On Getting a new server….

Should MT get new hosting?

  • Yes - Lets raise $30k so Bob can make MT the biggest and best!

  • Yes - Lets get out own box. $4,000 isn't that much to raise.

  • Yes - Lets rent $1,200 is easier to raise

  • No - Lets keep it small

  • No way I'm paying for anything.


Results are only viewable after voting.

Bob Hubbard

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On Getting a new server….


When MT started 3 years ago, I never thought it would get as big as it has.
It’s grown.



When I planned it out, I figured we’d have a couple hundred members, 30 or so folks on at any given time, and maybe need a couple hundred megs of space for everything.

Right now, we’re a little bigger than that.

* Membership is about 3,400+ with a solid 800-1,200 ‘regulars’.
* We hit a new high point (3rd time in a month) on July 29th of 281 people on the board at the same time.
* We’re moving over a Gigabyte of data every day (July average is 1.5GB/Day)
* MartialTalk is using about 1.5 Gigabytes of server storage right now.
* New signups are in the 10-20 per day point.


And…this is the slow time for us. Summer in North America.

In otherwords…we’re big, and getting bigger fast.

We need to move to a more robust server soon.



I hate to ask, I’d love to fund the whole thing myself but I can’t.



We have 3 options:

1-Stay where we are, and limit future growth.
2-Rent a new server.
3-Buy our own server.


Limiting MT isn’t an option in my opinion. The new members bring new ideas, intel and fun with them. I don’t want to ‘lock’ new signups out. I also don’t want to have to limit what we can do or add to the site. More features = more fun = more people, etc.

We can rent a new server. That is the cheaper option. The specs I have for a new server cover security, data backups, etc. To do this, we need to raise about $900-$1,200 to cover the setup, move and 1st 2 months hosting.

We can also buy our own box. This allows more flexibility in the design, and we can get a better server. It does place the hardware support on me, but the companies I’ve speced out with offer 4 hour on site 24/7/365 service, so I’m comfortable in looking at that route.

Going that route will require about $3,000-$4,000 to purchase the server, get it set up and installed in a datacenter, and cover the first couple months hosting.



I’m looking for options and opinions here.

If we can raise the money, we can take things to the next level. A new server means faster response time, more room to add more goodies, etc.

I’m contributing $100 out of my pocket. Who’s with me?


Here’s how to contribute:

1- Become a Supporting Member. It’s only $12 per year, adds some nice perks to your account and goes right into keeping MT running.

2- Sponsor a forum. For only $125/year you get world wide advertising for your organization on one of the hottest martial arts sites online.

3- Host your website with us. For only $120/year you get a full featured hosting account.

4- Donate – We accept donations as well.

5- Buy advertising – MT servers over 500,000 pages each month. (July is over 800,000!). For a small fee ($25+) you can get year long exposure on our schools and instructors page. We also offer advertisements in the quarterly MT Magazine, as well as premium spots on the site.



The way I see it, if we can get the $1,200 we rent, $4,000 we buy, and if by some chance we hit $30,000 I become a full time MT Sysop and start packing this site full of goodies and features. ;)

Please, let me know what you all think.

Thank you.

Bob
 
Here's my thought.

The community here is by far the best online martial arts community on the planet. I have spent alot of time here, and decided the right thing to do was become a supporting member.

It cost me about the equivalent of a case of beer. Coffee at work for a couple of weeks. 2 nights at the movies. And I get WAY more time and enjoyment out of martial talk.

It was worth it.

So, we can decide to contribute to our community here, or we can freeload. Whatever you all choose to do individually is up to you. But you know what the right thing to do is.

Also, bear in mind that the more new members we get, the more chances for supporting memberships there are - so talk it up.

Come on people - let's come together on this. I look forward to a prosperous future for Kaith, for Martial Talk, and for all of you - the people and personalities that make the board the BEST on the web.

Dan Bowman.
 
I am definitely interested in supporting MT. :) But so far I am having a problem with pay pal. I ordered something from ebay a long time ago and when I try to use pay pay here it keeps telling me the account is already taken..yeah well I sneak the credit cards at night to buy stuff...hee hee, anyway who can remember what card or password was used maybe a year ago, so I get a message that pay pal will email me back the original info and so far nothing...so to make a long story longer I have been unable to give you my 12 bucks...I'll mail ya a check if you want or let me know how to deal with pay pal differently.

MJ :)
 
Tally so far:

Goal: $1,200-30,000
So Far: $162


If you don't have a PayPal account, you may send a check or money order to:

MartialTalk.com c/o SilverStar WebDesigns Inc.
P.O. Box 1372
Buffalo, NY 14220

Please make the check or money order out to Bob Hubbard and please be certain to include your MartialTalk username so that we may adjust your account.

Please make the checks/moneyorders payable in US$. I can't cash them if they aren't in US$.


Thank you. :)
 
Getting a box may be better for now, but eventually in a year or so, we will definitely need our own server. Although I am a supporting member, I will donate some more plus renew the supporting account.

I plan to talk to my dojo about contributing something (by advertising) on MT.

- Ceicei
 
I think you should get a new server--at least. My husband went that route for his business and it went pretty well. I think when I stumbled on to MartialTalk it was like falling down the hole into Wonderland. Its the neatest thing since our new instant bread ovens, I wouldn't be that old for the sliced bread comparison. I recognized its value from day one and felt compelled to become a paying member. If any of you recognize what it does for you and can manage to pay a magazine subscription cost, what is that? We all need to do our share to keep this forum going. I for one, would love to see the regulars names in red. I would be happy to ante up the $100 also and will send you a check. Okay, everyone ask yourself, where does your passion lie? TW


:partyon: :partyon:
 
Mr. Hubbard, Have you talked with your local bank about a business equipment lease?I don't know if it can be done in your area or not,but if so,you can get the server you want,just financed a different way.
 
Okay a few questions?

  1. When do you need the funds?
  2. what is the smallest amount of funding you would need to revamp the site?
  3. What would someone get if they funded the entire amount? There are folks out in the world that can drop ya the funds and not even miss it.
Sincerely,
Mark Weiser
 
I was a member here back when MT was less than a month old, and I hvae seen the place grow rapidly, almost too rapidly at a time. Then level off, then grow again, and finally blossom to where it is today. Once I committed myself to coming back to the site and be a contributor like I once was, I purchased a supporting membership. I will donate also a few extra $$ as I can spare it.

I will also make a donation of an ebook on teaching to every person who donates atleast $10 to the site, or to anyone who gets a supporting membership. I will furnish Kaith with a link to send people to where they can get their ebook.
 
Rob Broad said:
I will also make a donation of an ebook on teaching to every person who donates atleast $10 to the site, or to anyone who gets a supporting membership. I will furnish Kaith with a link to send people to where they can get their ebook.
That is very nice Rob! Hmmmm...Ok an e-kiss :kiss: to anyone who donates 100 bucks...
 
Mark Weiser said:
Okay a few questions?

  1. When do you need the funds?
  2. what is the smallest amount of funding you would need to revamp the site?
  3. What would someone get if they funded the entire amount? There are folks out in the world that can drop ya the funds and not even miss it.
Sincerely,
Mark Weiser
Hi Mark, Good questions.

1- Sooner than later. By that, I mean about a month from now would be good. That gives me additional time to research servers, datacenters and our options.

2- Bare minimum, $900. That will just barely cover the setup and 1 month rental of a rental box. $1,200 gets a bit more memory/possibly better CPU (or a second one), and/or another months hosting covered.

3- Lifetime Supporting membership, lifetime hosting (within reason. I can't afford to host Amazon.com. :) But a Gig or 2 of storage space, and a decent transfer allotment is easily done.), and a permanent and prominent ad presence here. (Something can be worked out.) I'm also open to requests.


I'm running the poll and asking for help for 30 days. I'll see what's been promised, whats come in and what is possible Sept. 1st. My personal preference would be to buy our own box. I've gotten a nice quote on colocation from a datacenter I've had good luck with in the past. Need to do more research and ask more questions though.
 
Gary,
Because the site classifies as a 'hobby', I wasn't successful the last time I looked into that. My business may be able to qualify to a lease or credit with Dell if we buy through them. The datacenter doesn't do leases unfortunately. It still leaves me with the challenge of coming up with the monthly payments, and I have a personal issue with paying $3,600 for a $1,200 server. :)

Definately something I'll look into though. If we can raise the bulk of the funds, then the balance becomes easier to come up with through the existing sponsorships as they renew.
 
Ceicei - Definately looking to buy if at all possible. The support is much appreciated. Remember, if you run a business, sponsoring or advertising is a tax deductable expense (at least in the US.)

TW - Thank you!

Rob - 2X Thank you!

MJ - 3X Thank you.

:)


ok, tally right now is $184 rcvd ($12 hasn't finished processing yet through paypal).
Theres also $230 in sponsorships set to renew Sept 1st. That puts us 10% of the way towards our own server. :)
 
Lets get this thread back in the forefront so it doesn't disappear. The more people that see it the more opportunity there is to help MT get its own server.

In other words. Bump!
 
Everyone reading...please take a moment to vote in the poll above as well as comment here.

Those who vote no, please, I'd appreciate if you could say why not.
Is there something missing, is there a problem, is it just a 'I dont pay for webstuff', etc?

Thanks. :)
 
3- Lifetime Supporting membership, lifetime hosting (within reason. I can't afford to host Amazon.com.
smile.gif
But a Gig or 2 of storage space, and a decent transfer allotment is easily done.), and a permanent and prominent ad presence here. (Something can be worked out.) I'm also open to requests.



The support is much appreciated. Remember, if you run a business, sponsoring or advertising is a tax deductable expense (at least in the US.)


Well you have sweeten the pot with this lol. So you have or we that is until Sept 1st hmmm. I do not know if I can get the entire amount lol but I can see what I can do.

Sincerely,
Mark Weiser
 
2- Bare minimum, $900.

3- Lifetime Supporting membership, lifetime hosting (within reason. I can't afford to host Amazon.com.
smile.gif
But a Gig or 2 of storage space, and a decent transfer allotment is easily done.), and a permanent and prominent ad presence here. (Something can be worked out.) I'm also open to requests.


The support is much appreciated. Remember, if you run a business, sponsoring or advertising is a tax deductable expense (at least in the US.)


Well you have sweetened the pot with this and I will see what I can do to assist. I run my own school and this would be great to have.

Sincerely,
Mark E. Weiser
 
mj-hi-yah said:
That is very nice Rob! Hmmmm...Ok an e-kiss :kiss: to anyone who donates 100 bucks...

Hey mama-san, for 100 bills, ya gotta do better than an an e-mail pucker! :ultracool
 
RCastillo said:
Hey mama-san, for 100 bills, ya gotta do better than an an e-mail pucker! :ultracool
OK, but Kaith gets the moola up front and this is only for you Castillo don't be telling all of your buddies :whip1: an e-beating and then the e-kiss :kiss:
 
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