[John]

Originally Posted by etadrisophila

This is a serious problem and the message needs to reach all readers. Is there a way to keep this thread at the TOP of the recent threads page?

When premium account access is available for GreekChat supporting members I'll be promoting it throughout the site in a very noticeable location.

Originally Posted by ree-Xi

Is there an option available for people to help out even with $5, 10 at a time? I don't care about "premium services" in exchange for it, I just would like to be able to help out a little when I can. I don't want to speak for others, but I am guessing that there are some others here who feel the same. I mean, if you got 200 people to donate $10 each, that would cover a lot of your cost, right?

Yes, every contribution does help make a difference and would be very appreciated. A few years ago I held a donation drive, raised approx $500 from around 20 people. It sort of feels too awkward in a way to be asking for donations month after month so I only did it that one time. If I could provide a lot more value for premium/paid account holders (I'm sure I could) then I'd feel right about promoting that regularly as opposed to always asking for donations. I guess I'd feel as though I earned it by providing additional value beyond the free level of access to GC.

Just to put it into perspective, I probably have $50k+ into this (plus thousands of hours of work) since launching the site years ago and have only recovered a fraction of that. I joke sometimes and refer to GC as my expensive hobby. It wasn't envisioned to turn out that way, but I still try to make it work and look forward to when I finally figure out the recipe for success.

Covering base costs and dealing with the more urgent current server issue is very important, but I'd like to try and get GC beyond that, if possible, so that site development doesn't remain stagnated.

Anyhow, I can setup an option for $5 or $10 contributions as you mentioned. I think the way I'd like to accommodate for that is to make monthly premium account access available (in addition to the annual plan) with the price being $5 per month. This way anyone wanting to contribute $5 would still receive the bonus account features during the month.

Originally Posted by IndianaSigKap

This sounds like a good idea. One of the sites I frequent has a PayPal donation link. Once a year I donate $20-25. You could do it that way without having to add "premium services".

I'm thinking more GCers would be interested in helping to support the site if there were some fringe benefits of doing so. Maybe things like virtually unlimited private messaging storage or ability to use avatars. I might still setup a donations link, though, if there are members or site visitors who would like to support GC without the upgraded premium account access or in addition to it.

Thanks for all the comments.