Blank Page Issue Is Intolerable - Let's Talk

[Todd Davidson]

Howdy ~

I love this site! If it wasn't for SMC I'd still be buying only Craftsman tools; still be purchasing my lumber from Home Depot; still be thinking that quality finishes are applied via aerosol can; still be convinced that drywall screws are a viable form of joinery; and (worst of all) not know of the joy of working with schlamaca. So..... count me (& Kim) in for another donation. And thank you Keith, Jackie, and Aaron!

In peace, Todd

Oh, FWIW, I'm all for keeping advertisement out of the Creek.

[Allen Bookout]

OK, I've been told I had a great time in the sixties, and I'll have to take their word for it, but that great time may part of the reason I don't seem to be able to figure out who to make the check out to.
I did find the address, but unclear as to whom...???

Al has a good point. I never noticed because I always use paypal but when I took a look at the Donate information there is nothing about who to make a check out to.

[Larry Cooke]

Another donation sent. I can't say enough good things about this site and all the stuff I've learned here. I only wish I lived closer and could physically help with the hardware - I'd do it in a hearbeat.

Thanks Keith and all here for that matter!

Larry

[Christopher K. Hartley]

Al has a good point. I never noticed because I always use paypal but when I took a look at the Donate information there is nothing about who to make a check out to.

OK someone, who do we make it out to?

[Larry VanWinkle]

Hey real quick ... How does one contribute? I would prefer just sending a check, but to whom do I make the check and where do I send it? Thanks for your help.

Larry

[Glenn Clabo]

When you hit the "Donate" Button at the top of the page it says...
You can donate by PayPal by emailing your donation to;

sales@northwindassociates.com

Or you can send a check via snailmail to the following address;

SawMill Creek Woodworkers Forums
c/o Northwind Associates
8770 Little England Rd.
Hayes Va 23072

Thanks for supporting The Creek!!

[Art Mulder]

A lot of the discussion here has been about donating, and people chiming in on the fact that they did, which is great. However, Keith also asked for suggestions when he started this thread, and I've seen a few good ones go by, and I want to make a few of my own.

First, I agree with the suggestion above about limiting picture downloads to registered members. Is that possible with vBulletin software? It would certainly encourage people to become members, and during the registration process I also agree that people should be reminded/encouraged of the need for an annual contribution.

Just to see what the non-member sees, I tried Logging out to look at the front page. This is the main paragraph:

Welcome to the Sawmill Creek.

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking
the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the
register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the
forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

I wonder about adding a paragraph here about just what SMC is. For example...

"SawMill Creek exists to provide a method for woodworkers to communicate. That is our one simple goal. There are many other benefits, such as our friendly atmosphere, which you will learn as you browse these pages. One thing you won't see is advertising, as the members have chose to fund this themselves."

Another idea is for the FAQ. What if we add an FAQ item that gently reminds people to donate:


"How is SMC supported: SMC is supported by the members. We decided that we would rather fund this ourselves than depend on advertising.

For less than the cost of one magazine, an annual donation of just $6.00 will help us to keep the Creek online, healthy and advertising free. Please use the Donate button in the menu bar at the top of every SMC web page."


Finally, I have noticed several people post who do not know how to donate. used to be one of them, in the first months after I joined. And I'm wondering why is it that people don't notice the Donate button. I suspect that we just visually "tune out" everything that isn't connected with the article we are reading.

So I expect that we'll have to patiently point out the donate button every now and then. That said... I wonder if we could improve the visibility of that item by changing the colour of that menu bar. Right now it is all the same "SMC blue", and it just blends in. What if the colour of that menu bar were changed - darker blue? Green? What would be a good bright colour that still complements the blue on the rest of the page?


Hope this helps.
...art

[John Hart]

Just Sent John Miliunas' beer money via Paypal. Now I gotta get back to work!!

Rock-n-Roll!!

[Hank Keller]

What's your opinion on this suggestion? I will make a donation for either $60 to SMC or to a hosting company (that I have used for the last five years) (that for $60/ year) that has the same bulletin board, is all maintained with no maintenance fees and has a 20GB transfer. This would allow Keith to focus on his business rather than the maintenance of this wonderful site and the donations could be used to pay for the admins that so deserve it.

[Al Willits]

"""""""""""
When you hit the "Donate" Button at the top of the page it says...
You can donate by PayPal by emailing your donation to;

sales@northwindassociates.com

Or you can send a check via snailmail to the following address;

SawMill Creek Woodworkers Forums
c/o Northwind Associates
8770 Little England Rd.
Hayes Va 23072

"""""""""

Yes, I see that, but which one of them names work for a check?

Does absolutely no good to send a check to someone who can't cash it, and that's what I'm hoping to avoid
Two names are possible, SCWF or Northwind, will either work or??

Al

[Jackie Outten]

Al,

Sorry for the confusion. You can make the check out to Northwind Associates.

Thanks.

Jackie

[John Miliunas]

Al,

Sorry for the confusion. You can make the check out to Northwind Associates.

Thanks.

Jackie

Jackie, you should have Keith or Aaron add that little tidbit to the snail mail blurb for those who don't see this post! Maybe you have the ability to do it yourself???

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get my garbage bag and start walking the ditches out here to collect cans. Need to collect enough to cash in and make up for my beer money that Hart just spent!

[Al Willits]

Thanks, checks in the mail.....er....well, it will be soon.

Al

[Randy Cox]

Paypal on the way...thanks for all you do guys.

Randy

[John M. Cioffi]

Keith,
My 2006 Contribution is now in the mail.
I usually don't get the luxury of posting very often, although I tune in a couple of minutes a day(break time).but anytime I need something, the answers always come forth. No one else could have had the vision you had & the drive you still have to give us more than we could ever have dreamed of in a forum community. This is truely a great community & I'm proud to be a small part of it.
Thanks to you,Keith,Jackie,Aaron,Ken S. & the Moderator Team,for your dedication & support to us all.
John