Wardo's thread.

Wardo said:

Does this place really cost that much to run, geeesssssuschrist!!! :arrr:

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apparently so. but it costs us (members) a lot less.

Wardo said:

Does this place really cost that much to run, geeesssssuschrist!!! :arrr:

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Actually it will be more then that as soon as we move to a new server. That price doesn't include the software updates or programing fees, just hosting.

For me the hosting cost is directly related to the quality of the customer service, uptime and speed. I want a host with near 100% uptime and when I say do it they jump, so I pay more.

Wardo said:

Does this place really cost that much to run, geeesssssuschrist!!! :arrr:

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Wardo its not that much compared to what The Admins get to deal with. I know that Woodie has tried to stay away ffrom charging a fee to the members. Moving to a server is costly and needed to keep RCNT moving freely. If there really is a problem feel free to PM any of the Mods or Admins and we can discuss it in private.

Thank you,

Jon

I just wonder when this place is going to become a business?

What's the average costs of running the place as is?

FastEddy said:

Actually it will be more then that as soon as we move to a new server. That price doesn't include the software updates or programing fees, just hosting.

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Doesn't this place bring in $160 a month just in sponsor forums? Then banner ads, ads under the first post?

$2400 a year, plus $5 monthly $50 a year from alot I've seen already. Wow.

Wardo said:

I just wonder when this place is going to become a business?

What's the average costs of running the place as is?

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I think in general none of us wants it to become a "business". I know the forum was started to give people a different place to come and hang out. And I think in it's essence it has given that. I'm sure WoodiE would happily keep things as is if he could. But the place is growing and there's no doubt that the server it's on now is seriously overtaxed. I personally don't want to see this become another corporate type forum. I like the laid back atmosphere that we have here. And I know everyone wants to keep it that way. Unfortunately, to get bigger and better, Wood needs an adequate source of fundage to keep this place flying.

Wardo said:

Doesn't this place bring in $160 a month just in sponsor forums? Then banner ads, ads under the first post?

$2400 a year, plus $5 monthly $50 a year from alot I've seen already. Wow.

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I'm not sure if your question is legit but I can assure you that WoodiE wouldn't have gone to the subscriptions if it wasn't necesssary and in the best interest of RCNT. Being a subscribed member is completely optional.

Wardo said:

I just wonder when this place is going to become a business?

What's the average costs of running the place as is?

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Really what business is it to you. It still costs $0.00 to use the forum which is really the draw of this site anyway. You do not have to pay anything to use it or be a member. So I really don’t understand your giving the 3rd degree on what the cost is. You obviously have no clue what kind of costs are involved in running a extremely popular website. The one question you had was OK but you seem to not understand or believe what you are told.

sLY

msly said:

Really what business is it to you. It still costs $0.00 to use the forum which is really the draw of this site anyway. You do not have to pay anything to use it or be a member. So I really don’t understand your giving the 3rd degree on what the cost is. You obviously have no clue what kind of costs are involved in running a extremely popular website. The one question you had was OK but you seem to not understand or believe what you are told.

sLY

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I wasn't told anything.

I'm wondering if it costs $2400 a year to run the site as is.

I'm wondering how many potential sponsors turned away when everyone here bashed one of the sponsors.


And, before I give money to anything, I'd like to know what the situation is. Just like when thinking about becoming a sponsor of this or any forum.

Wardo said:

I wasn't told anything.

I'm wondering if it costs $2400 a year to run the site as is.

I'm wondering how many potential sponsors turned away when everyone here bashed one of the sponsors.

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You were told in a few posts that as it stands the site can not sit on a shared sever. It must be on a dedicated server to function properly. These carry a cost. I still stand by my statement that the site still charges $0.00 to any member that does not want the fancy trimmings. As far as sponsors I totally respect the fact that we can speak our minds about the equipment we spend our hard earned money on. If its crap I want to be able to say its crap without fear of pissing off a so called sponsor. No one is asking anyone to pay to use the basic service of this site. I have personally spoken with the site owner via PM and in person about the personal costs of running this or any website that becomes popular. And god forbid sometime in the future that someone would actually make money from running a site like this. If the owner can make money from this someday, more power to him. If people enjoy it it is like any entertainment that is paid for. The best part of this is it is FREE.

Unanswered still.

Does it cost over the $2400 that the site is making now????????

You missed the point about sponsors, there was a 8+ page post about a sale, that took place on Ebay with a forum sponsor. The sponsor simply came here and stated his case and it turned into a huge mess. Looks great for anyone who wants to become a sponsor.

I had thought about purchasing 3 seperate banner ads for a year, that post sealed the deal for me. The moderating team, whoever it was at the time allowed such a thing to happen.

How does this tie in? think about it, now theres "list your poop on Ebay and give us the money" topics, buy your avatar, and whatever else.

and again, I'm simply asking, does it take more then $2400 to run the site as is? If not, what happened to the cash? Now when there is a problem, the fiddlesticking begging begins.

Wardo said:

Doesn't this place bring in $160 a month just in sponsor forums? Then banner ads, ads under the first post?

$2400 a year, plus $5 monthly $50 a year from alot I've seen already. Wow.

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Wardo,

Unfortuantly RCNT does not bring in $160 each month in forum sponsors - every one of our sponsors are paying less then the listed $40. This is due to long term commits which we offer discounted prices, along with further discounts for donated items for review, the banner ads come included with those forum sponsors thus bring in no further income. The ads under the first posts require people to click on them for RCNT to get paid, while I can't go into detail how much is being paid I can assure you it's no where near the amount needed to keep the site open. I'm not sure where you're getting the $2,400 figure so I can't comment on that.

As for the costs of the site here's just a quick break down for you:

Hosting - $150 a month
Forum License - $30 a year
Gallery License - $30 a year
RCNT Shop - $69.90 a year
Admin support - $45 a month

Total: $205.83 a month

Projected costs for new server:

Dedicated server: $225-300 a month
Forum License - $30 a year
Gallery License - $30 a year 10.825
RCNT Shop - $69.90 a year
Admin support - $45 a month year

Total: $280.83 - $355.83 a month

The projected costs is a monthly break down and does not include other costs such as setup fees ($100-150), nor does it include the month hosting for our current host as well. This is needed so as we're setting up and moving to the new server RCNT will still be up and running ($150), it also does not include the admin support of setting up a new server ($80). One last thing it doesn't include is upgrade costs for the new server to optimize performance for your site ($200-500) So just switching to a new server is going to cost $755 at the very least the first month, after that the first month then we'll be paying somewhere within the projected amount.

The that might be projected with the new paid subscription based membership plus other advertising costs will come CLOSE, however it still does not look like it will cover the entire cost of the site and surely won't cover the initial setup cost (at least $755) to setup the new server, thus the reason Eddy has started the fundraiser which to date has brought in $18.50.

No offense to you Wardo, but for those of you that think RCNT or everyother site is a huge money maker, you're sadly mistaken. In fact as you can see by just the quick run down of costs RCNT is just the opposite of a money maker.

Bottom line is no one is making anyone subscribe to any usergroup. RCNT is and will remain free to those that want to use the forum. Begging, who's begging?

Wardo said:

I had thought about purchasing 3 seperate banner ads for a year, that post sealed the deal for me. The moderating team, whoever it was at the time allowed such a thing to happen.

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You only have to worry about your company or products being bashed if your company operates in a manner that premits such behavior. If your a honest company such as our current sponsors then you've got nothing to worry about, just as they've never had a problem. If you have to think twice about being here then I can assure you, you're probably not wanted.



-Michael

Wardo, I just looked up your threads and all you have contributed to the forum is NIL.
I am a patient man and seeing as all you did was come here to list stuff for sale and auction items is no reason to ask why. Woodie has always been a great Administrator here and to start using profanity to get your point across is nothing to me but immaturity. You were only close to getting a custom title and the avatar was a ways to go for you.

BLUNTLY, Why do you care? This forum is still free to use especially for what you came to do here.

If you don't agree with the statements made by Woodie then don't pay. This is still a free site to use.

Jon

congratulations to FastEd,Rolex Jon2 & Candyman you guys are pretty kool.
as far as the subscription goes, maybe next month woodie i will do it because RCNT is tha shiz and i dont wanna see it shut down nor be on a slow as granma server. aslo WoodiE can you say what else the level 3 entails when you say more...

I have to hand it to you WoodiE.

I would find it hard to administer an online forum, monitor it and then have to write a check several months out of the year short reimbursement from collected fees.

For all of the effort that you have to put forth, with all of the time that it takes, not to mention the headaches and potential liability that this site could create I would not do it for less than a substantial reward.

I've been around here long enough to find out the truth of the matter Wardo. It may not be what you are thinking with all due respect.

WoodiE said:

You only have to worry about your company or products being bashed if your company operates in a manner that premits such behavior. If your a honest company such as our current sponsors then you've got nothing to worry about, just as they've never had a problem. If you have to think twice about being here then I can assure you, you're probably not wanted.

-Michael

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And that's pure BS. Your current sponsors have all had problems as everyone does. How you allow it to be handled would make any business person think twice about dealing with the site. If you can't see that, it's no wonder sponsors do not flood in.

One of your sponsors sells cheap parts, that I've had fitment and quality issues with while being in businness, yet they charge outrageous prices for them. I handle it with a grain of salt not to deal with their products anymore but I don't come out and directly bash them here.

jon2 said:

Wardo, I just looked up your threads and all you have contributed to the forum is NIL.
I am a patient man and seeing as all you did was come here to list stuff for sale and auction items is no reason to ask why.
Jon

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Please go look again. I've posted things for sale here 3 times in over a year, 3 posts out of 300 something.

If this site operated in a way that allowed new members totally free access for one year, and continuing the membership would then require a monthly or yearly fee, I can guarantee you that 99% of the membership would remain.
Maybe you haven't been here long enough to fully appreciate what this place offers, and maybe you haven't interacted with enough members on a more personal level, but all of us that have, know that this is one of the best sites of its' kind on the internet.

#1 Congrats and thank you
#2 I have spoken to Scott from R/C Solutions he is nice guy I have nothing bad to say about him, I'm sure he is a paying sponsor but he also donated parts to be tested and reviewed. I have spoken with Bruce from Rush RC and he is also nice I still talk to him time to time. I think he is running a great business. Yeah he has had some issues but he's not crying about them he continued his business and proved people wrong.