View Full Version : MilanMania to shutdown
There comes a time when we all must call upon ourselves to do something that is beyond our personal "self" interests. That time for such a call has come now for all of us members at MilanMania.
The site has reached a critical crossroad at this time and from my sources I will say this with much sincerity.
This is no joke! As of right now we have only 3... yes only 3 people who are funding this site to keep it going. From what I know, Debs, Rezag, a only one regular member here is actively funding this site.
This site, if no committed patrons are found within and from members in this site, we risk this Forum MILANMANIA of shutting down as early as February. There was tentative plans to hold this place all the way up to April. But with no promise in site and no one showing an inking of interest, it will be as early as February.
What does this site need???
As I have said and as Debs has pleaded to deaf ears, MilanMania is looking for least 10 to 15 committed donors amongst us all to help foot the bill for a duration of time. During such time, the Admins can get busy on re-organizing the site to a point where it can be self sufficient. I cant promise anything of the successes of such re-organizing. But I can promise all you august members here at MilanMania that failure to find donors will... yes will cause this site to shut down. Guranteed!
Now I know I have been the hard A$$ and the antigonist here on this site on many occassions. Somehow I still have managed to make friends with you all regardless of our idle differences on many things including those outside the realm of football. All of you have been made friends of mine.
However this was not possible until a very good few... some long gone, but some still here, brought forth to us this premere football site for a team we all grew up with and love. I have no doubt that many of you have grown fond of this site through the many invaluable contacts and friendships made here. Imagine the possibilities of growing that relationship even bigger??? This site needs your help. I know there are many of you who want to and for some reason cant or wont. Fine. I can deal with that. I also know that there are those amongst the many who can and should help out. To you folks I humbly ask and plead for your help at saving this site. I'm not doing this as an owner as I dont own this site nor do I administer it. I'm asking you as an ordinary and humble member of MilanMania.
Please.... PLEASE... PLEASE I beg for a a response to those who are willing to be saviors of this site. Ho'oHui Pu Kakou! "Together We CAN".
A hopeful and optimistic Member
Ku'iKahekili
I will be donating some money, although i'll be honest and say i'm not sure if i can afford to be a regular contributor.
Hopefully now they've read your post Kui, more might now realise the severity of the situation !
I will be donating some money, although i'll be honest and say i'm not sure if i can afford to be a regular contributor.
Hopefully now they've read your post Kui, more might now realise the severity of the situation !
I thank you Jim. The site is desperately trying to find at least a dozen people to help out so that no one is left to foot a big bill all by his/herself. Give what you can without putting yourself into trouble. Listen Jim.... I dont know how much to thank you for helping this site out. I'm certain that the Admins are also grateful. They are getting into some heavy financial burdens in regards to MM.
Many Thanks JIM!
I dont know how some of you folks can be ignoring this problem??? I'm not going to give up and will continue to try to find anyone out there who CAN help. If not and I say again that it isnt a joke, this site will close down.
FORZA MILAN!
id love to help ... but i still dont know how much your expecting, it would make it alot easier... besides ud have to wait til i go back to the US to do this, i might be able to send the money before it shuts down... i too cannot believe how people here are ignoring this... think about it this way, this is the biggest milan forum there is, and probably one of the most organised forums there are out there, and its all under the name of your club, and if u claim u love this club the way you do then do something about it, id hate to see juve and inter having forums running while us having only crappy ones.
mk and everybody else, the amount is anything you can afford...its more important for it to be regular as to cover monthly expenses. Like lets say 10 dollars a months....contributed 10 each month or 30 every 3 months, for example
PM me if interested in helping
i really want to help but i can't, i don't earn money, dont have a credit card
i don't know how to help :groan:
i don't want to see this site closed down so if anyone could help please do it :hopefull:
mk and everybody else, the amount is anything you can afford...its more important for it to be regular as to cover monthly expenses. Like lets say 10 dollars a months....contributed 10 each month or 30 every 3 months, for example
PM me if interested in helping
ok ill do it but u guys will have to wait until i go back to the US
mk and everybody else, the amount is anything you can afford...its more important for it to be regular as to cover monthly expenses. Like lets say 10 dollars a months....contributed 10 each month or 30 every 3 months, for example
PM me if interested in helping
Yes.... if we can find 10 to 12 people who can regularly contribute 10 US Dollars per month, than this site can be able to hold on. That way Rezag and Debs dont get it in the a$$ every month with a can of whoop a$$ bill.
Thanks MK18! Welcome to the Milan Contributors Club!
Kui.
i cant believe how selfish some people here can get, im 18 years old, and i live in a completely different environment, and the last thing i need is to see myself as the only one here (besides kui rezag and whoever) ready to keep this place alive, i know u think its not ur duty, but what makes me different than u are?? ... MM is like a virtual home for u, think about it as ur own home, think of what u will do when ur bored and theres nothing to do on the web? what will u do without MM?? ... have some fookin dignity for ****s sake... theres more to life than money!
Well after this comment I need to explain once again why I am not able to donate money.
First thing is that [as Acmir mentioned] I do not earn my own money. Secondly what I get from my parents it is so little that you can not imagine. It's 50 euro per month. My father is a lecturer of university and my mother is a doctor of hospital. Nevertheless they manage to earn only 600 euro. What a fvckin country Lithuania is?! Thirdly I live in different city so I have to rent accomodation... so even one euro is big money to me :(
I've stayed out of Kui's topic until now; the fact is that I approached him to help us save the site. Kui has been very generous the past couple of months, donating alot more than I ever asked or imagined one person would donate at any one time.
If you can't donate, don't stress and go crazy over it. I understand we're all in very different situations, differwnt ages, different job situations and so on. We're not asking anyone who can't donate to cough up any money. We're not even asking that everyone donate even a single dollar. What we're asking, and what I have posted so many times that I have literally lost count, is that we really NEED to find a group of regualr contributors. It can be a monthly donation of $10, it can be $30 every 3 months, whatever. The key is and has always been regular contributors. Right now there's a very small group of us footing the entire bill while everyone else posts with apparent obliviousness, apparently thinking this site exists for free. Our original creator went very deeply into debt keeping MM, Xt and a couple other sites up and running. I learned a very valuable lesson from that, and swore that No ONE SINGLE PERSON would have to foot the bill to keep this site online. I cannot afford the costs myself, nor can Rezag or Rio, or Kui...
My concern is that our pleas, which have been going on since September or October, have been met with very little response. I've spent 7 years of my life tied to this site, going from being one of the first members to being the first mod, to helping Jan with his designs and ideas, to literally inheriting the domain from him and paying for that domain. Please put yourself in my place--you've asked repeatedly for help and few people, or even no one steps forward. How does that get interpreted? Very badly if you want the honest truth. To me it means no one cares about MM, hence I've made the decision that MM will cease to exist if we do not set up a list of contributors that we can rely on. January into early February is paid for--Kui, Rez, Andrew and I contributed. What happens next is entirely up to the members of this site. Do we continue to exist...or do we shut down? We've got 3 or 4 weeks to work it out. I can't say it any more simply or clearly. Thanks for listening!
Debs, add me to the list.... PM me with instructions... I will gladly help...
c'mon guys, some of us are in a position that allows us to help others who may not have the chances to do it right now...
I`ll be glad to help but when i have some money and CC(credit card)! So don`t think I`m ignoring it! I hope you will find some donnors and patron`s! I promise I will help as early as I can do it!!!!!!!!
FORZA MILANMANIA!!!!!
Don't worry my friend... as Debs said, some of us can, some of us can't... but we should do whatever is in our hands...
I know some "veterans" in this forum are only 14-15 years old, if not less... it's difficult for them... but those who can, look at it as sacrificing a couple of burgers ;)
Debs, just in case anybody is wondering if there's a way to know how the money is being handled, we should find a way to make it transparent... for all to see... we can
open a section where everyone can see like a "Statement" of the contributions, and hopefully see how much we exceed the maintenance costs... :)
also, any way to make this autosufficient? without sacrificing the essence of the forum? selling, advertising, I don't know...
I'm not sure what you're paying for hosting but if you need $100+ every month to keep the site going you're paying too much and I would suggesting switching to a different host - I use netpivotal.
Sign up to google adsense and place the banners on as many pages as possible. That should bring in $100 every month.
Now that's a plan... Debs, Rezag, what would be the down side of that? if any...
Forums with increasing membership will experience 'too many connections' errors (and therefore go offline frequently..) if the server is populated by (many) other sites. In fact those that were here in early 2003 saw that happening as we were briefly on a sub-$100 dollar plan
The cost that we have here is due to being on our own dedicated server where we have total control over everything from the database to the security of the site. Like I have posted before $155 is not the only price out there, we might find something at $120 for example and the only difference as far as contributions go is that they would go even further (or allow us to do more if everybody agrees, like added features for example)
If the site's future is secured I will again look actively at cheaper options, as I had few months ago
Rezag, I sent you my contribution... c'mon guys, show some love to MM :)
Thank you SANT.
Its up to everybody to decide if they are willing and can afford it. Will do our best to keep costs low because its good for everybody not just newer contributors
With the amount of traffic this site gets I don't know why you need a dedicated server.
i already told kui that im ready to put in a faily good amount of money, but i will do that once i go back to the US, however due to personal reasons im not sure i can contribute on a regular basis, but if it means keeping this site alive ill do it.
With the amount of traffic this site gets I don't know why you need a dedicated server.
We were hacked about a year ago, on the other server we were located on at ServerBeach and we lost alot of stuff. Not only that, but it took Rez and Andrew alot of work to even get us back up and running. Hence the dedicated server--we're more protected.
As for a "statement" om contributions...my initial reaction is that should it be everyone's business to see who is contributing what amount? Call it a privacy issue. As I said that's my initial reaction, so Rez and I will discuss it and I welcome any other thoughts on the matter here. The purpose of asking for people to step up as contributors is not to set them apart, make it seem they're more special than others, or to make those who cannot contribute at all or more than once feel badly about their situations. Kui, Rez, reactions?
I think instead the statement should be when the bill for the server comes due and what amount is paid, if we meet the balance and if we don't how much is outstanding.
Obviously we need a system that's going to work and that's going to keep people happy, so let's discuss some of these aspects.
Overall those who contribute shouldn't be set apart, anybody who is willing to help does so for the site, not anything else. Ofcourse we will be/are all clear on the costs and the only other issue is the number of contributors so those who do contribute know that their contribution is a 10th (ie how many are contributing) of the $155 or whatever.
There is transparency, the issue that SANT raises, but I am not sure if anything like a 'financial statement' thread should exist in a public forum.
I'll become a regular contributor. However, until June or July I might not be able to contribute much, but I'll start with say $10 per month. Hopefully after that, once I graduate and find a job I can contribute a little more. I'll make my contributions every end of month.
Long live MM!!
Every forum gets hacked but as it is a concern approach hosts and question them on the security measures they have in place. Also contact webmasters of sites with forums and ask them if they are on dedicated servers and which hosting companies they are with.
IMO a dedicated server seems an unnecessary expensive.
i really want to help but i can't, i don't earn money, dont have a credit card
i don't know how to help :groan:
Same situation with me....
I can't afford extra 10$ per month...:(
I cant afford it either, Im a student. Sorry for waiting so long to reply, was a bit embarassed.
totti_jonaid
12-01-2006, 02:47
I would love to contribute a little bit because MM and Milan is my life though I am student aged 20 but I believe i can donate something from my pocket money. I live In Pakistan so can u tell me how do I contribute apart from the credit card cause I do not have that.
GavinMilan
12-01-2006, 03:55
Debs, count me in, as it is about time I can do something for this site. I had been coming here since my JR year or SR year of university. So that makes me a 5 years person here. At least that what I think.
So yeah, count me in as a regular contributor/month. Having said that, I do have my limits, but I will donate to keep the site running.
I read that USD$10, right, I can deal with that.
Keep up the good work Debs, as well as others.
Warro Bantan
12-01-2006, 15:24
At the risk of giving up too much personal information, my international credit card is being barred from all transactions (by me) while I try to pay off my debt.
I am willing to contribute what I can, but none of the methods outlined to me previously work from Jamaica.
I hope this situation will change, as I am willing to reimburse my sister for use of her ccard, if only there was a way to remit said funds to MM.
PM me, or reply to this post, or email me (Debs u should have my hotmail, if not, PM me and I will give it to you) to see if I can be of any help.
I have been a faithful MM member for too long for me not to want to see this site up and running in perpetuity.
AC-GIOFFRE
12-01-2006, 20:44
I would like to help but I don't know of proof of where my money is really going.
Is it possible that the sight could try and sell advertising space. Or possibly sell merchandise to make money.
Debs, Reza, as said, we need a way to let contributors now their money is being put to good use...
you understand is not personal, we love you for all the sacrifices you've done for so long to keep this alive... but you know AC-Gioffre request is fair...
how about every contributor gets an annonymous CODE, that only he/she will know, and all contributions are LISTED, even if only contributors can access the annonymous list, and see their contribution being posted... that way we know how much we have gathered... and therefore, how much time that covers.
GavinMilan
12-01-2006, 22:41
Debs, can u email me at
[email protected]
Since I want to contribute asap.
Thanks
I want to thank you all for the feedback that is finally being given with regards to the financial well-being of the site. Better late than never. Looks like we even got some pledges too! The main thing is to try to be committed to this. That $10.00 amount doesnt seem like much, but it will go a long way. Again if we can find at least a dozen (12) people like some of you have pledged, we buy us some very valuable time.
I'm happy to hear the feedback! Thanks FOLKS!
FORZA MILAN!
As for a "statement" om contributions...my initial reaction is that should it be everyone's business to see who is contributing what amount? Call it a privacy issue. As I said that's my initial reaction, so Rez and I will discuss it and I welcome any other thoughts on the matter here. The purpose of asking for people to step up as contributors is not to set them apart, make it seem they're more special than others, or to make those who cannot contribute at all or more than once feel badly about their situations. Kui, Rez, reactions?
I think instead the statement should be when the bill for the server comes due and what amount is paid, if we meet the balance and if we don't how much is outstanding.
Obviously we need a system that's going to work and that's going to keep people happy, so let's discuss some of these aspects.
Well... Debs and I had discussed this in earlier threads, when no one else was truly aware of the seriousness of the situaton. I had proposed to Debs that after a contribution, the feedback and budgetary info should be done by a private message to contributors only. It is a matter of privacy and most importantly to give equality and a level playing field to all members. It would seem "not right" for contributors to have in their heads a particular aura or superiority over those that cannot contribute. This is why the contributors statements of how much they put into MM should stay confidential. Trust me... there could have been numerous occasions when someone like me could have pulled my weight around here because I put in XXX amount of money into the site. That woud have been chicken sh!t of me. I dont do this nor should anyone else because 1. I've never seen Rezag or Debs do this and they have been footing the bill for years now; and 2. It will not help this site one bit if we get such attitudes like that. Such attitudes will decrease the amount of members we have and also the amount of contributing patrons that we are desperately seeking. SO to me the privacy issue is a very important thing to have. I dont want people to feel less important in their postings and opinions in MM because they are unable to contribute and likewise I dont want contributors to feel that their opinions carry more weight than any other members.
Now if you are a contributor, you as a contributor should be giving some disclosure. No doubt about that. If sending pm's is to cumbersome for the Admins, perhaps sending us the billing or balance info all one time through our private e-mails is better??? Are you admins able to send one message to multiple members via pm's??? If not the suggestion would be through our e-mail addresses.
Right now, I can vouch that Debs and Rezag are good on their promises to put the money where it supposed to be going.
Emails and/or PMs are possible, if needed.
Info about the number of contributors do become apparent from threads like this though and the amount of money needed and used is and will be clear. Taking this example...If contributions are more than costs we can ask some or all to reduce their monthly amounts. At the very least we come back to a thread like this and thank all those who stepped up.
I'll say again if we move forward and MM survives...I'll look again at reducing costs and adding google ads and such...
Debs, Reza, as said, we need a way to let contributors now their money is being put to good use...
We'll work out a way to let contributors know our status as far as how much comes in, how much is paid out, etc. What would be nice is if we can actually build a bit of a surplus so people are off the hook for a month or so....and obviously we'd let contributors know something like that! Rez, I'm guessing an email list would be easiest, set up a contact list? I know Rez is gathering that info as people contact him or send him payments. As I'm suggesting to people as they step up, please PM or email Rez to let him know you want to contribute, just so HE also has an idea of what may be coming in.
I just want to thank people for stepping forward, I'm hoping we're going to get regular contributors. For now at least MM is saved, but at this point I can't even guess for how long. Long-term means commitment. Kui, I'll be emailing you !
Well... Debs and I had discussed this in earlier threads, when no one else was truly aware of the seriousness of the situaton. I had proposed to Debs that after a contribution, the feedback and budgetary info should be done by a private message to contributors only. It is a matter of privacy and most importantly to give equality and a level playing field to all members. It would seem "not right" for contributors to have in their heads a particular aura or superiority over those that cannot contribute. I dont do this nor should anyone else because 1. I've never seen Rezag or Debs do this and they have been footing the bill for years now; and 2. It will not help this site one bit if we get such attitudes like that. SO to me the privacy issue is a very important thing to have. I dont want people to feel less important in their postings and opinions in MM because they are unable to contribute and likewise I dont want contributors to feel that their opinions carry more weight than any other members.
Right now, I can vouch that Debs and Rezag are good on their promises to put the money where it supposed to be going.
Well, Kui,thanks for the vote of confidence. Obviously the funds you, me, Rez and Andrew threw in for January went to the server b/c we are still online! :kiss: Whew....this 11th hour stuff is for the birds!
I would hope that the thought of obtaining some sort of special status or title around here isn't the motivating factor in anyone coming forward to contribute any amount, large or small. For me that falls into the category of number of posts--remember when we had some members who thought that posting umpteen one-liners to get a huge post total meant they were good members or special in some way? By the same token tho, perhaps every 4 or 6 months we could just open a quiet topic and recognize people who did contribute, just some people can see how many good souls here are working to keep the site online? Any thoughts on that?
Ads....I don't know if the trend has changed but when Jan was still running things and had both XT and MM(and this was at the height of al of his sites and online work), and he was doing ads, we got in next to nothing. If the trend has changed, then I'm all for getting in some good ads and seeing if we can under-write the site to some extent. Kui and I keep saying it--every little bit helps!
AC-GIOFFRE
14-01-2006, 00:00
I just think that it will be a little bit unfair for the people that go on this site and pay or donate money to this site when their are others that won't because of certain reasons.
Can I ask? What are the people that are donating the money going to get out of it?
What is wrong with selling advertising space and getting sponsors?
AC-GIOFFRE,
in a certain way, from your perspective, obviously, you're right... it may be a little unfair.
But, from the other standpoint, the one I share, that little unfairness is not important to me.
My priority is to help (even if just a little bit) everybody else, all my friends and teammates here, keep MM alive... so others, who, for any reason, are not able to contribute with money, can contribute with their thoughts, with their passion for our team, with their jokes, with whatever they feel like.
Behind every nickname, there's a different reality... a different world... we have people with very mature posts, who are only teenagers, in school (and yes, we have a few old folks who mentally are little kids... haha)... and every country's economy is different... 10 dollars in North America, Western Europe, industrialized Asian countries, or even Australia can be accessible... but in other regions, they can represent transportation to go to school, utility bills, more important things... I can understand...
it is important that contributions are not something that can be perceived as status... so we all feel equally responsible, and committed to this forum... we're all part of it...
it is also important, that whoever feels like helping with the bill, with any amount, has a way to see that it was added to the amount already available... just to give them certainty... even though for me, just knowing Debs, Reza, and others are in charge is more than plenty...
What do I get out of contributing? The satisfaction of builing a team, helping it grow,
and succeed... just like Milan...
so we're Champions, in our way... and we need to keep working together...
Advertising, sponsor, I will let the ones with experience in this field reply with their pros and cons...
AC-GIOFFRE,
But, from the other standpoint, the one I share, that little unfairness is not important to me.
My priority is to help (even if just a little bit) everybody else, all my friends and teammates here, keep MM alive... so others, who, for any reason, are not able to contribute with money, can contribute with their thoughts, with their passion for our team, with their jokes, with whatever they feel like.
Behind every nickname, there's a different reality... a different world... we have people with very mature posts, who are only teenagers, in school (and yes, we have a few old folks who mentally are little kids... haha)... and every country's economy is different... 10 dollars in North America, Western Europe, industrialized Asian countries, or even Australia can be accessible... but in other regions, they can represent transportation to go to school, utility bills, more important things... I can understand...
it is important that contributions are not something that can be perceived as status... so we all feel equally responsible, and committed to this forum... we're all part of it...
it is also important, that whoever feels like helping with the bill, with any amount, has a way to see that it was added to the amount already available... just to give them certainty... even though for me, just knowing Debs, Reza, and others are in charge is more than plenty...
What do I get out of contributing? The satisfaction of builing a team, helping it grow,
and succeed... just like Milan...
so we're Champions, in our way... and we need to keep working together...
Advertising, sponsor, I will let the ones with experience in this field reply with their pros and cons...
Good post. Again this was laid out in an earlier thread a couple of months ago which no one took interest in. It was said that there is no quid pro quo going for contributors. It is to help out this site. Yes the satisfaction of helping out the site is my sole motivation. I hope that it is the motivation of those willing to contribute as well.
Thanks Sant.
AC-GIOFFRE
14-01-2006, 22:01
I know what you mean sant you want to donate to be part of it and for the passion. I know what it is like. I am helping out to get the Milan Club (Adelaide, Australia) running. Thier isn't much money in it. It is just for the fun of it and for the passion of it. The last thing I want to do is to go around and ask money from members.
An idea of this site to continue is to do what I mentioned before. Sell advertising space or get sponsors.
If not a good idea is that ALL members on this sight pay a small membership fee. Out of that they get to go and post forums on this site and they could get merchandise such as making up a milanmania scarfe, beanie, hat and other gadjets.
This site could turn into a Milan Fan Club world wide.
The Brigate and the now defunct Fossa Del Leone survive by geting members to pay up a small membership fee then sell merchandise. Out of it they get passionate fans. I bought a FDL book about their history and scarfes etc.
They do not go around and ask money.
This is just a suggestion of the way this site can survive.
I know what you mean sant you want to donate to be part of it and for the passion. I know what it is like. I am helping out to get the Milan Club (Adelaide, Australia) running. Thier isn't much money in it. It is just for the fun of it and for the passion of it. The last thing I want to do is to go around and ask money from members.
An idea of this site to continue is to do what I mentioned before. Sell advertising space or get sponsors.
If not a good idea is that ALL members on this sight pay a small membership fee. Out of that they get to go and post forums on this site and they could get merchandise such as making up a milanmania scarfe, beanie, hat and other gadjets.
This site could turn into a Milan Fan Club world wide.
The Brigate and the now defunct Fossa Del Leone survive by geting members to pay up a small membership fee then sell merchandise. Out of it they get passionate fans. I bought a FDL book about their history and scarfes etc.
They do not go around and ask money.
This is just a suggestion of the way this site can survive.
Gioffre if I had a storehouse ready to give you a hat or scarf... I'd give one to you free of charge. I dont think you've been listening to what ws being said for the last couple of months. The site was in danger of closing down come February! Now if you think I can get a bunch of hats and scarfs all lined up to give out in that amount of time, you are being dillusional. Now I'm not trying to be a d!ck about this, but you're missing the whole point because you havent read the posts that Debs and I were making months ago. Nor have you understood the reality that this site would have been closed years ago if some members like DEBS didnt take the act upon themselves to fund this site while the rest of us were posting here for free. I havent heard them ask for a hat or scarf and if that is what you want... then pm me and I'll give you a friggin hat.
Would you save a persons life if you had the power to do so??? Or would you do so only after I gave you a hat??? This is what is going on right NOW. The existence of this site is in danger NOW.
I appreciate your suggestions as I had made the same suggestions to the admins in this site. But the time constraint and funding that we are asking for is to keep this site alive right NOW so that we CAN have the time to do the things that you have brought up.
Another thing that MM is looking for is people with computer knowledge in web page design so that the site can be functional again and maybe we can get sponsors. AGAIN no one took particular interest or even cared one iota when Debs went out and posted this. If monetary donations are not feasable to some members here, and if you have web design knowledge, your help in building this site back up again is just as or even more invaluable than monetary donations.
I hope this brings a shed of light to your questions AC Gioffre.
AC-GIOFFRE
15-01-2006, 05:17
First of all I wasn't asking for a hat. What I was trying to put forward was that asking for money from members isn't the right choice. Especially when they don't know what is going on.
Their can be sollutions like what I have said in the past. Would you be able to tell me how this site first go started and how DEBS and co got it running. Then just explain to me how or why this site is threaten to close.
Josh-Sheva
15-01-2006, 05:40
Get Sponsors
First of all I wasn't asking for a hat. What I was trying to put forward was that asking for money from members isn't the right choice. Especially when they don't know what is going on.
Their can be sollutions like what I have said in the past. Would you be able to tell me how this site first go started and how DEBS and co got it running. Then just explain to me how or why this site is threaten to close.
Fair enough and I apologize for coming at you like that. What is needed and in such urgency is people to help out so that we can afford time for the admins to fix the site or find someone to fix it so that things that you have suggested IS possible.
Debs took over payment of this site after the previous owner went so deep into dept he got out the picture all together. Now Debs is a MEMBER... remember that please. If it werent for her and others like Rezag and another person who isnt even a MILAN FAN, this site would have been closed years ago. So if we are going to talk about fairness Gioffre kindly remember the unsung heroes here like Debs and Rezag. I dont remember them once asking for a quid pro quo or complain once that it was unfair that they paid the bills while you and me were posting for free here.
Now Here is the POINT. It is about MILANMANIA and what members can do, if they have the power to do so, to whether or not x or y member is gonna help out or just do nothing and let MilanMania shut down.
Were you here when we got the virus that shut MM down for over a week??? This happen shortly after we whooped Man U. It was so bad that whoever we had managing the whole data bank thing couldnt do the job to get us back up so the site was forced to find another way to get us back online. Again... Debs and Rezag took the initiative to get MilanMania running again for all members. I dont know how you dont know of this. There have been thousands of posts about this incident. But if you werent a member here yet, this is what basically happen. Now I cant say what I have just written as being totally accurate but that is basically what happen.
Milan was owned by Jan
Jan got in big debt and left.
Debs a MEMBER and others like Rezag started to pay the monthly costs.
We got a virus.
We changed to a service with better protection for MilanMania with added costs.
We dont want Debs and Rezag to go into debt either...
The site was proposed to shut down in February... 2 weeks from now
Thus memers who can help out... PLEASE DO!
I dont know how more clearly I can put this to you.
Ok, some interesting posts have shown up overnihgt, so let me string together thoughts that will hopefully answer questions.
How did this site first get going? A Dane by the name of Jan had a site called Il Rossonero that I discovered in 98. He and I came into contact via an email list he also ran, and we discovered we had some similar ideas--the email list was very prone to some very rude and nasty flame wars, so he dropped that and deiced to revamp his Web site and add a forum. Hence Milan Mania came into existence in early March 99. Jan and I continues to communicate off site, and it was almost like I was the person he bounced all of his ideas off. As the site grew, he asked me to become its first moderator, but he gave me the same access he had--IE I could moderate every forum instead of just one or 2. He also developed the idea of Xtratime, and ended up hosting a number of other minor sites that were not his. Problem is, never once did he mention to me how much all this server power was costing him!!
Fast forward a number of years. Jan met a woman one a trip to Milan. He was already in some debt over the sites. She talked him into moving to Germany to live with her and, long story very short, she really talked him out of every penny he had set aside. In other words, he was already in debt with the server people (NOT our current server) as he was beign charged arond $1500 per month and was trying to pay it off, and then she wiped out even those funds. Communication with Jan was irregular at best--I ended up taking his position at XT which he did not bother to tell anyone so that became a whole world of problems I ended up walking away from. In the meantime he asked me if I wanted to take over the domain of MM, which I said I would do. B/c of the problems at XT and that XT was having b/c of Jan's debts, Andrew and a small group of us from XT decided to form another forum site, as a back-up b/c it looked like XT was going to vanish. Actually, it did a couple times until the new owners got something figured out. Considering Jan's debt, which Andrew estimated was around $15,000, I have no clue what the XT people did. BUT MM was still on that server, so Andrew graciously moved us over the to Final Football server, which is where we now reside.
There had been 6 of us who acted as co-owners paying $20 per month ($120 total for the server). Then we got hacked and the decision was made to move to a more secure server at ServerBeach, which unfortunately meant an increase in costs. Several co-owners had what we have to call real life happen to them--one has a child in college, one was downsized and ended up taking a lower paying job...in short real life has caught up to all of us. Right now you have 3 of the co-owners present--me, Rezag, and Andrew is still around, even tho you need to keep in mind he is not a Milan fan.
That's the tale of how the site came to be and why we're having $$ problems.
As for asking every member to pay to belong here. No. That was an issue discussed time and again when I was at XT and Jan was trying to decide on a solution. those who could not pay were totally up in arms, and can you understand why? They'd be excluded simply b/c of the hand life had dealt them, and I for one will not see that happen. If we asked people to pay to belong here, what could we give them? Well, considering shipping costs and also the costs to have anything made for us, I can't imagine what we could offer that would be cost effective. It is a nice idea, in fact I wish we could give people something. Jan once tried to sell MM merchandise and no one bought it so...
If we can stay afloat I'd like to go the route of finding less expensive hosting BUT it has to meet our requirements, which Andrew and Rezag can tell you about. Cheaper can also mean it affects hwo the site performs for all of us, so decide what you want--fast and responsive, or messages that there are too many people logged in, etc. I'd also like to look into ads as a way to pay some costs. Please no gambling--we have people here who are too young for that--but if we can find stuff that requires not much more than clicking and reading some links, go for it! Is there anyone out there who would like to help us in our search for hosting and good ads?
Well, I have to head to play practice so...read and consider! :3band:
slicknick
15-01-2006, 13:27
I'll be back in the US in a matter of weeks...I PROMISE that I will be sending some money from there... ;)
AC-GIOFFRE
17-01-2006, 19:44
I know that the people that own this site do it for enjoyment and if it wasn't for them then maybe we wouldn't have a site like this.
But remember they are the ones that decided to put money into this site. They knew it was going to cost money.
They can not now that they are in debt or running out of money ask people to put money into it just because they are in debt.
I know that the people that own this site do it for enjoyment and if it wasn't for them then maybe we wouldn't have a site like this.
But remember they are the ones that decided to put money into this site. They knew it was going to cost money.
They can not now that they are in debt or running out of money ask people to put money into it just because they are in debt.
Well enjoy the site then. Personally I wouldnt count on your help. Your mood was going that way ever since you posted.
Kui
I know that the people that own this site do it for enjoyment and if it wasn't for them then maybe we wouldn't have a site like this.
But remember they are the ones that decided to put money into this site. They knew it was going to cost money.
They can not now that they are in debt or running out of money ask people to put money into it just because they are in debt.
I avoided this discussion a bit, but must comment here.
You are completly in the dark.
First know that they are NOT in debt. The ones paying wanted to save the site and still are doing it by paying for it to still be here. They do if anything ask people to put in money since they will not be able to keep the site here still since they lost some of the former contributors making the load on the remaining people heavier.
It is not about them, it is about you (whoever "you" are). Want to help the site being here? then do what you can, if not then fine, none is forcing you are telling you have too.
You are completly in the dark.
First know that they are NOT in debt. The ones paying wanted to save the site and still are doing it by paying for it to still be here. They do if anything ask people to put in money since they will not be able to keep the site here still since they lost some of the former contributors making the load on the remaining people heavier.
AC, would you mind going back and re-reading...not just skimming but actually reading my last post where I was explaining a few things? You have either NOT read it or have chosen to misunderstand it.
As kris said, WE are not in debt, the former owner is the one who is and still must be deeply in debt. B/c of things I learned in dealing with Jan, I will never go into debt over a Web site, nor wil I let anyone I'm associated with do that. As kris also pointed out, we lost some of the former co-owners due to something I'll call real life.
IF you have been following anything here on the site since October, we have been continously trying to get the point across that we need people to step forward to help out. The situation reached a critical point for 3 of us--me, Rezag and Andrew--in December as we were all paying out more than any of us could really truly afford to and no one was responding to my saying we needed help or the site would close.
So tell me why we shouldn't ask the members here if anyone is willing or able to help keep the site online? I'm not asking you personally to contribute, since your posts speak loudly, but why shouldn't others who care about MM be asked to help?
Christopher
18-01-2006, 13:22
I have avoided this discussion as well, but after reading some of the lasts posts I felt as though I should say something. I would like to thank Debs and everyone else who has helped keep the site afloat to a lot of us this a one of soul forms of information and a place to debate with Kui about the meaning of life etc . . I agree that keeping the site on a stable server is a priority same as keeping the site afloat. There are many different ways to do that some of which have been tried and some of which havent. I am completely for advertising, I think done appropriately this site could flourish from it. Some ideas that I already have are a bit obvious we should look at sponsors that would be affliated with AC Milan itself such as Addidas, or any other place that has websites that sell AC Milan items. Any Ticket brokers that sell AC Milan ticket packages . . . I think some of you might be catching my drift here. There are plenty of reason why sponsors would advertise here . . . in a google search of "AC Milan" this site was the sixth site listed on the first page . . . look at the number of members, and then the number of poetential members (there are tons). I have noticed that on a dialy basis there is at least one to two new members everyday. It would be a small and wise investment for the appropriate companies. Please excuse any spelling errors that have occured lol.
And let's not forget that contributions are NOT MANDATORY... if you can do it, out of the goodness of your heart, we will all thank you.
That doesn't mean we shouldn't study possibilities like sponsorships.
I'm all for ads done properly, as philly chris said, and also for sponsors. Who'd like to work on this for us? I have a brainstorm that Rez will probably smack me over, but if we could set up 1 or 2 "committees" of people to investigate stuff like this, maybe we could set up a forum for the committees to "meet" and pool their info. Before anyone brings up the obvious of already having the Forum news forum, my reasoning is that if people are actually willing to put some time into some serious work, let's have at least a semi-private forum for them to do their discussing before any of it is brought to the members.
Christopher
18-01-2006, 18:51
I would be willing to help investigate sponsorship, I do have some circumstances in the near future which will take up my time but I would like to help in anyway I can . . . I also think it would be wise to have someone from Italy maybe even Milan invovled
I would be willing to help investigate sponsorship, I do have some circumstances in the near future which will take up my time but I would like to help in anyway I can . . . I also think it would be wise to have someone from Italy maybe even Milan invovled
Good to see you in the Forum Chris. I'm glad you are willing to discuss this situation with us. Please make this a long spell here in MM.
Kui
I would be willing to help investigate sponsorship, I do have some circumstances in the near future which will take up my time but I would like to help in anyway I can . . . I also think it would be wise to have someone from Italy maybe even Milan invovled
Thanks Chris, appreciate it! This stuff is as important as the funding is, so please, if you want to help, speak up. :djn:
Christopher
28-01-2006, 02:29
I am wondering what is going on with this issue . . . I cannot afford to pay money out of wallet, but want to help keep this site running . . . what has been decided if anything?
Well im new here and i already like this forum alot,ive read the first page and from what i could see u need about 15 people to pay 10 dolars a mothn right?But put it like this,there are alot of forum members here,one dolar from each one of us a month should solve the problem right?hey im not rich but a dolar a month i can donate and im sure everybody can,come on your not buyng anithing whit a dolar,no clothes,no nuthing.Well maybe food,but if u have a computer and internet that means one dolar u can aford right?
So admins how much money is needed for a month of pay?
Oh and let`s start a petition,whos willing to give 1 DOLAR A MONTH,COME ON PEOPLE SIGN UP ALL OF US CAN SOLVE THE PROBLEM WHIT NO HUGE MONEY EFORT.
I sign.
P.s :some admin send a pm to every one to read this thread,and see the idea of one dolar a month.
yer so sweet girlie :sweeteyes:
I should add that eventually I gained my aim... next semester I'm gettin scholarship... not too much... 156 Litas a month it's about 40 - 45 euro... so I can afford to donate a dollar a month :D
Egoistka
01-02-2006, 13:57
Well I m gonna get a job soon, so maybe I could help as well. But if it is like 1-5 dollars, I can donate it now. Not a big deal. I mean what can you buy with 5 dollars? Noone is loosing anything giving it to this website. Or am I being wrong?
Thanx everybody
hottie, from a standpoint of how the money is sent your idea is not easy to implement...there are fees associated with pretty much every way money is sent to someone else, so a a pretty big percentage of a dollar will be lost that way. That is not to say your idea is bad at all, I will investigate that further :)
chris, thanx not sure if you have been in contact with Debs yet but I will PM you soon.
Egoistka, thanx very much I will PM you soon.
Egoistka
01-02-2006, 17:57
Guys, actually I have one more solution for this problem. Why to pay money to someone, if my boyfriend actually can put this website on his server for free. Would you like to do that guys? That could be a solution...
Guys, actually I have one more solution for this problem. Why to pay money to someone, if my boyfriend actually can put this website on his server for free. Would you like to do that guys? That could be a solution...
It's a thought, and actually one of our own had the idea to build a server for us. We had some concerns about it, such as what happens when said person's job or situation changes and they move or something? Plus, it costs money to maintain a server. I do however feel this is something we should again discuss...
Graeme C
07-02-2006, 04:36
just want to say that i would love to help out but atm i am a very poor student (can just about afford to eat atm)...... me and my bro were thinkin about getting a fileserver (web hosting, gaming server). il let you kno if we sort something out....
It's a thought, and actually one of our own had the idea to build a server for us. We had some concerns about it, such as what happens when said person's job or situation changes and they move or something? Plus, it costs money to maintain a server. I do however feel this is something we should again discuss...
Could you specify exactly how powerful server we currently use and how much space the database use up?
Sorry, I was at aa workshop yesterday and not online. Rez can tell you the specs, I'll nag him to do that! :sun:
AMD Athlon(TM) XP 2200+
- IP Space: 1 IP Address
- Mail Server: Mail Enable
- Operating System: Window 2003 Server
- Monthly Transfer: 2000 GB
- Primary Hard Drive : 80 GB
- Processor: Athlon XP 2200
- Memory: 1 GB
- Plesk for Windows: Plesk 7 Windows 100 Domain
- Port Speed: 10 Mbit Port
- Memory: 1 GB
Sub-Total $154.00
Taxes $0.00
Total $154.00
----
Like we have posted before, we may not need all that in terms of some of the specs right now...and that is why I have a couple of options I am looking at right now which MAY reduce our costs a bit...
EDIT:
Database size currently stands at 323.59 MB
hehe, you have problems to find milan fans.. :1spie:
I can understand... our juve forum is so lively, and we have much more people there, and they most of them are so cool ;)
:sagrin: hehe, you have problems to find milan fans.. :1spie:
I can understand... our juve forum is so lively, and we have much more people there, and they most of them are so cool ;)
If the people on june forum are so "cool", then what are you doing here????
Oh Maresca, for a few minutes I had faith in you...
if all you want here is to cause trouble, then go back where you belong...
you don't see me at your forum rubbing on your face that we have 6 UCL titles and you have only 1...
BTW, we have 6 UCL titles and you have only 1...
you don't see me at your forum rubbing on your face that we have 6 UCL titles and you have only 1...
BTW, we have 6 UCL titles and you have only 1...
Wow zebra's have their own forums??? I was always thinking that it is hard for them to understand that technology :D
:3band: :3band: :3band: :3band:
come on guys i dont think he meant to cause any problems here... take it easy on him
... maresca, you can stay here as much as u want as long as u dont cause trouble or anything (which goes out to everyone else here aswell)
sant... juve actually have 2 CL's
Billy_Montreal
15-02-2006, 20:43
hehe, you have problems to find milan fans.. :1spie:
I can understand... our juve forum is so lively, and we have much more people there, and they most of them are so cool ;)
really..? taken a look at Juventuz.com recently ?? :dielaugh:
come on guys i dont think he meant to cause any problems here... take it easy on him
... maresca, you can stay here as much as u want as long as u dont cause trouble or anything (which goes out to everyone else here aswell)Yeah... he can stay... though it is not the best time for him to come here, when gobbi made another cheat recently...sant... juve actually have 2 CL'swell... the '96 one was doped :mad:
Oh Maresca, for a few minutes I had faith in you...
if all you want here is to cause trouble, then go back where you belong...
you don't see me at your forum rubbing on your face that we have 6 UCL titles and you have only 1...
BTW, we have 6 UCL titles and you have only 1...
1-6 hmm this combination remebers me of something nice..what was that..;)
I am not gonna tell you about the that we have almost double number of scudettos.. but we have 2 CL.. and stop this doping story, this is bull****..
really..? taken a look at Juventuz.com recently ?? :dielaugh:
we have some problems with server, we just have too many users there ;)
and this was one of the reasons to come here and talk to some milanisties..
are you a member of juventuz.com ?
come on guys i dont think he meant to cause any problems here... take it easy on him
... maresca, you can stay here as much as u want as long as u dont cause trouble or anything (which goes out to everyone else here aswell)
sant... juve actually have 2 CL's
+rep.. you are 100% right..
Wow zebra's have their own forums??? I was always thinking that it is hard for them to understand that technology :D
:grinser: so funny..
Billy_Montreal
16-02-2006, 11:18
we have some problems with server, we just have too many users there ;)
and this was one of the reasons to come here and talk to some milanisties..
are you a member of juventuz.com ?
not unless I got a lobotomy
not unless I got a lobotomy
In fact dear Billy I do think you have taken leave of your senses :5130:
1-6 hmm this combination remebers me of something nice..what was that..;)
I am not gonna tell you about the that we have almost double number of scudettos.. but we have 2 CL.. and stop this doping story, this is bull****..
OK, then I am not gonna correct myself and tell you we have triple number of UCL titles, then, ok? :p283:
1-6 hmm this combination remebers me of something nice..what was that..;)
I am not gonna tell you about the that we have almost double number of scudettos.. but we have 2 CL.. and stop this doping story, this is bull****..
its not bs actually... some players have admitted it (i think) and u dont need them to prove that juve have been cheating during games for god knws how long...
n e ways... welcome to the forum... try to ignore the posts here... because honestly we all hate juve here :D
good luck :)
rahul.acm
01-03-2006, 21:26
tell me how to send money and i will make sure ull get it.!
my email is
[email protected] so just tell me the method and ull have it!!
cmon evrybody just a small donation from a big chunk can help our admins and the owners. its about being together and about building a community . where is the love! (http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/blackeyedpeas/whereisthelove.html)for the club and fellow fans!!
rahul.acm
03-05-2006, 23:51
As u might have seen that we have started having google ads on the bottom of the screen!
-one of the main ways these ads work is by making the advertisers happy! How to make them happy? click on their ads and just visit their page.
-how does it work? the advertiser come to know how many ppl visit their pages thru google who keep a track of the number.
- what am i requesting for?
just click on them as often as possible. as these ads come thru google there is no possibility that they will screw ur computer.
- how this will help us?
our ratings will increase and the rates of advertising on our website will increase which will inturn help our dear admins and owners! Also we will have more and more ads. there are many other ways this can help share the burden of our admins and owners.
this is the least possible thing which u can do. I hope you do not mind and get on! :)
we all have fun here so i beleive we all shud make at least that much effort! ;)
and last but in no way the least, u can always contribute directly to our admin by donating thru paypal. the account name is
[email protected]. please confirm the address before u donate, for confirmation visit this page (http://www.milanmania.com/forums/showpost.php?p=336467&postcount=65)
Disclaimer: This post or myself have no connection with Google or the advertisers on this site. You have every right to overlook this post and complain if I have mistaken. I hope i have not offended any of our admins, mods or the forum rules, If I have, they were of no intention of causing harm to this forum and were of the most helpful intentions. I will have no objections if my post is edited. thank you for your patience.
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