Poll

If we have to move to a more expensive server, would you guys be OK with:

Ad banners
29 (22.5%)
Google text ads
48 (37.2%)
Annual donation drive
36 (27.9%)
Subscriptions for access to certain features
7 (5.4%)
Refer lots of people to PSMKay's webdesign company
8 (6.2%)
Another idea? Explain below
1 (0.8%)

Total Members Voted: 64

Voting closed: Mar 22, 2011, 07:00 pm

Author Topic: Too big for our breeches: Server update and poll  (Read 21171 times)

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maximillionx

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Re: Too big for our breeches: Server update and poll
« Reply #15 on: Mar 16, 2011, 05:28 pm »
You got my pledge if that's the way we go.

avkid

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Re: Too big for our breeches: Server update and poll
« Reply #16 on: Mar 16, 2011, 06:44 pm »
I would gladly contribute a little each month to the keep the site up and running.
Philip LaDue
IATSE Local #21 Newark, NJ

RuthNY

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Re: Too big for our breeches: Server update and poll
« Reply #17 on: Mar 17, 2011, 08:27 am »
"Donate" button has been clicked, and followed through.  Who else is putting their money where their mouth is?
"Be fair with others, but then keep after them until they're fair with you."
--Alan Alda

Rebbe

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Re: Too big for our breeches: Server update and poll
« Reply #18 on: Mar 17, 2011, 09:49 am »
If we got 50 people to contribute $8 per year, we'd be set.

This is why I like the idea of an annual donation drive; it is such a do-able goal to reach the amount of funding you need, especially broken down like this.  It allows everyone to give what they can. 
"...allow me to explain about the theatre business. The natural condition is one of insurmountable obstacles on the road to imminent disaster."  (Philip Henslowe, Shakespeare In Love)

ChaCha

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Re: Too big for our breeches: Server update and poll
« Reply #19 on: Mar 17, 2011, 11:06 am »
"Donate" button has been clicked, and followed through.  Who else is putting their money where their mouth is?

I have made a donation, and I encourage others to do so. Be assured that it really doesn't matter how much you contribute. $2 or $200 it all adds up in the end.

I really think that this is an issue where the community need to step up and resolve the issue; Kay can't be expected to do it all. If we value the site - and clearly we do because we keep coming back - it is for us to do our share in finding this relatively small amount of cash for actual expenses involved in keeping it online.

But i am glad the Australian dollar is worth so much more against the greenback these days!

Cheers
ChaCha
ChaCha

BayAreaSM

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Re: Too big for our breeches: Server update and poll
« Reply #20 on: Mar 17, 2011, 12:44 pm »
"Donate" button has been clicked, and followed through.  Who else is putting their money where their mouth is?

Ditto! Contribution made!

Maribeth

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Re: Too big for our breeches: Server update and poll
« Reply #21 on: Mar 17, 2011, 01:24 pm »
Done- I hope others do as well!

PSMKay

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Re: Too big for our breeches: Server update and poll
« Reply #22 on: Mar 17, 2011, 01:57 pm »

I have chosen a new VPS host and will start configuring it later tonight.


The cost for hosting SMNetwork for the year will be $480, of which I will guarantee coverage of $120 plus the domain - this is the amount I'd normally donate to the cause, and will reach to cover any other uses for the server besides SMNetwork.  (Full disclosure: SMNet currently uses 90% of the server bandwidth, space and processing power - I host three other little sites on the same account that use the remaining 10%).


Since October when the donation link went up. I have received $297 in donations. $186 of that has come in within the past few days. THANK YOU! I'm amazed at the willingness people have shown to help keep this site going.


We have about $62 to go to cover the full year of hosting. Any overage received will be rolled over to next year.


Everyone who has donated will be receiving the SMNetwork Hero status, which will last for 3 years. Goodies that go with Hero status are still TBD, I've got some other stuff on my mind at the moment but it is on my list.


If you want your donation to be anonymous, please let me know so that I don't Hero you.  I'll still track you in my private records.


Thanks so much everyone.

PSMKay

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Re: Too big for our breeches: Server update and poll
« Reply #23 on: Mar 17, 2011, 05:37 pm »
Update:


Another $90 has come in since I posted the last message.


We have reached our goal. Anything else that comes in over the next 12 months will be rolled over to 2012's hosting bill.


My coworkers here at the real estate office are wondering why I'm going through so many tissues today.


Thanks so much, guys.

PSMKay

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Re: Too big for our breeches: Server update and poll
« Reply #24 on: Mar 18, 2011, 04:29 am »
OK, here's my latest flow.  Gonna do a real blow-by-blow so you can understand what's going on with the site.

The new server has been purchased.  I'm in the process of configuring it.  As of this post, SMNetwork is still coming from the old server, but some of my other sites have already been moved.  The hard core coders among you will know what moving to an unmanaged VPS means and can skip the next couple of paragraphs, but for those of you who aren't elbow-deep in web development, here's why it's taking longer to move this time.

Normally when you run a website you just FTP your stuff up to an existing webserver.  There's point and click control panels and FTP accounts and the server knows where to put things in order for your site to work.  This means that for me, moving servers has normally been a matter of download, upload, change a few parameters and move the domain.

The new server is not managed by any professional host - it's managed by me.  There's no cpanel or clicky buttons, it's just me in Chicago, an empty hard drive in Dallas and an SSH command line window.  To paraphrase a friend of mine, "the new place is lovely but it's missing some windows."  Today I installed the operating system, created a apache/mysql/php server (which I've done before), created my own email server from scratch (which I haven't), and got two out of four sites moved over.  Because I'm working remotely, all I have is a command line interface.  I'm still having a few glitches with permissions but I can confirm that the new box is ripping fast.  I have never been able to work this fast over SSH before.  There are only about 20 other accounts on this server, whereas with the old host there were at least 2000.

For obvious reasons, I'm moving some of my smaller sites over first to make sure everything's working.  I started with a flat HTML site and just did a PHP site - it seems to be working.  Emails are working.  That was the roughest bit, I've had to assemble webservers before but have never had to run my own email server.  I have one more site to go, which is a tiny Wordpress installation, and will make sure the database is working.  I will move SMNetwork last - probably this weekend some time.  I will post a fresh announcement up at the top about 12 hours before I shut down the site for the move.  So that we don't lose any posts, the site will go into "maintenance mode" while I move the files and switch over the DNS.  It will reopen once the domain name has moved.  I anticipate that moving SMNetwork will take several hours to make sure everything is working right.

I'd definitely like to see how it performs under load, so I may post one   of the sites I've already transferred up here tomorrow when I can keep   an eye on it.
 
  As for the old server, I received a message today from my host that I've cut my CPU usage by 90% with some of my recent tweaking, but our use is still too high.

$110.46 was in the SMNetwork server fund before the drive started.
$329.48 came in over the past 48 hours.

That means with my own contributions that we're actually a quarter of the way towards our 2012 goal.

You guys are totally awesome.  I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to thank all of the donors by PM yet or answer a bunch of the other questions that have piled up in my inbox, but I've been up to my eyeballs in terminal windows.  I will be in touch with each of you shortly, though.  There will be no ads this year, the cake is not a lie, and there is no match for the generosity of stage managers.

RuthNY

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Re: Too big for our breeches: Server update and poll
« Reply #25 on: Mar 18, 2011, 07:14 am »
Yep. an annual fund drive is the way to go. I think if you tell us honestly and clearly what you need, once a year, the community will come through!

$110.46 was in the SMNetwork server fund before the drive started.
$329.48 came in over the past 48 hours.

That means with my own contributions that we're actually a quarter of the way towards our 2012 goal.

You guys are totally awesome.  I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to thank all of the donors by PM yet or answer a bunch of the other questions that have piled up in my inbox, but I've been up to my eyeballs in terminal windows.  I will be in touch with each of you shortly, though.  There will be no ads this year, the cake is not a lie, and there is no match for the generosity of stage managers.
"Be fair with others, but then keep after them until they're fair with you."
--Alan Alda

loebtmc

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Re: Too big for our breeches: Server update and poll
« Reply #26 on: Mar 18, 2011, 02:32 pm »
and, may I add, HOORAY FOR KAY~~~

you are amazing, and deeply appreciated, by all of us

enjoy your tinkering <g> and see you on the flip - and thank you ten thousand times for this wonderful site and all the work you put into it!

ChaCha

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Re: Too big for our breeches: Server update and poll
« Reply #27 on: Mar 19, 2011, 12:31 pm »
What loebtmc said!

And nice work team, that's fundraising sorted ;)
ChaCha

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Re: Too big for our breeches: Server update and poll
« Reply #28 on: Mar 19, 2011, 08:13 pm »
I am so impressed by the community here! Way to go everyone.

I couldn't afford to contribute this time around, but I will contribute when I get a paycheque again.

PSMKay

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Re: Too big for our breeches: Server update and poll
« Reply #29 on: Mar 19, 2011, 09:25 pm »
For the record, I have figured out one thing I want to do for contributors.

Banner ads are tacky.  However, in this case, I'm gonna make them serve the community. Donors, if they get me a logo or graphic to use, will be able to promote their shows for free on SMNetwork.  Donors will get six weeks of banner exposure which can be used all at once or in chunks.

Does that work?