Thread: Member Donations for Site Maintenance & Hosting Costs

Originally Posted by hoglahoo

Even church has to figure out who it needs to pay and how much to pay them in order to keep things running. Waiting for the churchgoers to pitch in once every few years isn't going to solve that for them

Exactly. That is what this whole proposal is about. We all benefit from enjoying this site. The owners who host it aren't independently wealthy, so giving them a bit of help in footing the bill is not unreasonable AFAIC, especially since it is voluntary.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Exactly. That is what this whole proposal is about. We all benefit from enjoying this site. The owners who host it aren't independently wealthy, so giving them a bit of help in footing the bill is not unreasonable AFAIC, especially since it is voluntary.

Yeah, I'm just basing what I said on the proposal being in response to the site having been down often recently, which for me seems like an issue this particular kind of one-off proposal is unable to address. And if srp *was* a church, or a small nonprofit, etc, helping directly foot monetary bills feels more natural. But in our case, I personally feel like helping in the ways I listed earlier makes more sense. As always, YMMV

This is getting way more complicated than it needs to be, reminds me of that scene from Monty Python, "Life of Brian"



If the vast sums of money we send as donation buys the guys working on it a pizza and some beer occasionally, well, so be it, I'd do it anyway in ways of thanks.

At the least, one of the members who work on the site in that aspect should be able to get a quote and know what the yearly costs are going to be, as well as a fund for upgrades and Emergencies...if we exceed that fund, the powers that be can say we're going to hold off on the donations for awhile.

No. Big. Deal.

Next steps would be to get an approximate cost for the year, a list of known upgrades needed, with a contingency fund for emergencies, and let the members donate, once the target has been reached - let's come back for another discussion on how to proceed.

Let's face it - if the site is not going to be reliable, membership will dwindle as people go elsewhere more and more, and frankly, the knowledge and the straight razor central theme of this site in unparalleled essentially - most other sites are DE/SE focussed with a fringe for straights, if any.

As Nike says, lets "Just Do it"!

What did you expect Phrank? You're the one that opened this can of worms!

Reading Jimmy's post #11 above, I think there is much we don't know here.
For instance, the advertisements constantly popping up would seem to be a source of revenue as well as fees from vendors, etc. to cover operating costs.
It may not, in fact, be beneficial to accept donations and/or dues as it would be a book keeping/tax burden or such.

If things are set as a 'non-profit' and roll along simply, it may be preferable to the owners to keep it that way?
Certainly, if an infusion is needed, it might be asked-for?

Something to think/ask about?

Originally Posted by Johntoad57

What did you expect Phrank? You're the one that opened this can of worms!

LOL - I expected to see, "Great idea...we'll add a button tonight, scope out the upgrades we want and the yearly costs for maintenance, let the members know, and away we go....easy peasy....!"

We still may get there.....I was the kid that woke up Christmas morning to see a large pile of horse manure under the tree. Others may have said, "All I got for Christmas was a pile of horse sh$t!!", while I'm the kid who dove into it saying, "I know there's a pony in here somewhere!!!!"

You have put too much faith in people. Like you said "just do it" and I'm sure it will turn out all right. I'm behind you and I have your six!

If I understand correctly, there is currently no way to make a donation to the site? I just joined, but have been browsing for a while now. It is customary for me to make a donation to forums I find useful and informative.
Looks like I might have to wait a while here...

Originally Posted by mishkaya

If I understand correctly, there is currently no way to make a donation to the site? I just joined, but have been browsing for a while now. It is customary for me to make a donation to forums I find useful and informative.
Looks like I might have to wait a while here...

Welcome to SRP. Voluntary donations haven't been a part of SRP in the past. I don't know what this discussion will lead to. We've never went that route, so it remains to be seen. Thanks for the generous heart though. If you were to go to the beginner's forum and make an introductory post you'll get some more people meeting you here.

Originally Posted by mishkaya

If I understand correctly, there is currently no way to make a donation to the site? I just joined, but have been browsing for a while now. It is customary for me to make a donation to forums I find useful and informative.
Looks like I might have to wait a while here...

Get on the forum and learn/teach. Use the search to learn more and share.
This is what the forum needs more than money. One comes with the other, I expect!
Participation!