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Has the 2017 fund drive started yet?

Posted: 24 Jan 2017 15:57
by Steelbanger
Hello RD,

Nevermind, I just started it with a small contribution.

Re: Has the 2017 fund drive started yet?

Posted: 24 Jan 2017 16:17
by Ranch Dog
Yes and thank you for your continued support. I've been trying to get to a "State of the Union" concerning the donations, we are doing very well with carry over from last year, but my available time for that address has just not allowed the thought and typing time.

Re: Has the 2017 fund drive started yet?

Posted: 25 Jan 2017 14:31
by GasGuzzler
I noticed the revised budget and progress on the phone app.

Re: Has the 2017 fund drive started yet?

Posted: 02 Feb 2017 09:54
by Ranch Dog
Today, I will try to get out my "State of the Forum" address concerning donations. Also going to split of the Henry referenced posts into another topic.

Re: Has the 2017 fund drive started yet?

Posted: 02 Feb 2017 16:28
by Ranch Dog
If you are curious about the financial health of the forum, you can look at the bottom of the Board Index page at any time or use the Donation link that is part of the header.

In a nutshell, the forum is doing great. We had a significant carryover from last year that will be used this year, but the forum always accepts donations, and they will be applied to the future just as last year's funds are now being used now.

Our actual expenses were quite a bit under budget, and that boils down to limits being placed on image sizes. The cost of the forum relates to how much material the database occupies and with most images being taken with HD smartphones, a single unedited image can be significate. As an example, we have 50,500 posts and 3100 images stored yet those images occupy 13 times the bits and bites that all the text represents. There is no doubt a picture is worth a thousand words and everyone loves them; hopefully I have struck a good balance of image size against the cost of storing them. As some point down the road, I will need to pay to have code written so that images that have reached a certain age and have not been looked at in over a certain period, will be deleted. No sense in paying for something that isn't being used.

I'm also going to be looking into the donation button becoming a subscription button or at least feature that as an option a bit later this year. Like any PayPal subscription, it can be canceled at any time. For now and that we have almost made our budget for the entire year, consider your donation as paying it forward for whoever joins us or comes behind us. You won't hear me harp about money until I see that we are about three months from closing the door. So do me a favor, especially if you are not a Supporting Member; take a look at the budget graph the links provide and if we need help, please considering being the one to provide it! Please don't wait for others to step up!

As always, I sincerely appreciate your interest in making this endeavor possible.

Re: Has the 2017 fund drive started yet?

Posted: 02 Feb 2017 23:20
by GasGuzzler
Nice.

To be clear, donations don't have to be public.

Re: Has the 2017 fund drive started yet?

Posted: 15 Jun 2017 05:34
by pistolcalrookie
Just dropped a couple of bucks in the bucket, feel like a cheapskate after all the good info I have harvested here.
It has been several years since I bought and tuned my first '92 and it was great to trawl through and refresh my memory when setting up the new carbine.
Many thanks to all the good folks here but particularly Ranchdog.
Funny how the conduct of members seems to reflect that of the age in which our rifles were designed !

Re: Has the 2017 fund drive started yet?

Posted: 15 Jun 2017 05:47
by Ranch Dog
Thank you for your support and glad to hear that the forum has been a help!