Posted by Lorraine on February 19, 2001, at 11:48:02
In reply to Re: Cost to have this site hosted., posted by Dr. Bob on February 18, 2001, at 23:46:38
> > I think charging a fee would be a bad idea. First of all I think it would stop a lot of new posters from starting to participate. In the beginning I would not have known if it was worth it to pay when I had no idea what I would get from the board.
>
> What if your first few posts were free, so you could try it out?Bob: The people who would pay a fee are your regulars. I don't know how large that number is. (Is is 50% of 1516= all posters less the one time posters?) I doubt it's that high. When I look at your site it seems to have two purposes. One is a general public service where people can dip in for a quick shot of info. The other is for a community of people who post for the support, friendship and ability to help others. If you charge, the "public service" part of the site will take the hit and this will change the nature of the site. You should think about that because the public service part of the site is actually a bright shining thing in a dull world.
Let's consider the idea for funding one by one with the pros and cons. I'm going to start with the most feasible--which I think is sponsorship.
Sponsorship:
Pro: Provides the funding. Doesn't affect nature of the site. Probably is easy to obtain?
Con: Some members won't like.Applying for Grant money:
Pro: Probably can obtain. Doesn't affect nature of the site.
Con: Probably a pain to get in terms of man hours of labor in applying.Fund Drive:
Pro: May work. Won't affect site.
Con: Probably a pain to orchestrate and do. May not work (the problem of freeloaders.)Charging:
Pro: Is equitable--everybody pays their way. May raise funds.
Con: May result in the critical mass necessary to support the site leaving and end of site. Will harm public service part of site.To me, sponsorship seems like the surest least objectionable approach. Are there downsides to that that I am unaware of?
poster:Lorraine
thread:619
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20001124/msgs/702.html