SaabWorld site funding

[nordwulf]

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?

I think we had Google ads active for about a month. But we had the auto-translating plugin active at the time which brought in a lot of additional traffic. It's a bit premature to predict how much we can bring in monthly after just a few days but it is looking good so far.

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

I am planning on providing an overview of income and expenses of the site, at least for all moderators. At least once a year but maybe more often. Making money is not the motivation of SaabWorld like other (Saab) forums but bills need to be paid. And in the end, we may have some left over for expansion, promotions, swag and other fun things. Pretty much like any not-for-profit organization.

[nordwulf]

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."

That's why I am hesitant with badges in your user profile when you make a donation to the site. When I see that on other sites, it kind of shows "hey look at me, I paid so why don't you? You non-paying looser!"

Many of us help with making this site successful. Some donate their time with helping others, some make a donation and some help with other things. Actually, the best thing you can do to help the site is by providing quality content with helping others, making tutorials or just keep it a friendly site. That's why we come here in the first place.

[Shazam]

That's why I am hesitant with badges in your user profile when you make a donation to the site. When I see that on other sites, it kind of shows "hey look at me, I paid so why don't you? You non-paying looser!"

Many of us help with making this site successful. Some donate their time with helping others, some make a donation and some help with other things. Actually, the best thing you can do to help the site is by providing quality content with helping others, making tutorials or just keep it a friendly site. That's why we come here in the first place.

I see what you mean. It's hard to recognize people that support the site. This is both financially and with content. Maybe we can have a badge for people that donate money, and have a sort of 'reputation' or 'thanks' that can appear in the title bar. For every time someone finds something they posted helpful, they can click to 'thank' them and it will show how many times they have been thanked or such. This way, people can still get recognition for helping the site with content, and financially. We currently have a similar thing with the "like" button.

Just an idea.

Also, I would never want a paid membership mean unpaid members had limited participation or limited access to sections. Which then causes the question, what is even the point of paid memberships, when they are really just donations. I'm all for donations though.

[Hirsch]

That's why I am hesitant with badges in your user profile when you make a donation to the site. When I see that on other sites, it kind of shows "hey look at me, I paid so why don't you? You non-paying looser!"

Many of us help with making this site successful. Some donate their time with helping others, some make a donation and some help with other things. Actually, the best thing you can do to help the site is by providing quality content with helping others, making tutorials or just keep it a friendly site. That's why we come here in the first place.

Good point, I never thought about it that way.

[Burnsside42]

We need a SAABWORLD.NET banner for Carlisle - I used to hang this one;

No Longer will I hang this banner - it's a door mat now for my dogs.

Guy I work with can make us one cheap - 3X5 with the brass eyelets and large black lettering. He does this stuff for his personal business.