Important - Latest update and news.

Really it's ok...I am in a luck position financially. Just let me know (PM?) how much you need

I agree with Alan that we shouldn't depend on one person to fund it all. I'm happy to contribute, I just made my April contribution this week. (Which I forgot about until this thread went up.) I've seen it happen where a group collapsed after the single donor that they depended on died in an auto accident. (Not that I'm suggesting something like that is going to happen!). Let's see if we can sustain this as a group.

I would hate to see us lose this little village where we can share and talk about our photos in a pleasant atmosphere. I am able to contribute a modest donation towards that end.

BUT - I am worried about option 1 as a long term solution. If Bob and/or Martin is not going to update the site, and no one else has the skills/authority to do it, what guarantee do we have that the site won't eventually self destruct anyway, and what we pay to keep it going would be in vain? I have been in a painfully similar situation with a forum site that self destructed when the platform got to the point that it had to be updated or it wouldn't work, and the person who had maintained it ghosted us. And no one else had the skills/credentials to update it. We lost it.

Option 3 looks painful, but it may be the better option in the long haul. No one wants to get used to another new interface. Losing all we've created these past few years would hurt. But for the long term safety of this effort, it may be in our best interests to move (again).

Alan, thanks for the update and reality with time to consider our position.

What I like about this place.
I much prefer threaded view for conducting conversations. But. We can't have it here or anywhere else that I know of. Threaded view is essential for conversations between many participants. When we had considerably more participants, the time required was exhausting and the conversation exchanges not satisfying. I'm finding the size of our present membership plus the weekly formats is manageable.
A real plus of the present platform is the definition/size/quality of the images we can post For a site where the image is our stated priority, that's great and I wouldn't want to see this downgraded. Similarly for speed of operation. I'm not well informed on the following but I think the costs are related to the bandwidth required by the site??? As far as I can see, it is working well for present requirements. Do we have more bandwidth and storage than we need for our present operations? When DPREv was originally established I imagine that a much larger pool of users was envisaged?
Again, here I'm in water over my head. As I understand it, all sites need periodic maintenance. Alan, do you have the skills or can you access whatever might be required ? ie., do we need to be allowing for this in working out a budget and subscription model? What I'm getting at is the longer term sustainability of the site. I don't see point in a short term band aid and we all are very conscious of how much this relies on Alan's energy and commitment.

So. I enjoy the place as it is and find the numbers workable for my needs. I'd like to see it continue and I'm prepared to contribute. But I think we need a clearer picture of the anticipated expenses. I also think Alan needs to be realistic about his own time and energy. A lot falls on his shoulders and if it is all too much, so be it.

It is probably no big surprise that I am of the same mind with Mike Fewster and Minniev on this.
(Truth be told: Minniev alerted me to this discussion, because normally my focus is exclusively with the Wednesday C&C thread.)

My (additional) thoughts in shorthand:

• I loved the forum at DPR and came here considering DPrevived as a lifeboat from a sinking ship.
  I was a bit frustrated that we lost the comfort of threaded view and did not manage to regain that.
  But I have come to understand that this is probably a fact of life.

• In any case: the lifeboat has become the permanent vessel for many years now already and I am accustomed to it and attached to it.

• My main focus is the continuation of the Wednesday No Theme C&C thread, that has been a part of my life for 17 years now.
  I really would hate to lose that, and the camaraderie that comes with our experiment in peer-to-peer constructive C&C.

• I am more than willing to make a donation or contribution (on a regular basis) to help preserve and continue that legacy.
  (As a matter of principle, I was against paying for forum access to DPR in its new guise, because that was clearly already a corporate and profitable venture.
  However, it is clear that DPrevived is different: a non-profit gathering of photographers and volunteers. That I am willing to support financially with a modest subscription and/or donation or whatever.)

• I have ZERO knowledge about the mechanics of websites, forums or data bases and will trust the more knowledgeable members in that respect to find the best solution.

@AlanSh
Be careful with receiving payments into your personal PayPal account.
Businesses like this use AI security bots.

PayPal’s "Friends and Family" (F&F) feature is strictly for personal gifts and reimbursements between people who know each other. Using it to fund a service—even a community forum—is technically a commercial transaction. PayPal considers this "fee avoidance," as the owner avoids the standard transaction fees associated with "Goods and Services”.

PayPal's automated systems monitor for "unusual account activity". Receiving multiple payments from different countries in a short period can trigger flags for:

Business activity on a personal account: If the volume looks like business income, PayPal may force a migration to a Business Account where F&F is not permitted.

Anti-Money Laundering (AML) checks: Frequent small global transfers are often scrutinised under UK financial regulations to prevent illicit activity.
If flagged, the owner may have their funds frozen or their account permanently banned.

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How to donate to this forum.
www.the-photo.org/donate.html

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I have sent you £25.00 (around 35 bucks US) to help “keep the lights on”.

Thanks to everyone that contributes here.
Have a good summer, everyone.

There's no choice for me to use a PayPal Personal Account to pay Alan. It won't work, the link which Dprevived provided. Unless I don't donate.

I would like to donate £10 annually.
But please, not just via PayPal.

Hi,

Just for completeness, my donation cleared with my bank (via PayPal) today. So,.for me, it worked from end-to-end.

Stan

Just donated £10.60 GBP (which amounted to $15.05 after paypal conversion) for one year. Will see how it goes.

I've just forwarded a donation via Paypal. From Australia. it seemed to work OK.