Even though I've been a member of this Forum for only 9 months, it has managed to become a part of my daily routine. It's usually the first thing I log onto when I fire up the computer and the last thing I check before turning it off at night.

I've personally met a lot of good people in my geographical area and have spent time on cruises with them. I've also "met" many good folks through this medium across the country that I'd never have met otherwise. I've learned tons of things about my car and hope that maybe I've been able to share a thought or two with others.

I plan to contribute as soon as possible to the forum because of all I've gotten from here. Plus, I think those big stars will look good next to my car's name...But I'd still like to see the little stars that people have spent countless hours accumulating ...

 

Darn Euros!

They'll let anyone in these days!

Let a guy in the country, then let him get a Vette, and the next thing you know he's spreading the Ricer disease on his fellow citizens.

 

you are stuck in the "defend the donation" process. DO you have any other thoughts??? It's nothing to do about donating... and everything to do about being officially deemed "Lifetime". We have bannings here; how do you legally ban someone that has been declared "Lifetime" without opening a can of legal worms. Other forums that consulted a lawyer were told to not do that.
Either CF has some weird lawyers... or none were consulted at all.

now you scare me.. you're pretending to be a lawyer. DO you realize your "opinion" of what the law is (or should be) ... has ZERO meaning in any litigation?

Common-sense is what makes people look like fools when legal trouble starts to brew.

That's alright though. There's no need to continue here when people are mis-representing my entire postings and warnings about (what appears to me to be) a bad business decision to deem anyone a "Lifetime" so & so.

:

 

I don't pretend to be a lawyer...I let my lawyer do that. I can't help but learn from experiences.

So far, all I've gathered from your remarks, is that if someone is deemed a "lifetime member" (which actually expires in 30yrs) you fear they somehow legally own this place.

Note no mention of anonymous or shunning donations mentioned anywhere.


Until someone other than Troy Roberts takes control of this domain name, they have zero claim to this website, and have no claim, control, or responsibility of it's content.
While to us users,sure, it seems to be a public "place"....But there is still one lone single person who controls the switch. He can shut it off anytime he wishes, and it is still his operation, not the mods, not supporting members, not anyone else's.

For any attack to penetrate this forum as you fear, it must go thourgh him first.

 

A Modder to the end....


Mark

 

You're not a lawyer...

Not sure if you read the sign up sheet for the new supporting contributions but it clearly states, and I quote... "The legal stuff - While we will do our best to continue to operate Corvetteforum.com there is no guarantee of continued service. Supporting Members must follow all forum rules just as non-supporting members. Supporting Member status does not grant any special consideration when member banning is considered due to breaking forum rules. Refunds will not be granted to Supporting Members who are banned for breaking forum rules."

I'll sum it up in one sentence.... Play nicely or leave the sandbox.
Sounds like Troy clearly covered his behind....


Mark

 

DAMN, you're good....

 

I'm gonna contribute (give back a little something for all I've gotten from this forum)...shortly...just gave the money I had squirelled away to Sal Zaino (didn't realize I was almost out of stuff - cost me $110).

The rather large stars are quite gawdy I'll admit.

 

This place is great!

.

 

Awww look ... Target Chaser, Mike Mercury, MyBlueC5, even EG ...
Isn't this place great when people get along? Guess what?

Seriously, all you people (including countless others not named) make this a great place for others. The resources, experiences and willingness to help others is what CF is all about. Stars sh-mars. It's all about the people here

 

Ah!! I've missed this all together. Man everyone has turned into a General. Two Star, Four Star. What are the rest of us supposed to do now? I have always hated doing what peer pressure tries to get me to do. So I will be one that keeps the red, white, and blue stars that show everyone that I have done something to contribute to this great forum. Not just pay someone off. Besides they look terrible and to much in your face.

This has got the smell of money behind it. I can appreciate that it costs a fair bit to have this site up and running but without all of us making it as popular as it is, it would not be here. I wonder if we should get paid for each 1000 posts.The vendors pay to advertise here and from what I hear it's not cheap. Maybe the forum should take a percentage of what's sold here. Just like and how E-Bay works.

So there's my .02 I'll keep my stars that I earned and contributed to attain. And not bend to the peer pressure. For after reading this post, whether or not you agree, peer pressure is alive and well.

 

Stock Man,

I love ya bud but I have to disagree. I donated money because I realize how it costs money to run this place. I personally don't give a damn if I get stars or not. The stars do not dictate the quality nor quantity of the posts. It simply shows that you love this forum enough to help make it easier on the owner.

I didn't donate because of peer pressure. I donated because the crummy 100 bucks I donated is a .0001% of the money and time this forum has saved me.

Like I said, still love ya... ya cheapskate. (j/k)

Mark

 

Group hug again!! Hands above the waist, Dave....

 

All joking aside, I run my own dns, multiple webservers, and mailservers and you would be surprised how much bandwidth alone cost!! Not to mention multiple high end servers, stout routers, switches, intrusion detection and response, firewalls, wrappers, patches, logging and monitoring.

It's not free. For less than the cost of just one tyre, I thought it was worth the contribution.

EG

 

I appreciate the support from those of you who have signed up for the Supporting Member program.

It really is nice to see that the site and everything we do here is appreciated. It's a true vote of confidence when someone is willing to put real money forward. It is greatly appreciated.

For those who do not like the system all I can say is that it is voluntary. You can continue as you do today. We are happy to have you. Contributions to the site/community come in many forms. The supporting member program is just one of them.

I agree with many of the comments made about the look of the supporting member stars and the loss of the posting stars. Both are being addressed. I am having some stars made with a clear background so that they blend in a bit more. I am also working on a way to bring back the red white and blue stars for the supporting members.

As far as donations go, sometimes they are made anonymously and sometimes they aren't. I contribute to many charities and I can tell you that most times you see a list of donors. It is a very small percentage who donate anonymously. I like the idea of thanking those who are supporting members publicly. That is my personal opinion. I'm not going to argue it with anyone as it is a subjective viewpoint.

Besides, I tried to make this more than a donation. You actually get specific benefits for becoming a supporting member. These benefits are the expensive ones to turn on for all members due to bandwidth, storage space, etc. For example, post attachments would kill me on bandwidth if I turned them on for all members. With this program those who would like to have those extras are paying for them.

As far as legal concerns go - I'll deal with that. I have legal help available and would use it if necessary. Supporting Members have to play by the same rules as everyone else. I don't know when it will happen or who it will be but I can guarantee you that someone will be the first supporting member to get banned.

To sum it all up - if you would like to get some extra benefits and support the site at the same time please do so. If not, then don't. It's really not something to get upset over.

 

Stock Man, Stock Man, Stock Man, get paid for every 1000 posts, you can't be serious.
This is a priviledge not a right.

Stock Man, you are one of my favorite guys here but I must digress and vent my brother. Don't take this wrong because it is not directed soley at you my friend.

There is no peer pressure going on here! I ditched that nonsense back in High School and hopefully most of the rest here have as well. If you are referring to some of our antics in the beginning of this thread that was all in fun! This is totally voluntary as Troy has stated. As far as the Vendors are concerned I would pay for some of those crooks to leave (notice I said some). They damn well better pay to support the forum with the prices they charge us! As far as the stars go, little or big, I could care less. Some people seem to want everything that is free to stay free and that is fine but if I choose to contribute that is my business. I shouldn't have to be made to feel like I am unworthy because I have not spent 4 or 5 fricken years here. MM got all bent out of shape because he hasn't been given the opportunity to donate anonymously, big damn deal! He of all people should not feel obligated to contribute with all he has contributed over the years in knowledge and helpfullness. I've only been on here for 6 months and I'll never have the knowledge and expertise of some here so my way of contributing to make up for that is monetary. And I take offense to anyone who thinks that that is an attempt by me or anyone else to leap frog ahead of someone with a bunch more little stars than I have. Because that is not why I did that, some people here have some serious insecurity issues. One thing I hate more than anything here is to go on a rant but I have to speak my mind, unfortunatley I have never been accused of biting my tongue on issues that I am passionate about. EG summed it up best imho by his statement about it costing less than a single tyre (Brit spelling ) for the highest amount you can contribute. Bottom line: Don't feel obligated but don't feel ashamed either! Either way were all in this brotherhood together for the good of all.

 

And the "peer pressure" thing was just my usual silly and irreverent nonesense and should NOT be taken seriously!!!

As I said above; I'm a newbie. No shame in that. And I always acknowledge my seniors like Mike Mercury, Patches, Evil Twin (to name just 3) that have helped me on countless occassions with advice, expertise, documentation or corrected my assumptions. Not to mention saved me making time consuming and very expensive mistakes - and that has been priceless.

This forum has also provided me with a lot of mirth and merriment. And I have met some friends.

It's not often in this Marred and Fallen World that one place can provide so many disparate things at the same time.

So relax all - and enjoy. Life is too short to argue over how many Angels can dance on the head of a pin.

Cheers

EG

 

 

I'll be updating to some gold one's here shortly

 

I have been here @ 1 year and I have to say,a day does not go by without my logging in and joining the fun.
Therefore,I will be donating soon as well.....

There are so many knowledgable and friendly people here....I would feel a great loss if it were not here for me to tinker with!

I really dislike the HUGE stars.It is to "in your face".....Plus I think people have earned the right to show their contributions(in posts),so personally ,I like the old system...

Maybe something along the lines of "st jude contributor" would be better received

I have made an observation lately,and if I am right, this thread will be closed now!

I may have to change my screen name

See you all around....flynbya2...aka threadkill !!