The relative cost of the message board

[TheCrew07]

The monsther that is the Sabathia thread got me thinking about this.

Are we going to be able to contribute to the coffers again this year? Last year it was closed on me before I had a chance to contribute, and I've been patiently waiting all year for it to open back up. Also, what's the advantage to the site if I become a Yuku supporter? I'm not sure I understand how the billing works? Page views, posts? No difference?

edit. I should add that I read about the forum cost in the FAQ, but it didn't answer my questions which I made a separate post.

[1992casey]

Brewerfan is going to need to raise some funds later this summer. We currently have Gold (ad-free service) through September 11.

 

Our last renewal was in February, 2007, for $933. Technically, that paid for six months. However, Brewerfan was given an extra six months for committing to an early Yuku migration, which happened on August 1, 2007.

 

Additionally, Yuku didn't charge anything for any board until February, 2008. At that time, $59 left over in Brewerfan's ezBoard Community Chest was applied, buying twelve more days. The board has also gotten three days of credit for Yuku downtime. We've gotten a lot of mileage out of that six month renewal.

 

Currently, Brewerfan is carried over on ezBoard's pricing system. In the winter of 2007, we would have been quoted the $933 renewal price based on past usage, then charged a flat rate for the six months (that really turned into nineteen months).

 

In September, we'll be converted to Yuku's large board pricing system. That system will have us purchasing ad-free page views in advance, kind of like a prepaid phone card. If board usage remains similar or increases gradually, I think we'll probably need between 7.5 and 8 million ad-free page views to get us through a year. That's a rough guesstimate, though. A big usage spike could change that. However, Brewerfan's ad-free page views have been pretty consistent since the start of the season.

 

My guess is that in comparison to ezBoard's flat rate, and based on the above estimated page views, Brewerfan should be paying no more than $3.50 to $4.15 per day. That compares to the $5 per day that we were technically charged by ezBoard for the 2007 six month renewal. (All the free months were a one-time thing, of course.)

 

With all this talk about ad-free page views, I should define the term. Yuku serves ads only to thread pages. Those would be the views we're paying for. We're not charged for members viewing the main board page, thread lists in the forums, the Community Profile, Community Calendar, using search pages, writing posts, using the preview function, etc.

 

It should also be noted that the ads members do see on the boards come from Brewerfan. We're talking about avoiding ads served by Yuku.

 

LambeauLeap is also on Yuku's large board pricing system. Toby's board (not affiliated with Brewerfan/LambeauLeap) is on Yuku's small board pricing system: it's charged a flat rate of six dollars a month.

 

The nice thing about LambeauLeap's situation is that during the past few months, while the board's been pretty quiet, it's been quite a bit cheaper than it would have been under the small board system. That board has cost $14 to run since January 29th, and current funds will probably hold it at least through the beginning of training camp. (There are 16,800 ad-free page views left. It's been so cheap that mods have covered the $14.) Of course, I think Peavey and those involved would be happy to see that board kick back into action and cost some money. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

One thing that will help Brewerfan starting in September and will help LambeauLeap right now would be if members purchased Yuku Supporter. Boards aren't charged for Yuku Supporters' page views. You have to remember to be logged in, of course, for Yuku to know not to charge us. In addition to boards not being charged for Yuku Supporter page views, members receive some benefits outlined in the link a couple sentences above.

[TheCrew07]

Thanks Casey, that's the info I was looking for... Page views, and Yuku supporters don't cost the board anything.

[logan82]

That's a tough decision. I would rather give $12 to brewerfan than to Yuku I think.

[hawing]

That's a tough decision. I would rather give $12 to brewerfan than to Yuku I think.

 

Your preference is laudable, but consider that if you spend a lot of time on the forum (even just reading), giving the $12 to Yuku will save brewerfan money in the end.

[Trowekamp]

I too would prefer to give it to Brewerfan.net rather than Yuku.. since this is the only Yuku site I use it doesn't make sense to not give it directly to you guys.. Yes a Yuku membership would allow me to view for free but I would rather donate to where all users can continue to view for free withouth distraction in the new "Googled" world.

[Brian the Automator]

I too would prefer to give it to Brewerfan.net rather than Yuku.. since this is the only Yuku site I use it doesn't make sense to not give it directly to you guys.. Yes a Yuku membership would allow me to view for free but I would rather donate to where all users can continue to view for free withouth distraction in the new "Googled" world.

Honestly, if you gave money to brewerfan, and we were short on money for Yuku, I'd just allocate it directly to Yuku, so it's the same thing.

As far as donations go in general, I'm in the process of re-writing Brewerfan (the non-message-board) part from scratch, and we'll be moving it (along with lambeauleap) to a new server. At that point, I'll get a better feel for whether we're operating at a deficit or a surplus (as we do have SOME advertising revenue).

 

 

 

[1992casey]

Actually, both board and Supporter fees go to Yuku. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

It really depends on how you want to spend your money. Direct donations, of course, help foot the bill for those who don't donate, and that, of course, is important. Yuku Supporter covers your costs here and at other Yuku Gold boards, ensures an ad-free experience when viewing profiles or non-Gold boards, and offers a few perks. I have nine signatures to flip through if I want to use them, for instance.

 

One thing I didn't note is that members do get some Yuku Supporter time simply for donating. The amount you get isn't going to be enough to carry you through the year, though, unless you donate a fairly substantial amount.

 

Examples: a $1 donation gets you five days, $6 gets you a month; $30 gets you six months; $54 gets you twelve months; $275 gets you 67 months, 7 days. In-between amounts are pro-rated; larger donations get more Supporter per dollar donated.

 

I purchased a year of Supporter when it first came out, figuring it'd help reduce LambeauLeap costs right away, would help Brewerfan eventually, and give me the extra toys. I've had time tacked on for donating at LambeauLeap and at Toby's board.