Donation issues

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1

A few days ago I emailed Gus, asking how I could donate a little money to Forumosa. Embarrassingly little really, but I felt it could help out a bit.

I wondered why he didn’t reply, but since there are these rumours going around that Gus has retired and that Maoman is taking over, that would explain things.

Like others, I am also very interested to find out what is going on and whether this changeover will make a significant difference to the way we use Forumosa.

But one thing seems certain; there will continue to be costs involved in running the site and it is neither fair nor appropriate for one or a very few people to contribute. I see that quite a few people have that nice pineapple chop that means that they have contributed some money; I feel that many of us who make extensive use and get a lot of pleasure, make new friends and obtain useful information from Forumosa as I do should consider contributing something.

There are a number of ways in which this could be done. The present ad hoc way may indeed be the most relaxed and appropriate way. Others could be suggesting regular small donations from whoever felt able to contribute in this way - perhaps this could aid the financial security and ability to plan ahead of the site and its organisers.

A more organised and stricter way still could be to have a two-tier membership, with ‘free’ members being limited to a certain number of posts per week or something. However I’m not at all sure that this would be a good way of doing things.

I suggested to Gus that he make public some bank account details that we could use to pay in money through ATM machines. The details would be the 3-digit bank code and then the longer account number. For those who feel uneasy about the security of this method, I think it is very secure. It is widely used in Taiwan in much the same way that personal checking is used in other countries. It is also quick and convenient.

So, new administrator/s or organiser/s, whoever you may be, please help us to help you keep this site as good as it is!

2

Great suggestion by Joe. I would be happy to contribute some money to Forumosa and Joe’s idea of transferring money through the bank to a Forumosa account seems like a good one.

3

I agree with Joe on both point a two level of membership will be nice, full members can do PM, search, play the lottery etc … all the new hacks which requires the upgrade.
Plus I prefer ATM to tx money more safe and secure.

4

[quote=“ponchi”]I agree with Joe on both point a two level of membership will be nice, full members can do PM, search, play the lottery etc … all the new hacks which requires the upgrade.
[/quote]
If my current rights are taken away because I will not pay money I will be bitter. My INTERNET is free, except for the monthly fees I pay to my ISP.
I surf the net because it is free. There are lots of sites that provide information on a variety of topics, allow PMS, and whatever else and they are ALL free.
If someone from this site wants money from me they better make it worth my while. Give me some coupons to one of those restaurants that is advertising. Or better yet, ask THEM for some money…that’s usually how it works!

5

Joe, I had the same experience. I tried to donate some money to Gus via PayPal, but the payment wouldn’t go through. I e-mailed Gus about it, but didn’t hear back from him. Maoman suggested I just give Gus some money at one of the forumosa get-togethers, but I haven’t run into him yet.

6

This site will always remain free to those who use it. Gus and I agreed that this is important. I’ll look into the idea of setting up a bank account for Forumosa donations. Stay tuned…

7

thankx, but I will tx the money in any admin’s account.

8

Hi Hakkasonic, I live in Taichung so that’s why I suggested the ATM thing.

Please, does anybody want a little of my money here?

[edited: just seen Maoman’s helpful reply]

9

[quote=“stevieboy”][quote=“ponchi”]I agree with Joe on both point a two level of membership will be nice, full members can do PM, search, play the lottery etc … all the new hacks which requires the upgrade.
[/quote]
If my current rights are taken away because I will not pay money I will be bitter. My INTERNET is free, except for the monthly fees I pay to my ISP.
I surf the net because it is free. There are lots of sites that provide information on a variety of topics, allow PMS, and whatever else and they are ALL free.
If someone from this site wants money from me they better make it worth my while. Give me some coupons to one of those restaurants that is advertising. Or better yet, ask THEM for some money…that’s usually how it works![/quote]
As I said I was far from sure that a two-tier membership would be the way to go: it was just a suggestion.

My comments in general were not meant to be about rules and regulations to limit people but rather a way to make a contribution and feel more involved with this excellent community.

It’s worth mentioning that Forumosa is administered and moderated by volunteers. The money to pay the ISP used to come only from Gus’s pocket; now I see more people with these little pineapples I hope the load is more evenly distributed.

If Forumosa can stay free from the need to use advertising as sponsorship then so much the better. At present all advertising is free; something I know at first-hand since Gus was kind enough to make me up a snazzy-looking banner and put it on the banner rotator.

10

And if the site earns money via this route, can the moderators finally get paid? :wink:

11

Also remember that some members are not in Taiwan, and it would be very difficult for them to donate. Whilst it would be good to have some way for donators to feel valued, it might make those who are unable to donate feel left out. How about a ‘VIP’ card. Maybe jsut something small like VIPs’ names coming up a different colour like moderators are green.

Brian

12

Maoman wrote on another thread:

Am I missing something? I’ve looked all over the site but still can’t see any information that would enable me to donate.

Also, would it be possible at some point to post some financial data for Forumosa? It would be interesting to see how much the hosting costs are and how far donations go towards covering them. I feel this could also be of help in the continued effort to open Forumosa up to new people; if they can see how it works a bit better than there would be less confusion, and also less silly talk of censorship etc. as people realised that Forumosa really wasn’t a business and instead was run by enthusiastic and dedicated volunteers.

13

Hi Joe,

I apologize for not getting back to your PM. Maoman is in charge now and he’s the best person to discuss these issues with.

I describe the donations structure here: forumosa.com/3/viewtopic.php?p=66045#66045

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I think that there are other ways to “donate” to Forumosa rather than simply slipping one of us cold cash during the Happy Hour. For example: since we’d only like the website to be promoted, but don’t have the organizational expertise to raise a budget, you might consider promoting the website for us.

How much is it for a simple text advert in the classifieds section of your favorite local English newspaper? You could put out an ad that said something corny like:

I found my job at Forumosa.com – (galleygong)

And then PM/e-mail us to let us know where/when to find it. Then I can clip it out and mail it to my mom (mom likes to know that her younger son is doing his small part to make the world a kinder, gentler place :wink: – actually, I really would mail it to mom :slight_smile:)

If more and more grateful Forumosa regulars who really did find a job… apartment… roomate… playmate… pet… restaurant… etc… did this, we’d be promoting the site, you’d know exactly where your donations are going, and more people would learn about real people who really benefit from this project. From my point of view, the value of this type of donation far outstrips the small amount it costs to make.
Plus, we might get the English newspapers to like us again. Well, maybe not.