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How is the forum funded?
#11
HiFi Wigwam has a voluntary membership with an annual subscription of £10, albeit their membership base is far bigger. I suspect it has between 5 and 10 times the membership of DevialetChat - impossible to tell as access to the membership list has been disabled. And also impossible to tell what percentage of members actually contribute.

Given that the baseline costs will be similar (HFW, DC) but the volume costs proportionately equivalent (or maybe a touch higher in DC given the smaller membership) it seems to me that an indicative voluntary subscription for DC (where I'd guess a greater proportion of members will contribute) needs to be higher than the £10 of HiFi Wigwam so I shall kick off with £20.
Innuos Statement 2TB SSD with Next-Gen PSU (with Roon lifetime)
MacBook Pro (with Air)
Draytek Vigor 2860v-Plus/Devialet Original d'Atelier CI Nos. 54A&B/Magico M3 pair
Shunyata cables (digital/interconnect/loudspeaker/power)/Shunyata power units (Triton/Typhon)

 Dialog/Phantom Gold/Tree pair
Missing Link cables (power)
England
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#12
(29-Apr-2016, 16:22)Martyn Wrote: At the top of the screen you should now see a button to make a PayPal donation. As I said before any funds donated will be put back into the maintenance of the site and improvements.

Thank you,

Martyn

Would be nice/convenient if donation currency were specific to the country of origination rather than country of destination. Or at least 'multiple choice' rather than "only" BPS.
Statements in my posts are opinion only, not to be construed as fact. Any projects I engage in are at my own risk! Their outcome cannot be assured and may result in success, small/no change or catastrophic failure. I encourage no one rely on anything I say or do as gospel and to realize your mileage may vary!
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#13
(29-Apr-2016, 16:56)Manoet Wrote:
(29-Apr-2016, 16:22)Martyn Wrote: At the top of the screen you should now see a button to make a PayPal donation. As I said before any funds donated will be put back into the maintenance of the site and improvements.

Thank you,

Martyn

Would be nice/convenient if donation currency were specific to the country of origination rather than country of destination. Or at least 'multiple choice' rather than "only" BPS.

Will look into that asap
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#14
Just stuck a Tenner in. Great site. :-)
Synology DS215 NAS (2x WD RED 1Tb) > Virgin Superhub 3 > HP Pavilion X360 laptop > Phantom Reactor 600 > JRiver MC25 > JRemote > A&K AK70mkii DAP > Supra Cat8 Ethernet cable > Sony WH-1000XM4 > jar of cream v2
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#15
It's a great idea to have the Donate button.

I got reference '1' so if it's because I was the first, I'm honoured. Smile

I would say (prepare for the backlash Wink) that perhaps once people get used to the idea, it might be made a bit less prominent - for example maybe once you're inside a thread it could go?

(OK, so not the first, but…..)

>>> 1st Place Award: Devialet, last decades most disappointing technology purchase.  <<<

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#16
OK - I have to ask.... I have absolutely no idea how much it costs to run and host a site like this, not a clue. Don't get me wrong, I am sure that there are many costs involved. Like the OP, I too had wondered about this and had mentioned in previous posts about the lack of banner advertising and similar. As well as the tangible costs of hardware, hosting and whatever else, there is the cost of time and man-hours. This is a particularly tricky one. How much is done for love ? How much time spent on here for 'moderation' could be classed as work or fun. Notwithstanding this, it is clear that a site like this cannot appear from nowhere and run itself, I am sure that there is considerable hassle, pain and frustration involved. (this is my experience of anything that involves a PC, software, IT kit or similar) This is truly work per the dictionary sense or the word. But having said all that, I still haven't got a clue how all this lot would total up. Looking at this the other way around, lets say a guidance figure for donation was provided, who can tell how many would stump up, pay less, pay more, or pay nothing. Plus, although the 2000 members figure has been surpassed, there is for sure a far lower number of truly active members. So I reckon that even if a guide 'donation' figure was provided, it would be very difficult to estimate the actual revenue this would develop. I liked IanG's logic re pricing on the 'Wam, but I don't think we can be sure this stacks up, as Ian mentions, membership is probably a lot higher on the 'Wam, maybe a LOT higher? Plus the 'Wam appears to be in a permanent state of chaos recently, so I am not sure if it is a good guide to anything to be honest.

Anyway, to be clear, I am more than happy to throw in a chunk of my hard earned cash! But I do think a bit of guidance would be helpful. Only time will then tell if the actual sums pledged add up to what was expected. In time, if our esteemed leaders come back and advise that the cash is too much or too little, such feedback I think would be trusted and respected.

It's a vulgar thing money is it not?
1000 Pro - KEF Blade - iFi Zen Stream - Mutec REF10 - MC3+USB - Pro-Ject Signature 12
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#17
(29-Apr-2016, 18:56)Confused Wrote: OK - I have to ask....   I have absolutely no idea how much it costs to run and host a site like this, not a clue.  Don't get me wrong, I am sure that there are many costs involved.  Like the OP, I too had wondered about this and had mentioned in previous posts about the lack of banner advertising and similar.  As well as the tangible costs of hardware, hosting and whatever else, there is the cost of time and man-hours.  This is a particularly tricky one.  How much is done for love ?  How much time spent on here for 'moderation' could be classed as work or fun.  Notwithstanding this, it is clear that a site like this cannot appear from nowhere and run itself, I am sure that there is considerable hassle, pain and frustration involved.  (this is my experience of anything that involves a PC, software, IT kit or similar) This is truly work per the dictionary sense or the word.  But having said all that, I still haven't got a clue how all this lot would total up.  Looking at this the other way around, lets say a guidance figure for donation was provided, who can tell how many would stump up, pay less, pay more, or pay nothing.  Plus, although the 2000 members figure has been surpassed, there is for sure a far lower number of truly active members.  So I reckon that even if a guide 'donation' figure was provided, it would be very difficult to estimate the actual revenue this would develop.  I liked IanG's logic re pricing on the 'Wam, but I don't think we can be sure this stacks up, as Ian mentions, membership is probably a lot higher on the 'Wam, maybe a LOT higher?  Plus the 'Wam appears to be in a permanent state of chaos recently, so I am not sure if it is a good guide to anything to be honest.

Anyway, to be clear, I am more than happy to throw in a chunk of my hard earned cash!  But I do think a bit of guidance would be helpful.  Only time will then tell if the actual sums pledged add up to what was expected.  In time, if our esteemed leaders come back and advise that the cash is too much or too little, such feedback I think would be trusted and respected.

It's a vulgar thing money is it not?

No you are absolutely right to ask! The hosting itself is a hundred quid or so. Peanuts actually. The logo cost me £300, and that was at 50% off (designer provides services to my wife's business); I wanted something professional looking so it seemed a no-brainer. Moving forward it would be great to develop the site, create more content, update designs, all this costs time and money. I think we are all in agreement that we don't want banner advertising and sponsorship which might compromise our integrity and independence. Any surplus dosh could be put towards an event of some description, I have a few ideas there... 

Guillaume
Industry disclosure: UK distributor for Shunyata Research

220 PRO, totaldac d1 server with additional external power supply, totaldac d1-seven, Echole PSU for Totaldac, Wilson Audio Sasha 2, Shunyata Research cables, Shunyata Hydra Alpha A10 + DPC-6 v3, Various Entreq ground boxes and cables, Entreq Athena level 3 rack, 2 X SOtM sNH-10G with sCLK-EX + 10MHz Master Clock input + sPS-500 PSU, i5 sonicTransporter w/ 1TB SSD

UK
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#18
Just tied tried the donate system, it worked like a charm, quick and hassle free!

I must admit I was surprised by the numbers in Guillaume's post above, I was expecting something far higher! Although, in my mind this simply serves to reinforces a positive view of the honesty and transparency of all involved.

It's also worth noting that Guillaume made no mention of the time, effort, and hassle involved in setting everything up and keeping it running smoothly. In my experience IT related hassle follows some kind of rule where the problem itself must occure with the most inconvenient possible timing. So I am sure there is much pain and frustration from time to time. I have also noticed that whenever some kind of issue does occur, Rufus, Martyn or Guillaume seem to come back with a solution in no time at all. They are certainly a lot slicker than Virgin Media in this respect! (Yes, yes, this comes from very recent experience)

Keep up the good work!
1000 Pro - KEF Blade - iFi Zen Stream - Mutec REF10 - MC3+USB - Pro-Ject Signature 12
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#19
I've a question: I'm not a paypal user, so I'll opt to use a card, but is there a note field where I can enter my forum username, so you'll see it's a donation for the forum?
Devialet 200 <> Bowers & Wilkins 805 Diamond <> Aurender N100 <> Clearaudio Concept MC <> Audioquest Rocket 44/Coffee USB

The Netherlands
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#20
(30-Apr-2016, 08:39)Eddye Wrote: I've a question: I'm not a paypal user, so I'll opt to use a card, but is there a note field where I can enter my forum username, so you'll see it's a donation for the forum?

Hi Eddye, no problems I receive email notifications. I believe it still goes through the PayPal system even if you select cc.

Cheers

Guillaume
Industry disclosure: UK distributor for Shunyata Research

220 PRO, totaldac d1 server with additional external power supply, totaldac d1-seven, Echole PSU for Totaldac, Wilson Audio Sasha 2, Shunyata Research cables, Shunyata Hydra Alpha A10 + DPC-6 v3, Various Entreq ground boxes and cables, Entreq Athena level 3 rack, 2 X SOtM sNH-10G with sCLK-EX + 10MHz Master Clock input + sPS-500 PSU, i5 sonicTransporter w/ 1TB SSD

UK
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