I would like to address once and for all the issue of why we operate our own server rather than use one of the commercials hosts.
All I have to go on is my experience when it comes to hosting and running commercial servers. I owned and operated Hampton Roads Online for ten years and we operated about ten commercial servers throughout the majority of our time online. Our first Linux server went online in 1995 and we were the second ISP in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia to build and implement a commercial e-commerce server. Over the years we built a system that worked and it worked reliably 24 hours per day 365 days per year for ten years. We ran our own DNS servers, primary and secondary and did not have to rely on anyone for our critical network services so we kept complete control over the quality and reliability of our network. This is how we did it for better or for worse, but I can say that at the time our network was more reliable than any of the big guys with big iron and deep pockets.
Today we run our own server and rely on our provider for DNS which I dislike terribly. They are sloppy and almost impossible to communicate with and to make matters worse they don't even have weekend support in their NOC. So it isn't the best setup for me as I have always been more comfortable running my own show but I know for a fact that the more I rely on others for critical services the less reliable our server will be.
So, I have a bad taste for other people's networks...that is based on my experience and your mileage may vary but I have made decisions for SawMill Creek based on what I know will work for us and it has for five years. I don't deny that there may be a better way or even a less expensive way to host this site but I made decisions based on what I felt would be the best route over the long haul for us based on what I knew would work.
Our Labor Costs
I get frustrated when people openly suggest that we could host this site cheaper elsewhere. Even though it is true we could do it cheaper we are talking about pennies in the scope of things. The real cost of running SawMill Creek is labor. Our bandwidth, hardware and software costs are not unreasonable and amount to pennies per month per Member which is dirt cheap at this scale. Pennies add up when a web site gets this large so these costs are a considerable part of the equation but not the primary expense. Our labor costs are skyrocketing because we are growing at an unbelievable rate, 250% over the last twelve months. The Creek is not a fun forum anymore it is now a huge undertaking and there isn't a soul on this earth that would continue to own and operate a site this large as a volunteer. Our administrative duties have grown tenfold over the last year, just answering email and private messages has become a major job. Reviewing and approving new registrations and assisting those who have problems is time consuming. You may not see it but there are over 25,000 registered Members here of which over 10,000 are Active Members and if only a small percentage need help on a daily basis it becomes a full time job by default.
Money doesn't jump from your pocket to ours. We have accounting and banking tasks to do on a daily/weekly basis and bills that must be paid. Every donation made means someone must update your account, this can be a two minute task or take and hour depending on whether your PayPal account is in your name, your business name, your wife's name or any combination you can imagine. God Bless all of you whose real names match your PayPal accounts, you save us so much time and require so little effort to serve. When we can't identify you we have to send you an email and ask who you are, not much of a chore I guess, until you consider how many of you there are and then have to sort through the returning emails once again to finally get an account updated. I admit that there are things we could do to make things easier for everyone and we will try our best to improve the way we handle PayPal transactions and checks we receive. The problem we have is our list of things that we need to improve is so long and we don't have the manpower or time to work on anything but the most important task at any given time. We receive so much wonderful advice from people here but we can't implement your suggestions with such a small staff.
By now I have lost a fair percentage of those who started reading this post but for those of you who are still with me you probably get the idea that SawMill Creek has grown to the point that it is nothing but work and plenty of it. In order to assure we are able to continue running The Creek it is now a business. This solves two problems the first is the legal liability we must accept as the owners and the second is incentive to keep going.
Our User Supported Model Failed
We gave it our best shot for three years and we tried to convince people that a user supported Community was in our best interests as woodworkers. The majority here disagree so I have finally given up and started the necessary planning to implement an advertising based system to help pay the bills. This isn't anything new, other woodworking forums use this model and if Members and Guests will participate in the process it will pay the bills. At the same time I have kept the Contributors side of SawMill Creek alive and I hope to improve the services we offer those who prefer a "no advertising" side to The Creek that is supported by donations, not subscriptions.
To the Naysayers
My personal philosophy concerning people who moan and complain is "Mind Over Matter"...I don't mind and they don't matter. I don't have time for you so please leave and save me the keystrokes necessary to remove your access here. There are tens of thousands of people who love SawMill Creek and enjoy the time they spend here and the friendships they have established. We will continue to work hard to keep The Creek a friendly place for people to enjoy. Our Moderators do a fantastic job as volunteers and our first line of defense against troublemakers is the individuals here who do a great job of reporting problems. We have never needed a Membership Drive, fifty people register here every day so if you are unhappy here please consider another woodworking forum that may suit your tastes rather than try to change this one and don't be concerned that you will be missed. Sorry for the tone folks but I am just giving back exactly what I have received from a very small group who think we should adapt to suit their tastes. Possibly some will also get the idea that I am not concerned with attracting massive numbers of people just to get hits and generate revenue, that is not why we are here.
The truth is I am very upbeat about how well SawMill Creek is going these days. We are making some changes but they will have minimal impact on your time here and I hope they will assure that we can keep The Creek flowing for all woodworkers to enjoy.
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