| Forum Update - Please Read
Greetings All,
Thanks for all the support and know straight up the forum isn't going anywhere, isn't dead, and isn't leaving GT40s.com. Man, I didn't know so many people really cared!
As you probably have noticed considering the volume of emails I've received the forum was down from late Thursday until Saturday afternoon. This was due to the fact that the forum was exceeding the account limitations of the server at liquid web on two fronts - bandwidth and CPU usage.
The forum is essentially a large program and everytime someone views the forum this program runs and displays what they need. We've a lot of users and traffic, therefore this CPU usage was exceeding the current account limits. Furthermore, due to text and inline images the bandwidth (the data transferred also exceeded limits).
The fix is simple - upgrade the server account so that we get more CPU time, more space, and more bandwidth.
Our current account was only around $25.00 a month plus software etc. and was fairly easy to maintain with a low amount of cash. However, we will have to move to a more professional package that will be around $85.00 a month - thus the net result is the forum will cost somewhere around $1300-$1500 a year to keep running with domain registration, software, etc.
The move to the dedicated server should happen sometime on Monday or Tuesday, it just depends on too many variables to predict.
A fairly small amount of cash really, but given the fact I spend a reasonable precentage of time dealing with forum issues etc. it isn't something I want to have to pay for out of pocket. I think with the users we have here and our devotion to GT40s we should all be able to ante up a few bucks a piece to keep the forum running.
GT40s is and will remain as long as possible a non-profit situtation. It is not incorporated as a business and I don't have any intentions of doing so at the moment. It also will remain open and non-biased as much as possible.
I did receive donations a few months ago from some of you and I appreciate the contribution and the effort. Also, Roaring Forties contributed as a company to keep the forum running, thanks for that effort as well and for John Hester of GT Supercars for offering manufacturer support.
The last time we received around $350-$400 USD from all over the world and at the current rate that was enough to keep the forum going for a good long time. Obviously, with costs going up the money won't go as far this time. We are not in dire need of money at the moment, it is just something I want everyone to be aware of for the future.
With the new service we will gain some things as well:
1. Photo albums with new space
2. Album links with new Forum software
3. Flexiblity like that seen on Club Cobra etc.
I hope I can get this done in September or October.
In the meantime, many people have expressed wanting to send donations. We're not in trouble with money, but any donations would be appreciated. But, I would like to have one of the forum members actually collect the money. That way a second party can verify the amount and we can total it to see how long we can run. Would someone be willing to do this? We could still have checks or cash made to me but I'd like a 3rd party to collect and total independantly so everyone is aware of the complete situation.
Thanks to everyone for making the forum such a successful project! I had no idea so many people would be interested when I put up my original RF build page along with the Network 54 Forum I started with. We've come a long way and hopefully over the years we'll cover a lot of distance together.
Thanks much,
Ron
[ August 24, 2002: Message edited by: Ron Earp ] | 
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