That would cost in the neighborhood of $60-150K a year...and that's just for the IT person. Who pays for it?Originally Posted by Pat Barry
Moderator
That would cost in the neighborhood of $60-150K a year...and that's just for the IT person. Who pays for it?
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
Contributor
Haha! That's funny.
Contributor
Mmmmm....
Pat, Thanks for the suggestion. If the finances are there or a model is put forth whereas the additional personnel can be funded I am sure Keith will look at it.
However I don’t think your first sentence was very well thought out. I would hazard a guess that neither you, nor anyone on this forum have put as much time, effort, and finances into the Creek. Indeed, probably if you, or anyone else, were to donate the equivalent of what Keith and his family have done this would not even be a topic.
Just my opinion based on my last 14 years.
Comments made here are my own and, according to my children, do not reflect the opinions of any other person... anywhere, anytime.
Contributor
Pat Berry ....I disagree with your comments and think they are ill advised.
Keith has done a great job with the site and I appreciate the great efforts that he has made. I think your comments are very negative toward Keith and not needed.
Administrator
Pat, if we had a full time programmer you wouldn't even know this place. We could add so many new features and services The Creek would be an amazing place full of people 24 hours a day running on multiple servers. Sadly it isn't in the cards I'm afraid. The best we can hope for right now is to remain at the current level of services if we are lucky. Maybe one day things will change, there is always a reason to hope.
There was a time when I honestly thought that we would be able to afford a Disneyland kind of Shop Tours feature here because we were growing at an unbelievable rate every month. Unfortunately there has never been a way to convince the masses that a super forum was worth supporting financially. Aaron and I spent weeks developing a list of features for the Shop Tours module and it offered more services that any one of you can even imagine. It was not only searchable it could provide a complete pictorial and text inventory should a Member ever need to file an insurance claim. Internally it was capable of supporting the ability to communicate with anyone to ask questions concerning any machine, technique, etc. The list of features was two pages long but the development costs, although expensive, should have been possible with the support of a Community this large.
We are still growing today, about 50 to 75 people register per day average depending on the season but the problem remains...more people with less funding. This is why we are having this conversation.
Just so everyone knows that we really could have created the Shop Tours module here our server administrator is a seasoned veteran programmer. Aaron did his undergraduate studies at Christopher Newport University, got his Masters degree from The University of Virginia and his PHD from William and Mary. He has been doing custom programming for me since he was in high school. He is a bit more expensive to hire for special projects these days but he is incredibly talented. Aaron has published papers that he has presented to Google, Microsoft and a host of other major corporations all over the world. He has also written Linux kernels, developed a search engine and the list goes on and on....most of it I don't understand. Currently Aaron is a professor at William and Mary with very little time to donate here these days.
I am a welding inspector and sign maker with no software or IT experience. I have no idea why I am here except that I made a promise to keep The Creek online the best I can. I do everything I can here but most days its not enough. I pay the bills and sign the contracts, review new registrations and try to help our Moderators when they have questions. I don't really make the policies here, they are pretty much dictated by the majority of this Community. I listen and try my best to find a compromise that suits as many people as I can. I'm also the guy that people blame when something doesn't go their way here. Go to just about any woodworking forum on the internet and you will find more derogatory comments made about me than you can imagine but I take it all in stride. I'm here 365 days a year and you can bet that whenever The Creek goes down I am in overdrive doing whatever I can to get us back online.
Last edited by Keith Outten; 05-18-2019 at 9:01 AM.
Guest
Well you know,
I wouldn’t want to keep up with everything involved unless there was something significant $$ for me.
So you know Keith, THANK YOU!
If people are saying bad things about you elsewhere I have never heard it. But you know this is the only Woodworking forum I visit. People can say all they want but until it’s theirs to say I don’t even get bothered by it. The world of full of you know what’s..
Contributor
I appreciate what you do here Keith. I think most of us do.
Thanks for all you and Jackie do.
Fred
Last edited by Frederick Skelly; 05-18-2019 at 6:58 PM.
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
“If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”
Contributor
Keith, since the transition started have you saw any increase in paying members? Just curious. I hope you have saw some change in a positive direction. Thank you and Jackie for all you do here to keep the Creek operating. I for one appreciate it. I have been a contributor almost since day one because I quickly realized the wealth of knowledge that abounds here. That and it's usually just good reading.
Administrator
Yes, we have seen an increase in Members becoming Contributors over the last month. I expect that the ability to view pictures will also increase the number of people who make the transition but we have a long way to go.
I am encouraged by the recent progress and with the positive feedback I have been receiving. I also am getting some excellent advice concerning other forums that have made the same transition and have been very successful. I believe that success will be based entirely on the decisions made by this Community not me or our Staff, that is how other communities have survived this kind of transition. More on this later.
[OP]
Contributor
Ronald, I like the clever way you use the word "saw". Clearly it's intentional as your other grammar is impeccable.
Contributor
well that's something at least. Your hard work is appreciated Keith. And the derogatory comments elsewhere says more about them than you. Keep letting roll of your back.
Member
Bill; I am a supporter with making this site a user pay system, but that doesn't blind to the fact that derogatory comments have been freely flowing from both sides of the debate.
Stewie;
Contributor
Good to know that you have saw progress Keith. I hope in the end there is enough conversion to accomplish the needed funding level.
Contributor
No argument with that Stewiie. But my point is valid no matter which direction the invective is flowing. And I'm as guilty as anyone - had more than my share of "Oh ya - well your mama wears combat boots" moments
Contributor
I will never tell.... I don't want to lose my edge.
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