dedicated server funding amounts

Geocaching Australia governance issues

how much would you donate per annum for a new server?

$0
9
10%
$10
14
15%
$20
20
22%
$30
28
30%
$40
5
5%
$50
16
17%
 
Total votes: 92

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ideology
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dedicated server funding amounts

Post by ideology » 01 February 08 10:22 pm

we are trying to work out whether there is enough interest in people contributing to the cost of a dedicated server for the gca website

for the sake of this estimate, assume:
  • a well-respected member of the site has put their hand up to receive donations for the server
  • there's a loose audit to make sure they are not running off with your money (eg you publicly indicate you've made a donation and they publicly acknowledge it)
  • it's optional
  • there's some kind of recognition in the forum near your avatar
  • there's no additional access or functionality for people who donate
  • there's no set amount to donate.
if you have a different amount in mind, please round your amount down to the nearest option available. ie if you are happy to donate $45, please round it down to $40.

what we'd like to do is multiply the votes x the amount to see an estimate of what might be available to run the server. we acknowledge that people will promise something and then not donate anything so we'll need to apply some kind of shrinkage factor.

if you would be prepared to donate more through an association, then please indicate that in a post. for example if you'd not be prepared to donate anything through a member, but only through an association, vote $0 and then post that you'd donate $y to an association.

don't worry, we won't hold you to this, however if everyone says they'll donate and then they don't, it could be quite unfair to whoever's credit card the new server will go on!

please vote even if you vote $0. it's better for us to know now rather than later!

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murf
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Post by murf » 01 February 08 10:48 pm

I plucked a psuedo-random figure of $30 out of the air before reading the first post properly. Upon further consideration, I would probably be happy to pay $50-$100 a year for an association membership... while a straight out "donation" would probably be less than that.

Why? I'm not 100% sure, but I suspect its something to do with the fact that if there was a set price:
"Get your Geocaching Federation of Australia membership here for $x"
then being the lazy sod that I am :) , i'd probably just cough up $x if it was within reason (where "reason" is defined above)... but if it were a case of:
"Make a donation of whatever you like"
I might be inclined to "donate" less...

Stingey? - maybe
Lazy? - you bet! :wink:

PS. having been a member (and committee member) of various associations, clubs, federations, etc... I also suppose i'm just used to being happy to pay an annual membership.
PPS. If I knew that the membership fee (and/or donation) was mostly going to fund keeping this website alive, there would be bugger all hesitation compared to a non-descript "just pay us your membership, and we'll do as we see fit" fee...

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Jardry
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Post by Jardry » 02 February 08 7:32 am

I'd prefer a formal association and would accept an annual membership fee of $50/yr.

Jardry

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mundoo
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Post by mundoo » 02 February 08 8:05 am

Jardry wrote:I'd prefer a formal association and would accept an annual membership fee of $50/yr.
There are many of the silent majority who wouldn't/couldn't pay $50 a year just to be a member of an association.

They would not join and never tell you why.

The trick is not to price yourself out of the market.

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Postman Pat
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Post by Postman Pat » 02 February 08 9:06 am

Also my household has 3 members all of whom will be contributing with Funds

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Jardry
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Post by Jardry » 02 February 08 9:31 am

As with most associations, there would be various types of membership:

Full Membership (1 Adult)
Associate Membership (For any partner of a Full Member)
Family Membership (2 Adults & any number of children under 18)
Team Membership (Geocaching Team Name)
Guest Membership (FREE - for anyone not prepared to contribute a membership fee with NO voting rights)

Each type would have an appropriate membership fee. The problem with giving everyone FREE membership is that they then have a say without having contributed financially to the association, and really why should they have a say!

My previous post was not to suggest membership should be $50, only that as an adult I would be prepared to pay $50 per year as that is what I value the benefit I receive from the forum and from the web site in general.

It may well be that the powers that be set $20, in which case I would then be more than happy to donate an additional $30 to "make up" $50.

Whatever is ultimately decided, it will never ever please everyone. So long as we can achieve some consensus which the majority are happy with, I am quite prepared to go along with whatever the majority rule.

Regards



Jardry

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ideology
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Post by ideology » 02 February 08 1:34 pm

thanks for all your votes so far
the total with 39 votes is $980 which is well on the way

if you haven't voted, please do so!

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Post by ideology » 04 February 08 7:07 am

49 votes and we've cracked $1200 or so

please vote if you haven't already!

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Post by ideology » 04 February 08 10:47 pm

58 votes totalling $1,480

please vote if you haven't already! thanks

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winterdragon
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Post by winterdragon » 05 February 08 1:44 pm

Just to donate my own 2 cents to the discussion, as it were....
<br><br>
If you're looking at a donation based model, then I'd suggest making two options available:<br>
1. Random one-off payments for amounts at the discretion of the user - based on what they feel the service is worth to them, or how much they can afford; or <br>
2. A regular monthly payment taken from a paypal or credit card account. I'd suggest a set amount ($2/month or $5/month say), though again it could be left up to the user. I reckon it would be easier for people to sign up to this than to a larger annual contribution, but it would add up over a number of users.

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fehrgo
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Post by fehrgo » 05 February 08 9:48 pm

PayPal supports the recurring payment model these days, so that would be a viable option. I think the idea is to limit the ability for donations to exceed need, though, so I'm not certain how that could be managed if recurring payments were used.

Regards,
Eric

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Postman Pat
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Post by Postman Pat » 06 February 08 10:49 am

fehrgo wrote:PayPal supports the recurring payment model these days, so that would be a viable option. I think the idea is to limit the ability for donations to exceed need, though, so I'm not certain how that could be managed if recurring payments were used.

Regards,
Eric
The extra funds could be held over till the next year as the charges are likely to increase with every year, iI would also give some cover to any shortfall in donations as people leave and get replaced. I would be comfortable with a year in advance so that the server could be paid monthly with the knowledge that it's funded for the next 12 months once that level is achieved then it is amater of tweaking the deposits on a 6 monthly or yearly basis to keep 12 months in advance.

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Team Piggy
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Post by Team Piggy » 06 February 08 9:56 pm

I am sure if there was "such" an overburden of funds that a very suitable charity could be found so everyone can have warm fuzzy feelings...

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ideology
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Post by ideology » 14 February 08 9:24 am

thanks for your votes!

we received 85 votes totalling $2,130!

we'll feed this into our funding plan. it looks like the new server is a goer!

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Post by dak's Emu Mob » 14 February 08 12:36 pm

Team Piggy wrote:I am sure if there was "such" an overburden of funds that a very suitable charity could be found so everyone can have warm fuzzy feelings...
How about donating any excess to the Tsunami Appeal! :lol: :lol: :lol:

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