Originally Posted by Shazam

It's hard to find the time to actually pay attention enough to do a in-depth write up. Also, the lack of a camera makes it a lot harder too.

I'm here for the long run, so hopefully I can add some little by little, and I hope I can share what knowledge I have to help others even if I don't have a tutorial on it.

Bah, I feel guilty because ALL I add is tutorials. Y'all add soul! I'm just a tutorial bot.

We actually have had the busiest day from returning members within 24 hours today: "The most members online over 24 hours was 97, Today at 15:07". I think it was stuck around 75 members 6 months ago with the SC saga. Perhaps summer is over or it had something today with the mailing about the new Marketplace last night.

My theory is these forums work like cell multiplication. It starts very slow but can increase very rapidly at some point under the right conditions. 1+1=2, 2+2=4, 4+4=8 and so on.

Originally Posted by euromobile900

Bah, I feel guilty because ALL I add is tutorials. Y'all add soul! I'm just a tutorial bot.

But that's the combination that is needed. I think that things like tutorials bring people to the site, and the soul keeps them here. You need both for a site like this.

Is there a way other than than Paypal to donate to the site?

Originally Posted by Hirsch

Is there a way other than than Paypal to donate to the site?

You could send cash, personal check or money order. Let me know if you need the address. When received, I'll add you to the list of SW supporters.

Just out of curiosity, why are donations charged in Euros?

Is the credit card process server in the US or EU?

You have to set a currency default for that plug-in. With the site hosted in Europe and Saab being European, I figured euros as the default would be appropriate. Paypal will automatically convert to your local currency.

And thanks for your donation!

Donations or minor advertising using google adsense program or something.

AdSense is the easiest but it serves a lot of random ads. We tried it before and I don't think ads for Toyota. Chrysler, BMW, colombian and russian mail order brides like you see on SC should be on a Saab site.

I'd rather have a yearly fundraiser like public radio.

Originally Posted by Frank Wulfers

And thanks for your donation!

Glad to help!

Do I get a "site supporter" badge or something?

Absolutely, how could I forget.. please print out and stick to your forehead. Or shrink it a bit and use it as your avatar.



But seriously.. I can look into the possibility of adding a little badge to the user info. But then we should set time limits and such because does one deserve the badge of honor if you made a 3 euro donation 5 years ago?

Others suggested certain membership levels with increased storage options and so one.

Example: http://www.jeeppatriot.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2872

I am on the fence of bringing back Google Ads for site visitors and other vendor ads for members. On one hand, I prefer a site without advertising. On the other hand, we have a relative large number of unregistered visitors who use the information on the site but don't participate or donate. And pressing members and visitors for donations is also not my favorite activity. Perhaps the information on SaabWorld is well enough organized with a lot of informative threads so visitors don't have to ask questions and members have to answer the same question over and over again. So my thought is the large number of visitors should generate the ad revenue for the benefit of the members and visitors.

We should move this site to its own server which will benefit all members. We should be fine with donations for a few $100 a year for site hosting but $1,000 - $1,500+ is a different number. And that's what we need for a dedicated server. And a fast site with reliable backups should benefit all the regular members here. And why should they carry the financial burden when they are helping others? As a matter of fact, the site mods and regular members should be compensated. Not necessarily with cash but perhaps other things like hosting events, Saab stuff or other fun things.

Perhaps there are members here who know Saab-related companies that would like to advertise on SW.

I don't mind, and actually like the idea of ads from true Saab places. Of course, this is that they are not intrusive and are well placed. I like the idea of helping out a Saab community with a well placed ad.

I've seen GenuineSaab advertise on other Saab forums. I'm sure they would be willing.

I don't think vintage Saab places would go for it. They seem to do pretty well by word of mouth, or through media that is dedicated to the vintage Saab community. It might be worth a shot though.

I don't mind Google AdSense as long as it doesn't become intrusive, like I find it on other sites.

I also like the idea of a higher membership level that comes at a price. With that you get more photo storage and things like that.

I don't mind the ads as I'm logged in all the time and I never see them.

Maybe talk to some Saab dealers, see if they'd advertise on here.

I like the idea of moving to a dedicated server and I'm thinking about how we could fund that.

As for compensation for being a mod, I don't want anything. But if there is Saab SWAG to be had, I'd love some!

I can also start charging $1 per sticker, and give that money to the site. The people that have given me money, I've sent all of it to the site so far.

Yay or nay?

Originally Posted by mattlach

I have no problem with advertising as long as it is:

• Relevant to the Saab community (no ads for penis pills or ipods or TV's etc.)
• Subtle and unobtrusive (no flashing, bright colors, etc.)
• Low bandwidth (I hate racking up mobile bandwidth charges due to large animated banners) Either google style text ads or well compressed small banners would not be a problem at all.

I agree with mattlach here. Ads like these are the way to go. I don't mind premium features for paid membership, say you get an @saabwold.net email address and a small banner showing your support for the site under your avatar. $12 a year or some other small amunt for a premium memberhsip is not unreasonable.

Great suggestions so far. Google ads have been enabled for non-registered visitors for a few days and I have been checking to see what kind of ads appear. Actually, it's kind of nice to see some of these ads. We have a Guitar thread and an ad for guitars was showing up. In the Smart Phones thread, ads for (guess what..!) smart phones were showing.

Certain sensitive categories of ads have been blocked and the ads I have been seeing are pretty good so far. I like targeted advertising from Saab related vendors but Google ads will be targeted to region, language and browsing history.

I need to spend some more time in researching paid membership options and your suggestions have been a great help so far.

All ads for Cars and Trucks are blocked so we won't be seeing Toyota, Cadillac or Chrysler ads. These are the categories that are blocked:



It looks like we're on our way to make this a financially viable site and it should be possible to upgrade our hosting situation soon. And give back to the Saab community with anything that is left over.

How many months was Google ads active before it was taken down. Looking back through the thread, it looks like we made $125 one month, but were only on track for just a fraction of that the next month. Is Google ads going to be enough revenue to get us to a dedicated server?

Donations work. Problem TSL had was the owner kept taking it for himself...

I'm not sure I like the idea of paid membership. It could potentially turn away new members.

It also seems a bit elitist to me. "You're welcome to join the site, but only if you have enough money."

I have no issue with making a donation to help fund the site and will gladly do so.