Keep PHO Alive - Donate now via paypal

[Aginoth]

Deliberate Cross Post

Single Donation or Monthly

Go here You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to give and ensure the continued existence of this fantastic forum.

I have just signed up for the £2.50 / month option, easier than trying to remember to donate annually like I have done previously.

It costs approx £120 per month to keep the site going and on average PHO currently receives £22.50 per month from donations via PayPal, apart from that the mods donate small monthly sums but both of these combined don't cover the costs unfortunately.

Let's make sure that PHO is properly funded, it's not fair for the Mods to make up the shortfall when we all gain from this forum.

no-one should feel bad about not donating if you can't afford to though.

[LittlePinkPuss]

but both of these combined don't cover the costs unfortunately.

What costs do you have online?

How much does hosting of a website cost exactly?

Is there really that much likelihood of this site shutting down anytime soon?

[MULLINDE]

Here is me butting in but from an impartial observer's point of view, and to put things in a nuitshell:

I think that the PHO coats about £120 a month to run and it gets about £20 a month in donations.

There are approximately 14,000 members, so it should be rich in funds if everyone gave even 50p a month.

I will give £5.00 a month until things look more healthy.

[Mrs Aginoth]

remember out of those 14000 members, only a very small percentage are regular users of the site - many came once or twice or just pop in occasionally.

The site was moved to a new host a while back after problems due to high useage iirc - £120pm is fairly good for the trafic it has to cope with.

there is more info on the Feedback board

[Aginoth]

Extensive discussions on the feedback board - You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login

[Luvvi]

but both of these combined don't cover the costs unfortunately.

What costs do you have online?

How much does hosting of a website cost exactly?

Is there really that much likelihood of this site shutting down anytime soon?

Absolutely!!!  There is a chance of it shutting down if regular donations/subscriptions are not received.  Michael started this site and runs a tight ship.  If you go read the bulletins about fundraising for PHO etc you will get all the information you require.  There are several threads on chit chat and feedback which will explain it all!  Happily over the past 7-10 days over £400 has been raised which is amazing!

Aginoth/Dave is merely "doing his bit" by putting this post on the PA Board along with subscribing to the monthly runnings! 

[scratchydude]

There are approximately 14,000 members, so it should be rich in funds if everyone gave even 50p a month.

I agree with you. It seems ridicule but 5$/month isn't in everyone's means.
And what about sending every registered user an email asking for donations with a minimum of 50p without the monthly option ?
You could gain the necessary money for the whole year in "one shot".

[Luvvi]

The mods have discussed "global" emails and as for how much you donate.....that's entirely up to you!  Press the "donate" button below my post or go to the top of the page to the menu bar and donate from there!!!

Unfortunately not all members are active on PHO many join and only visit the site once or twice! 

[Mrs Aginoth]

There are approximately 14,000 members, so it should be rich in funds if everyone gave even 50p a month.

I agree with you. It seems ridicule but 5$/month isn't in everyone's means.
And what about sending every registered user an email asking for donations with a minimum of 50p without the monthly option ?
You could gain the necessary money for the whole year in "one shot".

I got an email a few days ago - I guess the mods sent it out to a "select few"

I'm still not donating though - Aginoth has given enough for both of us considering our financial circumstances!

[poncho]

I can't understand the objection to advertising, there aren't many sites that can exist without it. The BBC has to suck money from everyone in the country, even those who can't afford it, because it refuses to carry advertising whereas ITV and every other channel don't need to, they self-fund through advertising. And we all watch ITV/Sky right? We need to move with the times I'm afraid. You can just ignore the ads, surely that's easy enough, but they will still pay. I'd rather have to skip through a few ads than lose the site. Like it or not, commercialism is part of our everyday life and I think it's unrealistic to expect PHO to remain above that. People saying "we've always been free and always will be" need to wake up. Why should mods pay for it?