Admin Posted September 30, 2007 Report Share Posted September 30, 2007 Well, it looks like this will be a regular post I'll have to make at the end of every month, since we still don't have our finances in order. So again we have to turn to our members for financiall support. I'll try and provide as much background info as possible, so that this post can be used as a reference for people who are interested in this info. First, let me get these things out of the way: The VIP membership has been renamed to RWG Supporter membership. Last month we got a lot of negative feedback on the VIP name, so we have changed it to something more "describing". As you will see, all the icons under your names have already been changed. Also, a lot of members have contacted me, wondering why we have 2 different membership levels; Supporter and RWG supporter (previous VIP member and VIP) The reason for this is for me to have a system to divide between the members who used the old, and now closed Paypal-accounts, and the ones that have upgraded after our PP accounts got closed. In the last 2 months we have gotten 75-76 new RWG Supporters, but unfortunately that is not enough. We need to get back to the levels we used to be at before PP closed my accounts; 400+ supporters. I'll explain why: RWG has kind of a special setup. We are utilizing 2 servers; 1 to hide our real server (A reverse proxy server) and 1 large dedicated server that is hosted offshore. Now don't ask me why, but quality offshore hosting is extremely expensive and har to find. Dedicated servers hosted offshore have a much higher price than regular server, not to mention RAM and bandwith. RWG has this month used close to 300GB of bandwidth and we are paying a hefty sum for this. In total, we pay around €900 every month for our server setup, including software licenses + overuse of bandwidth. 90% of the members have used the option to upgrade to a 1 year RWG Supporter membership, and we get €2.5 pr. member, pr. month (There are also a few members who pay by the month and even fewer who pay every 6 months). If you do the math on this, you will see that we are still missing quite a lot to pay our server rent. So every month, until we have enough RWG Supporter to cover this on a monthly basis, I will probably have to post a topic like this. What's new this month, is that we have a new donation system, for those of you who wish to donate; http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?autocom=donate Here you will clearly see the donations we have received, this months goal and who have donated (donations can be made anonymously also). So if you want to donate to the forum, please use the link above. And you are allowed to send a donation, even if we have reached our goal. If you want to upgrade your membership to a RWG Supporter membership, that's even better. Here is the info about upgrading your membership, taken from our brand new WIKI(Yeah, the WIKI is something new. More about that later and in another post): http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?autoco...ticle&id=29 The RWG Supporter memberships primary function is to fund the board, but of course we want to give something back to the members who choose to upgrade their membership. So please look below for more info: How to upgrade? E-mail the admin or send a PM What do I get? Forum features Ad free RWG - You get access to a skin with no ads displayed Sell your watches/stuff - You get posting access in the trade area Unlimited space for uploads Large PM inbox - Store up to 500 PM's Send attachements in your PM Access to the Supporters Lounge "Bump" your topics simply by clicking a "Bump"-button Can view members who viewed a topic Can log in anonymously You are allowed to remove the 'Edited by' when you edit a post Access to all of ZiggyZumbas posts You get a cool avatar showing that you are one of the great supporters of this great community View members online - Get access to view a list of all members who have logged on today Use hidden messages in your posts, only visible to other RWG Supporter. Great for posting special offers in the sales area for RWG Supporters Gallery Up to 10 galleries can be created (more available on request) 50 MB upload space No view limits Upload up to 10 images a time Delete, edit and move images and description View slideshow of images Give comments Send e-cards of using images in the gallery. How much does the membership cost? 1 month - €5 pr. month 6 months - €20 bianually 12 months - €30 anually How come you charge payment in Euros? Because all the services we pay for are in Euros How long does it take until my account is upgraded? This is a manual process and can take anything between 1-48 hours. Now, I've said this before and I'll say it again: Upgrading or donating is volunteer, but we need the money to be able to keep this great community alive, so please upgrade your membership or donate a couple of bucks if you like this place. I know there are members here with strong opinions about members who are not RWG Supporters, but if you are going to start posting about how members should upgrade, please do so in a friendly and polite way. And as always, we have many, MANY members who contribute so many things to this board, both by sharing their posts with us and making donations (donations will not upgrade you membership!), so all members are not "non-contributing" members! Finally, the links, one more time; Donate http://www.rwg.cc/members/index.php?autocom=donate Upgrade E-mail the admin for complete info. Again, thank you all for your continued support Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
POTR Posted September 30, 2007 Report Share Posted September 30, 2007 DONE. Challenge regular members to match $10 or upgrade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted September 30, 2007 Report Share Posted September 30, 2007 also done!! AND i challenge all long time "VIP" "supporters" to match $20! Just think about how much you have learned here and how much $ you have saved by getting help from other members here.. $20 is the price of one bezel insert that you didnt screw up because someone here told you how to glue it in properly. its a small price to pay for access to the vast amount of knowledge available here! Lonnie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
section8 Posted September 30, 2007 Report Share Posted September 30, 2007 My membership is good for a while still, so i just donated some money Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkerouac Posted September 30, 2007 Report Share Posted September 30, 2007 I just purchased a minty UPO at considerably less than retail from another long-time supporting member and delivery was prompt as heck. On top of the unrivalled information and great cameraderie available here, I dare anyone to tell me I didn't get tremendous value out of my membership this month. Thank you RWG and particularly our Admin. :clap2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordRasta Posted September 30, 2007 Report Share Posted September 30, 2007 $50.00 gladly donated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordRasta Posted October 1, 2007 Report Share Posted October 1, 2007 $50.00 gladly donated. FYI, not trying to show anyone up or prove I have more money than anyone else. I've recently taken up going to the gym at lunchtime instead of eating out so this is money I would of spent at lunch. Now I can be healthy and help a worthy cause. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mezzanine Posted October 1, 2007 Report Share Posted October 1, 2007 This is exactly what I'd been hoping for when the request went out last month. I believe that this is the best way to get users to upgrade/donate...explain why it's needed, what the money will be used for, and what the upgraded membership provides. People are more generous when they know exactly why their help is needed. It's not about being 'cheap'. I got ridiculed when I asked for this type of information before, but it wasn't because I was suspicious of the admins intentions or honesty with the donated money. Rather, it was because I felt that providing the background information for why support was needed in a clear and open manner is a much better way of recruiting donations than attempting to 'guilt' non-donating members through belittling them. Granted, the admins did not engage in that behaviour, but it did occur as part of the attempt to motivate donations by some current donating members. I do not support that behaviour, as I feel it splits the community and actually dissuades donations from current members who are contemplating the idea of donating. The value of any online community comes from the open attitude of welcoming any and all visitors to engage and participate in the community without fear of being ridiculed because they haven't yet chosen to donate. Ultimately, creating a welcoming atmsophere for all members is the best recipe for insuring the future survival of RWG. It creates a community culture whereby new members feel accepted. Therefore, new members will join and increase the traffic of the site. As the site traffic increases, the % of those new members who will donate because they value the site will increase. The answer for solving this problem rests in extending the friendly atmosphere of free information and support to everyone. That's the type of community people want to donate to and to be a part of on a more significant level. I congratulate the admins for providing a clear picture of the current situation with hosting, and would love to donate as a result. Provided it's welcome, of course, as I wasn't very friendly when I said I wasn't going to post here in the future- as a result of my perception of the negative vibes that were being directed at non-donating members. If not...I'll still donate, I just won't post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltatahoe Posted October 1, 2007 Report Share Posted October 1, 2007 done and done. it's good to be back from my travels and finally have time to enjoy RWG again. cheers deltatahoe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobM Posted October 1, 2007 Report Share Posted October 1, 2007 Thanks, Admin, for the reminder! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corgi Posted October 1, 2007 Report Share Posted October 1, 2007 In total, we pay around Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Carl Posted October 1, 2007 Report Share Posted October 1, 2007 That's a serious amount to pay per month. I'm sure that our bandwidth is growing from month to month. And perhaps it's difficult to find a host who is open to our activity. But as a former VIP member and now bumped to somewhere else, I would say that it is time to let others try to host host this thing, if they want to. Put it out in the open. We have had far more readers than subscribers and until we block the readers who do not want to subscribe and pay a few euros to read the valuable information here, we are simply giving it all away. Jack it up. Carl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KB Posted October 1, 2007 Report Share Posted October 1, 2007 @Carl you haven't been bumped anywhere we have simply changed the name from VIP to supporter and any suggestion of letting someone else host this site is just suicide, the members of the Admin team know that our current Admin is by far the very best person to look after us. Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoTone Posted October 1, 2007 Report Share Posted October 1, 2007 done and done. it's good to be back from my travels and finally have time to enjoy RWG again. cheers deltatahoe @B Good to have you back friend... TT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Carl Posted October 1, 2007 Report Share Posted October 1, 2007 @Kenberg Wasn't suggesting that the current admin team was anything but super. Sorry if any other reaction was taken. Only suggesting that other hosting possibilities might be explored. No, I don't have an alternative to propose, but some might, and if so, a PM to the admin might be in order. I have been a supporter from the the first, and will continue. Carl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanikai Posted October 1, 2007 Report Share Posted October 1, 2007 @Carl you haven't been bumped anywhere we have simply changed the name from VIP to supporter and any suggestion of letting someone else host this site is just suicide, the members of the Admin team know that our current Admin is by far the very best person to look after us. Ken Ken, I am reading this a little differently... I look at it as this is not an easy site to host , and members who choose to take and not give back do not realize what it takes to host this site or any site with this much traffic that is not a "for profit business" ... I may be totally off base .. but I believe what is trying to be said is it's time for the members who use this site to start pitching in so we can all enjoy it's benefits... and if they think it's easy let them try to "Host" it and maybe realize what it takes to achieve just a monthly balance sheet.. Or at least that is what I would "like to think it meant".. Personally, I believe the current Admin who started and maintain this site, (I am assuming this) are accomplishing what most cannot..... with a passion.. so Thank You to the founding admin team .. you will have my support ... one member at a time is all we can hope for. There will alway's be those who take and those who realize what it takes to "STAY" and "GROW" ... In Hawaii .. the word "Lokahi" is unity .. we can do together what cannot be done alone.. Lanikai Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoTone Posted October 1, 2007 Report Share Posted October 1, 2007 Donation Made... TT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanikai Posted October 1, 2007 Report Share Posted October 1, 2007 Ditto,.. done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
POTR Posted October 1, 2007 Report Share Posted October 1, 2007 If anyone is curious, take admin's numbers, and try and figure out for themselves what comparable hosting would cost over at Havenco.com. (Although they don't exactly have a package that big...) And the site still wouldn't be 'safe' there, due to potential issues of copyright. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 1, 2007 Report Share Posted October 1, 2007 Honored to contribute. This site has saved me more than I can count. Thank You RWG! JL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tech Posted October 1, 2007 Report Share Posted October 1, 2007 Donation on the way.... Now, I have to add my comments and partially agree with some of my fellow "members" of "the club".... My bottom line is "no pay...no play"...I am seeing too many postings of non paying folk looking for a handout....looking for free advice and even a few folk making for sale posts in the non-sale fora 'cause they don't have membership. We have a lot of visitors here and a lot of good information available...and this information costs money. Its time they pay up. So many of these newbs land here after getting fried for $1000 "Swiss Grade A uno numero shiz nitty Rollie sub" purchases....the info presented here already saves them a LOT of money. I landed here early last year....liked what I saw...heard the monthly call for "donations" and of becoming a supporter and so I immediately pony'd up the money. I wish the other freeloaders would do the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tech Posted October 1, 2007 Report Share Posted October 1, 2007 DONE. Challenge regular members to match $10 or upgrade. Sir your challenge has been accepted and "bested".....is that a word. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tech Posted October 1, 2007 Report Share Posted October 1, 2007 also done!! AND i challenge all long time "VIP" "supporters" to match $20! Just think about how much you have learned here and how much $ you have saved by getting help from other members here.. $20 is the price of one bezel insert that you didnt screw up because someone here told you how to glue it in properly. its a small price to pay for access to the vast amount of knowledge available here! Lonnie Sir your challenge has been accepted and "bested"...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deltatahoe Posted October 1, 2007 Report Share Posted October 1, 2007 @B Good to have you back friend... TT thanks TT -- it's great to be back given i wasn't able to spend much time on RWG this summer, i didn't buy a single watch-related item for over a month so i rewarded myself with the 42mm ss b&r w/ date now that i think of it, i bet a b&r would probably look right at home on your mega-wrists....have you ever given one a shot? deltatahoe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephane Posted October 1, 2007 Report Share Posted October 1, 2007 Oh, well, I'm sorry to hear this again but happy to donate anyway. I don't go to the gym and still have lunch but I'm saving a lot on drinks So, that money is for sure in better hands at RWG. Done in minutes. Cheers Stephane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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