|
Grex > Coop8 > #15: Cyberspace Communicatons Financial Report Through December 31, 1995 |  |
|
| Author |
Message |
| 25 new of 83 responses total. |
ajax
|
|
response 50 of 83:
| 
Jan 28 07:29 UTC 1996 |
I like Carson's idea of publicly thanking donors more...maybe put a word
of thanks in the motd for a couple days? Right now, only agora readers
see the names, and perhaps if more non-agora-readers see them, they'll
think "hey, other people are donating, so will I!" (Ok, hopelessly
optimistic, but it's an idea :-).
|
carson
|
|
response 51 of 83:
|
Jan 28 14:00 UTC 1996 |
(I wouldn't say it's hopelessly optimistic.)
|
rcurl
|
|
response 52 of 83:
|
Jan 28 18:05 UTC 1996 |
Life memberships in most organizations are 20X annual dues. This is for
organizations that expect to be around for a while. I presume Grex does.
The reason is, you still have to "service" those life members, so you
can't spend their dues all at once. Usually a significant portion of
the Life Member dues are invested, and the *annual* dues recovered from
the investment. With investments yielding not much more than 5% now,
you can see why the 20X is necessary. Eventually the Life Member dies,
and their dues become an endowment, which returns free income to the
organization. So, $60 annual dues translate into $1200 Life dues; $25
annual dues translate into the more mangageable (?) $500.
|
popcorn
|
|
response 53 of 83:
|
Jan 28 21:09 UTC 1996 |
This response has been erased.
|
freida
|
|
response 54 of 83:
|
Jan 29 20:23 UTC 1996 |
I only suggested a step down dues base for those that do not use local
dial-ups...because we are already paying for our dial-up. Just a thought.
|
carson
|
|
response 55 of 83:
|
Jan 30 01:04 UTC 1996 |
(that makes sense. granted, Grex doesn't see the money that telnetters
use to get here, but users who telnet in usually aren't telnetting out,
either. I think it's an idea worth considering.)
|
nephi
|
|
response 56 of 83:
|
Feb 7 08:11 UTC 1996 |
Regarding #42: Do NOT buy MS Plus! It is a mistake, I tell you! The only
reason they didn't include it with Windows 95 (as originally planned) was that
it was too buggy and too slow. And it is.
Interesting thought: If there were a membership level of, say $10/month, I'd
probably donate that. I'd probably even donate to a level higher than that.
I'd venture to guess that many of the people who are members because they like
Grex (not because they think they'll get something in return) would do the
same.
It's really odd that I'd be willing to donate more if there were such a level,
but that I'm not donating that much now. I guess it has to do with what is
"expected" or somesuch . . .
|
nephi
|
|
response 57 of 83:
|
Feb 7 08:13 UTC 1996 |
Agora 67 now linked to Co-op 15. Sorry about the delay, Dan.
|
tsty
|
|
response 58 of 83:
|
Feb 7 09:53 UTC 1996 |
thankxx danr for all the treasuring yo have done.
|
ajax
|
|
response 59 of 83:
|
Feb 7 12:10 UTC 1996 |
Re 56, that is odd, but I know what you mean, and I bet you're not alone.
|
kaplan
|
|
response 60 of 83:
|
Feb 8 00:08 UTC 1996 |
I don't think I'd want to pay grex more than the current level on a yearly
or monthly basis, but I have given additional money to grex on at least a
couple of occasions in the past. I chipped in for a big hard disk drive, and
for the modems to replace the annoying dumb ones. Let users like me know when
there are big one-time expenses coming and I'm likely to part with some cash
if I think I'll benefit from the new gear.
|
aruba
|
|
response 61 of 83:
|
Feb 8 01:15 UTC 1996 |
I could certainly put the names of doators in the MOTD, but as Valerie pointed
out we should consider the issue of privacy. It would be a little bit of a
pain to keep track of who went in when, and when they should come out, but
I think I could manage it.
I agree with nephi, that if there were a higher tier of membership I would
contribute more.
|
scg
|
|
response 62 of 83:
|
Feb 8 02:31 UTC 1996 |
re 56:
(There's some junk, and some stuff that's essential, in it. This isn't
the item to get into that)
|
carson
|
|
response 63 of 83:
|
Feb 8 02:46 UTC 1996 |
re #61: (perhaps when you send the "thank-you" e-mail, ask if the
person would mind?)
|
rcurl
|
|
response 64 of 83:
|
Feb 8 03:18 UTC 1996 |
Re #60: What? You donate because you will personally benefit? That's not
the Grexian philosophy. However, it will do for fundraising purposes :).
Others benefit too.
|
ajax
|
|
response 65 of 83:
|
Feb 8 11:15 UTC 1996 |
Honestly, I think it's a good way to influence what you think is
important; donating to the general fund provides more limited
representation. There are things the majority wants to buy that I
oppose, and things I prioritize that the majority doesn't (modems
among them - they aren't even on the "eventual expenditures" budget
list). My modem support really has no personal benefit, as I dial
into the 9600 part of the trunk hunt, but I hope the new modems will
draw more new local users, and attract more supporting users. I
think it will benefit Grex much more than Usenet, which is 2nd or
so on the budget-planning list.
|
janc
|
|
response 66 of 83:
|
Feb 8 17:10 UTC 1996 |
I (obviously) agree, but it is also important to give money so that Grex
can pay for such boring stuff as rent, electricity and monthly phone bills.
|
adbarr
|
|
response 67 of 83:
|
Feb 9 00:53 UTC 1996 |
Oh that is a bunch of bushwah. Grex runs on principle! You guys and gals are
lucky, you don't have to pay bills! Heck, people can leave or join without
paying a dime. ;-)
|
rcurl
|
|
response 68 of 83:
|
Feb 9 06:59 UTC 1996 |
Where is bushwah negotiable? Maybe we can exchange it for wampum, which
is what Grex *really* runs on (haven't you heard the gurus say they
shell here and shell there?).
|
danr
|
|
response 69 of 83:
|
Feb 9 16:39 UTC 1996 |
What we really need is a way for users to shell out wampum and not bushwah.
;-)
|
tsty
|
|
response 70 of 83:
|
Feb 10 14:39 UTC 1996 |
any support for mathom?
|
jquesada
|
|
response 71 of 83:
|
Feb 12 05:18 UTC 1996 |
Well, I just joined this conferencing group, and I certainly have enkoyed it
so far. I also like the idea that it is free, but if you would like to pay
to keep it going, then you do. I guess like most other users, I find it to
be so slow. And then it goes back to lack of funds .
|
srw
|
|
response 72 of 83:
|
Feb 12 06:31 UTC 1996 |
Yes, but we do hope to break out of that cycle. We have spent over $1000 on
a new CPU card and other equipment. We are testing it now, and hope to have
anewer and faster machine to run on soon.
Hopefully people will find the system easier to use when it is faster.
And hopefully happier users will be more inclined to support the system.
If we could increase our membership base from under 90 to about 125-135
members, we would be able to fund a faster net connection.
We're not talking about needing a colossal number of new members, but we
really do need to see a noticeable increase. Membership is not very expensive,
either.
|
aruba
|
|
response 73 of 83:
|
Feb 12 08:29 UTC 1996 |
Thanks again for becoming a member, Jose.
|
robh
|
|
response 74 of 83:
|
Feb 12 08:36 UTC 1996 |
<robh cheers jquesada>
|