going to have to look at upgrading the size of the storage space on the server. Which means more even more expense. And the site's bank account can't afford to pay attention, much less pay for a disk upgrade.

Now I hate to come off sounding like some tele-evangelist telling you how we need money or we're going to have to shut down. So let me try to say it this way - we need money, or we're going to have to shut down. I simply cannot afford to fund the site out of pocket.

The bottom line is this site went from a feeble candle to a bright light and then became a shining star. And the star has gone supernova and is melting itself down.

Here's the plan we've come up with -

I'm going to remove the donations modules from the site. I am not comfortable with receiving free will donations for a site that is within a few weeks of going away.

I'm going to close the photo gallery to any new additions, as we need to conserve disk space.

I am setting aside enough of my own funds to refund the site sponsors for the money they have sent for advertising. If we have to shut things down, I give the site sponsors my word you will each be refunded for any unused months.

If we can realize enough money from t-shirt sales over these next 2-3 weeks, we'll still be here on 1 October. If we can build the site's account back up, then we'll get back to business as usual. If we can't, then we're going to become just one more failed Web site and I'm going to have a closet full of T-Bucket Forums-branded polishing rags.

I am truly sorry it has come to this point. I wish I had simply deleted the posts about forum t-shirts and kept on keeping on, because we were healthy and getting better with each passing day. And now, here we are.

Here is the link for the forum store, one more time - T-Bucket Forums Store (Powered by CubeCart)
 
OK...here's my take on this. Everybody that signed up for the shirts aren't obviously Following through. It's time to step up. This needs to be resolved now, not tomorrow or next week, but now!

Now for page 2...We currently have over 700 members on the site. If 200 of them sent the price of this months Street Rodder, ($6.99) that would be $1398 that would go into the "warchest". Who among us can't afford to do this?

Page 3...I spend a lot of time here now that I'm retired. I also see a lot of other people doing the same. Guys...this IS the best T bucket sight on the net! It would be such a same for it to go under because of a few hundred bucks. We have great sponcers and contributers, but that is not going to get the job done. Dig as deep as you can. If you don't have a Paypal account get a hold of someone that dose. We need to pull together here!

Ron
 
3 more gone I hope!! I paid with paypal and it came back as order failed, but paypal said the company was paid. Webmaster if you have any way to check this it would be great. I will reoder if I need to.

I have no idea what something like this takes to run but could a few dolllars a month from the members do anygood?

I have had a great expericence on this site and am willing to help to keep it going.

Randall
 
Tbucit said:
3 more gone I hope!! I paid with paypal and it came back as order failed, but paypal said the company was paid. Webmaster if you have any way to check this it would be great. I will reoder if I need to.
Your order arrived as it should have. I suspect the order verification might have choked on the eCheck. Thank you for the order!

I have no idea what something like this takes to run but could a few dolllars a month from the members do anygood?
In the past, it has made all the difference in the world. Donations from people like yourself were all we needed to stay afloat. Unfortunately, donations went to a goose egg about the same time the shirts were advertised. I've disabled the donation modules and will keep them disabled until I can see we're out of the forest. If we can keep the orders coming in the way they have for the last hour or so, I think there's light at the end of the tunnel. Unless that light is attached to a locomotive that's about to run us down, anyway. ;)

I have had a great expericence on this site and am willing to help to keep it going.
:eek:

Thank you for the kind words. And thank you for both your earlier donation to the site, as well as today's t-shirt order.

Thanks to everyone who's pitched in today. 8 more shirts are lined up to be sent out of here. But I'm asking you to please keep the orders coming in, because we want to keep this place alive and kicking.
 
Youngster said:
If 200 of them sent the price of this months Street Rodder, ($6.99) that would be $1398 that would go into the "warchest". Who among us can't afford to do this?
Can I get back to you on this, after we've moved a few more shirts out of here? :ciao:
 
Youngster said:
We currently have over 700 members on the site. If 200 of them sent the price of this months Street Rodder, ($6.99) that would be $1398 that would go into the "warchest". Who among us can't afford to do this?


I'm up for this. I already got 2 t-shirts when they first came in. Shoot, I get more from this forum than most.
 
:eek: I admit it, I was one that spoke in favor of the shirts and have not yet placed my order. I am on my way to the store right now.

I am still in the planning stages of my car, and was planning on this forum being here as a research resource, it would be a shame to lose it.

I get more out of this forum than from any magazine that I can think of, and I subscribe to more than a few. I agree with Youngster completely.

I am not cheap, and dont mind paying for something that I use, I had no idea that the forum was in this financial condition or i'd have donated to it sooner. I suspect that I am not the only one in this boat.

Lets keep it afloat!!!! I am off to the store................
 
Three more shirts sold....

i trully appreciate this site, not for today, but for 2 years from now when I will really be able to work on my projects.... the support and knowledge of the members of this site it terrific.

John
 
How did we do today Web?

Ron
 
I bought two, and would still be happy to make a small periodic donation if that's what it would take.

Perhaps a bulk Email to all members would be in order, to get the attention of those that have not read this thread.
 
If we can get another 3-4 days worth of activity like yesterday's, we're going to be OK.

I appreciate everyone coming together on this, more than you can know.
 
This place isn't going anywhere....

If you are going to disable the donation pages, then you should still have some way for others to donate directly to the site.

It is completely reasonable to ask for money to help run this place. I am more than willing to drop another 25 into the kitty if there was a way to do it. I already have a hat and T-Shirt, and I have no need for more. So the only way I can help out now is with a direct donation. No, I am not afraid my money will be lost.

You could also make the gallery only open to people who are direct contributors. Anyone who donates at or more than a modest 10 bucks a year. People who donate can upload pics. People who don't can only look.

I don't understand why storage is an issue. Storage is so damn cheap. It's less than 140 a terabyte. Soon it will be less than 100.

We only need 40 people to donate 25 bucks to jump start this thing again. Easy Peasy.

If you aren't already, you might consider getting a dedicated server to run the list on. There are some hosting companies up in Canada that offer some great rates. I can get you more info if you need it. And, I hope like hell you're using Linux. I am on lists that are 10 times this size and it cost us about a grand a year to run.

Some of the other ways to raise funds is with the help of members on the list. On another list I am a member of, I did a short production run of Delrin shift knobs with the site logo engraved for a fund raiser. I made a modest bob, and raised over a grand for the list (we sold about 70 knobs). We sold the knobs for WAY more than they where worth (35 dollars each), but it was understood it was to help run the site.

You might apply this idea to hats and T-Shirts. I would have gladly paid 25 bucks for my hat, knowing the extra was supporting the site.

If you are going to SPEND money to grow the site, then you better have a plan to pay for it. It might be better to just let it grow slower. Let the member count catch up to the bandwidth usage.

My grouchy two cents.

David
 
Put the donation link back up I would donate to keep this site up.
 
I'm in too!!!!

Ron
 
RexRod said:
This place isn't going anywhere....
Particularly not if the help keeps coming in like it has.

You could also make the gallery only open to people who are direct contributors. Anyone who donates at or more than a modest 10 bucks a year. People who donate can upload pics. People who don't can only look.
It was a thought we kicked around some time back. I know that money can be an issue for folks and we just don't want to turn everything into pay-per-view. I agree, the price is modest, but we've all had times when a sawbuck was hard to come by, too.

You might apply this idea to hats and T-Shirts. I would have gladly paid 25 bucks for my hat, knowing the extra was supporting the site.
Here again, we just didn't want to hold anyone up on the price of a shirt or a hat. Personally, I would much rather sell shirts to two fellows, rather than try to make it all off one. We're hoping that by not gouging on prioces, we'll get some repeat customers, as well. That's why we laid in so many shirts, we wanted to keep the price affordable for everyone.

And no, you weren't being grouchy. ;) Thanks for the ideas and suggestions.

I've replaced the donations modules on the portal and forum home pages. We're already covered for a couple more months' expenses and I'm even starting to get some of my own investment back. <WHEW>
 

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