# Let us give you money **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [January 24, 2021, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-give-you-money/931349 "2021-01-24T11:02:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-give-you-money/931349/1 "2021-01-24T11:02:46Z")
Mr. Zotti and/or Sun-Times Media, We’re going on six months now without a way to subscribe. You’re obviously paying Discourse for enterprise hosting, and I’m guessing you’re one of their bigger customers. A portion of site visitors will not see the adsense ads, [some even after disabling their adblockers](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/925807/6); those that see ads often find them [laughably](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-we-need-gun-ads/929284) [ill-targeted](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/911161/15). I’m worried about the financial state of the message boards. I imagine revenue is down drastically while expenses are up. The _Sun-Times_ may not be doing all too hot themselves, what with the pandemic. I don’t know. **I’m afraid someone over there will see a red figure and shut everything down**. (I could be wrong though, maybe ad revenue covers operating costs, or even exceeds potential subscription revenue.) Anyways, I’m sure Discourse (or the tech-savvy Teeming Millions) can help find and install a subscription plugin. Then we can get back to giving you money! If that’s not an option or priority, a few reassuring words about the financial situation would set me at ease. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-give-you-money/931349/2 "2021-01-26T00:07:22Z")
Ditto, I was sort of expecting some kind of ping about subscription renewal, but ain’t got. ---
**Author:** ![mistymage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mistymage/32/459_2.png) [@mistymage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mistymage)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-give-you-money/931349/3 "2021-01-26T05:39:27Z")
Tritto. I’ve been reading a lot longer than I registered or paid. I think I have 5 months to go for my subscription but… I’d like to pay so I don’t feel bad about having always blocked the ads. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-give-you-money/931349/4 "2021-01-26T05:44:05Z")
My original suspicion was that subscriptions, like several other administrative functions, were controlled by TubaDiva, and that, with her sudden passing, there wasn’t anyone who was empowered to do those sorts of things. That may still be the case, as I don’t remember seeing anything about a new administrator being named (though I may well have missed it). ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2021, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-give-you-money/931349/5 "2021-07-13T20:49:09Z")
Bump. It’s been a year now. > [@Why is the SDMB membership declining, and what's the best way to add younger members?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-sdmb-membership-declining-and-whats-the-best-way-to-add-younger-members/944208/516): > > The Straight Dope used to be profitable due to advertising, but […] **we’re no longer profitable.** Get that subscription/donation system up and running pronto! ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2021, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-give-you-money/931349/6 "2021-07-13T20:54:33Z")
> [@Max\_S](#): > > You’re obviously paying Discourse for enterprise hosting, and I’m guessing you’re one of their bigger customers. Since January it has been [pointed out](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/931637/2) that the SDMB is not paying for enterprise hosting. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2021, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-give-you-money/931349/7 "2021-07-14T14:01:48Z")
> [@Max\_S](#): > > Since January it has been [pointed out](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/931637/2) that the SDMB is not paying for enterprise hosting… On July 2, codinghorror says: > [@How do you become a member of the SDMB?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-become-a-member-of-the-sdmb/916992/38): > > Yeah I can re-create it as a separate topic later, no problem. I agree it might get more visibility as a standalone topic. In the meantime, consider how many people, and how much per month. This is our enterprise level hosting so it’s not the cheap stuff! ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2021, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-give-you-money/931349/8 "2021-07-14T16:54:08Z")
Hmm. It’s possible they had to upgrade the hosting plan due to higher traffic than the business plan allowed. That, combined with the sudden loss of revenue after Google’s search algorithm changes (according to **ecg** ), may have been part of the motive behind Cecil’s [modest proposal](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/944055). See also, > [@A modest proposal for the Straight Dope](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-modest-proposal-for-the-straight-dope/944055/242): > > Looking at the board traffic, we’ve been running around [800K visits/month](https://www.similarweb.com/website/boards.straightdope.com/#overview) this year, with an average of 7 pages/visit. So that’s well over the 500K views/month allowed under the Business plan. > > I also suspect our migration from the old site fell under the Custom Migration available only in Enterprise. > [@A modest proposal for the Straight Dope](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-modest-proposal-for-the-straight-dope/944055/258): > > It may be a custom addendum that covers increased usage, but if the 800k/mo is unusually high traffic […], Discourse has this FAQ: > > > What happens if I go over the plan limits? > > > > Your site will never stop working! We understand your site can get a lot of visitors quickly for any number of reasons, and success is something to celebrate! If your site exceeds plan limits for several months in a row, we will contact you to discuss flexible upgrade options. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2021, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-give-you-money/931349/9 "2021-07-14T18:36:13Z")
Crap! I wanted to say that. And since they give no cost associated with the super duper plan, it’s even more pointless to guesstimate what membership may cost. I was a little surprised we got 800,000 page views a month, which at first seemed high until I realized I probably accounted for 10,000 of them. I asked **codinghorror** in that thread if he could give us a rough estimate of the plan cost, but he didn’t answer. ---
**Author:** ![Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heffalump_and_roo/32/7691_2.png) [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2021, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-give-you-money/931349/10 "2021-07-15T01:08:57Z")
> [@Max\_S](#): > > That, combined with the sudden loss of revenue after Google’s search algorithm changes (according to **ecg** ), may have been part of the motive behind Cecil’s [modest proposal](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/944055). That sudden loss of revenue happened years ago, but yes, probably the lack of revenue is driving the new proposal. ---
**Author:** ![codinghorror](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/codinghorror/32/4242_2.png) [@codinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/codinghorror)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2021, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-give-you-money/931349/11 "2021-07-16T03:58:22Z")
It’s being worked on! I can assure you. Nobody wants to happen more than I do. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2021, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-give-you-money/931349/12 "2021-08-15T02:36:48Z")
Is it figured out yet? My anniversary is coming up. I like being a member. Tell me how. ---
**Author:** ![Enjoy\_Slurm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enjoy_slurm/32/3937_2.png) [@Enjoy\_Slurm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enjoy_Slurm)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2021, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-give-you-money/931349/13 "2021-08-15T05:49:51Z")
I will gladly accept monies today for a hamburger on Tuesday. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2022, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-give-you-money/931349/14 "2022-01-26T16:58:41Z")
Bump for 1 year anniversary of the original post. 1\frac{1}{2} years of people waiting to throw cash at you. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2022, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-give-you-money/931349/15 "2022-01-26T17:04:00Z")
> [@Max\_S](#): > > Bump for 1 year anniversary of the original post. 1\frac{1}{2} years of people waiting to throw cash at you. - > > ~Max Anyone who wants to stay in practice can throw cash at me. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2022, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-give-you-money/931349/16 "2022-01-26T17:50:58Z")
With the change in ownership, maybe Chicago Public Media/WBEZ will add official membership in SDMB as a fundraising perk at a certain pledge level. Let’s see if the new owners understand the asset they’re gaining. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-give-you-money/931349/17 "2022-01-27T10:06:54Z")
“Please select below whether you would like a coffee mug or a tote bag.” ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2022, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/let-us-give-you-money/931349/18 "2022-01-27T19:37:48Z")
I always go for the coffee mug because it’s easier to cover the logo up so I can re-gift them as Christmas presents. On a more serious note, it seems like we were probably not on the brink of death in June. IIRC, at the time, **codinghorror** said there was already a way to do subscriptions and they were working on a beta donation setup on a UK site. Since they never appeared, I would guess it’s because the Sun-Times didn’t feel the need for it, if they gave us any thought at all. Best case now, NPR continues to ignore us or they actually are hands on enough to institute money making opportunities. I really have no doubt the board could support itself by subscriptions/donations, we’ve done it before.