SaabWorld site funding

[nordwulf]

Many of you asked for it so now you can..

http://saabworld.net/f26/support-saabworld-1947/

As I mentioned before, expenses are not all that much right now but it is good to plan for the future. And that fuzzy feeling inside knowing you're contributing to the site and community and make it little bit yours.

Please note I used Gift instead of Donation. Paypal doesn't like ddonations sent to an account if your not an official not-for-profit organization. Consider it as friends helping friends.

[DavidMorgan]

Dus Frank moet dit maakt me een van de oprichters.

Always doing what I can to give you a smile on your Monday mornings.

[nordwulf]

Thanks David, payment received. You signed up as one of the first members in July 2010 so honorary founder status approved!

[mattlach]

I like the NPR funding model :p

Put up a Paypal account I'll donate. Occasionally we can have fund raisers with various swag given to top donors.

Ideally 5 would be the best option (I definitely believe in content on the internet being free) but the truth is that bandwidth cost money.

In college I would have (and did) run something like this on a linux box built for free from spare parts I had kicking around running under my desk in my dorm. But back then I had seemingly infinite numbers of static IP addresses at my disposal, unlimited bandwidth for free and unlimited electricity. (not to mention lots of free time on my hands.

I ran several counter-strike servers, a direct connect filesharing hub and a few websites on various linux servers both under my desk and in the official OIT offices.

These days I understand that things have a cost associated with them, and that being the case I strongly favor the incentivized (with low-cost swag) donation model as it keeps things as noncommercial as possible.

[nordwulf]

I installed a new plug-in for Donations. It's pretty basic but it seems perfect for our site.

• There is a new Donate link right under the navbar on the main forum page or go here: SaabWorld - PayPal Donate
• On the Donate page, select a preset amount or use Custom to enter any amount.
• Click on Submit and it will take you to the Paypal website. You have the option to log in with a Paypal account or choose to pay with a VISA, Mastercard, Discover or American Express Card

This is a one time contribution only so you will not be charged again. You can view a list of members who donated to the site from the Quick Links drop-down menu or here: Donations List

There is only one setting for currency but Paypal will convert this to USD if you're a US member, for example.
Current exchange rates (May 13)

1 Euro is about:

USD 1.42
AUD 1.34
CAD 1.37
GBP 0.88

You can still go to Paypal.com directly and send your support to wulf@saabworld.net.

[Dave T]

Consider renaming "donate" to "sponsors". That way, we can buy tires and help Saabworld. There could be a link or section to become an individual sponsor or patron. Instead of being a patron of the arts, one could be a Saabworld patron.

[mattlach]

Also, maybe you could add some of those shopping links to e retailers (like Amazon, etc.) where when you follow that link a portion (albeit a small one) of whatever you buy at the e retailer funds the site?

[nordwulf]

Also, maybe you could add some of those shopping links to e retailers (like Amazon, etc.) where when you follow that link a portion (albeit a small one) of whatever you buy at the e retailer funds the site?

We used to have those from Tirerack, Advance Autoparts and a few other retailers. I removed them because I thought those are too similar to advertising. But we can put those back on the site if there isn't any objection by our members.

Some of those sponsors make coupon codes and such available and I actually saved some money when buying oil and other parts from Advanced Auto. And the site got about $3 of the $75 order and all these small amounts can add up. I think it is about $15 for an order of 4 tires on Tirerack.

[mattlach]

Advertising is one level of exposure. Ads can be big or they can be small and in a corner.

Another level of exposure would be a donate/sponsors link, much like the current donate link. When someone is ready to patronize a sponsor or become a donor, they click it. That's like the buy/sell link or the garage link. If people don't want to see it, they just click on blogs or forum.

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.

[nordwulf]

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.

The problem with Google ads is you pretty much get any type of ad so I can't stand those either.

I enabled the Tire ad column on the main forum page for now so you can see what it looks like. I think those fit in quite nicely with the site design and are not in your face.