MilanMania to shutdown

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.

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.

Thanks guys!!!

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.

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!

Originally Posted by Debs

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...

Originally Posted by SANT

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 !

Originally Posted by Kui

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! 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!

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...

Originally Posted by SANT

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.

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.