Donation Updates

[Tiberius]

Firstly, thanks to everyone who has donated so far, and who have participated in the auctions, as well as all of you who have promised to donate when you can.

In fact, the last group of members got me thinking. We currently pay for a year's worth of hosting upfront in order to skip the setup costs. This of course leads to our rather frantic few months of donation drives each year. Whilst this strategy has worked in the past, it doesn't seem like it will last forever, due to a couple of reasons:

1) It happens (usually) just after Christmas, when people tend to have a bit less in their pocket.
2) Some people's financial circumstances fluctuate as they are in and out of jobs.

Luckily, I know the CTO of our hosting company quite well (I lived with him at university for a year). I just asked him on a whim whether he would waive the setup cost for us if we paid every month rather than once a year. Graciously, he agreed.

So here is my idea. The server we really want to get costs about $122 a month. This roughly equates to €95, £79, or A$118 for those from Europe, UK, and Australia respectively. It gives us 4x the processing power, 8x the amount of RAM, and about 4x the amount of diskspace (not that we use much diskspace).

Instead of paying once a year, why don't we pay once a month. This means that people can donate throughout the year, when they have some extra cash available. Now $122 a month is within my budget, so if for some reason nobody is able to donate one particular month, I can cover it, and we won't lose the site. Obviously I'd prefer not to have to spend so much every month, but this community is important to me, so I'm prepared to keep it afloat if it is needed.

That said, I want to know what you think. If the majority of you agree with this plan, it also means that we can start making plans for the server within the next few weeks, hopefully getting it set up some time in February and gradually transferring the files across from the old one, meaning the forums won't experience much downtime at all.

-Adrian

[Jackalope]

I don't see a downside other than the increased need to keep the need for donations visible year-round. I think that the benefit of being able to pay as you go outweighs it.

[thesummerqueen]

Seems like a good idea to me.

[Violet]

Obviously I'd prefer not to have to spend so much every month, but this community is important to me, so I'm prepared to keep it afloat if it is needed.

*Glomp*

[Shell B]

I think that sounds great, Adrian. It certainly does make a hell of a lot more sense. I do think you will see some months with more donations than others, so hopefully you will see enough roll over that you never have to swing the whole thing yourself.

P.S. I'm self-employed. Christmas doesn't kill me, but tax season sure as fuck does.

[popeyespappy]

P.S. I'm self-employed. Christmas doesn't kill me, but tax season sure as fuck does.

You sure got that one right sister.