The Donate Button

Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM · December 12, 2018, 12:18:49 PM

Thank you RG for your Donation to keep the wheels turning on the Forum. We have a couple more Donations but I like to spread out the Thank Yous a bit to keep this thread on the front page to remind everyone about this.

If you find value in this Forum, please click on the Donate button above and let us know.

Gary

Branderson · December 12, 2018, 12:37:34 PM

Gary maybe I missed it but is there a goal to get to? I've seen where there were links to gofundme to reach the goal for that year and we would donate to that. Unless I missed it, it just seems a little random to donate misc amounts not knowing where the finish line is.

My apologies if it was already put out there.

Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM · December 12, 2018, 02:18:14 PM

Quote from: Branderson on December 12, 2018, 12:37:34 PM
Gary maybe I missed it but is there a goal to get to? I've seen where there were links to gofundme to reach the goal for that year and we would donate to that. Unless I missed it, it just seems a little random to donate misc amounts not knowing where the finish line is.

My apologies if it was already put out there.

Good question Branderson. There is no financial goal. It costs us over $2000/year to maintain the Forum because we have it running on a large GoDaddy dedicated server. I pay Phil and Krash a small stipend to maintain, back it up, to clean off spammers which can be a big problem at times, and to make small improvements over time.

If we get more than that we can add more bells and whistles that people have been asking about. The magazine profits used to pay for the Forum but BCM is now just about breaking even so it can no longer afford to support the Forum and I do not sell buses or own a Cavern so I cannot put outside money into it.

I do not expect the Donations to fully support the Forum but the Donation was suggested by one of our members as a way for people to support the Forum that use it but do not have a subscription to the magazine. If you are a subscriber to the magazine, then your Donation is already covered.

There is definitely nobody getting rich on the Forum. Our advertisers in the Banner Ads do not pay for those ads. They only pay to have their ads in the magazine and we do this as a bonus to them which helps them get more sales, but we do not profit from their ads on there. Google Ad revenue helps, but that only brings in about $100/month which helps.

I hope that answers your questions.

chessie4905 · December 13, 2018, 06:24:52 AM

Isn't there a Prevost along with that goal?🏁

Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM · December 13, 2018, 08:25:54 AM

Quote from: chessie4905 on December 13, 2018, 06:24:52 AM
Isn't there a Prevost along with that goal?🏁

Yes, if we get enuf Donations, everyone who made a Donation will get a new Prevost.

Dave5Cs · December 13, 2018, 03:07:25 PM

We are all getting rich ... with Bus Knowledge

Soooooo come on you cheapskates and buck-up some bucks and I am not telling you again. If you don't pay to play your Bus will not start the next time you try. Seriously Gary can do a mind-meld and mental telepathy thingy that ain't pretty. It can hit you at any time especially when you are not looking.... Just sayin.....

Paso One · December 14, 2018, 06:21:44 AM

Quote from: eagle19952 on November 17, 2018, 10:18:38 AM
Hey...how about a subscribers button..?

I agree you need a subscribers button so I don't look like the freeloader I am.

but i do subscribe

Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM · December 14, 2018, 10:14:55 AM

Quote from: eagle19952 on November 17, 2018, 10:18:38 AM
Hey...how about a subscribers button..?

Sorry, somehow I missed this post. Here you go.

Subscribe here: https://www.busconversionmagazine.com/product/subscriptions/

Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM · December 14, 2018, 10:21:04 AM

Quote from: Dave5Cs on December 13, 2018, 03:07:25 PM
We are all getting rich ... with Bus Knowledge

Soooooo come on you cheapskates and buck-up some bucks and I am not telling you again. If you don't pay to play your Bus will not start the next time you try. Seriously Gary can do a mind-meld and mental telepathy thingy that ain't pretty. It can hit you at any time especially when you are not looking.... Just sayin.....

Thanks Dave.

Paso One · December 14, 2018, 11:40:49 AM

Quote from: eagle19952 on November 17, 2018, 10:18:38 AM
Hey...how about a subscribers button..?

I don't think that is what Donald was suggesting,at least it wasn't what i interpreted.

You have mentioned a few times that when you are a magazine subscriber you are "supporting" the website. I thought he was suggesting a button indicating "the subscribers " like you have a "donor" button. ie: Plattinum, gold, silver, bronze, mag subscriber.
So us subscribers of the magazine get some recgontion and don't look like "dead Beats"

Gary Hatt - Publisher BCM · December 14, 2018, 11:47:59 AM

Quote from: Paso One on December 14, 2018, 11:40:49 AM

I don't think that is what Donald was suggesting,at least it wasn't what i interpreted.
You have mentioned a few times that when you are a magazine subscriber you are "supporting" the website. I thought he was suggesting a button indicating "the subscribers " like you have a "donor" button. ie: Plattinum, gold, silver, bronze, mag subscriber.
So us subscribers of the magazine get some recgontion and don't look like "dead Beats"

Ohhhh. The Forum and the Subscriptions are two different software packages and names and email addresses used for the Forum are not always the same so that would be a monumental task to set this up and it still would not be accurate. We estimate that less than 10% of the folks who read the Forum are subscribers to the magazine unfortunately, which is why we set this Donation button up in the first place. But we will consider this perhaps in the future when we have more time and money.

DoubleEagle · December 14, 2018, 05:34:50 PM

Or everyone that is interested could do what I just did: I added "BCM Subscriber" to the Personal Text section of the Forum Profile.

chessie4905 · December 14, 2018, 05:44:23 PM

Interesting comments from Ian over on BNO.

DoubleEagle · December 14, 2018, 06:51:20 PM

Quote from: chessie4905 on December 14, 2018, 05:44:23 PM
Interesting comments from Ian over on BNO.

Yep, interesting, alright, maybe everything is cheaper in Canada. Like many others, I signed up for this site and two others, but BCM's has the highest level of postings, by far. There is merit in the idea of merging forums to avoid duplication of postings, but the owner's of each prefer to have control and not surrender to someone else, apparently. BNO used to be busier, but that is not the case now. Facebook has put a dent in many forums. BNO offering to take over is sort of like bankrupt Kmart taking over Sears, who in turn, is in decline.

Krash · December 14, 2018, 08:11:07 PM

Quote from: chessie4905 on December 07, 2018, 10:40:56 AM
A section for stickies would be useful for common adnauseum repeat questions.

Gary asked me to look into this. There is a sticky section at the top of each board, admins/moderators can make any topic a sticky. Sadly, no one reads stickies.

A FAQ would have to be compiled manually, and you'd have the same problem. It's quicker and easier to post a new topic or repeat an old question, than to read through stickies or FAQs. There's not much can be done about human nature.