Ning.com announced that it will be phasing out their free service and focus on paid Premium Services. They stated that "existing free networks will have the opportunity to either convert to paying for premium services, or transition off of Ning.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?

You can insert a lot of google adds and we will start clicking.Paypal is a good idea but look,I am only 17 and i can't own any credit cards.I can use my father's,but it will take me a lot of time to persuade him and only for about 5$.You know, he will say that it's not worth it and that you can steal his credit card pass and stuff.I will donate some money, but what i want to say is that new members won't pay to enter the site.I wouldn't.My father wouldn't let me and even i wouldn't be sure it was worth it.We need alternatives.

The problem with charging the newbees is that you can't really know what the site is about or worth paying for till you're in. I mean this place is cooler than Myspace but I didn't know that till a bit after joining. Work your stuff on the regulars, they are the ones who should be donating the most anyway. I'll try and chip in the 10$ as often as I can.

BTW this time the donation worked but doing it with a credit card is a pain in the arse, anyone who is not American, be patient because the system takes a few seconds to process every time you change something which means it will delete everything you have entered if you type faster than the time it takes.

10 bucks sent your way Kopper

problem is, a lot of people on the net don't believe in paying for SHIT. period. I don't think charging new folks will really work(especially as a steady source of funding), and it might be a bit off-putting. is there any way to limit what they can access though? "with just $1 you can get the full treatments" kind of thing? I am more of a lurker, but I've been here daily since 2005(?). I love it. You,ve provided the soundtrack for my life on many occassions. I think it's going to be the "long timers" who keep things going. maybe give a special bonus to those who give good and regular, like a video of Lucy Lux and Crystal catfighting or Brad X giving up alcohol for two weeks and getting the DTs. so.....I will try to throw in $10 a month. Until I can get some legal problems out of the way, it's all I can afford. but it's a small, SMALL price to pay for all the entertainment y'all have given me. kopper said:

I think I'm going to try holding off on charging a cover charge for new members, at least for the time being. We'll see how it goes the first six months or so, and if we just aren't getting enough donations or ad revenue, then I might try it out, but I don't want charging new members a dollar or two to dissuade folks from signing up... which I'm afraid it might do.

yo!
the bands could easily arrange some gigs to donate garagepunk.com,remember what has happened to Voodoo Rhythm Records.and the amount was way too fucking more than 50$...cause this s the only one page with tons of cool radio shows and stuff!
we are also in!
the raws from istanbulhell

Just made a small donation.
I reckon I still owe heaps for the old Garagepunk page, let alone the podcasts etc.

Remember when you get get a dozen eggs for a dollar? kopper said:

What has that got to do with anything?

brotherkyle said:

remember when the garagepunk forum was boss?

What has that got to do with anything? brotherkyle said:

remember when the garagepunk forum was boss?

Thanks! I appreciate all the donations that have come in lately. So far we're paid up through October, and that's not even counting Google Adsense revenue! Keep the donations comin'! kopper Petulant Child said:

always need a place to hide so I'm in with the donation part!!

always need a place to hide so I'm in with the donation part!!

I think I'm going to try holding off on charging a cover charge for new members, at least for the time being. We'll see how it goes the first six months or so, and if we just aren't getting enough donations or ad revenue, then I might try it out, but I don't want charging new members a dollar or two to dissuade folks from signing up... which I'm afraid it might do.

I'm sober now and will try doing it with paypal. Probably for the best that stuff with my card doesn't work when I've had anything to drink. kopper said:

Well, since I'm not *in* Germany I'm not able to replicate the issue, but I can say that I know PayPal works in Germany as I have sent payments to people in Germany before with it. You'll just have to check the site (possibly the FAQ page) and see what you can find. Normally a bank transfer or credit card will due, same as anywhere else. Good luck, and thanks!

kopper

Mike Humsgreen said:

Hello, I love surf and rock podcasts, am currently drunk but cannot get the payment to work so that I can donate a silly proportion of my wage to this site. I'm not sure how long I have left until the magical juice wears thin but judging from my spelling not very long. My bank account is German, might this have something to do with anything?

Well, since I'm not *in* Germany I'm not able to replicate the issue, but I can say that I know PayPal works in Germany as I have sent payments to people in Germany before with it. You'll just have to check the site (possibly the FAQ page) and see what you can find. Normally a bank transfer or credit card will due, same as anywhere else. Good luck, and thanks! kopper Mike Humsgreen said:

Hello, I love surf and rock podcasts, am currently drunk but cannot get the payment to work so that I can donate a silly proportion of my wage to this site. I'm not sure how long I have left until the magical juice wears thin but judging from my spelling not very long. My bank account is German, might this have something to do with anything?

Hello, I love surf and rock podcasts, am currently drunk but cannot get the payment to work so that I can donate a silly proportion of my wage to this site. I'm not sure how long I have left until the magical juice wears thin but judging from my spelling not very long. My bank account is German, might this have something to do with anything?

I would just look for another free social networking site alternative.

To be honest 1 dollar although not much might have stopped me signing up on here, just for the hassle and that I wouldn't really know what the site is about. But I think I'll pop in a donation after payday this month because the podcasts fucking rock and got me into some good music. I imagine that the donation would be to an overseas American firm? I like the lottery idea a lot too.

Check's in the "virtual Mail"

Look forward to checking in for the next year

I don't think you came across like you were groveling for money. But I do know that you seem to have a lot on yer plate with the foundation thingy for yer new wee ones thing, running this place, yer family, yer job. I mean a man needs time to sit and drink every now and then... maybe more of now and less of then... and less stress is less stress... anyway... I don't think you were groveling. kopper said:

OK, I"m confused. I think I detailed what my options are in my previous post... didn't I? Gonna start charging new members $1 to join. Right now we get (on average) 5 new members a day. Obviously if I start charging to join, that will go down, but even if it goes down to just one new member per day, that alone will account for about $30/month, meaning I'd only have to make an additional $20 from ads. With Google ads I can probably make that much, maybe even a little more with increased traffic and ad clicks. If not, there's always the banner ads to make a little more, plus online donations via PayPal.
I don't want to come across as grovelling for money here. This doesn't even happen until July, and we've already had several people donate $$ to the cause (through the PayPal donation button). So far I've collected $53, which is great! I also plan on sending out a broadcast message to the entire network which should also net me some more money. But all the donations will do is provide a cushion in the event that we don't pull in enough from ad sales and new member sign-ups. I hope this explains it a bit better than I did in my previous post.

Oh, don't worry chief, you explained yourself OK, no missunderstanding in how you going to finance that. Just thinking loud and not taking away from you. Trying to do my share, is all. Just concerned that option B): "...or, more likely, B) close the site entirely." will fall into place since you're no wishy washy dude when it comes to making stuff true that you said, if that finance doesn't realize itself to satisfying results. Call me a sissy, if ya want, I don' mind. ;) kopper said:

OK, I"m confused.... I hope this explains it a bit better than I did in my previous post.

OK, I"m confused. I think I detailed what my options are in my previous post... didn't I? Gonna start charging new members $1 to join. Right now we get (on average) 5 new members a day. Obviously if I start charging to join, that will go down, but even if it goes down to just one new member per day, that alone will account for about $30/month, meaning I'd only have to make an additional $20 from ads. With Google ads I can probably make that much, maybe even a little more with increased traffic and ad clicks. If not, there's always the banner ads to make a little more, plus online donations via PayPal. I don't want to come across as grovelling for money here. This doesn't even happen until July, and we've already had several people donate $$ to the cause (through the PayPal donation button). So far I've collected $53, which is great! I also plan on sending out a broadcast message to the entire network which should also net me some more money. But all the donations will do is provide a cushion in the event that we don't pull in enough from ad sales and new member sign-ups. I hope this explains it a bit better than I did in my previous post.

Yeah true, but a little headstart craziness can't be wrong in this case, no? ;) High Lord Mardy Pune said:

I don't really think we're at the 'save the hideout' part yet but every little bit helps.

<<It would be good if the podcasters could mention something in their podcasts, after all the podcasts are what this place is about.>> Will do! High Lord Mardy Pune said:

Well, I just threw a regular donation into the monthly budget. I don't do facebook or myspace so this is pretty much the only place on the internet that I go to apart from twitter [no, that's not sad; it's just the way I roll]. I realize many people here won't be able to donate due to their circumstances but that shouldn't stop them trying to drum up support among others they talk to on here.
I don't really think we're at the 'save the hideout' part yet but every little bit helps. If everyone who uses the hideout donated $1 there would be enough money in the pot to run this place for a while. It would be good if the podcasters could mention something in their podcasts, after all the podcasts are what this place is about.

Well, I just threw a regular donation into the monthly budget. I don't do facebook or myspace so this is pretty much the only place on the internet that I go to apart from twitter [no, that's not sad; it's just the way I roll]. I realize many people here won't be able to donate due to their circumstances but that shouldn't stop them trying to drum up support among others they talk to on here.
I don't really think we're at the 'save the hideout' part yet but every little bit helps. If everyone who uses the hideout donated $1 there would be enough money in the pot to run this place for a while. It would be good if the podcasters could mention something in their podcasts, after all the podcasts are what this place is about.

Now that's cool! LoveStruck said:

I realize this takes a bunch of work. I'd be happy to send you a 7", mp3's, a tshirt (?) if you did a "save the hideout" online party or something!