As some of you are aware, the recent upgrades were not free. In order to continue to have a forum with the features and speed that we want, we (I) had to purchase the software. We also will have yearly costs associated with this, as well as the usual ongoing hardware upgrades and replacements (like the drive that just blew up).
Up until now we haven't really asked for anything, however this club has grown by incredible numbers the past couple years, and I cannot continue to bear the burden of all site-related costs myself. A few of you have donated money and hardware in the past, but it has become an ongoing expense now.
First off, site support is OPTIONAL. We've never charged dues to be a part of CSC, and certainly are not going to start now. If you don't donate, nothing happens, you still get all the same features you're used to. However people who do donate and support the club will get some features added into their access, which include:
- A 'supporter' title below your name in all posts, so everyone knows you helped us out
- Your own personal photo galleries, accessible through the User CP, and viewable by all
- Ability to set your own custom title
- I'm also working out membership cards, which will be a part of this but may take a little while to get going.
- Increased avatar size to 100x100 and 50k
- Your own custom page on the site ('userpage'), complete with shoutbox/guestbook
- I'm trying to have it display a little silver or gold helmet by your name along with the supporter title. Anyone want to make a silver or gold helmet .gif for me?
- Plans are to add some more stuff a bit later as well, which will include a CSC webmail account, and likely things like your own blog/journal page and web page to show whatever you want (within site guidelines, of course).
There are also two ways of supporting - yearly, and lifetime. The yearly supporter is $15/year, and should (according to the manual... heh) renew automatically until you cancel it. The lifetime membership is $150, and basically grants you access to every cool feature we add from now until the end of time. If you're wondering where the money goes, first and foremost it covers site-related costs. After that, it can be used to help pay for things like parades, picnics, etc.
To donate, just click this link. You can also get to that through User CP -> Paid Subscriptions (takes you to the same place). Pick the one you want, click order, and Paypal will do the rest. The payment should process right away and immediately grant the additional access, but if you pay by eCheck or have some other hold placed on it, this board won't update until the funds clear through Paypal.
Again, this is optional - nobody has to do it. But several people have been asking how to help support the club's costs, and this is the answer.
Please note, if you're wondering if anyone will just "get access", that list is short - it's limited to admins/mods (though we can get there anyway) and people who have donated money or hardware in the past to the club. Otherwise, it starts fresh from now forward.
Thanks!
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