I really like this forum. It's the first place I check online every day.

It takes a great deal of time and effort behind the scenes to run it. It also takes a significant amount of expense. Bandwidth on this scale is not cheap, in my limited experience.

Our Esteemed Moderator has never been one to be very active in soliciting funding. However, the holidays might be a good time to remember & support our forum. He was kind enough to respond to BBBS's inquiry about donations here:

http://smith-wessonforum.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/590103904/m/7591041781

The address to receive donations is posted there as:

Jim

+1 Great suggestion!

Great site with very good information!

(p.s. where else can you list in a classified section for FREE without paying commissions)

Just curious: I don't think our Moderator makes any money on this site, does he? I pay forty to fifty bucks a year to my local gunclub...it would be fair to pay something for the forum as well, since we get to confab with knowledgable folks, and learn something. Anybody have a suggestion as to a fair fee, I'm game.

MikeyL

"Ride Hard, Shoot Straight, Tell the Truth"

It seems to me ....that if those that do business thru the forum donated (paid) some of their profits to the Forum, we would be even better off.

It is discussed in the Forum Office, how some dealers are taking advantage of our Classified section. They should be either kicked off the Forum....or pay a fee, to continue using the Classified. Unsrupulous behavior should not be tolerated! (Even from your 'cousin'.) Bob

Mikey, to date the owner has never asked for a specified amount. To my knowledge he has only asked twice for support, once before I joined and once a year or so after. This is not because he makes any money doing this, but because the popularity of the site has grown so that he needed to purchase more bandwidth so as to not lose more money than he could handle. When he has asked, those of us so inclined have sent in what seemed reasonable to us, according to our own financial circumstances. Since I see you are a relatively recent member, and since you seem so inclined, I suggest that you just send in what seems to make sense to you. Welcome to the forum!

Great post, great reminder Jim, thanks.

Pete

How much does bandwidth cost?

quote:

How much does bandwidth cost?

For the info we get here, I'd say it's nearly priceless.

quote:

Originally posted by casingpoint:
How much does bandwidth cost?

It's a lot more than you would expect.

Good reminder. I've contributed before; it's time to do it again.

Edit: Check sent.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: WaterburyBob,

Check's in the mail.
Jim, thanks for the info. Looking forward to getting your book next week.
BobL

If the moderators would setup a paypal account then I think it would be a whole lot easier to collect money from some of us lazy bums.I been on forums before where you could donate to a PayPal account,,so it is nothing new.

I think Para posted a general idea the first cycle. It was an astounding amount of money, somthing like $4800 a year at that time, as I remember. That was several years ago and the number of members has gone up dramatically as well as the costs of the new software.

Another thing to remember is that Para is more interested in SIG than S&W. He lives on that forum like some of us live here. He and LBJ support this place because they feel it fulls a very necessary need. They and their wives deserve our gratitude for supporting our hobby.

Its also why we need to be good kids and play by the rules. This is literally their living room, not ours. We're just "non-paying" guests in this thing.

Some of us use way more than our fair share of his bandwidth. That would be pointed at me...
The last two times he asked, I donate $100. Thats because I feel I get a lot of benefit out of this forum. In return, I feel an obligation to do several things. First, I feel it necessary to help others with some simple answers when I can provide them. Then I feel its my duty to try to behave myself. Thats the difficult one. Finally, I don't mind a bit sending him an occasional check.

We aren't paying dues. We aren't buying a piece of the action. He's free to discontinue our membership anytime he wants. I view my donations as a way to show my gratitude for the great forum he provides. He owes me nothing, nor does he owe any of us. We've had jerks here that feel they suddenly have become empowered because they pay a few bucks. Thats not how it is.

I feel certain that any donation will be greatly appreciated. If you can afford $10 or $20, then send it. If your finacial situation is so tight, don't feel obligated. But in all this, you do have an obligation to always act in a civil manner. Regardless if you pay $5 or $500 (not likely) , remember you're a guest, not an owner. Its not an excuse to misbehave.

I hope I haven't overstepped my welcome with that last analysis. Jim has started this fund drive, and its probably time to help out again.

Those of us that work with computers everyday in a commercial setting have a very good idea what the costs of this kind of operation can be.
For those here that participated back in the slow/dark days, todays forum is great. Its fast.

Just remember that we don't have freedom of speach here. You have the right to say stupid things until it becomes offensive, then you have the right to be banned (that does happen over on the SIGforum.com more regularly than here.) Oh, this is also a democracy. You have the right to nominate, but Para and LBJ have the vote.

Have I missed anything?

no i feel that Mr.Burg said it spot on .remenber where else can u get this much infoe on smith&wessons , its worth a bunch to me ,

quote:

Originally posted by casingpoint:
How much does bandwidth cost?

If Mike will forgive me for dragging this up again.. (Aug.2005) "Would you like to know? 500 bucks a month. $6000 a year. That's just for SIGforum, S&W forum is almost $400/month to run, and my Ruger board is $120/month."
I'm pretty sure it's gone up since then.

http://sigforum.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/430601935/m/797100143/p/1

When I began this post there were 22,937 registered members of this forum. If only 1/2 of 'em sent Mike $1.00 each, they'd be getting 10X their money's worth. Those with multiple ID's should be required to pay $5 for each username they registered with.

Mark