Who would be willing to contribute an amount of 10/20$ on a monthly basis, to tackle this respawning problem IW is having ?

I know there are lots of people who can't afford it, and that's okay, so please don't feel the need to make excuses for that in this thread, i understand. I'm looking for people who CAN and are willing to make a difference here. I'd figure if 15/20 people would commit themselves to this, until there is some sort of other solution perhaps, than Z wouldn't have to go around asking for donations all the time, and we can go to bed, knowing that IW will still be there in the morning.

So what say you ?

I could do 10 on a two-monthly basis, if that's any good. Sorry, best I can do while still a student. If I can get a more secure job than this one, or get more security in the current one, 10 a month I can manage too.
No offense, but so far I've held that if I happened to have some money to spare each month, charities are a better cause than an internetforum for the relatively wealthy. ;) I monthly donate to several charities and always told myself that no matter how much I like this place here, it would feel weird to donate to something that's so luxury in comparison. But what the heck...
Only problem is I have no credit card and no paypal, but since I saw it was you who proposed this deal, maybe we could arrange something like me putting the money in your account (provided I can trust you enough not to buy beer from it ;) )

Cool you're making the effort, anyway, Johnny. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 02-02-2004, 04:32 AM: Message edited by: Melusine ]

Count me in.

Or do it like i did last time, the old fashioned way, by mail. Of course i had to pay a little extra (aangetekend), but at least i could be sure it would arrive safely.

Yeah, I did that once for Dan's wedding. Still, that's a shame when I can only contribute so little, to have the mailing of it cost as much as the actual gift. If we could combine all people from the Netherlands who're willing to donate, though...

Good idea Mel, let's just wait and see if there's any more Dutchies willing to do this. You know how greedy we are. :D Or at least i keep hearing that. [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img]

[ 02-02-2004, 04:38 AM: Message edited by: johnny ]

LOL, tell me about it. [img]tongue.gif[/img] I recruit members for Amnesty, so it's my *job* to convince the greedy little bastards to give some of their hard-earned cash to charity. :D
LOL, naw, I'm just being flippant now - we Dutch are actually pretty cool when it comes to donating. Not as good as some Scandinavian countries, for instance, but we're getting there. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Anyway, if we do this I'd actually propose one of us tries to use a creditcard and the others put the money in that person's account. Seems to me to be the cheapest way. If there's no one else, I could always ask Daddy for his. ;)

Fine with me, now let's wait and see what comes up.

I'll start as soon as I get a credit card.

Yeah man. Once I get a steady income coming in (in the next month or so) I'm keen for this too. I'm in the same boat as Mel, no credit card and no paypal. So I could mail some cash too I guess.

Count me in, too. [img]smile.gif[/img]

I wouldn't be able to afford it every month, though maybe every two months. I'll be starting to get my scholarship from about March but it isn't huge and I will have to support myself a lot more with it. I can't afford it this month though.

Ziroc, last time there was a need for donations, there was a long discussion about various options for raising the money in an organised fashion, for example a nominal membership fee that, if even a quarter of the regular membership paid annually, would raise a substantial amount of money. This had quite wide support from members. And yet here we are again, needing money for bills but nothing organised is in place. Johnny's post is laudable, but is indicative of the haphazard manner in which money is raised. And I'm sure you are tired of having to ask for money in this way and scrounging around for every penny. What sort of progress, if any, has been made towards getting some sort of system in place for regular payments by a majority of members?

*BUMP*

Don't want this to drop of the page just yet.

not to be mean but I am against contributing to message boards. It is your money, do what you want with it of course, but me, I dont know what happens to that money or what it actually funds. I support my own board as well without ever asking for contributions so I know what it costs to run one but I would never think of asking members to pay for it.

Just my 2cents or lack of it as the case may be

<font color=lime>I visit/post on this board EVERYDAY. I will be happy to give 10 a month via money order.
Guys, that 10 bucks is only going to really count if several of us give 10 a month.
Small price to pay for a quality forum that entertains me EVERYDAY.

How much time do you spend here?

Excellent thread johnny! [img]graemlins/awesomework.gif[/img] </font>

ten bucks a month is what it costs me total for my board so even if you say that it costs 4x that and you are giving tip for upkeep if everyone would give 10 a month you would be overpaying by heaps.

what do you think a forum with over 10k members costs looking at badnwidth and server space and everything? I doubt you really see how large that is and how much everything costs. Read the sticky for more info

I'll start to save but now I can't do really much and 10 a month is 2 thirds of what I get paid :( ANyway is there no possibility of putting a few banners here? I know they got taken of last time but those were really not easy to fnd, most of us come here right to the forum without going to the website. Z I know you don't want it but it might give some income

My server has unlimited space, bandwidth for $10 a month.
(actually $9.95 and if you pay for a year it is even cheaper)
http://phpwebhosting.com/

oh and where in the sticky does it tell me what it costs to keep this place up a month?

[ 02-04-2004, 03:57 PM: Message edited by: Smoothie ]

Actually, in this case it's a little bit more than that. A couple of hundred Dollars to be exact.

that's just way too much. isnt there a way to look into alternative servers?

I seem to recall this site getting 200'000 page views daily. And theres a website on top of that to support. Just because you can run a relatively small forum for $10/month does not mean it can be done for a forum of this size. Plus you have the hardware costs, there was a lightning strike on the server late last year and for a while we were down for a few days.

If you don't want to pay, don't pay. But don't go on about how Ziroc shouldn't be asking for donations.

I can state my opinion. I think people have the right to know where there money goes and what it costs to pay for this site if they are going to be contributing. I never told him not to ask for donations,in fact I don't think I mentioned the Z man at all. I am just pointing out there may be other alternatives. If you want me to be honest I think anything over $100 a month for a website is money wasted. And, I am not doing this randomly. I have seen other boards "scam" people out of their money. I am not saying it is done here but don't get an attitude with me for bringing up valid points.

[ 02-04-2004, 05:39 PM: Message edited by: Smoothie ]

Smoothie and i can say to you "z-man" as you calling him NOT "scam" people out of their money, he ASK if you can let him get some money to keep this forum going on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is a big place and they need hardware computers and all thingys not only a ruter to get it online so coole it down!
I have giving this forum some money the last 3 months and i will continue it now this great Webmaster have done whatever he can possible do to NOT ask us for money but he have tons of other bills to pay because his health is not so good after what i know so he have tons of bills there too. And that is much for one man and if we like this forum to be here tomorrow it would not be to much to ask those who CAN give some to give 1 or 2 dollars only one dollar helps alot and you think " i give one dollar" so what? it dont help but it DOES get that into your brains it does damn it!


Good post Johnny!!! [img]smile.gif[/img]

[ 02-04-2004, 06:23 PM: Message edited by: Megabot ]

Well this is it, are they valid points? They seem more like idle and ill-founded pot shots at Ironworks and its webmaster to me. Ziroc's a great guy and would never steal anyone's money - you'd know this if you'd taken the time to familiarize yourself with this forum, without insinuating erroneous things right off the bat.

A site this size and with this many pageviews each day is going to cost a lot and need a good deal of maintenance, that's all there is to it. Every cent that people donate really does go towards this, it's not like Ziroc shoves it all in his back pocket. You may feel the need to question this, but since we've been here a while and know how hard it is for Ziroc to keep this board running, especially with all his medical bills, we completely appreciate that he has to ask for help (donations).

I don't see how you could consider Ironworks, a site that gives hundreds if not thousands of people so much pleasure, a 'waste of money.' If I could give so many people such a wonderful gift with a couple of hundred dollars a month, I'd jump at the chance. Running this website is a great act of selflessness on his part. He could just jack it all in - he's a busy guy and has a life with plenty of expenses of his own - but no, he keeps going, for us. The very least we can do is trust him with what we give and not groan and complain about the way he collects the necessary funds.

<font color=lime>Another thing to consider Smoothie, is the fact that the forums is only 1 part of this deal. There is a whole website that maybe you have not seen yet. Bandwidth is bandwidth is bandwidth.
Also, please remember that the people this is mostly aimed at is, 1, people who can afford it, and 2, people who are regulars. I notice that you only have 83 posts since Oct. 01. I doubt anyone expects members who dont frequent the forums alot to contribute.
And Dan (Ziroc) puts an incredable amount of time and own money into this site, I really doubt he is out to rob anyone. While your concerns are valid, I think you hit a nerve with some of us who are here everyday and really appreciate what Z does.
Please dont feel obligated to contribute and feel free to ask your questions, but please dont worry about Ziroc's motives. [img]smile.gif[/img] </font>

Guys, guys, I am not attacking Ziroc here, I am trying to point out that there might be other solutions. And Arledrian, give me a break, this is a message board. I realize people have friends here but this is not the second coming. I'm not groaning or complaining. I am stating my opinion. Maybe I am off base with what things cost. I still think it's too much, but heck in the end it is your money, feel free to do with it what you want.

Finally, just because someone has a low post count does not mean they have not been here awhile or is not a regular. That attitude is unwelcoming and clicquey. Ok I'm done, I said my peace, feel free to do what you want.

[ 02-04-2004, 06:55 PM: Message edited by: Smoothie ]

Yeah come on guys, give Smoothie a break, I think she has raised some perfectly valid points in a perfectly mature and acceptable manner, so stop getting stressed just cos you might not agree.

LOL i hope she have and you too "Vaskez"

<font color=lime>First post:</font>

<font color=lime>Second post:</font>
<font color=lime>Like I already stated, it is the insinuation that hit a nerve with us. No offence intended Smoothie. I just think you came across kinda harsh at first. I am sorry about the "regular" comment, I am here everyday and have never seen you. I did'nt take into consideration about the other forums I dont visit. Sorry. [img]smile.gif[/img] </font>

I just get pissed when people undermine the guy, that's all. Sorry folks.

Have what? And what's with the quotes around my name, "Megabot"? [img]tongue.gif[/img] Did you escape from transformers or something? ;)

[ 02-04-2004, 09:28 PM: Message edited by: Vaskez ]

Oi, take the off-topic discussions somewhere else, OK? [img]smile.gif[/img] ;)

Johnny, would you be willing to act as "Dutch donations guy" for any Dutchies willing to contribute on a more or less regular basis? How many others are willing to help out? When are we going to get started?

Sure, no problem. Besides you and me, no other Dutchies have raised their voice here as you can see. Just give it a little more time.

The last week of the month is most suitable for me, that's when i always receive my paycheck. Just let me know what's best for you, and we can come to an agreement.

Johnny, if it's just you and me that'd be fine too. The time of the month doesn't matter all that much to me - I get paid by the week. End of month is fine by me.
I'm just eager to see this thing get started because I know how easily it slips from people's minds and is forgotten again (I raise donations for a job, LOL - people are very often willing to give to all kinds of charities/good causes but they're usually too lazy to actually do it).

Anyway - let's agree that we pick a date on which you will monthly send Z some cash and I'll try to put at least 5 euro, and more whenever I can spare it, in your account before that day.

I'll make sure this thread stays on the first page for a while, so nobody can forget. I'll get back to you about the exact date i'll be wiring money to Z, okay ?

I responded in the sticky topic made by Ziroc, on the top of this page. I'll see what I can do (for more specifications: see that topic)

<font color=lime>Just your innocent "bump". :D </font>

You dont like Galvatron much, bro? [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img]

You dont like Galvatron much, bro? [img]graemlins/hehe.gif[/img] </font>[/QUOTE]<font color=lime>Well, what am I suppose to do? I cant just not post anymore.
Dilemas dilemas... :rolleyes: O-well, theres other great avatars out there... [img]tongue.gif[/img] </font>

Johnny, Melusine, sorry for not noticing this topic sooner... But as a matter of fact, I *do* have a credit card. Would save you the trouble of sending it by regular mail, a paypal donation only takes about a minute. [img]smile.gif[/img]