Shayna - maybe that’s part of the reason that the Chicago Reader doesn’t take donations for the SDMB server? (Again, pure guesswork.)
Example: The non-profit organization to which I belong, Amnesty International, does not take donations earmarked for a “special” cause. All donations are supposed to go to the general fund with the organization deciding how the money is spent. Once when one of my colleagues was organizing a conference on Women’s Human Rights, her employer (Rhino Records) offered to donate a large sum of money specifically for the Women’s Human Rights campaign, and she had to tell them “any donations must go to the general fund, you cannot specify in which portion of the budget it will be spent.”
I know all this has been discussed before, but I’ll add that Salon magazine ( a for-profit entity ) solicited voluntary contributions about a year ago. So there’s precedent for the sort of system that makes Zotti feel weird.
Admittedly, Salon later made the transition to a “membership” system, where payment is required.
It would seem then that the “Salon” example would show that soliciting contributions is not a viable business model.
I see cazzle was thinking along similar lines to myself. I was going to suggest that we the people buy a server and rent it to the Reader for a token amount. That makes it a legitimate business deal for the Reader and also allows us to trade it in and get a new one when required down the track.
As an aside, we seem to be talking minimum specs here. Given the willingness of members here to kick in, can we get some idea from Jerry what’s desirable - as opposed to what we can just get away with? Seems to me that we’d all rather kick in a little bit extra and purchase something which exceeds our current needs than buy something likely to be obsolete in 6 months (and yes, I’m aware that the cost of running the server is a separate issue which will probably make subscriptions inevitable).
Cans of worms, cans of worms, all I see is cans of worms…
Supposing everyone who so desires contributes, but there is still not enough money. The Chicago Reader would then be saddled with the responsibility of giving everyone their money back. What a nightmare! It may sound simple, but as anyone who has been involved in any similar situation knows, it ain’t. And the Chicago Reader would incur expenses such as payroll to collect and account for the money. What if the contributions were so low they didn’t even cover those expenses? And what would be the possibility that, after the Chicago Reader announces the funds were insufficient, and after expenses everyone will be getting a refund of 75 cents on the dollar, someone decides they must be lying and sues for the entire amount of their contribution to be refunded?
Supposing “we” buy a server and rent it to the Chicago Reader for a “nominal” sum. “We” would then be a legal entity, and “we” will have to then start appointing people who “we” trust with the authority to make all the decisions for the entity, and the entity would then be having to do expensive things like buy insurance and pay taxes (or file for the appropriate non-profit status, etc.). To say nothing of the fact that a contract would have to be entered into with the Chicago Reader for them to rent the server. Of course, the contract would be necessary to iron out in advance things like who would pay for maintenance and repair, who would pay the property insurance, etc.
But let’s pretend that all that came to pass regardless. I would venture to guess that a pretty small percentage of folks would actually ante up. So, would the “we” only be those people? What would prevent “we” from throwing a little fit when “we” realize all the people who are on the board, using the server that “we” bought, for free? Would they then be banned?
It doesn’t need to be 'splained to me, I can figure out for myself why the Chicago Reader would be loathe to let the SDMB users come up with a solution to the server problem.
When I REAllY want to post to a MB, I find a way even if I have to get up from 3-4 AM. As you can see by my post count, that is not a problem for me here.
One thing that I do note is that when there are few to no bells and whistles, things go faster…
Since a lot of people are still on ‘dial-up’ I can only imagine the pain they suffer. High speed box’s and DSL lines have me spoiled. We are thinking of moving and computer access is right up there on where I’m willing to go.
I think we should just buy out the Reader, so, who here has the $$$$, I bet someone who reads this board has access to that kind of money. Wanna be a hero? Step FWD.
Where is Bremuda when ya need him? :::::: sheesh :::::
Will the Chicago Reader be given incentive to keep the SDMB server running if we buy Straight Dope items from sources other than directly from them? If I buy the Straight Dope books on http://www.amazon.com , will profits still go to the Chicago Reader in the amount that they would if I bought them off of http://www.straightdope.com ?
A few notes on the situation. Nothing new here, but folks forget, I guess.
The Chicago Reader, our corporate parent, cannot accept charitable contributions; corporations cannot solicit like that. And it’s more difficult and more expensive than you know to set up a nonprofit and why should they do that in the first place? This is business.
And it’s not just the server, it’s all the other stuff that goes in its wake, all the peripheral hardware and software, the technical staff to install and watch over the equipment too. All this takes money and buying a server is just the tiniest baby step.
The Straight Dope Message Board is not the Chicago Reader’s main business or even a major part of their business. Never has been. Never will be. We are, for the Reader management, an interesting little experiment. They’d be gratified to make a dime, but they’re not expecting big profits – or any at all – and they’re not putting big bucks into it. We’re not even earning our keep at this point.
It’s more goodwill than anything else.
Sorry, folks, it’s the truth.
I should also point out that quite a bit of help for the situation has been thrown our way. We’ve had various upgrades over time, we’re on a more powerful server than we were before, bigger pipeline too. However, everything the Reader has done to upgrade access to the SDMB has been swallowed up by the incredible demand, which increases daily and has not let up since Day 1. Any gains we have realized with upgrades and changes over time have vanished, sometimes within only a few days.
I’ve been keeping an eye on the numbers since we reopened the board with the new version of vB and we’re carrying a constant load at least a third higher and often as much as 50% more than before the shutdown. That the board can handle this at all is cause for celebration.
It’s nice to be popular, but it’s also proving impossible to give flawless, instant service. The demand is greater than the supply.
We appreciate your patience. We’re doing the best we can.
your humble TubaDiva
Administrator
Oh – one other thing: for those of you concerned where the money goes for what you buy at the Straight Dope Store – it’s all going to the Reader. When you put whatever trickle of a revenue stream Doper purchases represent against what the Reader has invested in this site I’m sure we’ve still got a ways to go before the Reader sees a profit.
Cecil has also mentioned that before anyone even TALKS about another book (let alone putting a new one in the works) we gotta clear the warehouse of the current stock. Want a new book? (I do! I do!) The path to publication runs through the bookstore.
your humble TubaDiva
Administrator
Psssst! Cecil! Drop me an email when you’re ready to renegotiate.
Um, I work for a non-profit myself, and there is a rather simple solution. Just extend the donation period 'till you do get enough money. Works for us, anyway!
I appreciate that the Reader doesn’t want to accept donations. However, I must say I wish I could help the SDMB in some financial way. After all, I pay over 50 dollars a month for cable, and I don’t derive nearly as much benefit from it as I do the Board, which I get for free. I find it, well, mildly annoying that crapola TV networks which I don’t even watch get money from me, allowing them to survive and produce even more crapola, while the Board operates at a loss. I mean, surely there must be something I can do. Perhaps I should order a pizza for the mods now and then?