DKW 86 7,426 Posted March 14, 2006 Share Posted March 14, 2006 Over the last few years I have been a very fortunate man. I got a very lucky break and had an already popular website just about fall into my lap. We went through a few moves and several upgrades as the members climbed up and up. AUNation always got better. For that I am very thankful and humble. After Christmas I had to make a decision. This site was costing Kim and I a ton of cash. Cash we really could no longer juistify spending. It was also costing myself about 15-20 hours per week. My work week is about 75-80 hours right now. I work full time 40+ hours at a Fortune 5 company, I own AUNation and a Webhosting/site development service, and I teach college locally. I am also active in my church as well. All this left little time for my wife and kids. I must also tell you that part of the changed ownership arrangement came after life altering health issues. That was a real wake up call for me. You cannot enjoy your family if you are not around to be there. While my medical problems are not life threatening, they are definitely life altering. You see, my hobby was becoming a black hole of time and funds. The cash situation is roughly this: Costs for the site, software, and bandwidth are exceeding Donations, Media Page contributions, and ad revenues by $$$$ several thousand$ a year. I have consulted media folks about the advertising. Worked deals for sponsorships, and basically wasted a lot of time. My decision was basically this: 1) I could shut it down. 2) I could ramble on like it was and hope for the best. 3) I could reorganize the site. After a long drawn out process, whereby I discussed and offered a deal to about 10-12 folks, I have taken on several investors in AUNation. I wont name them but you all know who they are. This has allowed me to free up time and funds from now on. There are about half a dozen or so investors in an entity I call AUNation Unlimited. If they want to chime on in they can do so on this thread. There are folks you will be surprised that didnt step up to the plate but basically they didnt for very valid personal or professional reasons. As time goes on, you will see these folks becoming more active on AUNation and myself getting less active until football season looms around. All the rules still apply that did before. Any questions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
autigger 0 Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 does this mean my very soon to be donation is not needed? i saved some money from my tax refund...for ya... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKW 86 7,426 Posted March 15, 2006 Author Share Posted March 15, 2006 Anything is welcome...We are better off, not in the black. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthLink02 8 Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 If the site changes colors to red and black, that would be cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKW 86 7,426 Posted March 15, 2006 Author Share Posted March 15, 2006 If the site changes colors to red and black, that would be cool 225303[/snapback] That aint right.... Dont you have a home town to clean up or something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tigrinum Major Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 If the site changes colors to red and black, that would be cool 225303[/snapback] Since I have a small voice in this matter, lemme just say that it ain't happening. Thanks, David, for this opportunity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saniflush 0 Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 If the site changes colors to red and black, that would be cool 225303[/snapback] That aint right.... Dont you have a home town to clean up or something? 225307[/snapback] You must mean that constant urine smell from Athens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Proud Tiger 4,261 Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 Thanks for all your hard work and dedication David. You can cut back a little with the satisfaction of knowing that WEN is the best site of it's kind on the net. I hope everyone who loves WEN will do their part to keep it going in a positive direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny AU-92 0 Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 David was losing out on time and money, so the small group of us that David mentioned just decided to make a set annual contribution to help offset some of David's costs, and to help assume some of the administrative and operational responsibilities of running this joint. As he mentioned, the alternative was shutting this site down, and none of us wanted to see that happen. In exchange, we have been given kind of a board of director status with input as to the direction AUNation takes in the years to come. In no way has our investment come anywhere close to getting this site into positive status. It has helped in the short term, but David is still running way in the red over the long term. PLEASE REMEMBER, that unlike ITAT and some other sites out there, THIS SITE IS STILL FREE. Our main goal is to keep it that way. So even though we are underwriting some of the operating costs, we certainly do hope that everyone will still continue as before with any donations they feel led to give. At the risk of sounding like a PBS fundraiser, think about how much you get out of this site, and how much the same thing would cost you on another site. Think about how much you spend on your other hobbies - I know for some of us, myself included, this is as much a hobby as anything else we do. Then if you can swing it, hit the PayPal button and make a contribution. Another thing you can do is to use the links to go to our advertisers. For example, when you buy online from Auburn Art by clicking through on the ad on the home page, a portion comes back to this site in ad revenue. It's not much, but every bit helps. We hope to get other advertisers on here soon, and hope that you will make the most of them. No pop-ups, I promise. Okay, speech over. Thanks to David for giving us the opportunity to pitch in rather than have us all lose out on a wonderful thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWK 0 Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 Any kind of help i can provide, just let me know. Thanks David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthLink02 8 Posted March 15, 2006 Share Posted March 15, 2006 Dont you have a home town to clean up or something? Hard to do when FEMA....err.....nevermind Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKW 86 7,426 Posted March 16, 2006 Author Share Posted March 16, 2006 Dont you have a home town to clean up or something? Hard to do when FEMA....err.....nevermind 225415[/snapback] Slink, if you love the Federal Govt management of Fema-Katrina disaster, you'll love nationalized healthcare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumbo 0 Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 Where and how do you donate... are we talking thousands of dollars per person, All I see on the site that you can pay for is media page access, just want to get some clarity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny AU-92 0 Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 Where and how do you donate... are we talking thousands of dollars per person, All I see on the site that you can pay for is media page access, just want to get some clarity225802[/snapback] On the Front Page, in the bottom of the frame on the left hand side, there is a "Make a Donation" button. Donation means anything you want it to mean. $5, $15, $50, $500, $5,000,000,000... we are just grateful for anything that anyone contributes. We don't announce who donates or how much - that's between you and David - but you will get a PM to say thanks. Media page access is something totally separate. Any donations to the site go directly to the operating costs for equipment, hosting, etc. We thank everyone for their support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWK 0 Posted March 17, 2006 Share Posted March 17, 2006 When i get my bonus from work, i will be contributing. I mean what kind of person would i be if i didn't? Its rightfully AUNations $$ anyways since yall keep me alive during the work week Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumbo 0 Posted March 18, 2006 Share Posted March 18, 2006 Thanks for the info and thanks to everyone that makes this board possible I know Im pretty new here but I really appreciate all ya'll do! Where and how do you donate... are we talking thousands of dollars per person, All I see on the site that you can pay for is media page access, just want to get some clarity225802[/snapback] On the Front Page, in the bottom of the frame on the left hand side, there is a "Make a Donation" button. Donation means anything you want it to mean. $5, $15, $50, $500, $5,000,000,000... we are just grateful for anything that anyone contributes. We don't announce who donates or how much - that's between you and David - but you will get a PM to say thanks. Media page access is something totally separate. Any donations to the site go directly to the operating costs for equipment, hosting, etc. We thank everyone for their support. 225809[/snapback] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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