More Bandwidth and Revenue Needed

YouTube · Post by **derobert** » Fri Sep 16, 2005 9:24 pm

There are two problems with switching to lighthttd or any other web server:

(1) We use custom apache modules. They would have to be ported (and most lightweight webservers don't have a module system like apache, so the server itself would have to be patched).

(2) Kero and Nago don't actually know if you're a donator or not. That's the real problem.

There is a problem with the idea in general. Let's say we limit non-donators to 20KB/sec, and then suddenly wind up using only 80mbps of bandwidth. That's silly, we're paying for 175mbps [I think that's the number], we should use it. I'd much prefer to say: Donators are reserved X% of the bandwidth, if they can occupy it. Any part of their portion they don't use gets distributed to non-donators. I know how to pull that off on one server; HTB makes it fairly easy. Pulling it off distributed over two servers, I'm not sure how to do.

Hence, technically, I'm not sure how we'd do that.

Brsrk · Post by **Brsrk** » Fri Sep 16, 2005 10:59 pm

derobert wrote:
Brsrk wrote:My dad was checking mail one day, noticed an email from payPal saying there was going to be another bank account added to the site. Stupidly enough, he clicked the link without checking the URL first, and had another bank account added to his account.
So, he went to a random phishing web site, gave has username and password to strangers and.... you complain about paypal?

I'm sorry, paypal may have certainly done a lot of wrong things, but being one of the victims of phishers ain't their fault.

Actually he just got an email from payPal saying that there was something to be added, I don't know what he does with his machine, but he claims it runs fine, which I highly doubt...

About bandwidth caps: again, like I said earlier, some people might be turned away because of the cap. If it takes too long to download, I won't download it (torrents are another story I won't touch). This thread, to me, is starting to sound like some people just want to impliment something so that it makes it unfair for others and just give the donators, who definately are appreciated around here, some more priviledges and other things that apparently some members shouldn't have access to. Of all the times I've been on the .org and dowloaded a video, I've always gotten my 800 kbps download and have been able to do everything just as good as if I were to donate. Right now, donators get more search options and don't have to deal with the pledge page. To me, that's worth it. Download caps and fees to use the site I think are not worth it at all, more of a hassle than anything, plus it'd give the admins too much other email that they'd have to sort through and answer back with the same response over and over.

You can't force people to donate, but you can give them incentives to sway their view and maybe they'll chip in a few dollars here and there.

I think that's all I want to rant for now, maybe more to come later.

Maverick-Rubik · Post by **Maverick-Rubik** » Fri Sep 16, 2005 11:32 pm

I think that you should avoid giving non-donators such limitations as slower downloads to conserve bandwidth... since it's almost like saying you need to pay the site money in order to download videos faster.

Really, adding perks in general to donators is sketchy to begin with. Usually when one donates to a cause, they shouldn't be expecting something along the lines of a first class premium membership in return (even if it's just to keep the site running), especially when we (the Org) do not want to do anything close to monetary gain with this hobby, as it will do more than raise eyebrows.

And yes, I am not a donator, but quite frankly that shouldn't limit me on my opinion. The site should be keeping donating and rewards somewhat separate, even if it does help the site get more support money (and yes, I understand that it's to support the bandwidth to begin with, not for the administrators to make money).

And I'd like to apologize in advance if this should not really belong here, and if you seriously detest my statement.

SpringBoy · Post by **SpringBoy** » Sat Sep 17, 2005 12:23 am

Maverick-Rubik wrote:Really, adding perks in general to donators is sketchy to begin with. Usually when one donates to a cause, they shouldn't be expecting something along the lines of a first class premium membership in return (even if it's just to keep the site running), especially when we (the Org) do not want to do anything close to monetary gain with this hobby, as it will do more than raise eyebrows.

The problem there is that the people who donate (and who are supporting the other 99% of people) don't get any benefit so you're effectively encouraging people not to donate - which is bad.

Donators should receive benefits as they are the ones that allow the site to run at all. I don't think anyone can possibly complain that donators have a few extra nifty features when they are "paying for it". Non-donators still get all the basic functionality they need without having to give anything back.

I'm going to take a guess that most donators don't *expect* anything from their donation, they simply want to see the site keep running. But a little incentive never hurt anyone.

SpringBoy · Post by **SpringBoy** » Sat Sep 17, 2005 12:26 am

I'd just like to add that most donations anywhere do carry some sort of benefit for donating. Usually it's in the form of not paying tax on the donated money. Here it's just not having to wait 10 second to download and a few other "minor" things.

Org Profile · Post by **Phade** » Sat Sep 17, 2005 12:33 am

Hey,

I just wanted to clear a few points up here:

Any proposal that is along the lines of "donations for access to downloads" will be flatly rejected. This includes bandwidth caps.

All of the donations given to this site go to keeping this site going. None of the donations go to the site administrators or site owner.

Phade.

gangstaj8 · Post by **gangstaj8** » Sat Sep 17, 2005 1:38 am

Good greif, this is getting complicated...

Order of Business #1: A good idea.

derobert wrote:I'd much prefer to say: Donators are reserved X% of the bandwidth, if they can occupy it. Any part of their portion they don't use gets distributed to non-donators.

I like this idea. It makes sense, it's simple (in theory anyway), flexible, and it benefits everyone on the whole.

#2: A good response.

Brsrk wrote:Phades idea of this site was a FREE place to download AMVs.

Thank you, I see your point. I withdraw my suggestion of membership fees.

#3: A damn good crybaby.

Zero~_Enna wrote:...Also, Mister "gangstaj8", What about the people such as me who CAN NOT pay. I get no money flow, I'm underage (fourteen) and I just barely found A job that I still need to wait to see if they'll even hier me! So tell me now..How will A fourteen year old pay when he doesn't even make A singel cent, And never has..Hmm..Wow..You got yourself A damn good problem there considering A majority of .Org is in the same situation as me!

Omitting the remainder of that superfluous quote by "Mister" "Zero~_Enna", I thought that I might mention a few ways to earn $1 over the course of an entire year.

A - Dig under the couch cushions.
B - Sell 4 glasses of $0.25 lemonade. (that's one glass every 3 months!)
C - Blow me.
D - ASK YOUR FREAKING PARENTS!! They obviously provide fundage for all your other menial online tasks. By the way, do you have a cell phone?

madbunny wrote:I can't think of a single person that can afford to have a computer with internet access that can't afford a couple of dollars.

This last quote is a little out of context here, but still makes a valid point. Anyway, I hope you, "Mister" "Zero~_Enna", had a jolly time on your soapbox, but I think it's way past your bedtime. If you want to wildy rant about other peoples ideas then I suggest you don't do it here. By the way, when I was fourteen, I already had years of experience at mowing neighbors' lawns. Maybe you should try getting your hands dirty.

Brsrk · Post by **Brsrk** » Sat Sep 17, 2005 7:16 am

gangstaj8 wrote:Good greif, this is getting complicated...
#3: A damn good crybaby.
Zero~_Enna wrote:...Also, Mister "gangstaj8", What about the people such as me who CAN NOT pay. I get no money flow, I'm underage (fourteen) and I just barely found A job that I still need to wait to see if they'll even hier me! So tell me now..How will A fourteen year old pay when he doesn't even make A singel cent, And never has..Hmm..Wow..You got yourself A damn good problem there considering A majority of .Org is in the same situation as me!
Omitting the remainder of that superfluous quote by "Mister" "Zero~_Enna", I thought that I might mention a few ways to earn $1 over the course of an entire year.

A - Dig under the couch cushions.
B - Sell 4 glasses of $0.25 lemonade. (that's one glass every 3 months!)
C - Blow me.
D - ASK YOUR FREAKING PARENTS!! They obviously provide fundage for all your other menial online tasks. By the way, do you have a cell phone?

madbunny wrote:I can't think of a single person that can afford to have a computer with internet access that can't afford a couple of dollars.
This last quote is a little out of context here, but still makes a valid point. Anyway, I hope you, "Mister" "Zero~_Enna", had a jolly time on your soapbox, but I think it's way past your bedtime. If you want to wildy rant about other peoples ideas then I suggest you don't do it here. By the way, when I was fourteen, I already had years of experience at mowing neighbors' lawns. Maybe you should try getting your hands dirty.

How about instead of discouraging members by telling them what they shuold and shouldn't do, how about you give them advice for work, especially when not many places hire 14 year olds. Hell, I was 17 before someone finally hired me.

Here's a word of advice for Zero_Enna: Do what I did for 4 years, tell your parents you'd like to help around the house and if they'll pay you. I got a small, weekly allowance of 50 cents * my age until I got a job and was 18, which just happened to be last year, but kept getting paid a little because we were having some family problems and I had to do a lot of transporting of people. For that allowance, I mowed lawns, did dishes, took trash out, cleaned the house a little, etc. Small things like that aren't that hard if you've been doing them for a while.

gangstaj8: Sorry, but the last portion of your post was completely uncalled for. Just because someone is 14 or doesn't have any money at the time does not mean you have any right to start ripping on them or telling them what to do. I was having people do this to me for YEARS before I got a job, then I got one and told them to shove it because I atleast had a job compared to them, who just /said/ they had a good job, but in reality were just a bunch of stuck-up snobs who got around $20 a week from mommy and daddy and always had the newest clothing style or newest technology. Stuff like that won't help in real life. I suggest you stop being a jerk to people.

gangstaj8 · Post by **gangstaj8** » Sat Sep 17, 2005 1:19 pm

Brsrk wrote:gangstaj8: Sorry, but the last portion of your post was completely uncalled for. Just because someone is 14 or doesn't have any money at the time does not mean you have any right to start ripping on them or telling them what to do. I was having people do this to me for YEARS before I got a job, then I got one and told them to shove it because I atleast had a job compared to them, who just /said/ they had a good job, but in reality were just a bunch of stuck-up snobs who got around $20 a week from mommy and daddy and always had the newest clothing style or newest technology. Stuff like that won't help in real life. I suggest you stop being a jerk to people.

Hey look, I'm just defending myself against Zero~_Enna's surly remakrs to my original post, I DO have the right to that. Especially since I've been there too, I'm sure most people have. And I'm sorry you can't hanlde a little sarcasm, even when it's being thrown at someone else. But why don't we get back on topic here, I'm tired of all this mud-flinging.

Brsrk · Post by **Brsrk** » Sat Sep 17, 2005 9:55 pm

That doesn't seem like defending to me... it seems like e-assault. I hope you feel better for telling off a 14 year old...

I suggest we trim this thread and trash the unneccesary posts.