State of AFN 2021

[Little Brother]

Dear AFN family,

I wanted to talk to you all a little bit about how we should go forward for our site finances in 2021. Our goal is simply to get bills paid to keep the site and community going.

The Cost:

The cost for our server rental is $350.00 every 3 months (per quarter,) plus $45.00 for our backup storage (also quarterly.)

I don't think our technical requirements have changed to require any server upgrades as of right now, but I'll ask Wwwillie what he thinks and if we need to get anything beefed up.

So that's $395.00 every 3 months we're on the hook for, or $1580.00 annually for server rental alone.

I think it's a safe bet to budget at least $500 for technical work if/when the need arises (which we have found it arises.)

A lot of our licenses and support for add-on's work for a limited time period (so we're purchasing like 1 or 2 year license agreements; ) so what that means is that we're still good using everything we're using, but if we want to get on the most recent/updated versions of things, we need to renew our licenses for those things (the cost is substantially cheaper than the initial cost to purchase, but it's something to factor in. Usually like $10-25 per renewal depending on the software add-on.)

We're officially going to budget in for a dev server as well, which we're looking at some variable costs on (@wwwillie is helping me figure out the best way to get something that works that's also value/cost effective.)

The Question:

So the question I have for the community is, do you want to go with what we did last year and push the GoFundMe campaign? Or do we sell out a few banner spots and not put that burden on the community? Last year we were 100% funded by the AFN community (the members!) In prior years, AFN had been paid primarily out of personal pocket (and we had a few years where banners/vendors paid for the site too.)

Personally, I love the idea of a forum that's funded by it's members, not it's vendors. We can't be accused of being put in anyone's pocket. But it's a financial burden burden too, and honestly I could sell a couple ads and we'd be on easy street too.

So you all let us know how we should spin this, and we'll do this the way the community wants us to. This is for you, me, all of us!

The vendors ought to pay for the site upkeep without official advertisement (banners and whatever) as they get shit tons of free exposure when members list their product line up or suggest products to other members. Even with crowd funding suggestions for products may not be honest as some receive products for free. Probably with the understanding that it will be showcased here

 

[hecno]

No way man , Sell your soul by doing that , and that is not what AFN is about , If it ever comes to that I am out of here .

 

[Little Brother]

No way man , Sell your soul by doing that , and that is not what AFN is about , If it ever comes to that I am out of here .

Ehh?

 

[BCBudlady]

Agree with @hecno. No paid advertising and the slant that goes along with it. Even when free seeds/lights/nutes are involved in grow battles....can’t help but create bias. More growing, learning, and teaching.

 

[Sour D]

Bias, hmmmmm. I might be favorably biased if they come on with good infomercials but just blatant ads? IDK, Can't say I've ever clicked through the few ads on here nor FB and YT ads. If anything, I have more bias against them. If they got to push that hard--something stinks. It's just background noise. I've had some free seeds and in the end thought--I'm glad I didn't pay for them.

 

[sidfinch]

IDK, Can't say I've ever clicked through the few ads on here nor FB and YT ads. If anything, I have more bias against them.

Agreed. I block what I can already, and 99% don't pay attention to the ones that do display. Total noise.

 

[Little Brother]

I think there is some misunderstanding. I'm not condoning more ads. In suggesting that they are all removed. This site makes several companies probably tens of thousands of dollars each year through indirect advertising that they don't have to pay for.
Any accomplished popular grower on afn is a living advertisement forthe products they use. If this site went down I'll bet these companies would lose money. So here is my proposition, the companies that make money from the existence of afn ought to pay for its upkeep. Also they will not be allowed to advertise here, as they already get tons of free exposure in the form of grow journals.
Also the idea that if we pay forthe site ourselves, we will be free from corporate influence is wrong. Nothing stops these companies from exerting influence by sending free stuff (seeds, lights, etc) to members, knowing it will be showcased here and that others will emulate them and buy whatever products they are using.

 

[NorthernLights_420]

I think there is some misunderstanding. I'm not condoning more ads. In suggesting that they are all removed. This site makes several companies probably tens of thousands of dollars each year through indirect advertising that they don't have to pay for.
Any accomplished popular grower on afn is a living advertisement forthe products they use. If this site went down I'll bet these companies would lose money. So here is my proposition, the companies that make money from the existence of afn ought to pay for its upkeep. Also they will not be allowed to advertise here, as they already get tons of free exposure in the form of grow journals.
Also the idea that if we pay forthe site ourselves, we will be free from corporate influence is wrong. Nothing stops these companies from exerting influence by sending free stuff (seeds, lights, etc) to members, knowing it will be showcased here and that others will emulate them and buy whatever products they are using.

The vendors help us so much as it is? You expect them to pay for the site too? They donate out of the kindness of there hearts. I dont mind doing my part making a small donation for all the knowledge and opportunities for free seeds and can win stuff or get to test it at no cost. If you dont want to donate then dont. Theres plenty here that understand. I just donated a 50 recently. I understand and appreciate this site so much. I don't mind makong a small donation for the huge vault of knowledge and also free stuff sometimes. Cant go wrong there. Lol.

 

[Little Brother]

A company doesn't engage in behavior that isn't profitable in some way. You may get along with the people in the company but the company itself is not a person. It's a legal abstraction made up of business models and quarterly reports. Person breathes air to survive, company must make money to survive. This site serves as a funnel directing customers directly to their products. They ought to pay for this service by keeping the site up and running. From the numbers at the beginning of this thread it doesn't cost that much yearly to keep the site up. They can afford it.
Aside from that it's the principalof the thing. No member ought to have to pay for this site as they are theones generating content which turns into revenue for these companies. That would be like YouTube charging people to upload content.
Also cut that sanctimonious stuff. If I donate or not, that's my business. And I doubt the sincerity of your charitable spirit as you seem to want to rub my face in it.

 

[hecno]

Time to a step back guys . Lets leave it be and move on . Nothing gained by having a go at each other - Chill out time .