Donation

[Zumbilly(Murdoch)]

Please, I need some clarity.
With regard to donating,Is there any control over who has or has not donated?
It has been suggested a Yearly or monthly donation be made.
Please do not think I am trying to dodge paying,
What are the benefits of a "donating"member over a non donating member,if any.
Lastly .. do We use the donation button on the Forum or is there a private pay pal account for the committe.
Thanks
Billy

[Admin]

Donation.

Why!
As I am sure everyone is aware these things are not done for nothing, whilst the basic structure of the forum is without charge (ie. you get the sheet of lined paper free but then you have to put everything on it) this then incurs cost which includes domain name, setup of all relative categories and permissions for uploads & changes etc, ongoing hosting and constant administration (dealing with the day to day issues and requests) of the site.

Amount
This is down to the individual as there is no demand made that you do so, it is purely a request for support for all of the above and so that the burden of cost does not ‘fall on the few!’

Subscription
This will re-appear is an additional (paypal button) at £2 / month (value for money!)
This route of support appears to be a preferred option going some of the replies so far.

Destination
On pressing the donation button you will be directed to the paypal page and account specifically set up for the BSS it will be self explanatory when you hit the button.

Benefit
There is no further benefit or advantage in contributing, you are merely maintaining a trouble free constantly administered platform for our site

Members Area
This can very easily be done but it is the grey area on which there is always a divided camp
I will put a post up (members’ area yes/no) and see what comes out it

Profit
There will be none. When income exceeds outgoings the funds will be put to a benefit of some kind, a prize to the contributing members

Funds
Should there be a need to produce a statement of the contributions, it can be made available on request however you do understand that its discretionary nature could cause issue between members and the levels of contribution, bearing in mind that this is a relatively small community.

[Basil Henriques]

Donation.

Subscription
This will re-appear is an additional (paypal button) at £2 / month (value for money!)
This route of support appears to be a preferred option going some of the replies so far.

£24 per year ?
A lower figure may yield more positive responses methinks.
Optional or not, that is CONSIDERABLY more than the "One Off" registration fee for the "Steel Guitar Forum" ($5 or £3.32) and even that is waived if you buy merchandise from the forum.

[Arcada]

I've now changed the recurring donation option so that the amount is not hardcoded. Just enter any amount and click the [subscribe] button!

[Dave Nutt]

Donation? subscription? always going to be a hard one, especially when folks have in the past had it for nothing.

My take (for what its worth)
Being a member of the BSS website as was, was certainly not worth a donation or contribution, after all the site was bewitched with tech probs, a lot of the so called members??? would never contribute, some used it purely as a marketing tool or method of self promotion. Dont get me wrong,I have no problem with he sales and wants sections, but it would be nice to see some of the sellers involve more in the real objectives of the site - the promotion of steel guitar in the UK ?

One thing I am sure of, the new site will work under the tech direction of Bob and Arcada, that for me is a certainty.
If we make it a voluntary donation then the future pathway could be difficult . If we make it subscription only, I have no doubt that some will not bother joining us, Are they the ones we should be considering? would they not be the very ones that for whatever reason dont or wont contribute to the forums? Why should we be concerned about them.
Genuine financial hardship cases could easily be made the exception (without the need for means tests) just a nod of the head from Roy- 'the boss'

Thinking it through, for me it should be a subscription only site, I realise we will possibly lose a few members, but the ones we do get to subscribe will be the guys and gals that have a commitment to The British Steelies Society, the BSS website and whatever our site has to offer in the future.
Smaller community? yes, but a more involved,interesting forum would be the result.

I do agree with Baz that £24 per year could put a few folks off, (I doubt it would Baz, and certainly not me) But if we can make the site more interesting, vibrant, and most of all 'accessible' Im sure our membership would grow.
The idea and statement that any profit shown would be returned in some way to the membership (prizes etc) is a great way to deal with things, also opens the door up to competitions, shouldnt be difficult to do, we all think we know lots about steel and steel related subjects, so! monthly competitions??? surely a great way to get more members involved in posting.

The criticisms of recent months re- the technical clitches should now be over, I hope we now find that the recent apathy was caused by that and that alone. We have a new site, lets give it a new direction.
Im for subscription only.
Dave.

[Zumbilly(Murdoch)]

My thoughts.
Touchy subject this.
I will commence by saying that I have donated a sum to the Forum.I think it is the least I or anyone can do to help with the set up and running of this Forum.
I,along with others was one to complain about the old Forum and continually said I did'nt know how to change things.Bob and Roy have worked together to change things.
We live,or have been living in the shadow of the U.S.Forum for ever(it seems) and sometimes I felt that answers to questions and the various topics were addressed or answered on the other side of the pond.this(I think)caused us to refrain from posting on the BSS forum.
The same old, same old guys were trying to keep the place alive.I am probably the oldest of the old guys .
If this Forum generates as much traffic as the old forum I doubt if it would be worth paying for.
We, the members are the ones who will make it worthwhile and I think a settling in period will assist each of us to assess the merits and benefits of this Forum.
I am not sold on a regular subscription(yet) I would perhaps suggest that Bob lets us know how many of us are,or have actually donated,no need for names or amounts,maybe let us know if We are in the red or the blue
Items sold from the "for sale"section could be subject to an agreed % donation .
If the situation arises and We become hugely over subscribed I think the raffle idea would be a cause for complaint,We would have a potential for questions like "How did He win the raffle when I donated twice as much as He did".
These are some of My thoughts, I hope it will invoke other answers and ideas.
Best regards to all

Ps.
Edited,
Since posting this I have had a personal mail thanking Me for My donation.I was also informed of the number(not names)of those who have already donated.
Billy
Billy

[STEDDIE EDDIE]

i agree, a pecentage of sales, maybe 3 - -5% ??? i will gladly pay 24 quid, but feel, like Basil, its slightly high, 20 quid would attract more members i think, dont like donations at all, dont think they work, working on the basis you cant please all the people all the time, its good we should post our own ideas, but at the end of a specified period, admin should then take a firm decision, and thats it! we did get one poster just lately on the old site, saying any forum he is on, he doesnt have to pay, and that is the way to kill a forum, well i say to him, get real! there are no free lunches! pay your way like the rest of us will, or just become a voyeur, we have plenty of them, cos im just looking at the names posting on this thread, and do you know what? Dave Nutt is spot on in his observations, its the same few again, ps. if a set subscription is brought in, i think anyone who has donated, [ie; Billy] shold be reimburssed their donation, i haven't donated, for reasons ive previously explained, i just dont think its workable

[Dave Nutt]

To make things clear. I have donated, possibly the first, however! thats imaterial. I am more concerned that anyone who has stuck their hand in the pocket to get the site up and running has had at least my contribution as thanks for that un-enviable effort.

Im sure (hopefully) that during the coming days, more imput from members Re. Donation/Subscription/Free will help us get a clearer picture of feelings. (twillbe! interesting Im sure.

[telboy]

i think we should wait n see how many folk sign up as members and see how this new site performs, as a complete novice[on the old site] , i must admit to being a bit mentally dwarfed by the amount of knowledge and technical skill you guys have, i was put off quite alot by the techno babble being used in discussion which normally went straight over my head, and ill admit to the fact i felt inferior as i play lap steel and not pedal[not part of the gang], im sure i wasnt the only one, which in turn may have put folk off joining the forum and taking part...what im trying to say is, if this new forum goes the same way as the old and on top of that you're charging for the privelage, you may find you have less members then before...but i must also say, at this early time in the life of the new forum, it does somehow seem, more freindly?cheers terry aka telboy

[James Crowbear]

here's my take on the issue :
i'd have a set nominal entrance fee like b0b & the steel ring do : 5 or 10 £
Donations are usually on a voluntary basis unless the administrator sends out a "help ! please send in something - thanx "
personaly, i m not favorable to a monthly, trimester or semester suscribtion fee
in order for it to convince me, the quality contents & participation by members of the forum will have to justify that
yes a 5% commission on instruments & stuff is only normal
i reckon i gotta put my mouth where my money is.....................