Would you be willing to pay a nominal fee for membership?

[paulcalloway]

I don't want to freak anyone out here but if we have to go to a dedicated server, we're going to need more sources of funding than we have now to maintain this site.

The number of participating vendors has gone down and our costs are going up.

If we went to a nominal-fee subscription program ($5-10) annually for full access to all folders and all features on the AC, and restricted access for those who don't subscribe, would you participate?

Follow-Up NOTE: Probably one of the main "features" to be restricted will be the search function. I know this is one of the first things we tell newbies to do here, but with 100 users camping here at any given time hitting "New Posts" (search), its one of the suspected reasons we're over usage.

[Mcguire]

Re: Would you be willing to pay a nominal fee for membership?

For the quality information and research posted to this forum, information distributed concerning authentic events, not to mention the access to authentic gear available for sale I think $5-10 is a small price to pay. However, I would like to see any surplus funds in excess of expenses be donated to preservation.

[paulcalloway]

Re: Would you be willing to pay a nominal fee for membership?

However, I would like to see any surplus funds in excess of expenses be donated to preservation.

A preservation donation is a definate if we're in the black. We've donated to preservation in past years as well.

[Swag]

Re: Would you be willing to pay a nominal fee for membership?

for 5$ or 10$ annually thats not a problem, I'd be more then happy to do it. With all the information and networking available here its a wonder we aren't already. Hell I'd pay 40$ a year if thats what it takes!

Respectfully Yours,
Sean M. Lamb

http://thebullyboys.org

[CJ Roberts]

Re: Would you be willing to pay a nominal fee for membership?

I agree. I'd be happy to pay a subscription fee to use this site. I think it is one of the best resources for authentically-minded reenactors available. A commitment to donating any surpluses to preservation only makes it that much more attractive.

C.J. Roberts

[Marc29thGA]

Re: Would you be willing to pay a nominal fee for membership?

Yes - a very small price to pay for the amount of information and ideas presented.

[1stMaine]

Re: Would you be willing to pay a nominal fee for membership?

Paul,

I would rather see the excess funds put into an "authentic campaigner forum preservation" fund than sent to preservation itself.

That way, there would be some cash on hand for unexpected technical hiccups, or to deal with upgrades, hackers, buying more bandwidth so you could add video streaming, conferencing, etc. etc.

Just thinking outside the box...

Respects,

[paulcalloway]

Re: Would you be willing to pay a nominal fee for membership?

We do maintain a sizeable balance in case crap hits the fan - some of you may remember a few years ago when we had to pay $600 to rescue our database from being destroyed. I know last summer Matt had to come out of pocket a bunch to try to fix corrupt databases - ultimately he was unsuccessful but he still had to pay some computer genious for his time.

So yeah we do maintain some cash-on-hand for stuff like that and we need to continue to do so.

[Miss L]

Re: Would you be willing to pay a nominal fee for membership?

I don't post here much - heck, I don't even log on every time I'm here, but I make good use of the place! The quantity and quality of information available here is priceless, so sure, I'd have no problem with that at all.

[JWKellum]

Re: Would you be willing to pay a nominal fee for membership?

Mr. Calloway,

I agree, $5-$10 is a small price to pay for the information and research available here.
Regards,

[nick19thind]

Re: Would you be willing to pay a nominal fee for membership?

For the quality information and research posted to this forum, information distributed concerning authentic events, not to mention the access to authentic gear available for sale I think $5-10 is a small price to pay. However, I would like to see any surplus funds in excess of expenses be donated to preservation.

Information should be free.
Several of these topics have helped me improve my impression, why deny it to others new to the hobby?
If there's going to be a donation why not make it voluntary?

[paulcalloway]

Re: Would you be willing to pay a nominal fee for membership?

Information should be free.
Several of these topics have helped me improve my impression, why deny it to others new to the hobby?
If there's going to be a donation why not make it voluntary?

There is already a voluntary donation in place - see the front page. It plus the vendors fees will not be enough to pay the bills when we're forced to go to a dedicated server.

If you've got a Barnes & Nobles in your hometown, you should know not all information is free ... neither is the Watchdog, the CCG or the Civil War Historian for that matter.

[toptimlrd]

Re: Would you be willing to pay a nominal fee for membership?

Information should be free.
Several of these topics have helped me improve my impression, why deny it to others new to the hobby?
If there's going to be a donation why not make it voluntary?

Unfortunately the bandwith to deliver that info is not. Much of the information found here can also be found in libraries around the world and requires a lot of research time. The AC provides a more convenient access to much of that information unfortunately that access costs money. Quite frankly I think the $5 to $10 per year is quite reasonable and less than most people spend at Starbucks on the way to the office. Many many people put more hours into running this board as volunteers and expect no pay (believe me I'm a mod on another board so I know what goes into it) but the recent crashes and upgrades that have had to be done costs $$. There is already a voluntary way to donate and the approved vendors pay a fee, but I think the problem is that simply not enough people do so.

[aaron1stvirginia]

Re: Would you be willing to pay a nominal fee for membership?

Mr. Calloway
I would be willing to pay $10 for this site to stay running. This place has helped me so much in my impression. Fot the longest time I did not know my entire impression was wrong until recently. Had it not been for this website I would still be farb. Thanks for making this site what it is no matter the price.

Sincerly

[Duff]

Re: Would you be willing to pay a nominal fee for membership?

just a thought...

what if we orginized the information on this website into a book, then sold it. I'm sure alot of peaple would buy it. There are probably plenty of problems with this idea, but I figured I'd throw it out there.