Time has come again...

[tayser]

fair enough.... but is it really worth pre-empting the "possible" amount of trolls if TO were to go directly under SSC?

I dunno bout the people who dont go there much (any other SSC mods here?) - but one thing's for sure, if a mod puts in a request for people to be banned, suspended / brigged etc, it pretty much gets done straight away. Plus especially when there's a large group of people, trolls usually get shunned away, OzScrapers and DutchScrapers are prime examples!

Why not just try SSC for a month etc ?

tays

 

[Canuck 36]

Here's a quick running tally:

Declared contribution: michaelpfox, Jarrek, alklay, GeekyBoyTO, joel in TO, caltrane74, Darkstar416, AlchemisTO, cassiusa, ganjavih, Archivistower, jgreebnerg76, Canuck 36, kpad, cdl42, 0tas0, EnviroTO & [safe to assume a little chip in from] billy corgan19982.

So, assuming all 18 people listed above make an average contribution of $15-20 CDN, we're looking at $270-360 CDN pledged so far. We're getting to the figure of $300 US.

 

[Junglab2002]

I wouldn't mind tossing in a bit either.

 

[ganjavih]

SSC already has a Toronto forum:

Toronto forum

And SSC is full of children... I'd prefer we stay separate. I like things the way they are.

 

[rxj71]

I'm in for cash. I like the forum, I use the forum - I should contribute to the forum...

 

[Jan from Rotown]

What this community needs is to ditch Ezboard and get a host of it's own running either a vBulletin or a PHPBB. The numbers posted by Ryan show that you spend about 1 gig bandwidth a week just for the forum which seems very low, but my guess is that in case you opt for a thingy of your own, you probably are going to need a package that allows for 30 to 35 gigs a month, so you have room to grow and extra space to host related projects and images. I don’t know if the king size image on top of this forum is being added to the use of bandwidth as well. If so, get rid of it. Also keep in mind the current UT is only visible for members and I suppose you want to open it up for public viewing. Also Ezboard scripts produces very economical code to save them bandwidth. Ikonboard for example was infamous for burning bandwidth. The old Dutch forum, which by size and activity is comparable to Urban Toronto, used about 25 gB a month. vBulletin by the way allows for GZIP output which cuts the bandwidth output for about sixty percent. Also, besides the financial commitments of many forumers here, I don’t think it should be very hard to find professional sponsors in the field of urban development who like to sponsor a place where enthusiasm about their job is being created. I don’t think one standard ‘this month is brought to you by:’ banner is much of a problem.

The offer to host UT at ssc was made because ssc is basically a collection of many communities that now benefits from each others presence and I figured the active Toronto community would fit right in as a front page forum while being an asset to the whole as well. By some of the reactions, I see that I was a bit mistaken. Trust me if I say that I am very aware of the merits of running a forum of your own (that’s the prime reason we left ssp at the time) but I feel a few people here are making us out to be some sorts of a trolls galore. It is true mass attracts mass, but since the locals run the community themselves they can do exactly as they please and used to. Style templates allow for customized looks and anyone who knows php can make it look exactly as they want to.

Anyway, if this place needs some help in getting started with a own host I’ll be glad to assist. (to answer the question before it is asked: no, I don’t do external hosting, sorry) I am also quite experienced into fundraising for these sort of things and if you want to I’ll be glad to help out and set you up with this.

Cheers fellows,
- Jan

 

[3Dementia]

B.C.

I'm sure you can raise the needed bucks to keep UrbanToronto where it is (or at least somewhere else completely independent).

As usual I'm in for some cash support... once you do the math let me know the ideal contribution.

SUGGESTION: start a temporary section (DONORS) right in forumers' faces to raise the bucks, post the suggested donation amount ($20??) and get the commitments via posts.

Frankly I rarely visit "Forum Issues" thus my suggestion to put the fundraising front and centre until you have what you need.

In any case.... stay independent for many obvious reasons.

 

[fiendishlibrarian]

I'll contribute as well.

 

[TdotTrickyRicky]

I would donate as well.

I have visited skyscraperpage and skyscrapercity a few times. While somewhat similar to this forum, I find them more specifically geared to skyscraper enthusiasts. I personally am more interested in an urban Toronto forum then a forum for Toronto skyscraper enthusiasts. Regardless of the content of the forum, by joining skyscrapercity we would implicitly be stating that this is the Toronto forum for skyscraper enthusiasts, not the urban Toronto forum. I find this distinction significant; however ultimately it is up to the moderators as to what direction they wish to take.

 

[Are Be]

Why not a socail?
Have a brief meeting in a pub -- downtown, patio, etc.
Toss in a minimum of $10.00- a free way to raise cash.
Everybody pays for own food and drink -- simple.
Get a few bucks.
No real effort.
Must be over early enough so that people can get on with thier evening, etc.
Firday probably teh best-- after work, head to some patio, all over by 6:00, 6:30 etc.

 

[Hairspray77]

I wouldn't mind donating either. I have been a silent participant in this forum for a long time now and enjoy it immensely.

MY question is simple: If the forum is in need of CA$H, what will happen when the actual site is launched>??

 

[Jayomatic]

Sorry for the delay. I'm definitly in! I'm good for $20 or more.

 

[miesvanderjoe]

I am happy to pitch in $10 - $20. But I do like the idea of a forum that can be viewed by the interested puiblic. Also, I agree that there might be willing corporate sponsors for this forum.

 

[Brighter Hell]

re corporate sponsors - companies in the development/architecture/planning/engineering fields might be willing to sponsor the forum. but what happens if a firm like kpmb wants to sponsor us? will our constant thrashing of their architecture cut off any funding? will we have to watch what we say about certain firms? on the other hand, firms might appreciate criticism from urban enthusiasts that they might not otherwise get. planners and architects have to have thick skins after all.

 

[Canuck 36]

Declared contribution: michaelpfox, Jarrek, alklay, GeekyBoyTO, joel in TO, caltrane74, Darkstar416, AlchemisTO, cassiusa, ganjavih, Archivistower, jgreebnerg76, Canuck 36, kpad, cdl42, 0tas0, EnviroTO, Junglab2002, rxj71, 3Dementia, fiendishlibrarian, TdotTrickyRicky, Hairspray77, Jayomatic, miesvanderjoe & [safe to assume a little chip in from] billy corgan19982.

26 people, assume average of $15-$20, we're in the $390-$520 CDN range.

Using the bank of Canada converter @ nominal rates, that's about the $279-$372 US range. We have the cash to keep the forum ad free. Therefore, the threat of not having enough money should not play into the discussion in deciding the best route for the forum to take.