A new approach to raising funds.

[mikeb380]

A new approach to raising funds.

As you know, I have been thinking of ways to raise funds in order to run RFF. I have tried the hats, been thinking about a calendar which will probably happen and have been listening to member suggestions. So without really changing anything about the way you interact with the forum, I have come up with the following.

A premium subscription to the RFF gallery. This would be $25.00 for the year. It will allow uploads of 20 photos per day and increase the file size to 350K per image. To subscribe, simply click on your control panel (User CP) and near the bottom left you will see a link for Paid Subscriptions. Follow the link and you can pay via PayPal. You do not even have to be a PayPal member to do so.

You can also follow this link:

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/subscriptions.php?

Thanks for your understanding.

Jorge,
I have been using the site only a short time and yet I have enjoyed the interplay and the new information which I have obtained. I think the site is easily worth the money but I can't do it till the 26th, my monthly pay day. I'll hold your email til then

Thanks
Michael 😛

 

[Byuphoto]

Thanks for the reassurance, George. Too bad there's been hard feelings generated out of our support and good wishes for RFF. I will not divulge whether I contributed, how much, and when, or not; that's private I hope between me, Jorge, and the mods. As Ted so ably stated, I wouldn't look for even recognition, much less privileges. The important thing is that RFF survives.

I worry the Other gallery may prove to be divisive. Do you recall ever seeing comments on Photo.net criticising someone for statements made while not sporting a paid-member icon? I do, and wouldn't look forward to seeing that attitude here. Any kind of tiered public recognition has that potential, don't you think? Being able to upload more pics at once is pretty low-key, seems to me. 🙂

Hey George -- let me know privately if you contribute ANOTHER $25 and I'll match it, ok?

My sentiments are" do it and shut up, don't tell everyone you did it just keep it to yourself. Don't jump on here with a post of" Hey look at me I contributed" and expect a pat on the back. If youcontribute to help RFF it is a good thing personally, if you do it for the gallery or a signature line it is like saying "Na Na Nanana I did and you didn't" Frankly these schoolyard antics are getting boring. When I saw this post I wondered how long it would go before the name calling and finger pointing started. I'm outta here.
PS, Doug I was agreeing with you about your decision and applauding you for not divulging it. This is the way it should be done. I had the same concerns with the donations for "Joe" the contributions should have never been posted. When some one in our church donates for a worthy cause the money goes to the church then the church writes the check and anonymousity is preserved. Bravo

 

[NelsonFoto]

Best of luck, Jorge. We've been concerned about the up-and-down of late. I wish I wasn't so strapped for cash, as I too believe this is a good place to visit and worth a contribution for image-hosting alone.

Joe - atta-boy for the brass-knuckles routine. Bounce em outta here if they can't conform to policy as admin sees it.

Here's to the future at RFf!

CE

 

[ch1]

Thanks for the reassurance, George. Too bad there's been hard feelings generated out of our support and good wishes for RFF. I will not divulge whether I contributed, how much, and when, or not; that's private I hope between me, Jorge, and the mods. As Ted so ably stated, I wouldn't look for even recognition, much less privileges. The important thing is that RFF survives.

I worry the Other gallery may prove to be divisive. Do you recall ever seeing comments on Photo.net criticising someone for statements made while not sporting a paid-member icon? I do, and wouldn't look forward to seeing that attitude here. Any kind of tiered public recognition has that potential, don't you think? Being able to upload more pics at once is pretty low-key, seems to me. 🙂

Hey George -- let me know privately if you contribute ANOTHER $25 and I'll match it, ok?

Thanks Doug.

Amazing how what were "good intentions" got warped into something "sinister".

Before Jorge proposed the Gallery upgrade idea I had simply proposed that a sidebar be set up on the Home Page where a simple roster of "contributors" could be listed. Much as they do in the programs distributed at philharmonic concerts etc.

I didn't even suggest "tiering" the donor list by amount.

And I didn't even suggest that this was a "requirement" before I'd kick in some $ to help keep the lights on.

It was Jorge that suggested the Gallery upgrade thing and then all heck broke loose because some considered that "elitist" and I objected to such a characterization.

Now the well is poisoned for me. I have been a staunch advocate of the Gallery and now I'll be made to feel like an elitist schmuck if I upload to the "Other". :bang:

I'll keep your offer in mind - but it's tough to feel very generous right now.

 

[back alley]

there are none so blind as those who will not see..

 

[jaapv]

No one will notice if you are one of the happy few, George, you have a customized "title"

 

[ch1]

there are none so blind as those who will not see..

Moderator?

Or, Provocateur?

 

[back alley]

you don't want to hear the adjectives i have in mind re. you, george.

 

[ch1]

Just don't post them here or you'll have to ban yourself. 🙂

I, on the other hand, think only the highest of pure thoughts regarding you! :angel:

 

[back alley]

Just don't post them here or you'll have to ban yourself. 🙂

I, on the other hand, think only the highest of pure thoughts regarding you! :angel:

then there are a few people out there lying to me about what you say about me in your p.m.'s to them.

careful george, your enemies are everywhere...

 

[ch1]

then there are a few people out there lying to me about what you say about me in your p.m.'s to them.

careful george, your enemies are everywhere...

Hmmmm....since I have never mentioned you negatively in any PM to anyone - and I send very few to anyone except you and Jorge - perhaps you should check your sources?

What a "bitchy" little group we have here sometimes, eh?

 

[back alley]

this grows tiresome...

 

[ch1]

this grows tiresome...

Yes, indeed.

Anyway, time to get back to work. IT reports that our e-mail system is finally back up.

Oh, and BTW, the idea of "enemies" on a website is rather weird, and almost amusing. What some folks won't do to put a little excitement in their dreary lives! 😱

 

[ray_g]

What a "bitchy" little group we have here sometimes, eh?

Naw, just a bunch of feisty pussy cats! 😉

 

[dadsm3]

About a year ago after being lambasted on 'rude.net' a kind member (FrankS) suggested I try out this forum. Since then I've taken a photo course at college, begun scanning and printing, set up a home darkroom, and best of all have begun to look at the world differently, with what I hope is a slowly developing photographer's eye......after 30 years of just family snaps. All my purchases have been based on the friendly advice of RFF members, and I've never been steered wrong. Not only do I now have the ability to talk to hundreds of members day or night, but I've had the opportunity to meet a dozen great GTA RFF members in Toronto for a day of shooting, conversation and beer. Best of all is next fall I won't be going into depression over our 7-month winter....it just means I can start in the darkroom at 6:00pm without taping my window!
Last year I offered to contribute to the forum but didn't want to use Paypal since I had a security scare....Jorge replied not to worry about it, just continue being an active member.
I will start using the gallery eventually....but even without using it this is the best $25 I ever spent.
Mike

 

[ch1]

then there are a few people out there lying to me about what you say about me in your p.m.'s to them.

careful george, your enemies are everywhere...

FYI

Current "contents" of my PM "Sent" box:

Private Messages in Folder: Sent Items
Messages: 4 Yesterday


04-11-2006 Re: Of Pies and Payment
19:51 Jocko


04-11-2006 Premium Gallery Query
15:31 Jorge Torralba


04-11-2006 Identity of my payment
02:10 Jorge Torralba


04-11-2006 Enhanced Gallery to Raise Funds
00:20 Jorge Torralba

Messages: 1 Monday


04-10-2006 That film thread
12:58 back alley

------------------------------------------------

Guess I'm just a misunderstood :angel:

 

[George S.]

This place has become just like the Leica zoo over on photo.net.

A simple request for a donation with no strings or other "privileges" attached is all we needed. In effect, Jorge created a two-tiered membership system which has historically proven problematic in other 'net sites. There's bound to be argument between the "entitled" and the mere "common" posters.

Joe, i resent your threatening george with banishment over his comments. His use of the term "freeloader" did not bother me one bit. HOWEVER, your attempt to disguise the "F word" in a posting to us did offend me. Exactly what you did can get one kicked off eBay and other places.

And why the need to flex your muscles so quickly with regard to george? You let FrankG get away with all kinds of shenanigans for six full months before any action was taken!

I'm also tired of all the excuses when I ask for an explanation as to just what happened to this site. Jorge says its a server move problem, no, it's a hardware issue, no, it's a software issue, no, we outgrew this or that... Joe, you even called it an "attack" in a late March posting. Excuse me for wanting to know who hacked into the site. I'm also sure it wasn't one "lone gunmman", but the person had help from someone else. I'd like to know who it was. So, basically, we're being lied to every step of the way, and we're suppoosed to send $25 en masse to the person that's doing the lying? Nope sorry, no can do.

For those that doubt me, ask joe just what he meant when he posted this on April 1st on Nelsonfoto under the thread "Is RFF down again?!" .....

back alley

Joined: 12 Oct 2005
Posts: 19

Posted: Sat Apr 01, 2006 2:57 am Post subject:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

it's not a server issue or the software as far as i know.

i can't really get into details...i don't have many but i hope that when the site is back up that jorge will share what is going on.

i know that i'm frustrated...

joe
_________________
canon - p (x 3)
canon - 28/3.5 - 35/1.8 - 35/2 - 35/2.8 - 50/1.4 - 85/2 - 100/3.5

 

[Fedzilla_Bob]

I would like to express my amazement-

On one - hand I am amazed, in a good way, how many have decided to support the forum, not only with kind words, but with their hard earned money. No, 25 dollars isn't a lot. But it does represent about 3.5 lunches (this is a guess based on where I work). Nothing to sneeze at really. if enough people give, it will help insure the future of this forum.

On the other...

I am astounded and saddened that this has become another opportunity to "carp" about a host of things. Mainly the service. Service, which for the most part that has been handled largely by one individual who takes time from family and real life so that he could breath life into what has been globally recognized as a great place for photographers. Mind you, it is a photographic niche, a huge one. One that all of you are apparently interested in. Or else you wouldn't "hang out" at RFF.

Mind you-
No one, under the new effort to fund the site, is required to pay. Non subscription members can still post images and comments (even gripes). Those who do pay get a few perks.

For example: compare what you get here for free to what you get at APUG.org, which is a decent site that I'm sure many, if not most of you, are aware of. APUG allows only paid subscribers to post images. Yes the subscription is less. From what I can tell they have a few more restrictions. Here at RFF its been wide open and free for everything.

I certainly don't consider myself Andrew Carnegie when it comes to donating to RFF. But I do so when I can. I'm sure many do as well or better than I.

If you do pay the full 25 and gain the stated benefits- Great enjoy it. Also try to enjoy the knowledge that you are helping to build this site into something much more robust than it is at this time.

But please, do so like gentle men and women. Show some consideration for the admin and mods. Treat other members without "subscriber" titles as potential subscribers. By doing so you more likely to convince others of the value of a subscription.

I dig this place for the most part. I've learned plenty here and hope to learn more. Hopefully I've shared as much as I have gained.

I'm done with my rambling now. Peace.

 

[ch1]

George S. Doug et. al.

Thanks for the support. Life is getting too short to have so much hassle in threads like this.

Think I'll "focus" on the W/NW threads. Lot more fun and a whole lot less b.s.

After all, I'm mainly here for the pictures! 😉

 

[FrankS]

I would like to express my amazement-

On one - hand I am amazed, in a good way, how many have decided to support the forum, not only with kind words, but with their hard earned money. No, 25 dollars isn't a lot. But it does represent about 3.5 lunches (this is a guess based on where I work). Nothing to sneeze at really. if enough people give, it will help insure the future of this forum.

On the other...

I am astounded and saddened that this has become another opportunity to "carp" about a host of things. Mainly the service. Service, which for the most part that has been handled largely by one individual who takes time from family and real life so that he could breath life into what has been globally recognized as a great place for photographers. Mind you, it is a photographic niche, a huge one. One that all of you are apparently interested in. Or else you wouldn't "hang out" at RFF.

Mind you-
No one, under the new effort to fund the site, is required to pay. Non subscription members can still post images and comments (even gripes). Those who do pay get a few perks.

For example: compare what you get here for free to what you get at APUG.org, which is a decent site that I'm sure many, if not most of you, are aware of. APUG allows only paid subscribers to post images. Yes the subscription is less. From what I can tell they have a few more restrictions. Here at RFF its been wide open and free for everything.

I certainly don't consider myself Andrew Carnegie when it comes to donating to RFF. But I do so when I can. I'm sure many do as well or better than I.

If you do pay the full 25 and gain the stated benefits- Great enjoy it. Also try to enjoy the knowledge that you are helping to build this iste into something much more robust than it is at this time.

But please, do so like gentle men and women. Show some consideration for the admin and mods. Treat other members without "subscriber" titles as potential subscribers. By doing so you more likely to convince others of the value of a subscription.

I dig this place for the most part. I've learned plenty here and hope to learn more. Hopefully I've shared as much as I have gained.

I'm done with my rambling now. Peace.

ditto!