Donations needed to sustain the forum

[Zeus]

Donations needed to sustain the forum


Hello all,


I want to inform you that while it is very good we continue growing steadily, we are starting to become very limited by our current hosting.

During the past month, I've received multiple reports from our host we are exceeding our allowed resources during forum peak times. As a result, the host has been placing (temporarily so far) restrictions on us, which in turn makes forum very slow during such times.

We are at the point where restrictions may become permanent, with the next step being the host account termination, and with that, the whole forum.

We need to start receiving some funding help from you, guys.

Until now, I've been paying forum expenses out of my own pocket. However, we need to move to a dedicated server soon, and this will be costing a significantly more per month than what I can afford on my own.

So if you love and enjoy the forum, please consider starting donations so that we can have a fund to cover the forum hosting costs, now and towards the future.


Thank you for your help!

Regards,

Zeus & the SqueezeQueens.com team

[Zeus]

We are nearing the end of life on our current hosting. Just received a 4th warning from the host on the overuse of allowed resources during peak times (takes 5 to suspend the site).

I was able to get the other fellow mods to step in and chip in for a new server to cover the 1st month of its costs.

I'll attempt the big move probably sometime in the upcoming week. Forum will be offline for an unspecified amount of time.

If everything goes well, new server will be a lot faster and should serve us well into the future.

However, we need fellow forum members to help out with the increased monthly costs to sustain the forum. We will not be able to make it without your help.

[Zeus]

The SqueezeQueens Forum has been upgraded to a new server!


Dear members,

Thanks to a few good fellow forum members who donated, we now have a new home! Forum should run more smoothly.

We still however need to raise enough donations to sustain increased costs of this new more powerful server.

So far we were able to raise (barely) enough to cover initial 1-2 months of the new server costs.

I did go ahead and upgraded us already (as we were getting shut down at the old host), with hopes that more SQ fellow members will step in and chip in to keep us open into the future.

Please consider making donations if you love our forum and want to see it live.

Long live the SqueezeQueens! -Zeus


PS Please report any bugs you might experience (PM or here). There are still things I'm working on in the background, as moving such a large forum has been quite an undertaking. Thanks!

[Zeus]

DONATIONS LIST

Donator		Type		First in		Latest in
Matey		Regular		Oct 2012		Aug 2015
uboat		Repeated		May 2014		Aug 2014
ivyhill		Repeated		Aug 2014		Dec 2014
dark87dan		Repeated		2014		Jan 2016
Stewie_Griffin		Repeated		Aug 2014		Feb 2015
spiezer		Repeated		Aug 2014		Oct 2014
zell04		Repeated		Dec 2014		Aug 2017
squeezeme2		One-time		Aug 2014
vayeate		Repeated		2014		Dec 2015
bendme		One-time		Aug 2014
rhett54		One-time		Aug 2014
IMCJ		One-time		Sep 2014
Fresh P		One-time		Sep 2014
logiemac		One-time		Sep 2014
waffle		One-time		Sep 2014
Portifoy		One-time		Dec 2014
egalitarian		Repeated		Jan 2015		Aug 2015
truquillo		One-time		Feb 2015
llordzzx		One-time		May 2015
alles1us		One-time		Aug 2015
wrestling_pi		One-time		Jan 2016
gbs1		One-time		Jan 2016
ddelurker		One-time		Feb 2016
magicstar		Repeated				May 2017
flateric		One-time		Jul 2017
rhett54		Repeated				Jul 2017
RBAP		One-time		Oct 2017
zell04		Repeated				Oct 2017
coolio101		One-time		Oct 2017

/change of list format/

Donator		Donated in
mixwrestler		01 / 2018
SUBSONlC		01 / 2018
rhett54		03 / 2018
coolio101		03 / 2018
ChicagoAlan		05 / 2018
magicstar		05 / 2018
rhett54		05 / 2018
gbs1		05 / 2018
MC-Menni		05 / 2018
hate1991		05 / 2018
oddman1985		06 / 2018
dark87dan		06 / 2018
mixwrestler		06 / 2018
mikeywrestler		06 / 2018
ulysess		06 / 2018
gio301184		06 / 2018
zell04		06 / 2018
dark87dan		07 / 2018
ulysess		07 / 2018
gio301184		08 / 2018
ulysess		09 / 2018
rhett54		10 / 2018
dark87dan		10 / 2018
RBAP		11 / 2018
rhett54		11 / 2018
gio301184		12 / 2018
magicstar		12 / 2018
MC-Menni		02 / 2019
DR		02 / 2019
dark87dan		02 / 2019
jph369		02 / 2019
gbs1		02 / 2019
ChicagoAlan		02 / 2019
mixwrestler		02 / 2019
rhett54		02 / 2019
mixwrestler		03 / 2019
rhett54		04 / 2019
judoka2wrestle		05 / 2019
magicstar		05 / 2019
mixwrestler		05 / 2019
hate1991		05 / 2019
gbs1		05 / 2019
lobadou		05 / 2019
runofthemill		07 / 2019
rhett54		07 / 2019
rhett54		10 / 2019
hate1991		10 / 2019
ChicagoAlan		10 / 2019
gbs1		10 / 2019
magicstar		10 / 2019
mixwrestler		12 / 2019
ulysess		12 / 2019
jph369		12 / 2019
magicstar		01 / 2020
hate1991		02 / 2020
rhett54		02 / 2020
runofthemill		02 / 2020
lordhelmchen2k		03 / 2020
watoss		04 / 2020
ulysess		04 / 2020
rhett54		04 / 2020
instinstinst		05 / 2020
hate1991		08 / 2020
jph369		08 / 2020
magicstar		08 / 2020
ChicagoAlan		08 / 2020
mixwrestler		08 / 2020
gbs1		08 / 2020
gio301184		09 / 2020
runofthemill		09 / 2020
rhett54		10 / 2020
noob19871		10 / 2020
hate1991		12 / 2020
magicstar		12 / 2020
DR		12 / 2020
ChicagoAlan		12 / 2020
gbs1		12 / 2020
Arzachel		01 / 2021
ulysess		01 / 2021
jph369		02 / 2021
mixwrestler		03 / 2021
rhett54		04 / 2021
instinstinst		04 / 2021
runofthemill		04 / 2021
donga69		05 / 2021
watoss		05 / 2021
ChicagoAlan		06 / 2021
hate1991		06 / 2021
gbs1		06 / 2021
magicstar		06 / 2021
jph369		08 / 2021
ulysess		08 / 2021
Internally		09 / 2021
rhett54		10 / 2021
mixwrestler		10 / 2021
instinstinst		10 / 2021
runofthemill		12 / 2021
jynn		12 / 2021
onlyone26		12 / 2021
ivyhill		12 / 2021
magicstar		12 / 2021
ChicagoAlan		12 / 2021
stealth		12 / 2021
noob19871		02 / 2022
jph369		03 / 2022
rhett54		04 / 2022
MC-Menni		06 / 2022
lazerblu		07 / 2022
mixwrestler		07 / 2022
ChicagoAlan		07 / 2022
magicstar		07 / 2022
hate1991		07 / 2022
gbs1		07 / 2022

Each donator earns an award, to recognize his part in keeping SQ up and running:

  First-time Donator (donated once so far)

  Regular/Repeated Donator (donated more than once / regularly)

[Zeus]

It would be nice to see some donations if you enjoy the forum. Lately only magicstar was kind enough to help out with the costs back in May

[ivyhill]

I will send first of the month - Sorry for the slacking!!!

[gbs1]

I will send later on today

[excaping1]

I would be happy to donate a measurable amount.  Would that allow me access to the HQ Club(s)?

[flateric]

Such a great forum - donation sent. Hope lots of others do the same

[bigphilly]

I would be happy to donate a measurable amount.  Would that allow me access to the HQ Club(s)?

I was thinking the same!

[ownboss]

I think that allot more members would subscribe if they obtained access to the HQ section in return for their donation

[Zeus]

Yes, I get PM's asking to exchange full forum access for donations quite often. It's tempting as it would probably cover the costs to run the forum, but since we've always tried to not let unknown members with no solid previous posting history in there to keep the HQ content from ending up being reposted around, I've so far resisted, and instead rely on asking members to donate just because they enjoy having all these boards in the 1st place and want to help.

Donating may sometimes tip the scales if one already has a good standing here as far as frequent or valid forum contributions, being active and helpful member, etc. But members with zero or very few posts that we know nothing about (from previous/other sites for example) were never able to just simply buy their way in.

(no offence to anyone above I haven't even checked any of your posting history, just expressing my thoughts)

[zell04]

i will donate when my birthday come and its very close. thanks:Pol:

[ownboss]

It would be nice to see some donations if you enjoy the forum. Lately only magicstar was kind enough to help out with the costs back in May

Hey Zeus,

How is the whole donation suggestion going buddy, any luck?

To be totally honest, if the server has moved from slow shared hosting to fast dedicate hosting then I personally have not noticed any difference?

There Was No Need To Move?

Were you aware, that you did not need to move the Squeeze Queen server from cheap as chips shared hosting to fast and more costly dedicated hosting, you just needed to start getting realistic about the membership intent from those who access it. You see, the hosting provider only issued warnings to you when you started to suck up large amounts of shared bandwidth and as such, your find most providers will try and cap the amount of traffic your site gets, so that others get a fair share. However, because your forum has become a real success going by the number of registered members it has acquired, it has also become increasingly expensive to manage and as such, become a monthly payment burden.

You see Zeus, having an open forum membership where ongoing membership requires little or no participation has always had its issues, mostly in the servers running costs and as such, has never offered a sustained future objective and as a result, your having to front the costs each and every month in order to keep the engine running. You can plead with your members for assistance towards meeting these running costs and in doing so, will grab the limited attention of the small few who will want to help keep the engine greased and with it, they will attempt to dig deep into their pockets and supply a donation but as my friend found out, it lacked the repetitive aspects required to meet monthly funding needs.

Personally, I love Squeeze Queens, and feel you have created a truly excellent resource for everyone to enjoy but hold on a minute, its only because you and a few others that it exists at all which is why you have to consider the option laid out below. Let me ask you a couple of questions, (1) did you ever aspect it to become as successful as it has become and (2), did you ever aspect it to self sustain its own future growth. I can understand that you have a life long passion for combat we all have, but taking your love for something and creating an Internet related resource sadly costs dollars, that is why your have to decide where Squeeze Queens goes from here on.

Future Options Available?

Option 1: Continue to support the forum by paying for its existence with both your personal and donation support?
Option 2: Continue to support your own creation by supplying its existence with your own financial assistance?
Option 3: Reduce the membership award levels needed to be obtained to increase personal recognition?
Option 4: Remove leaching members by terminating accounts of those who have failed to participate?
Option 5: Enforce a probationary period on all NEW members relating to active participation?
Option 6: Grant instant HQ access to remaining members offering regular donations?

You see, a good friend of mine started and runs a successful Play Station games forum and has done now for many years. However like you, he started out with shared hosting account with a known service provider as it was allot cheaper than a dedicated version and as a result, wanted to keep his costs within an ongoing realistic level. However, as the FREE membership option to his forum grew from hundreds of members to many thousands, so did the traffic and soon, he became face to face with shared bandwidth usage warnings and just like you, was forced to move his forum over to a much higher priced alternative solution.

My friend continued to run the Play Station server for as long as he could afford it however, he soon realized that running the forum out of his own pocket was a monthly cost that needed to be addressed if the forum was going to continue and as such, he decided the time was right to implement three of the six options detailed above which by all accounts had the desired effect. Firstly option 4, where he began by running an in depth database search for all members of his forum who had not given Karma, made limited posts, or failed to uploaded content and then banned them. This action alone had a reduced effect on traffic flow through the server and as a result, outlined the fact that he could now afford to return back to shared hosting if he wanted.

The next was option (5), where he decided to operate a one month probation period on all NEW signups whereby, each NEW applicant would have to prove they were active participants and as such, deserved the right to be apart of the forum. The probationary process itself included levels towards the giving of karma, and of course the regular commitment given towards the posting of both comments and content. The last option (6), was the introduction of a private VIP section filled with none public media and downloads which as a matter of course, could only be accessed by VIP members. He made two methods available in order to become a VIP member, (1) obtain personal recognition towards being an above average participant, (much like that operated today). (2) Supply a minimum monthly $10 dollar donation payment and in return, subscribers would obtain 30 day access to the HQ section.

Posting Summery?

Zeus, I would like to finalize this posting with hopes that the above information becomes helpful to you in the future operation of this forum. It matters not in which direction you decide to advance and what the future holds. I can only offer you and your administrators the experiences suffered by my friend which are in essence, similar to those described in this topic. However, if your happy with the way the forum is managed, and can afford the hosting costs associated with its online existence, then simply disregard the content of this post, as I was only trying to help :-)

[RBAP]

Hey Zeus, I just made a donation.
Please tell this "junior member" to shut the F up