Donations for Rotarytattoo

[Sekt]

Howya tattooed dudes, an dudess's !

Alie K., Administrator, the Limey, and Jon have done a pretty amazing job so far. All pretty much for the love of their art, communtiy, and without much thanks!
Ya'know they're too decent to ask for money, but I'd like to ask who would be in favour of having a donations button for the site ?

[Barren]

id click that

[Sage Oz]

We should have yearly membership fees, $20 or so. That would help clear out the riff raff as well

[Wonderland]

im down for a donate...

[skinmech]

Yep.......

[MedusaTattoo]

Just do it.....Am in

[shoutingbombs]

We should have yearly membership fees, $20 or so. That would help clear out the riff raff as well
sounds like a good Idea! I'm in.

[casey]

agree with all......cept some one called me riff raff in a pub once!! joking aside this site is a bloody godsend , where i can seek the advice of fellow professionals ( mostly far more advanced than myself) and be treated with respect and dignity . I would gladly welcome a donation button and/or a membership

[tatu richie]

u charge for the site it WILL end... just sayin its been tried before on other sites...

[tatu richie]

donation for rotarys? hows that? so we can donate and give to someone? if they r a tattooer then they should buy there own just like anyone else

[Sage Oz]

donation for rotarys? hows that? so we can donate and give to someone? if they r a tattooer then they should buy there own just like anyone else

I think Sekt is talking about for site maintainence

[Administrator]

There has been discussion of setting up a supporting membership program. Im on the read today i will post more later.

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[serial1313]

I think there is a huge misunderstanding going on with this statement. I am good with a donation button. Maybe it can show how much is needed & for what. An ongoing reciept for what money has been spent on.


donation for rotarys? hows that? so we can donate and give to someone? if they r a tattooer then they should buy there own just like anyone else

[Sage Oz]

donation for rotarys? hows that? so we can donate and give to someone? if they r a tattooer then they should buy there own just like anyone else

I think they're talking about donations to cover maintainence fees for the forum.

[Sekt]

I think Sekt is talking about for site maintainence

Yeh for maintenance, exclusivity, maybe more messages allowed in inbox? and a few options like that?
But the guys deserve to make some dough too.

[serial1313]

I also like your idea of a "badge" to bring attention that you are a donator.


Yeh for maintenance, exclusivity, maybe more messages allowed in inbox? and a few options like that?
But the guys deserve to make some dough too.

[daibead]

Defo up for that. This forum is a godsend.

[thesmokingmirror]

I like the optional donation idea, but i would also pay for a membership if i had to this place is great

[Sekt]

ok peeps stop lurking AND VOTE !

[ckjr]

Donations are cool. I'd honestly rather pay a membership fee..... that way it would weed out the undesirables.

[serial1313]

I voted for "donation more", but I am more than willing to do a membership.

[thebeyond66]

I'd be up for a $10-$20 membership!

[fkirons]

Where is the donation button

[Administrator]

Running forums takes time and money. I am not going to get into specifics since you can probably google what most of this all costs but. Software license, server space, more server space as the site grows and renewing the domain name every year. Right now the site is made up Alie, Limey, My self and the guy who runs our server space for us, his name is Jon.

We pay Jon, er rather Alie has out of her pocket for the work he does keeping the lights on. The vBulletin license was purchased and the site was launched in beta on August 1st of 2010. September first it was when it actually was open to registration after we invited about 10 tattooer friends on here to help seed the site. The first year of hosting and server maintenance was done in trade for work Alie did for our system admin guy Jon. After that we started paying him since the site grew really fast and needed to be moved to a bigger more robust server. If you have been here long enough you will remember a week where we had downtime that lasted two days at one point. This was when we where moving the site and Jon was setting up a new server after the drives on one died. Long story short this site has no ads and was built that way from the beginning. We do not ask for donations because that opens a can of worms.

The site costs us money and come september our hosting fees are going up. I need to lock down gallery space as well this is why you have a cap on pm storage. There are a great deal of changes that will happen with the site in the fall, including a supporting member program. The big reason for this is well why should we pay for you to all be here? If you want to drop 10 or 20$ a year because the site is cool and you want more pm space because you buy and sell a ton of machines on here or other stuff and you have trouble when people complain your inbox is full then awesome. If you promote a product on here or have done more than one sale or trade on here and dont think tossing a few bucks back to help keep the lights on for another year is worth it to you I would be happy to show you how to build your own forum and let you make one you can run for your self until you have to start worrying about it getting attacked or ddos'ed or paying bills or spending an hour every other day dealing with all the hate mail and spam registrations.

[Administrator]

For builders I will have something different for you guys. I am a firm believer that its better to see a legitimate return on something when you help out a site.

FYI, we could have opened up the site from day one with google or ad meld or adbright ads on here. Would have probably made it so we would make a small amount of money on CPI or CPC but none of the good builders or distributors buy that kind of advertising traffic. This is why you have not seen ads for world wide, came or some one trying to sell you russian brides on here.

[Tiger Dan]

Membership is a great idea.

A lot of areas could be members only.

[Baldrick]

Yeah good idea, nothing worth having is free - id be up for a membership fee

[ckjr]

Yeah new members could do like a 10 day free trial to see if they like it. That way we don't scare any new comers off right away. Once they try it out, they'll gladly pay the membership. If not, no losses on either side. It'll free up a lot of server space by not having inactive members on file.

lost in this strange galaxy.....
@ckealohajr_tattoo

[Blondan]

I'm up for it. If you only think the money you save just by buying one used machine will pay for the membership. Not to mention how helpful people are when some one asked for information.

[acink]

Im only a member a couple of months and love the forum id have no problem donating or paying a Membership .

[Sekt]

Membership is the way to go, Its a profesional service for professionals. Payment of membership lends security to the site, and to the members. It also lends a certain responsibility of the site to the members, where beforehand the site had no obligation.
So the next question is how much?
$20
$30
$40
$100
?

[ckjr]

Most sites are 20-40 yearly..... I know this site holds much more value to us considering the amount of communal knowledge, the huge price breaks we get from builders and a great resource for buying quality pre owned equipment. I wouldn't mind paying 100 yearly as it does come out around 10 monthly. But I'm not sure everyone would agree on that and might start pushing members away.

lost in this strange galaxy.....
@ckealohajr_tattoo

[Administrator]

Membership is a great idea.

A lot of areas could be members only.

Currently a lot of the site already locked to members only as in registered members of the site.

The thing about a paid membership is not a payment to access the forum its paying to get more features. like better seats at a concert or more toppings on a pizza.

[nivek]

I have been a part of forums that failed due to costs, eventually the person footing the bill and doing the work will get tired of it. Donations or membership work for me - if you aren't willin to put a bit of money when you are getting something out of it - yer trying to get something for nothing IMO. Whichever you chose, you have my support and money

[scottrallen]

I haven't been around here very long, and I don't post very often but, I gotta agree with sekt and ckjr. Paid membership would totally be worth it considering the amount of information and knowledge shared here. Not sure how much membership would or should cost but what ever it is, I would likely pay it. This forum has been an invaluable resource to me in the short time that I have been a member. Thanks to everyone that posts on here and helps each other out.

[asA]

Currently a lot of the site already locked to members only as in registered members of the site.

The thing about a paid membership is not a payment to access the forum its paying to get more features. like better seats at a concert or more toppings on a pizza. I'd pay to get more toppings on my pizza!! For sure

[clint morrison]

I have learned at least as much from this forum as I did during my apprenticeship. I would gladly pay. Maybe a donation with a minimum of some sort. That way, it would allow some people who get more from this site to give more if they want. Rather than say a 20 dollar membership maybe? I have bought every machine I have because of this forum. I dunno. Just my 2 cents.

[ElTejano]

Just put a link to your paypal and I will gladly donate. I lurk but enjoy the site so I will donate.

[Wonderland]

I would like to see paid access as I have stated before in this thread. Also it would be nice to have some areas that are onyx accessible to paid members as well. What those areas are would be the staffs choice of course. Maybe the for sale or machine builders area, the for trade section as well. And a lager inbox for paid members as well.

[MedusaTattoo]

I'd pay to get more toppings on my pizza!! For sure

More Pepperoni for sure am with u Asa....lol

[MedusaTattoo]

When u charge 150$ per hour I think 120$ per year is not much and ad more Prestige to the forum

[MAD DOG]

Not all of us out here charge $150 per hour and alot of us live in impoverished areas of the country so the the flow of customers is not always steady or in large numbers on a regular basis . I do agree on the donation option though so that we can keep this forum for the benefit it provides going for as long as it will go on . The donation option would be good so even the smaller shops and builders can give a helping hand on keeping this forum going at the level of there incomes will dictate for them to do so . They can donate amounts on a fluctuating balance as there cash flow allows so all can benefit and feel good about being able to help out also . I would be more than happy to give donations this is a very beneficial site . By the way i would like to say thank you to those of you who made this site possible .

[Administrator]

Let me make this clear. I will never require regular members who are welcome her to pay to be here and access the regular fuctions of the site.

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[Sage Oz]

Machine raffle? I'll donate my Blitz!

[Administrator]

Machine raffle? I'll donate my Blitz!

Funny thing is i put the word out about you blitz to some pals recently since those don't pop up lot on here. I will let you know if anyone bites.

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[Sage Oz]

Well you could sell PayPal donation tickets like $10 apiece and Alie could do a drawing at the end of the month and I'll send it to whoever wins....

[Sage Oz]

If a builder or member does that every month then that could be a good way to bring in some funding...

[Sage Oz]

Thanks for the looking out on the blitz lol

[ckjr]

Let me make this clear. I will never require regular members who are welcome her to pay to be here and access the regular fuctions of the site.

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C'mon admin...... with all the millions of dollars we make we have to spend it on something..... lol.

lost in this strange galaxy.....
instagram @ckealohajr_tattoo
facebook.com/tawkpidgin

[Invertedpixel]

We should have yearly membership fees, $20 or so. That would help clear out the riff raff as well
Lol...I'd gladly pony up a few bucks. This forum is an invaluable resource of info and lulz

[Administrator]

C'mon admin...... with all the millions of dollars we make we have to spend it on something..... lol.

lost in this strange galaxy.....
instagram @ckealohajr_tattoo
facebook.com/tawkpidgin

Spend it on your kids if you have them. If you don't have kids consider tossing a few bucks to kids art programs for the less fortunate. Beyond that spend your money on good equipment.;)
I am meeting up with our system admin guy soon to talk about how much our bills are going up for the new contract.

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[TATsoul]

All for donating to the cause. A busy site costs money and there is nothing wrong to ask for support.

[Administrator]

If a builder or member does that every month then that could be a good way to bring in some funding...

Wont need to do this.

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[Administrator]

Time is not something I have a lot of these days so I am not able to get this set up yet. From what I gathered talking to our sysadmin that the rising cost of hosting etc will mean its time to introduce a revenue stream into the site. A supporting member program and advertising program. You will not see google ads for junk that's not the point we are after. A supporting member program like on most forums on the internet works out to 20$ a year. Its not mandatory and will come with things like no lag between posting/searching, a slightly bigger avatar, bigger gallery space, more pm space so you don't have to keep dumping your pm box. probably a few other things.

[Wonderland]

sweet im down for all of that. :)

[Blondan]

Me too, you have my support, I know a bit of photoshop if that ever comes handy, but I guess every one knows a bit these days. 20$ is really modest from you guys. Send me a PayPal, please!

[Administrator]

Me too, you have my support, I know a bit of photoshop if that ever comes handy, but I guess every one knows a bit these days. 20$ is really modest from you guys. Send me a PayPal, please!

I have to build the user group write the user agreement and set up the papal api. This is so when you sign up and pay it adds the special permissions to your account.

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[Blondan]

Looking forward for that

[hellraiser6662]

yep membership is the way to go .. yea count me in

[Administrator]

I have a really full week and Alie is busy, I am hoping this weekend I can get the first stages of this put together and put live.

[joelhague]

i think the same applies here as it does to tattoo machines, you get what you pay for , rotary forum is simply the best and should have a monthly or yearly fee, just like you don't use cheap china machines if you want free advice go to the tatscratchers.com forum hahaha.

would also be awesome to see some t shirts made up and with donations of 50 dollars or more you get one free.
i know alot of people probably wouldnt mind paying 50 bucks for a limited print rotary forums t shirt! that alone might be able to cover the cost of another year for the admins

like someone else has said the market place and promo prices we get from builders make it worth it alone ive already saved 160 bucks on my last 2 brand new machine purchases through the forums :) not to mention having a place to buy and sell / trade machines where you don't have to worry about being screwed over because people dont want to lose there membership and or respect/trust of fellow members,

a monthly or yearly fee will only strengthen the community i believe , as long as it is within reason people pay 60 bucks a year to play flippin xbox jeez!

[Administrator]

Its getting worked out. Will never require anyone to pay to join or maintain a regular membership. I honestly never thought the site would grow as fast as it did.

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[Sekt]

My only gripe Admin... are ads worth the pay per click for them being there? I mean will you get so much revenue from them, that its worth having them ? These days we're being spammed every direction underneath above, sideways front and back! Your call obviously.
But the site grew mainly because It reflects the personalities of those who created it =]

[Sage Oz]

I'd rather pay memberships or donate organs than to look at spam ads. Unless they are porn ads :D

[Administrator]

Ad banners for companies that are already here is what is getting worked on. From the start we never put google ads on the site cause all the keywords here along with the standard cached browsing history of everyone this would be covered in WW ads. For two years we have had a multitude of accounts on here that where regularly promoting and marketing the sale of machines, supplies, pigments all sorts of things without us ever asking for a cent. Some even left after they tired to sell a bunch on here and then complained (some directly to me) the place sucked cause no one would pay attention to them or buy their shit.

There will be no pay per click ads here. Anyone who wants to buy ad space on the site would get impression reports but no guaranteed click throughs.

Admittedly most people forget that advertising on most sites is how money is made.

[Sekt]

Groan...

[Administrator]

whats the groan for?

If you guys have complaints please air them. If you are worried about seeing a 468x60 pixel box in the top right of your screen showing a banner for a company you probably already have given your hard earned money to in the past you can easily google an adblocker extension for your browser.

This is not meant to be rude, I am only saying if ads bother you you should take steps to remove them from your daily life. You have the technology.

[FRANCO VESCOVI]

I think most machine builders on this site have made a fair amount of revenue due to its robust social network of users or just people browsing to find out which machine to buy. My vote is a yearly membership for machine builders or something of that nature. Im sure most builders here would say that it sounds fair. Its no fun to receive if you cant give back?!?!

[serial1313]

I agrre with this idea, for what my opinion is worth. I have purchased 20 rotary machines since March of this year. I purchased all of them except the first one because of this forum. That should tell you a lot about how much business this forum get the builders that are on the forum.
I think most machine builders on this site have made a fair amount of revenue due to its robust social network of users or just people browsing to find out which machine to buy. My vote is a yearly membership for machine builders or something of that nature. Im sure most builders here would say that it sounds fair. Its no fun to receive if you cant give back?!?!

[Shockerjock]

I wouldnt mind paying a membership fee. This site have been overly valuable to me. I am a single artist and the only one in my area using rotaries. Not having the spam ads is worth paying a membership fee although I wouldnt mind a page of links from all the builders on here to see thier builds and easy acess to thier sites to buy them and thier parts and accessories or swag and they could chip in more for this adversment.

[peezie]

Ad banners for companies that are already here is what is getting worked on.

I think this is a good idea and can be supplemented with a paypal donation link also. Whoever wants to contribute can contribute. I don't mind being charged for putting up an ad. I will definitely donate if and whenever there is a donation button or link. Charging a fee would definitely alienate some people. People who come here enough and find value in the information will donate eventually. Not everyone will, but enough people to keep the site going. Just my opinion and not stating this as a matter of fact.

[Administrator]

I forget what thread ot was posted in but access to the site will always be free. Added perks will come later as well as a sticker pack we are working on that gets mailed out for a supporting member program.

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[Administrator]

My regular job ate my weekend up and this weekend i am going on vacation. Free time is not in abundance until closer to the end of the month.

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[Pain Inc]

Just a thought, maybe have a listing fee for the buy and sell. May sound a little crazy but a couple to list a machine might be a good way to support the site. From what I can tell, people move machines relatively quick on the site, and I imagine would add up fairly quick.

[Blondan]

That's one of the reasons, it's free and people can give them for better prices. I'm not stingy, but I think you'll see less machines for trades or sale if that fee is going to be added. Just my opinion. Not saying it's not fair.

[Administrator]

I know a motorcycle forum that used to ask for 5% of what you sell to be given to the site. I don't much case for that business model.

Don't worry anyone about being pressured to support the site.

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[Machined Ink]

I'm down for a membership fee. The information on this site alone is worth that!