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Re: A Radical Thought
jeremy wrote:easy as abc or 123 😉
Ken,
I nominate jeremy to help you out with IT should the need arise 😉
Re: A Radical Thought
There are two seperate pairs of guys who are involved with our UKW site. The repairs@ module and on going Database stuff is one set, who we do have to pay, and are delivering what we want.
The other guys are invaluable to us, totally indespensable and Kwatt should always stick by them and involve them at all times
Whilst our own server is a great idea, placing it with Li and Trevor, is our only option, I think.
KevinRe: A Radical Thought
My comments/remarks are to inspire debate on the subject not to step on anyones toes so to speak. Having said that bit it needs costing properly rather than approximations of figures being bounded about , so whoever does this aspect could maybe do this to see the viability , pros and cons post the info so it can be digested and see if it has any or no mileage in it 🙂
Re: A Radical Thought
Thing is Jeremy that had it not been for Trevor and Li’s efforts the growth of UKW would have been seriously hampered and they worked for little reward (a glass of orange juice on the odd occasion), certainly nothing like what we should have been actually paying for the services.
As I also said in IRC I trust these guys to do the job and to do it correctly and would therefore simply not look any further. The figures quoted, for managed hosting, are not out the ball park if you have a look around for a good provider with good backup support. The problem is that, just as in our line of work, when you start to cut the costs you also start to cut the level of service that you get.
The figures quoted were about £3K +VAT for a server that is considered to be “mission critical”, i.e. it’s designed not to ever break or fail to the point where nothing works. And about £200 +VAT a month for rackspace/hosting with the same parameters.
What you have to remember is that a 97{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} uptime means a total of 10-12 days a year where the site would be totally unavailable so, IMO, that’s not good enough.
Work is happening now to get the new server back up to speed and running, it has been massively delayed due to a failure in the RAID array. But even with that back up we do not have unlimited space although we hope that a lot of the silly timout problems will disappear. That is one of the main reasons to look at this as, very often, the site is taken down by massive requests on the database, MySQL just topples on that or on someone’s database allocation on the server being exceeded. In effect, it may not even be UKW that’s the problem but another site hosted on the same server or even several. This is why having our own is a good idea besides all the other benefits that can be had.
But you have to remember Jeremy that there is maintance of MySQL, phpMyAdmin, the database itself, OSC, FTP access, firewalls etc, anti-spam, conical name addressing, email and all the other bits and pieces and that is why I’ll pay Li and Trevor at Laser to do it as they do it very, very well and have kept the site running way above and beyond the call of duty as well as the fact that they are expert in the field of web hosting.
K.
Re: A Radical Thought
This is like reading the Sunday Times.
Getting this back on topic, I actually got fed up reading it all. There are good points from both sides of the argument.
Point is though Iv’e paid one year @ £60 and now into the second term which I done as a one off payment. A night out for 4 in a good chinese amounts to the same, so what is the problem? I can’t say I’ve misssed it.
The whole philosophy of the Subscribers Forum, is to donate for the use of those who provide for the subscribers forum. It aint burning a hole im my pocket. Please tell me if I’m wrong?
So, to move forward, we need to think of the best appliaction of funds. I do agree that had this been in place when a certain company was applying litigation, I would not have objected to the use of the fund. After all, “There for the grace of God go I”
As long as the money is not misappropriated, I’m sure all of a sudden something will crop up that we subscribers could benefit from.
They way I look at it is that for a measly £60 p.a. I get advice, all the gossip, who to avoid and not avoid, and above all friendship and a bit of a laugh at times. O.K. there are those that ride on the back of it, but they are usually casual browsers. I bet all the names in here are regular contributors, and the ones who get the most from the site. The other 550 I suspect may come and go. I’ve seen loads of names that have dropped off the site in the last 2 and a bit years. Some of them were regulars, but they obviously got fed up, or couldn’t last the distance.
Alex
Re: A Radical Thought
I totally agree with you Alex, I get more than I bargained for from the £60 and have trust in the organisation to put it to good use.
Now if it was overflowing can you set me up with a nice pension!
Kirk
Re: A Radical Thought
I.ve been read this with interest and Im in total agreement with Alex.
Ken said earlier in the thread about an email address of xxx@ukwhitegoods.co.uk or whatever. This I think is a good idea for us to communicate with and what about also adding the skype facility.
Perhaps UKW could supply the subscribers with the necessary kit (a decent VoIP phone) and suitable training on the use of skype and we could all communicate easier with each other. We all benefit without affecting the site and the 550 or so non subscribers.
Just a thought
Jackal
Re: A Radical Thought
This debate, which seems to crop up every now and again, just seems to run its course and we go back to a status quo. I’ve no problem with it at all and I think that the Yell thing is a first step in a very positive direction, whether we glean the results or benefit from it is really not at issue, fact is we’ve done something as a group, trade or whatever brand you care to level at the community within UKW, very positively, forward thinking and very pro-active. Fact is that all stand to gain by it.
Best of all, we’ve done this cohesively, as a group.
Not a bad start at all I don’t think.
Bear in mind that the subscribers is really pretty young all things considered, it’s only been here since April 2004, a mere 18 months. And, after that short 18 months which have been incredibley busy with a multitude of projects, we’re actually managing to secure national advertising, albeit on a small scale, but it’s more than any one of us could ever hope to do or be able to justify.
Just ponder that and the value of the £60 as well as the fact that there will still be a considerable pot left even after this is instituted. Then ponder what we could achieve.
K.
Re: A Radical Thought
As a relative newcomer to the site, although I lurked for a long time just to get the lie of the land, I quickly decided that I would like to become a subscriber. I admit that ATM I cannot think of a specific use for the funds ( I could use a holiday though 😉 ) I am in agreement with Alex on this. I have done a rough comparison of my income in the past six months and my weekly take has increased by just over £100 per week, or around £3000. Not big money but a nice increase for a one man operation. It may be coincidence but I somehow think that it is in no small way due to the help I have received here. I realise that being a subscriber would not have made a major difference but I have to say that I am a person who does not always ‘expect something back’ and so I am very happy to subscribe, the next bright idea may be just around the corner.
Are you guys just ignoring poor old Martin (is it because of his failing eyesight and you don’t think he will be able to read the posts?). He started the thread for new ideas, take a look
Re: A Radical Thought
OK chaps, I started this thread to see what the opinions were – pretty obvious that all in favour said Aye, so as I said about a page and a half ago – get back on Martins’ post and get some ideas organised.
Use BIG PRINT if you think it will help.
Chris.
Re: A Radical Thought
Owww! I just read this thread from the start.
On the original question, I’d say keep the subs fund.
It’s a good way for someone to ‘donate’, a way of saying ‘thank you’ in my case. Like Alex, said, it’s not like we’re going to miss the £60 and wonder what we’re getting for it.
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