On January 19, 2007, the "Island of Misfit Hams" was born on a dare from a moderator on the "other" amateur radio site. At that time, it was never anticipated that the site would literally explode on the amateur radio scene as it has. We began by being hosted on the free phpBB server, which allowed only the most basic features of the software to be used.
Later that year, Tony, KR4UQ, graciously offered space on the server that hosts his company's web site. We remained there until Tony informed me that we should prepare for a move to another server, as he was looking forward to selling his business, and a well deserved retirement. This is when Jeff, W4GPL, and his company, "The Linux Technology Group", graciously offered to host the Island forums and our companion web site.
Now, reality of the severity of the global recession has hit close to home. Without going into the details, Jeff has notified me that his business is suffering from the same poor economic times that has affected many of us here, and he is asking the amateur radio sites he hosts for help offsetting the costs of running his servers. Yes, Jeff is currently hosting other amateur sites in addition to the Island, all previously at no cost to any of them.
We enjoy a very prolific group in regards to the amount of activity generated by a mere 400+ members, and we do use a significant amount of bandwidth. Jeff and I spent several hours yesterday discussing the realities of the matter, and have ruled out moving to one of the "el-cheapo" web hosting sites as a possibility. The number one issue that came up is in regards to having root access at the server level, which allows us to do many creative things not otherwise possible. As an example of the bandwidth used, consider just our "emoticons". Each and every time one of us makes a post or reply, all of them (nearly 100k) are displayed. Multiply that by the number of posts and replies made each day, and consider that this is only the little smilies we all enjoy. We have custom themes, huge PM mailboxes, and a vast readership, all requiring bandwidth.
Now, the Island needs our help to stay on the excellent server on which we reside, the server that allows us so many customizations, with no downtime logged from the day we arrived.
We are offering the following paypal link for those who wish to offer something to help offset the costs of hosting our forums. You do not have to be a member of paypal to use the service. I have investigated the service, and in a one time situation, the paypal system will allow you to use a credit card to make a donation, and when the transaction is complete, none of your account information is retained, unless you opt to join the service as a member. Here is the link for offering a contribution to help keep our forums running:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/websc...ton_id=7444970
It should open in a new tab or window, depending on your choice of browser.
Reaching the decision to make this request was difficult for all of us involved. We had always hoped that we could operate the site totally free for all of our members. Sadly, the current economic conditions have dictated otherwise.
In order to avoid the complications of having "groups", dividing our membership into "paying", and "non-paying" as is done on other sites, all donations will be anonymous as far as our staff and members are concerned. We understand that not everyone will be willing or able to make a contribution, and we accept that without question.
We have chosen to approach only the immediate need for assistance, but we will leave the link active for future donations. If the situation changes, we will notify everyone of those changes. We considered all sorts of solutions, including ad banners (ugh!), and have decided to table these until the situation demands their reconsideration.
Please consider what our forums mean to you as an individual, and act accordingly. If anyone wishes to offer any creative solutions for offsetting the costs associated with running the site, please offer them, all will be considered. Please do not use this thread as an opportunity to express what you believe is wrong or right with our forums. If you are compelled to do so, we invite you to start another thread elsewhere for such discussion. We are receptive to such opinion, but just not here. We wish to remain focused on this immediate need, and distractions of that sort aren't going to help us provide you these forums in which to share your opinions with others.
On behalf of the entire staff, allow me to thank each and every one of you for being a contributor to our forums and web site.
Thanks in advance to anyone who wishes to offer help in keeping our forums alive.
Respectfully offered on behalf of our entire staff.
Best 73,
Luke - ad4mg
