Feldgrau's Future

[Jason Pipes]

This is a little troubling. Four days and not a single reply to Tom's call for help for Feldgrau. This is serious folks. I know I've been away for awhile, but the mods and admin staff here have kept things going and continue to do so while I was busy with military obligations in California, moving, and life in general.

We need to ramp up the support for the site to help cover the costs of hosting the site. If we don't get the cost covered each month ASAP I will no longer be able to maintain the site online.

I know this is blunt, and this is somewhat out of nowhere having been gone for awhile, but if we don't get the operating funds to cover hosting the site Feldgrau will be closed very soon.

[Waleed Y. Majeed]

Has advertisements been considered - not just sponsors but actual adds?
I know it is used on the AHF site. Not sure how much it brings in or how it works
but my experience is that its not really that much a bother as I first dreaded.
Yes, there's an add here and there in and around the postings but as mentioned
no worse (rather less) than what we're bombed with every day all around us.

Those behind the software used here even do it: http://www.phpbb.com/about/advertise/index.php

I know it's not exactly the reply you were hoping for,
but as you already know I have earlier stated (several times)
how I would be willing and able to help.

The best of luck to you, the Forum Kameraden and all.


Waleed

[Jason Pipes]

Going forward if the site remains online we will add baner ads to the forum, but we will only do so for companies that are related in some way to the content of the site. I refuse to use blanket ads and prefer to focus them among publishers, book dealers, etc that offer services to people using this site. The key of course will be to find such companies that want to place ads on the site in the first place. Any takers?

What we need right now though are folks to step up and support the forum immediately with a donation.

[John P. Moore]

I just made a USD 50 donation to Feldgrau to finacially support this site in its time of need. I expect to make a similar contribution every month and I hope others will do the same, especially those authors who may receive an indirect financial benefit by having their published works discussed here.

John

[Jason Pipes]

All donations sent via PayPal should be sent to [email protected], or contact me offline if you'd rather use another source.

Thank you John!! We have now received two donations, though we need $250 more to cover our current costs that are past due. Once we get that covered we are back on track and can figure out the plan for the future.

[MadDog]

How are the server costs compared to other companies ? Is the big hit from file space or bandwidth ?

I would guess that there have been few replies as most people dont frequent this section of the BB.

Mad Dog

[Jason Pipes]

We are working hard to get the price per month down, or to move to another server. Moving is not easy or desired as we have a very nice set up currently. The costs has to do with the all of the above - bandwidth, server space, the fact it's a stand-alone server not restrained by any other sites or accounts, the fact it's managed 24/7 with full tech support, etc. It comes at a cost sadly.

We are at $200 in donations, and we need another $200 to get current. After that we will work on planning for the future!

[xguardian]

would love to help but 2 infants take everything I have . From the sound of it you need a new server that's very expensive .
I host a v bullentin forum with videos etc for 15 a month

[Jason Pipes]

We are up to $250 in donations, and we need another $150 to get current.

Thanks to everyone who has supported us so far. We are still in need of your support so if you can donate anything at all please consider doing so.

[John W. Howard]

Jason: Did you receive my check??

[Jason Pipes]

John, received your donation this weekend and deposited it late this afternoon. Thanks very much for your support!!

[Jason Pipes]

Just a quick update, we've been given until the 24th to cover the current amount due for the Feldgrau servers. We are $150 short. I'm working on getting the date extended but if ever there was a time we could use your donation, this is it!!

[John P. Moore]

I just kicked in an extra $50. That makes $100 that I have contributed in the past week. I know there are other members out there who are capable of doing more. Please step up to the plate. Thanks.

John

[Scott Revell]

If my calculations are correct then I just paid the final $100USD to keep it going for this month (scraped in for the 24th) only!!! I too have 2 children, brand new house, new job less than 4 months old, commitments etc...however I can still help. So there should not be any excuse why other members cant pay. I think too many people on this forum are here for a free ride.

However, and being brutally honest, is the forum doing everything that it can do to make this easier.
"Moving is not easy or desired as we have a very nice set up currently. The costs has to do with the all of the above - bandwidth, server space, the fact it's a stand-alone server not restrained by any other sites or accounts, the fact it's managed 24/7 with full tech support, etc. It comes at a cost sadly."

Well the reality of this situation is that you can't afford this set up on a monthly basis. So from a forum side, some easy decisions need to made...and made fast. I think everyone would be ok with some downtime for a period to move the forum to another provider is this is demmed what is necessary (other suggestions to raise money include: advertisements, online store, restricted access to areas (John Moore's research for example - thats worth a bit) in addtion to the above.)
Either way - a decision needs to be made. Please understand that the support provided this month by a few members is not sustainable moving forward.

Thanks

Scott

[Jason Pipes]

Folks, I am VERY pleased to say that as of this morning we have received enough donations to cover the entire past due amount, and we are on the way towards establishing support each month to insure this never happens again!

Members really stepped up to the plate with some very generous donations and it means the world to me personally and it should mean a great deal to each and every person that uses Feldgrau in some way. These folks very literally helped insure Feldgrau remains online. John M, John H, Tom, Ivan, CV, Peter, Nico, Scott, and Cass. These folks really stepped up. THANK YOU.

In addition we have received some additional donations that will immediately go towards the next monthly bill. Ongoing it is our goal (and frankly our need) to insure we continue to receive full funding from our members. We have made it through the worst of it but we aren't 100% out of the woods yet. We need to insure we continue to receive donations so if you can consider helping to support the site please let us know. We really do need your support!

As for the future, we have taken this matter very seriously and are working hard to reduce our monthly cost to a more managable level. For starters we are working with our server host to move to a cheaper plan (this has been ongoing and has not been easy to get them to agree to). We also will be including discreet banner ads on the site, making changes to the marketplace folder, launching a Cafe Press site, expanding our Feldgrau for sale section, and working to add a section of the forum for more indepth and targeted information provided by some of our more professional authors and members.

Thank you to everyone who donated in this time of need!