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NannyP
Joined: 13 Apr 2005
Posts: 10511
Location: 86310 Nr St Savin
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 Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 12:44 pm Post subject: How the forum is paid for |
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We have lots of new members and I thought I would highlight how the forum is paid for.
Several years ago (2 or 3, my memory is not good, or was it 4?) Nigel was sad, as the forum some of us had been using, had gone belly up for a while. So, as Steph didn't like seeing Nigel sad, he started this forum, and many of us joined for a temporary fix whilst the other forum recovered it's equilibrium.
And, here we still are...growing at an astounding rate now and up until not so long ago, funded completely by Steph and Nigel and a small income from Google Ads
I know the forum has been upgraded and improved at least a couple of times, and offers much more than it did back in the dark ages.
Some of you will have noticed, that at the bottom of the Index page is a set of Traffic Light Style eggs......these change colour, depending on how well the forum is doing financially. When Google decided not to put there ads here anymore, we passed around the collection plate and made donations to keep the forum solvent. Now, when we are able, we can use the Paypal buttons on the bottom of the Index page to donate small amounts as and when. This forum is a wealth of information, support and friendship and will only survive with a little bit of financial support from a lot of people. So, go ahead, make you donation, you knnow it makes sense 
Steph says it Here more succinctley, and if you are anything like me, you don't read this bit, cos you're in a rush to read about chickens and post your questions 
Last edited by NannyP on Fri May 02, 2008 5:21 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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bronskibeat
Joined: 09 Sep 2007
Posts: 1115
Location: Clawddnewydd
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| Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 3:00 pm Post subject: |
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I had absolutely no idea....... 
BTW, Stephs post/link is not there anymore  |
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Chris Kurzfeld
Joined: 29 Oct 2007
Posts: 653
Location: Carmarthenshire
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| Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 4:37 pm Post subject: |
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| Me neither and i don't have a paypal account - did have but too many problems so gave it up! |
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debcat
Moderator
Joined: 13 Apr 2005
Posts: 8014
Location: Isle of Lewis
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| Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 4:47 pm Post subject: |
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Can I just add that this is voluntary and all members are welcome whether they donate or not 
The donation system was set up, as at one point it was costing Steph and Nigel money to keep us going. Something none of us wanted
The idea is not to make a profit, but to break even and allow upgrades as they become necessary |
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NannyP
Joined: 13 Apr 2005
Posts: 10511
Location: 86310 Nr St Savin
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| Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 5:10 pm Post subject: |
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Sorry, yes it is voluntary. And the only reason I highlighted it is because I know that Steph and Nigel would be unlikely to, they're far too polite 
Chris K, when I hadn't got a Paypal account, I sent a cheque to Nigel.
Runs and hides now before she gets in to trouble. |
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debcat
Moderator
Joined: 13 Apr 2005
Posts: 8014
Location: Isle of Lewis
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| Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 5:12 pm Post subject: |
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| NannyP wrote: | | Runs and hides now before she gets in to trouble. |
You won't get in trouble, actually you've just reminded me
and you're right, Steph and Nigel are way too polite to mention it |
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NannyP
Joined: 13 Apr 2005
Posts: 10511
Location: 86310 Nr St Savin
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| Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 5:14 pm Post subject: |
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Have mended the link now |
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bronskibeat
Joined: 09 Sep 2007
Posts: 1115
Location: Clawddnewydd
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| Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 5:32 pm Post subject: |
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can you see my halo glowing?? Seriously, I feel loads better now I've made a donation  This site is worth every penny |
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NannyP
Joined: 13 Apr 2005
Posts: 10511
Location: 86310 Nr St Savin
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| Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 6:24 pm Post subject: |
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CP
Moderator
Joined: 13 Apr 2005
Posts: 13150
Location: Hampshire
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| Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 8:57 pm Post subject: |
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| Also don't forget that if you buy anything through the Amazon link, it also adds to the coffers. |
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bronskibeat
Joined: 09 Sep 2007
Posts: 1115
Location: Clawddnewydd
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| Posted: Sat May 03, 2008 6:26 am Post subject: |
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The link that NannyP supplied makes very interesting reading I have to say I was a bit worried when I read the Gallery rules  I know that most of my photos are not poultry related............ will have to do something about that with all my chicks due |
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stephen
Site Admin
Joined: 13 Apr 2005
Posts: 4765
Location: Billinge, Skåne, Sweden.
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| Posted: Sat May 03, 2008 6:59 am Post subject: |
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| bronskibeat wrote: | | The link that NannyP supplied makes very interesting reading I have to say I was a bit worried when I read the Gallery rules I know that most of my photos are not poultry related............ will have to do something about that with all my chicks due |
Don't worry! As long as it's not excessive, and it's not something you'd more likely see on Embarrassing Illnesses, we're not that hard on people. The rule of thumb is primarily poultry and farm related. We know this site is a lot more social than it originally was, and also that people do struggle with photo upload sites, so we're more relaxed these days. Just remember, the photos appear in the top right corner of the forums at random...
Also, when we wrote those original rules it was 2 1/2 years ago. At the time we'd only just really started, and were renting space on someone elses server. We had a total of 1GB of disc space and limited bandwidth, so we had to be more careful. Today we have a complete server just to ourselves, and have around 60 GB to play with, with it sitting on a fat pipe to the internet.
When we started on 13th April 2005 it was literally meant to be for 10 days whilst another site got fixed. Within a month we had a domain, and rented space. At the end of last year the use had got so much that our old host was struggling to keep up. In December last year we took on a dedicated server that we could grow into. It was a short term pain for the forums to succeed long term.
The costs aren't small - I know this, as I've just had to do the accounts for the flippin' tax man and accountant! Last year it cost over 6 000 SEK (around £500) to run the site. This year, it'll be closer to 10 500 SEK (about £900).
Advertising covers a lot of the costs, but not all. The donations from everyone who has contributed over the last year or so really do help and make the difference between us breaking even and not. We really do appreciate the help people give.
As others have mentioned, if you can't afford to make a donation, don't worry.
The next time you buy something from Amazon, follow the link on our front page first (whether it says Amazon gift certificates or something else) and we get a small cut of the sale - it costs you no more, and we take a small percentage of the price.
Setting up a new PC? Download Firefox from the link on the front page and it helps us.
If you want to have your own domain name for email and a website, you can rent some space on the server. A domain costs around £3 a year, and the space on the server we are renting out for £10 a year.
Finally, many thanks again to everyone who helps us, and we hope to be here for a long time to come. |
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stephen
Site Admin
Joined: 13 Apr 2005
Posts: 4765
Location: Billinge, Skåne, Sweden.
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| Posted: Sat May 03, 2008 7:12 am Post subject: |
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| NannyP wrote: |
Chris K, when I hadn't got a Paypal account, I sent a cheque to Nigel.
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Just to back up NannyP - if you don't like using PayPal (and lots of people don't) and you want to donate, you still can.
1. We still have a UK bank account so you can either pay us via your online banking (PM me for details), or with a cheque.
2. If you are outside the UK and your bank does EU Payments / Structured Payments / SEPA at low cost or free (basically, all countries in the EU except the UK which charges silly money for it), you can pay via our IBAN number in Sweden. |
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Chris Kurzfeld
Joined: 29 Oct 2007
Posts: 653
Location: Carmarthenshire
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| Posted: Sat May 03, 2008 8:26 am Post subject: |
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| My computer is playing silly B's with sending PM's but if someone can PM me with Nigels address i will happily make a donation. . Think this is one of the friendliest, helpful forums I had the good fortune to stumble across - glad i stayed . |
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mojo
Joined: 13 Apr 2005
Posts: 9117
Location: GLENAY north deux sevre FRANCE
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| Posted: Sat May 03, 2008 5:01 pm Post subject: |
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| and please folks check the colour of the eggs..............you have to read nannys posting if you dont know what they are |
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