Morning all,

A week on Sunday Deva Chat will celebrate it's 5th birthday! A lot has changed since I first set the board up on a free message board site... One of the things to have changed most is that word 'Free'! As you may have noticed, there's a new little button adorning the top right of the page. Basically it's a direct link to a donation page, enabling anyone, should they feel that way inclined, to send money into the Deva Chat coffers. Before I go any further, I will quickly make it clear that NOBODY HAS TO PAY ANYTHING! This an entirely voluntary scheme and I'm not expecting people to put their hands in their pockets if they don't want to. You might be aware that Deva Chat has exceeded it's bandwidth limits on more that one occasion over the last year, each time upping the runnings costs each month a little more. Coupled with this the basic cost of registering the domain name, and Deva Chat has become an increasingly expensive little enterprise!

That's not to say DC is in any way at risk, but it is starting to make a rather noticable dent in my wallet! So while we're looking at other ways of raising revenue (sponsorship etc - about which, more soon) we also thought it worthwhile opening our PayPal account up for donations, should anyone wish to make such a pledge. Of course, we want to act with total transparency, so there will be a mothly report of any donations made (anonymity being respected if so requesed) to log all incomings.

Basically, we currently run an operating cost of just over £17 a month, plus the annual domain fee, which has averaged around £12 a year. So as an annual total we're looking at around £200 a year for the all round running of Deva Chat. Not a fortune, but certainly a change from the £0.00 it was once apon a time! The last resort would be to place adverts (such as seen on other site - "ads supplied by Google" for example) on the board (NOT pop-ups!), but we hope to avoid that if possible. That's why we've placed the above PayPal link. If anyone out there feels the desire to contribute to the running of your favourite CCFC message board, feel free! If not, don't worry, we will always remain a free service for all!

Any questions, please post them here, or send a PM if you'd prefer.

All the best,

Barry

Just a quick one. On some of the torrents sites, once a member has donated they put a little gold star above the members name so when he posts everyone can see that he has contributed. Just a thought.

Well my fiver's winging its way to you DC.

I think everyone should be charged based on the number of posts made

Mancot better seek out some financial advice

Remortgage for Mancot

Barry - I have e-mailed you privately on this.

Some of the laughs I've had reading some posts on here are well worth a donation - mine's winging its way to you now, Mr Devachat, and please keep up the good work

Sitting here on Devachat saves me the money I would be spending down the pub....my donation is on it's way.

Ta.

I'll only pay if you change the logo as we've been promised....

I'll find the time to donate a small, but generous sum to the board's coffers!

my donation should be with you by now, worth every penny for us exiles to keep up todate with the goings on and theres always plenty happening, keep up the good work

First thing I have to say is a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has donated so far, it's fantastic to see and I'm extremely grateful to everyone! Thank you!





Err... ummm... yes, about that... Sorry this has been entirely my fault. Long story short, I got snowed under by all manner of business over the last two months and as a result, the logo competition has fallen by the wayside. I will update everyone on this very soon.
I promise!

Could be an idea, what do other members think?

Now that i have donated.Yes i think it would be a good idea.

Further to my above postings, it's worth pointing out that all money raised will be used SOLEY for the purpose of the running and upkeep of Deva Chat. I have no desire or wish to make any money out of this, it's merely to help cover the DC bills. Should we be lucky enougn raise enough to exceed our costs, all donations will be used for activities such as extending the domain name registration etc. In other words, only for Deva Chat - not for me!

Many thanks, read and replied to.

i have just made a donation for you Barry, all the best.DC has given me many laughs! Long may it continue

I'll send a donation! I like the ideas about the stars!

I'll send a donation too. Cheers Barry!

And then it would save time,rather than everyone saying i've sent,i've sent,etc.

Huge thanks to all who have donated. We're looking at ways to recognise those who voted with some kind of star system or similar. Will get back to you on that, but in the meantime, thanks again for all donations so far, it really will go a long way to covering the costs of this site!

Barry

Basically, we currently run an operating cost of just under £16 a month, plus the annual domain fee, which has averaged around £12 a year. So as an annual total we're looking at around £200 a year for the all round running of Deva Chat. Not a fortune, but certainly a change from the £0.00 it was once apon a time! The last resort would be to place adverts (such as seen on other site - "ads supplied by Google" for example) on the board (NOT pop-ups!), but we hope to avoid that if possible. That's why we've placed the above PayPal link. If anyone out there feels the desire to contribute to the running of your favourite CCFC message board, feel free! If not, don't worry, we will always remain a free service for all



see ads have started to appear at the top of pages ie the mortgage broker, what happened to the last resort or have you been bought

I should have been more clear on what I meant when I mentioned ads. Basically there's sponsorship and then there's ads. We hoped to get sponsorship from one or more companys to avoid ads from various random internet companys (supplied by Google etc). We've been fortuanate to have received a very good offer (about which, more later!) which mean we can avoid the Google ads!

Unpinned.

Morning all,

Below you'll find a record of all donations via PayPal we've received since we opened up our PayPal account last month. Those who have donated can find your record below. Note the fee is that charged by PayPal, and nothing to with me helping myself to your donations!

All this money is currently held in our PayPal account and will be used to pay for future purchases required by the board.



Barry

Hi all,

These are turbulent times at Deva Chat towers... The site is back up again, but we're living on borrowed time at the moment, but by hook or by crook, we're going to keep the site going!

The donations links is, as ever, at the top right of the page, so if you feel the desire to donate please feel free! All donaters will become a DC Donatee, with the various extras you can enjoy as a result.

All fund raising efforts are hugely appreciated!



Barry

Just sent a donation,

There has been talk in the past on here about a Devachat get together ie Christmas party,
Maybe now is the time to organize something along those lines as a fundraiser, but those attending would have to leave their differences behind

And their credit cards with me! Only joking!

I'm being a bit daft here but I presume if I donate again the money will go direct to you Barry and not be lost if the site disapears again?

Are you a member @ www.pisexy.org ?

No, I totally understand if people are worried that Deva Chat will vanish again and the money with it, but the site is going to be funded upfront to keep it going. Thereafter all the money which is in the Deva Chat PayPal account will go to cover the expense footed at the outset.

Just donated my winnings from betting on Cheltenham to beat Chester in the FA Cup. It bought me no luck as we lost, but inadvertently it will help, go to help those that matter, the supporters of CCFC. Long live Devachat!

Just sent my donation.

Just sent my donation. Totally lost when Deva Chat is unavailable. Excellent site and thanks to all who keep it going. An excellent example of how a professionally run site should be managed.

Out of curiosity how much does it cost tot keep DC running, say for 1 year? Gives a better idea of how much to donate then!

I've just made my donation. On another thread, Krankie said something about around £500 being needed. I'm sure we can afford that between us. It's always worth remembering that websites like this don't just take up people's spare time - it's their money as well!

Done it. Keep up the good work - we'd be lost without you.

just sent my donation I would be lost without devachat myself, its not very much but i hope it helps

Sent my donation, would really miss Devachat if it wasnt around anymore, also there is fiece rivalry between myself and family members on the predict-a-score....so much fun!!!

I donated £5 and a kidney. Hope it helps

just donated, i feel that if you need £200, everyone on here should give just a small amount and you should easily surpass the amount you need.

It only takes a small amount from alot of people to make a real difference and keep DC running.

This is where i do my "i'm a poor student yet still donated face"

I use this site loads (far too much actually) I would be completely lost without it. Sorry my donation is small again but I too am a poor student.

Have you thought about maybe setting up a VIP membership status for people who donate a regular amount each month? I am always skint but could give a small amount each month. It would be worth it - I'd be lost without Devachat.

Wr**h*m Blue: Party sounds a smashing idea!

£5.

I'm on this site pretty much everyday. Many a source of entertainment. Least I can do is try and contribute.

Donation made. Keep up the good work. We may not have a team to be proud of at the moment, but I do believe that we have one of the most popular lower league chat sites.

Donation made - Good luck - Long live Deva Chat!!!

Just sent £10

Great effort everyone

Just sent my donation can i have a star please.

Little gold star added to all DC Donatees.

Yay I have a little gold star!!

(would it be cheeky to ask for 2 cos I've donated twice? )

could lead to people donating £0.01 100 times to get 100 stars!

just be a star board with competitions to get the most