The cost of running Boxertrix

[Paul]

Good people of Boxertrix,

This site has been up and running for over 20 years now, funded originally by our founder Gromit/Richard, and lately by me, with gratefully received support via financial contributions from you good people. Of late, the site has become fairly quiet, and the donations for the running costs have not been as forthcoming as in the past, meaning I have been shouldering the majority of the running costs.

How much does it cost to run this site? Well, the monthly hosting and operation fees are currently £14.39 per month, increasing each May, plus the renewal of the Boxertrix.com domain every two years, which costs around £30, so annually that amounts to around £200. In the 12 months to October 2022, I have received donations to the sum of £20.66 for site running costs, which while gratefully received, left me to fund the site out of my own pocket to the tune of £180.

As much as I love all of you folks, I can't justify continued personal expenditure at this level, especially in light of the low level of traffic the site generates currently. I have therefore decided to make the funding of the site totally transparent to all of you so we can keep the lights on for as long as donations are received to cover the costs. I will therefore maintain a "sticky" post with site finances, which I will update monthly showing (with obviously fictitious numbers for this example):

Site finances updated at 19 October 2022:
Money in kitty at previous update: £55
Site contributions since last update: £40
Site costs since last update: hosting £14.39
Current balance of kitty: £80.61
Number of months current kitty can finance: 5.6

As long as the balance in the kitty remains sufficient to cover each month's outgoings, the site will remain up and running.

If you wish to make a donation to the site running costs, you can send funds via PayPal, using this link: https://www.paypal.me/Boxertrix

I hope you all think that this is a fair and reasonable approach. I think that this way we can extend the life of the forum, and it will only fizzle out when we are no longer prepared to fund it. What do you think?

Best regards,

Paul

[jbox]

sent you a donation

[Humbug]

Donation sent and worth every penny.

[Paul]

Thank you gents. That’s very much appreciated.

Regards,

Paul

[Topcat]

Donation sent, thanks for all the work keeping the site going Paul.

Dave

[slparry]

Contribution sent

When's the party

[RiceBurner]

Subs paid.

Is it worth renewing the domain name for a longer period? The annual cost would then be reduced for that particular cost at least.

Also - is it worth looking into a subscription system? Maybe have a 'free' membership level with limited permissions (eg not able to post photos, or something like that). I'm sure the forum software would be able to handle whatever the restrictions would be.

Just some thoughts!

[SP250]

Donation sent Paul.
Best value forum for keeping sane with 2 wheel interests and a few meet ups throughout the year with like minded people thrown in!
Keep up the good work (you and Steve) in regulating and moderating the forum.
Many thanks for your time which is unpaid too.

[popsky]

Hi Paul this very topic was one I wanted to discuss with you but that bloody dilution problem completely took over the conversation oh and the electric vehicle news.
I’m glad you’ve put it out there publicly and a donation will be forthcoming.
Feel guilty I hadn’t already paid a sub
Also thanks for your work and financial commitment these past few years.

[Paul]

Thank you to everyone who has sent in contributions to the site running costs. Since starting this thread, I have received £220 from you good people, which is sufficient to keep the lights on for the next 13 months. A huge thank you to everyone who has contributed.

I have now created a new announcement thread in Boxerbanter, which I will update whenever new funds are received or hosting payments are made, so you can all see the current financial status of the site. I have locked that thread so you can't comment on that post, simply to keep it down to the one entry which will always give the current snapshot of our finances.

Once again, a huge, huge thank you to everyone for your support. We now have a mechanism to keep the site alive for as long as it provides value to us all.

Cheers,

Paul

[slparry]

Excellent news

[Pete.]

I sent some money your way Paul. Most certainly good value for money for the level of resource the site provides.

Pete.

[Paul]

Thank you, one and all

[ianc53]

Thanks for all you do Paul, money sent.

All the best

Ian

[Al]

Can only echo Ian’s post.
Thanks for all you do Paul, money sent.

All the best.

Al.