I DONATED! HAVE YOU?

[dragman]

Erud,
Not flaming you just saying I see and understand all your points. But the one thing that your side of the discussion is missing for my point of view is this.
Just because you don't have to do something doesn't mean it isn't the right thing to do.
if you don't have the cash on hand or don't want to spend your money then look around the reloading room or work space and post it up on line for a sight donation. You will never miss it.

 

[Toby Bradshaw]

That's why we think it's reasonable to encourage active sellers to kick in something each year.

How about capping the number of ads (or trades) for non-contributors?

How about encouraging sellers to give a standard discount to purchasers who are site contributors?

 

[jnyfeler]

Forum Boss,

I respect your request for donations. You make this thing happen on the server end; you generate/garner the content, and you come up with the scratch to allow us to exchange knowledge and engage in buying and selling the tools of our beloved hobby. It's right for you to make whatever requests -- or even mandates -- for donations/fees you deem appropriate.

What annoys me are the guys who presume to speak for you and squawk like a bunch of old hens at those who haven't donated. That's not the content I come here to read. Even as a site donator myself, that's the way I feel.

OK, rant off. You have a great site, keep up the extraordinarily good work. It is appreciated.

Jeff

 

[Half Scale]

Donation in the mail for another year, and in my opinion....money well spent. I have acquired a wealth of knowledge from so many people on this site. I have bought, sold, and traded shooting supplies with some very nice, considerate, and professional people, and made some friends in the process. I have been able to acquire hard to find supplies at reasonable prices. I have been able to sell or trade items that I could not use that just maybe helped someone else in need.

Difficult for me to put a $ value on that service. Just my .02.

Cecil

 

[Ledd Slinger]

Forum Boss,

I respect your request for donations. You make this thing happen on the server end; you generate/garner the content, and you come up with the scratch to allow us to exchange knowledge and engage in buying and selling the tools of our beloved hobby. It's right for you to make whatever requests -- or even mandates -- for donations/fees you deem appropriate.

What annoys me are the guys who presume to speak for you and squawk like a bunch of old hens at those who haven't donated. That's not the content I come here to read. Even as a site donator myself, that's the way I feel.

OK, rant off. You have a great site, keep up the extraordinarily good work. It is appreciated.

Jeff

+1

These types of threads have a "tele-marketer" ring to them. I enjoy exchanging information with folks here. I don't know everything, but I have a good amount of knowledge in all different types of shooting, hand loading, gun smithing, and hunting that I am more than willing to share with anyone. If I need something that is sold by a sponsor store on this site, I will try to use the icon links at the top of the forum page to give the site their kick-back on the sale.

If and when I want to sell something on here, I price it very fairly so that these folks can get a really good deal. When I buy something, I make sure to pay as quickly as possible because you never know whether or not someone is in a bind for money. Just because some don't donate doesn't mean they are not contributing greatly to the site in other ways. Take away the numerous non-donators and you will have a lot less knowledge flowing, a lot less items for sale, and a lot less buyers for members who need money in their pocket or just want to get rid of stuff for other reasons.

Hearing boasting of donations just sounds to me like "I'm better than you cuz I gave money and you shouldn't be allowed here unless you donate too". Just makes me want to consider donating a lot less and finding other sites to frequent so I don't have to listen to it.

I served my time in the military defending freedoms like this that we take for granted in this country and I donate to my church every time I attend. Even though my church has a card that you can fill out with your name and address with the donation, I often do it anonymously.

 

[Ledd Slinger]

PS: I have belonged to a site in the past that required a "yearly fee" to post any messages on the forum or do any trading. Guess what? I'm no longer a member because of the lack of knowledge on the site and there was usually nothing worth while in the classifieds. Understandably, folks would rather go to other sites that don't "require" payment. I know there is no requirement to pay a fee here, but threads like this don't make people feel like they should contribute in ANY way. Even though it's actually free.

Ok, I'm done

 

[gil1979]

I'm new to the site will someone explain this donation to me

 

[Toby Bradshaw]

I'm new to the site will someone explain this donation to me

Welcome aboard!

http://forum.accurateshooter.com/index.php?topic=946667.0

 

[Rogerdodger]

I've learned a wealth of knowledge from this website that will stay with me until the day I die. From gun building, reloading techniques, shooting techniques, to free classifieds, and an array of other gun related stuff; this website IS the most informative out of all other websites I've ever come across. I thank the website crew, and many of you that I have had the pleasure of talking with, buying from, selling to, and even arguing! Gold mines such and this website can't be improved and continually maintained without the help from OTHERS.

I for one am not moderator, nor part of the crew that helps research, do write ups, maintain the website, or put this stuff out for us to enjoy and learn from. I fall into the "OTHERS" category just like many of yall do!


I enjoy, and respect all of the hard work that goes into this website, and thank all of those involved.


I DONATED, HAVE YOU?!!

Thank you !

 

[Rogerdodger]

New here also .. Does that verification thing ever go away or do you have to do that everytime you post ?

If not I guess no drinking and posting 8)

 

[Forum Boss]

After a half-dozen posts, you no longer have to answer the security questions. This feature is in place to discourage spammers.

New here also .. Does that verification thing ever go away or do you have to do that everytime you post ?

If not I guess no drinking and posting 8)

 

[Rogerdodger]

Thanks for the reply - that's good to know .

 

[BOB LEE SWAGGER]

I'm new to the site will someone explain this donation to me

Consider it a microcosm of society. Those that contribute carry those that do not.

 

[280man]

I just donated. Thanks for the reminder it had been a while since I had

 

[Erud]

Erud,
Not flaming you just saying I see and understand all your points. But the one thing that your side of the discussion is missing for my point of view is this.
Just because you don't have to do something doesn't mean it isn't the right thing to do.
if you don't have the cash on hand or don't want to spend your money then look around the reloading room or work space and post it up on line for a sight donation. You will never miss it.

I respect your viewpoint, but I think that it being "the right thing to do" is debatable. I give money regularly to my church, and certain other charity organizations. I help family members financially when they are in need and I am able. I am the membership secretary for my state shooting association, which takes up a lot of time for zero pay. These to me seem like the right things to do. Donating money to someone else's business venture does not automatically fit the "right thing to do" criteria for me. I also run a small business and have hobbies, and I wouldn't expect that anyone else would fund them for me.


Forum Boss, I do not have any pre-conceived notions of what your site generates from advertising. I do not care. I do know that not every business model is viable, and some hobbies are destined to be more labors-of love than profit-generating businesses. I appreciate the site, and enjoy it. That said, for me personally, it is not worth a financial donation. The fact of the matter is that information is available for free all over the internet, and if Accurate Shooter.com did not exist, life would continue and the info would still be out there. There are other websites that I frequent, and if I had to give money to all of them, I'd be giving away a lot of money.

For all of the site contributors, is it safe to assume that you contribute financially to all web sites that you visit? Does this philosophy transfer to all other areas of your life if you gain enjoyment and/or knowledge from something or someone? If you talk to your neighbor out in the yard and he gives you a tip on a good fertilizer to make your grass grow better, do you give him $20? Do you donate to your favorite TV and radio stations when you see or hear something interesting or entertaining? If not, why not?

 

[Mudcat]

Plenty of valid points. I think if the site goes "pay to play" there wont be much playing. What makes this site good and popular is that anyone can come on here and get info as well as give info. Personally, I am not a member of ANY pay site, nor will I be. That, to me, defeats the purpose. Do I donate here? Yup. Why? Cause I dont have to. I know that doesnt seem to make sense, but it does. I probably "give" for info than I "get" from the site, which is perfectly fine, as thats the case at most "shooting/gun" sites I frequent, but the other types of sites I do go to now and then, like my car and motorcycle forums, I "get" more info than I "give" as I am not as knowledgeable as the other members there.

And, for whatever reason, this is about the only site I buy and sell stuff. Probably cause its got a good membership that makes deals easy. I can do the same at plenty of other sites, for free, but have had issues, or its just not worth the time. Here, it just seems to work, well. So, I figure I can toss a few bucks the admin's way now and then and if we are both happy, great. But I sure dont expect everyone to want to do so, nor should they. Change the formula and it might not be such a good formula then. For me, this set up works.....I used to post, hang out, buy/sell, etc over on the Hide but when they changed it, I lost interest. Fickle me? Maybe....but I do all of this shooting and hanging out on shooting sites for fun and when its no longer fun, well, I just move on.

That being said, I need to go have some fun reading a few new posts, and yeah, sending a donation (just did it, took all of 30 seconds).

 

[Forum Boss]

Mudcat --

Thanks for the donation! And Mudcat really kind of has it right. If we go to a system where everybody has to pay for every classified advert, and provide credit card numbers for each transaction in a different interface that would, in fact, drive people away. So, yes, we do have to "rely on the kindness of strangers". We do feel that having free classifieds is, overall, the best practice... at least for now.

--------------

Response to Erud:

Erud says: "I do know that not every business model is viable, and some hobbies are destined to be more labors-of love than profit-generating businesses. I appreciate the site, and enjoy it."

1. This is not a hobby. It is my full-time profession, and has been for a decade. I typically work 60-70 hours a week on the site.

2. You have sold merchandise on this site multiple times, putting money in your pocket. That is a little different than being proffered gardening advice by a neighbor. The guys who donate understand that...

If you were to sell a vehicle via auction, would you expect the auctioneer to provide it's services for nothing...?

If the site is of such little value to you that you don't think it is worth a single penny, then why do you come here to sell your stuff?

Basically what I am hearing is that you like the site, you like the fact that it benefits you, you like being able to sell your stuff here, and you are happy that I spend thousands of dollars a year (and work nights and weekends) to keep it running and provide a pool of potential buyers, but you can't be bothered to give anything back in return (not one red cent) and you are proud about that. Hmmmm.

 

[ShootDots]

One of the MAIN reasons why I contribute is because this, in addition to being informative and a place to buy / sell items, is a GREAT source of "entertainment" for me. When I go to dinner, or maybe to a movie or to a concert, I EXPECT to pay for "my entertainment".. So, since I do view this as a source of entertainment, I give to this site to "pay",as it were, for the entertainment I receive!

 

[Toby Bradshaw]

The fact of the matter is that information is available for free all over the internet, and if Accurate Shooter.com did not exist, life would continue and the info would still be out there.

There is a lot of free information out there, all right, and most of it is overpriced at "free."

This site is noteworthy for the consistently high quality of the information, and for having top competitive shooters contributing to the discourse. If you think that, without accurateshooter.com, somebody else would magically fill the gap, please sell some of what you're smoking in the "free" classifieds.

 

[OIF/OEF]

I'm new to the site will someone explain this donation to me

Consider it a microcosm of society. Those that contribute carry those that do not.

BOB LEE SWAGGER Very good point......It is a choice but if you are going to use the site to make a few bucks just ten of those bucks going to the site would hardly be missed. Or as stated only contributors can sell items......