Donating to FMDF

[banspy]

I noticed that my fellow Las Vegan MDer ATPROJOE is now a former member. So my question is, if you are removed from the site voluntarily or what I'm thinking in ATPRO's case, involuntarily, do you get a refund of your donation?

Also where are the monies recieved used? Do the forum members get it back in giveaways or are there some special hunts offered annually? I attempted to search the posts to get these answers but I could not find anything regarding this.

I've made donations to sites before but that was for software developing and research, advertising, things like that but I cannot seem to find any info on where the donations go here and I would love to see something like a forum sponsored hunt or contests, or t-shirts, pins, etc.

 

[sectshun8]

Donations are used mianly in two respects. One, keeping the site running. The domain, hosting, software, servers... not free. And 2nd, they do go to things like t-shirts... there are threads for the shirts.

 

[banspy]

they do go to things like t-shirts... there are threads for the shirts.

I couldnt find em. I want a shirt!

As far as domain maintenance and operating costs, I guess I falsley assumed that the corporate sponsors took care of those roles.

 

[doug2060]

I hate that ATPROJOE is gone too but questioning donations to the site is a bit much. It takes money to keep a website up. Even if you donate to a site it does not make you above the rules of that site. I wouldn't return a donation.

 

[sectshun8]

I couldnt find em. I want a shirt!

As far as domain maintenance and operating costs, I guess I falsley assumed that the corporate sponsors took care of those roles.

Why? The site isn't run or operated by them? It wasn't until this past week or so that we actually gained a couple corporate sponsors Glad to have them

This site used to be funded soley by member donations and the maybe 3 private dealers that bought ads... not a whole lot of money in that respect. Now I think we have what... maybe 7 sponsor banners running around up there, on top of of member donations (which, I'd be willing to bet most (not all) of the members with the donator ribbon did so quite some time ago) are what is doing the job these days.

The forums also sponsor the Diggin' It With Friends annual hunt, and monies go towards a handful of prizes to giveaway

The owners of the site are stand-up folks and really do use any donated funds in the best interest of the site

 

[banspy]

I hate that ATPROJOE is gone too but questioning donations to the site is a bit much. It takes money to keep a website up. Even if you donate to a site it does not make you above the rules of that site. I wouldn't return a donation.

Actually, I was asking because earlier in day ATPRO left, he had mentioned making another donation to the site and then seeing that he was gone got me thinking about the donations. I didnt say anything about following the rules or not following the rules, I was wondering if the donations were used to sponsor events and things like that, site improvements, etc.

I hate that ATPROJOE is gone too but questioning donations to the site is a bit much.

Its a bit much to know where my money would go when I choose to spend it. Well sorry, but in this economy, I like to know how much bang I get for my buck and if I choose to donate or not donate, these are things I would like to know so that I can make an informed decision.

 

[banspy]

Why? The site isn't run or operated by them? It wasn't until this past week or so that we actually gained a couple corporate sponsors .

This site used to be funded soley by member donations and the maybe 3 private dealers that bought ads... not a whole lot of money in that respect. Now I think we have what... maybe 7 sponsor banners running around up there, on top of of member donations (which, I'd be willing to bet most (not all) of the members with the donator ribbon did so quite some time ago) are what is doing the job these days.

The forums also sponsor the Diggin' It With Friends annual hunt, and monies go towards a handful of prizes to giveaway

Thank you for that answer...again I emphasize falsely assumed. Thats all I needed was just a little more insight and again, where do I find the info on the shirts or hunts because I would like a shirt and go to a hunt. And I apologize if this came off the wrong way, I was just trying to be an informed consumer.

 

[HarveyH48]

Most forums are free to use, and the owners pump a lot of their own money into them, to set them up, keep them running, and maintain them. They also put in a lot of their person time, to keep things running cleanly. Moderators, help out, by donating their time, to help keep the content clean and healthy. Donations help keep the site up, for you to enjoy, and keeps it free, for those not so well off financially. A paid site, can be less active, and slower to attract new members.

When you donate, you aren't purchasing a T-Shirt, or anything else. It's about helping out. The value is in keeping the a site, that you use and enjoy running, so others can enjoy it too. It's sort of like a club, some charge regular membership dues, others rely on donations and sponsors. The bills are basically the same every month, but you can never tell how much you are going to find in the donation jar.

If you enjoy the hobby, and this site supports your interest, seems right to support it as much as you can afford. I'm sure if there ever gets to be a surplus, it will go into the site, or back to the members in some way.

 

[doug2060]

Actually, I was asking because earlier in day ATPRO left, he had mentioned making another donation to the site and then seeing that he was gone got me thinking about the donations. I didnt say anything about following the rules or not following the rules, I was wondering if the donations were used to sponsor events and things like that, site improvements, etc.



Its a bit much to know where my money would go when I choose to spend it. Well sorry, but in this economy, I like to know how much bang I get for my buck and if I choose to donate or not donate, these are things I would like to know so that I can make an informed decision.

Well, now you know then... LOL... Making a donation doesn't get you the right to do what you please.... I hope that doesn't affect the bang of the buck for anyone. I didn't mean to offend you to the point of quoting me twice in the same post. I assumed the point of donating to a site was obvious. Happy hunting...

 

[sectshun8]

Thank you for that answer...again I emphasize falsely assumed. Thats all I needed was just a little more insight and again, where do I find the info on the shirts or hunts because I would like a shirt and go to a hunt. And I apologize if this came off the wrong way, I was just trying to be an informed consumer.

In the Forum Help & Announcements there is a sticky. A portion of the cost of these covers the shirt itself, while a portion goes to fund the site (and you get a Donation Ribbon):
http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=21073

Also, FloridaBill has a newly designed version that is a sticky in the Classifieds. These are printed and made to order, not sure if any portion is used towards the site:
http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=64695

 

[banspy]

http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=21073

http://metaldetectingforum.com/showthread.php?t=64695

Now thats what I'm talking about, Thank you much!!!

 

[Azmodeus]

I can get one of those nifty ribbons by my name just from donating 5 bucks to the site? Hmmm... I want my e-ribbon then

 

[Azmodeus]

Hey...I don't see a ribbon now..? pffft

 

[Carol K]

Hi Azmodeus, sorry, you'll have to wait for Vlad to come online. He takes care of that area, since the email gets sent to him.

Thanks for the donation, every little bit helps.

 

[Azmodeus]

Hi Azmodeus, sorry, you'll have to wait for Vlad to come online. He takes care of that area, since the email gets sent to him.

Thanks for the donation, every little bit helps.

Oh kewl! I was just kidding though, I would've donated a few bucks anyhow without a silly ribbon just cause it's my favorite forums I'll give a little more when I start my new job (hopefully). Lets make it everytime you make a donation you get ANOTHER ribbon. Then I can eventually look like a General

 

[Kolby72]

I never wondered where my money went, it didn't matter to me where it went I gave it to the forum end of story. I also bought one of Florida bills shirts and it is good quality I was happy with the price. I am not sure what happened to ATPROJoe but he must have had to do something pretty awful to get the boot I a have seen some people on here trash talk bad mouth and just straight up be an a$$ to moderators and members yet I see them prancing around on here from time to time. In the end I will continue to give money to this site because I like the atmosphere and I love this hobby...

 

[banspy]

Boy, after re-reading my original post, I realize that it came off wrong...

Somewhere possibly recently or a few years ago, there was a story about these types of forums being hacked and the hacker was re-directing the funds to their own account(s). This happened on a car forum I had belonged to and after reading another metal detecting forum I found this article:

Looks like the hacker is still up to no good. If you click on the friendly metal detecting forum, you will see a page that says you are being re-directed and you do get re-directed to what looks like the old forum, but it's part of the gometaldetecting.com forum. At the top of each page is a message asking for a $15 or $30 donation. In every section of the forum is a thread (which has been moved to no-where) from one of the administrators advising us to ignore that donation message - the hacker is still in control - so don't donate.

What's really odd is this: if you click on the gometaldetecting.com link and then enter the forum section, everything looks the same, except you won't see that donation message at the top of the screen. And there are messages telling us to lay-low - the hacker is still in control. So I'm not going to post there until everything is resolved.

There is also a thread advising us of be careful if we've logged in and happen to use the same ID and password on other sites. He could collect this info, and login as us on those other sites. If that is the case for anyone, then you'd better change your passwords on those sites - just to be safe.

I also belong to another forum not related to MDing and its free but if you donate, then you get additional benefits that the free members do not get and thats where I should have started the conversation. So in short, I was basically wondering if donating makes a difference in so far as getting invites to tournaments / or in this case, special hunts, newsletters, entires into contests, special discounts on purchases, etc, and, whether or not the money is US based or it goes oversees.

Thanks for all the replies, I think all my questions have been answered, its a dead issue as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Kolby72]

For the record I wasn't trying to come off as rude I see where you were going with this I was just stating my opinion. Happy your hear and a part of the forum!

 

[banspy]

Dont sweat it Kolby, I wasnt thinking anyone was being rude but it made me re-read my post and I realized it sounded bad how I wrote it.

 

[Carol K]

Wow, sorry to hear old posts like that are still floating around the web.

Yeah, April-May of 2008 was a tough time for the forum. I mean real tough. i wouldn't wish what happened to us, to happen to anyone!

If it seems to you that our members are "rather protective" of the forum, that is the reason why.