How to become a Banner Member

Discussion in 'Support the forum by becoming a Banner Member' started by DavidF, Sep 1, 2017.

  1. OCD

    OCD Silver

    No your not!!!

    It's nice to have an owner/administrator that's one of the gang with a sense of humor.

    Ok, I'll come clean.
    It was all David's idea. [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]

    Gasping.... for....... air.......

    [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]
     
  2. DavidF

    DavidF Administrator Staff Member Banner Member

    Something tells me you are used to getting struck by lightning... lol
     
  3. OCD

    OCD Silver

    LOL

    Nope!
    Just been married for 38+ years and raised 4 rug rats. :D
     
  4. OCD

    OCD Silver

    We still love ya Brother Jason.

    But this one is going into the archive files. :D

    You've been pardoned.
     
    Last edited: Sep 5, 2017
  5. Jason

    Jason Gold

    Awww, I lost my title. Keep it up David... It's gonna end up at your house. Wait until your wife sees it. Hope you can intercept the mail for the next YEAR! :eek:
     
  6. J.Vibert

    J.Vibert Silver

    I've done the donation type forum thing before and certainly don't have a problem with the concept. However if my horrible memory serves me correctly, the owner of that forum ran into problems with PayPal because of high amount of "donations" he was receiving. Paypal deemed him a service provider or something or other which incurred fees.

    Just something to consider.

    On a different note, it's good to see someone making the effort to ensure the casting community has a place to call home. AA's flakey nature it terms of it's potential end never sat well with me, and is the main reason I didn't embrace the uploading of photos there, and opted to host on PB. ...not like that was much of a better idea...lol

    When the time comes that I'll be active on these forums again, you can count on me pitching in.
     
  7. DavidF

    DavidF Administrator Staff Member Banner Member

    Yes, you have to set up a business account with pay pal. every thing is set up. Paypal hand shakes with THF and automatically upgrades the user and the hosting provider automatically withdraws from the account to pay for hosting.... And yep, old paypal gets their cut...

    It was quite the challenge for a non computer guy like myself. but after a 10.5 hour long migraine here we are!

    Looking forward to seeing you get to casting :cool:
     
  8. Jason

    Jason Gold

    welcome aboard J. good to see ya.
     
  9. Al2O3

    Al2O3 Administrator Staff Member Banner Member

    Welcome J and we'll look forward to your next project when time and priorities allow. Maybe the maiden voyage of that muller?

    Best,
    Kelly
     
  10. wmiles

    wmiles Lead

    David, the notion of having to pay to participate in this forum is not a good thing to do. You will restrict access to people like me. Annual shared hosting fees for services like you are using are not much more than $100 per year, including your domain fees, and if this is a problem then that's sad.

    I didn't like AA and I thought the casting folks over here might be more open and friendly. If you want participation then you need to open this up.

    I would suggest that you make funding support optional. It's like pubic broadcasting. If you need money then run a donation campaign.

    William Miles
     
  11. Jason

    Jason Gold

    Funding is optional, but for you I'd charge DOUBLE due to the ridiculous size of that friggen signature! Just mark up the next piece you sell by $30bucks. Easy.

    BTW, it's good to see you again. I like seeing your work, Beethoven chick if I recall....
     
    Last edited: Oct 11, 2017
  12. DavidF

    DavidF Administrator Staff Member Banner Member

    The only area you can not post in is the banner members area which mostly contains off topic subjects. All other areas are open. When I put this forum together it was with the intention of it being a metal casting forum only, no cnc machining, black smithing, or other metal working areas. I added that in later as a perk for those who donated to supporting the forum. It would not be fair to the members who showed their support if i changed that now. But i would like to hear their thoughs on this...
    I have to admit though, it aggravates me that you tell me its sad if i cant come up with 100.00 a year to pay for hosting, when you say you cant afford 30.00 a year?? Plus this forum is running on a VPS which costs more than what your thinking, but gives me the ability to expand/ get more space/ easily as the forum grows.
     
    OMM likes this.
  13. wmiles

    wmiles Lead

    Yes, I did Beethoven and many more - and the reason I put out a ridiculous banner was to make a point - you are at risk. No SSL?

    If you want this to succeed this needs to be for everyone - without restriction - or your forum won't grow. David - I think you are in Texas and hosted with Bluehost in Utah? Right? How did I figure this out?

    If you have collected revenue from your friends then you need to return it or put it to other use. Simply explain what you want to do with the money you have collected. People will understand. This forum needs to be free or it will die.

    If you want me to share my work (Pirate Wench and others) then how do I get to the metal casting projects or other metal working projects? Do you care about how to put gold leaf on your work or patinas or other techniques? Free access needs to be ubiquitous.

    You folks taught me about shrinkage problems when I started. For that I am grateful. I will give back to the community, but not with money.
     
  14. PatJ

    PatJ Silver

    I told David I would be glad to support the new forum, and the casting community.
    30 dollars is a very small amount of money in a year's time.
    I have spent more on a single dinner for three.

    Give David a break. He has done a great thing here for us, and solved so many problems we were having.
    I think he did the right thing for the right reasons, and I am really excited to be a part of it.
     
  15. Al2O3

    Al2O3 Administrator Staff Member Banner Member

    Considering where I spend comparable amounts of money, I think the $30/yr is fair value for unlimited picture hosting alone let alone the forum. Where do you host? If you are doing it yourself you certainly have nontrivial time and cost invested and if not paying to do so elsewhere you’re work is certainly at risk.

    It’s a choice to have a paid subscription but it doesn’t prevent you from posting in the casting practices subforum(s). Surely one of those subforums could be appropriate for your work -Post away.

    Not sure what you didn’t like about AA but we’re all AA members. AA is free and there are never more than a handful of members logged in at one time and maybe a couple hundred guests. I’d say there are only a couple dozen members that regularly post and most of them are here too. So I’m not convinced a fee or not is the operative success factor.

    My view would be that you are welcome to your own opinion and though my own interests are machine parts as opposed to art, I still enjoy artists work and welcome that content, yours included.

    However, I must say that making your first two posts in the manner you have is like inviting yourself into a new neighbor’s home for the first time and criticizing their décor and expecting them to redecorate to suit your tastes.

    I sincerely hope your observations and overtures toward site security are sincerely in the best interests of the forum.

    Happiness is optional and so is misery, it’s all a choice. -Choose to be the best.


    Best,

    Kelly
     
    Last edited: Oct 11, 2017
  16. DavidF

    DavidF Administrator Staff Member Banner Member

    Im in Delaware, Blue host rerouted you to themselves to protect my identity. Fooled ya didnt they? LOL

    The donated money sits in an account and goes to paying for forum hosting and support and NOT into my pocket. I dont get anything out of this other than knowing that my information will not be lost/deleted "again".

    Thats options I can set, nothing more.

    You do lost wax casting right? There is a section for that that you can post in.....

    There is a section for that you can post in.....

    Yes, I am the one who made that video, and it was made for you....

    So whats the problem exactly? Your expecting me to pay for everything out of my pocket? That wont happen, just ask the wife :rolleyes:. LOL
    If it wasnt for the awesome group of contributing members I have on here, this forum would have never happened.

    If you are still unhappy after all I have said, then it would be best if you just moved on elsewhere....
     
  17. Al2O3

    Al2O3 Administrator Staff Member Banner Member

    I must admit your post didn’t sit well with me but I thought since your comments were primarily directed at David, I should couch my remarks accordingly and sleep on it until he had a chance to consider your post.

    I think my and the other responses thus far have been balanced. This one will be less balanced.

    I believe you're mistaken with respect to all your positions.
    • You were mistaken about what was available to you without fee. You could easily adapt the sub forums in the casting practices section to the examples you cited. Trying a simple post or merely posting a clarifying question would have sufficed before admonishing the site owner and the rest of us on the err of our ways.
    • You were mistaken on the site security and this certainly is not meant as a challenge to you, but if you were really community minded, you would never publicly post what you believed to be a site vulnerability. A simple PM to the admin would do…..thus my statement in the previous post questioning the sincerity of your intentions.
    • Community minded people don’t expect everyone else to instantly conform to their point of view which is what you are doing given all Banner Members and other members of this site have already made that choice. The metal casting section in the Banner Member area is there for those who choose a more private venue to make their posts. There are many reasons why this can be a more attractive option but the best reason is choice.

    I’ll finish with a couple thoughts of my own.
    • David’s house, David’s rules
    • Good people can disagree and still be good people
    • Better to remain silent and thought a fool than open one’s mouth and remove all doubt.

    We’re just a bunch of guys that cast metal and share knowledge, experiences, and work with each other, and in most cases, the rest of the world. Doing causes isn't high on the list but if it was a crusade against for-fee forums wouldn’t be one of them.

    This said, you’re definitely not starting off on the best footing, but it’s not an unrecoverable position. The free posting venue you seek has been here all along. Simply demonstrate the community mindedness you profess and post some examples of your work. If you are so sensitive that the content of this post or the forum structure offends you then I can assure you won’t be happy here either or likely any other forum for that matter, and you’d be better served turning around and walking out the door from which you entered.

    -It’s a choice.


    Best,
    Kelly
     
    Last edited: Oct 12, 2017
  18. wmiles

    wmiles Lead

    Thank you, David, for your explanation. Yes, it's a balanced position. I'll think about it.
     
  19. PatJ

    PatJ Silver

    I would encourage everyone to give this forum a fair chance.

    I think you will reach the conclusion that I reached, which is that this forum is a very good opportunity for the casting community at large (worldwide) to interact, it solves numerous problems that other forums had (still has), and is expandable in the future.
    There are some very nice folks here with which you can interact, share experiences and information, and just have some good fun.

    As they say in the alka selzer commercial "Try it......You'll like it........".
     
  20. joe yard

    joe yard Silver

    Just a thought for those who are sort of almost but not quite committed on a VERY limited budget is a place to donate a dolor or two from gift cards. I often buy as I am sure others due. Gift cards for on line purchases, By the end of it all it ends up having a dollar or two and change on it that goes in the drawer to be forever forgot. I for one would be glad to donate such funds with no recognition to such a sight.
     

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