Basenji Calendar 2008 Photo Contest

[Quercus]

Hey Admin, ball park, how much does it cost to run the forums, and where does the bulk of the cost come from? I only ask so that I know what kind of money we are talking about going to the Forums, and what might go to fundraising.

[DiegosMom]

I like the 2 ideas above me, that we should just submit pics then firgure out the months later, and i like the idea of months that dont really have a theme with them (obviously nov is thanksgiving-ish, dec is christmas-ish, but what about less popular months) for funny things like how do they sleep like that, etc.. i think more fun pictures would get submitted if they dont all have to associate with a month..

[jys1011]

Thanks Admin..I'm loving this idea

[Ninabeana26]

@hdolbow:

all my good pics are vertical… lol
and in black and white.. not too exciting for a calendar... lol

juuust my luck!

If we are able to do a collage vs. a single photo per month calendar than B&W & also vertical photos should be able to be used & look nice.

[Alex]

@Ninabeana26:

Also [sorry to be a pest] but do you think that instead of having each months theme be that specific month we could designate themes to each month. Like for example, for March do something like "caught in the act" so people would supply photos of their B doing something sneaky [not hard with a B I'm sure] then like…June could be "How do they sleep like that?!?" so people submit photos of their pup sleeping in odd positions [also not difficult to get with a B]. Then maybe certain months could have a more month-theme. For example, November's theme could be Thanksgiving or Autumn since those are typically what is thought of in Nov anyway. Just another suggestions

Sure, submit any theme you like. In the end it will be upto our community to decide which photo goes into the calendar.

[Alex]

@Quercus:

Hey Admin, ball park, how much does it cost to run the forums, and where does the bulk of the cost come from? I only ask so that I know what kind of money we are talking about going to the Forums, and what might go to fundraising.

Well, finally someone asked about the costs (money and time) associated with running Basenji Forums.

Running something like this costs pretty penny and quite a bit of effort if you want to keep it free, especially when it starts growing. These costs include but are not limited to servers, bandwidth, software, programming, upgrades, advertising and maintenance.

Luckly I have quite a bit of experience in some of those area and thats why we felt comfortable starting and running this forum.

I will not go into exact figures but lets just say it already cost us a lot and is costing several hunder per month. Yes, it comes out of our own pocket, but we are looking into some venues through which we can make it a community supported resource.

Basenji Forums became a large part of our life and we do everything we can to keep it running smooth every day. If you have anymore questions or want to simply help feel free to PM me privately, this topic if for our fun calendar questions!

[Barklessdog]

Most forums I belong has supporting memberships, like $30-$40 a year for supporting, then silver & gold memberships.

All the pictures that we upload to this site cost the site $$$$ in storage, but it is a nice feature.

Luckily we have not been bombarded with adds like on other free sites MySpace etc. Since there are no adds here, I doubt the owners are actually making any money here.

If it comes down to it what is this site worth to it's users?

It's a great place. I have learned a lot here and made a few friends along the way.

[Quercus]

Honestly, it never occurred to me that it cost much money. I guess I figured it was something like yahoo groups, which are free. I was just curious.

[jaclempner]

I'm sure someone has a picture of one of their basenjis table surfing among the Thanksgiving goodies! Rose is a table surfer, although I'm always in too much of a hurry to get her off the table to ever take a picture!

[lvoss]

I understand that there are high costs associated with running a site that is ad free and free to users. I am uncomfortable though about raising money to support that by saying that some proceeds will be donated to non-profits "after all expenses have been paid". For me, I think it is much more honest to say that you are opening a store to support the cost of the forums and then perhaps offering some items where a set % of the profits will go to a designated organization or that you make a donation as a separate issue.

BCOA has had a big problem with its members feeling like the were mislead to believe that their support of certain fundraising efforts were going to support non-profit causes only to find out later that the majority of the money was put into the general fund and only a small fraction was donated to the cause they thought they were supporting. This has lead to a lot of bad feelings towards the club and a lot of distrust. I would hate to see those same bad feelings arise towards the forums because you begin to mix two separate issues that really should remain separate.

[Mia]

In my case, I can't wait to see the calendar and will definitly purchase one, two, three, ok for everyone for Christmas presents lol, even if some of the proceeds go to you admin, I would ratgher see them go to you then a company like Borders. Great idea and keep up the great work with the forum, it has been a real life saver

[Vanessa]

@Barklessdog:

Most forums I belong has supporting memberships, like $30-$40 a year for supporting, then silver & gold memberships.

All the pictures that we upload to this site cost the site $$$$ in storage, but it is a nice feature.

Luckily we have not been bombarded with adds like on other free sites MySpace etc. Since there are no adds here, I doubt the owners are actually making any money here.

If it comes down to it what is this site worth to it's users?

It's a great place. I have learned a lot here and made a few friends along the way.

I have been reading this thread and haven’t spoken until now. It is true that we do pay out of pocket to keep this forum up and running. We choose to do this because of our love of this breed. We lost our first Basenji and we decided to create a tool in which people could come together and get the help they deserve. Who would of thought we would have over 1000 members! Not too long ago some of you may remember the forum was down for a day or two. That was due to the fact that we had outgrown our server.
For two years now Basenji Forums has been up and running and we have never brought up the costs until now.
We fully support in donating money to BHE or even BRAT. This should be decided amongst EVERYONE in the forum.
The cost of operating Basenji Forums will be separate from any charity fundrasing. To be quite honest, we have never even thought of this up until now and we feel fundrasing and charity donations should be decided by the community.
Alex (the admin) and I hope this clears up any confusion that this has caused.

[DiegosMom]

If this project is only going to go to charity, I would support a fundraiser to go to the cost of running the site. This site has been such a great resource, whenever I have a question or problem about my B this is the first place I go. Saying that, I would for sure support fundraising activities that help keep basenjiforums running becasue if it ever had to close I would be very sad!

[Barklessdog]

Saying that, I would for sure support fundraising activities that help keep basenjiforums running becasue if it ever had to close I would be very sad!

Agreed, that makes sense

[Basenji_Boy]

IMO, I honestly think we can do something for the health of Basenji's. A tragic health issue with a Basenji is how this forum started…....it's sort of the charter here to help and educate.
But please, this can't be about....my dogs picture on the calendar. I think it should be the best pictures we can choose to sell as many calendars as we can and drop a big check on the health foundation.

We as users can also help these folks keep this resource going and ad free.

I suggested items with the Basenji Forums logo go on sale in the future! Cups, hats, shirts.......bumper stickers..........anything!:)

I'd buy something, how bout you?

[Barklessdog]

That's a great idea as well, although I would love to get a Basenji Park shirt.

That's why I think you would sell a lot more calenders if you could get at least one picture from everyone who submits.

If the picture is not as great (quality/focus) make it a smaller side picture somewhere.

I also think a basenji mix section would be fun. There are quit a few mix members here.

[Ninabeana26]

@Barklessdog:

That's a great idea as well, although I would love to get a Basenji Park shirt.

That's why I think you would sell a lot more calenders if you could get at least one picture from everyone who submits.

If the picture is not as great (quality/focus) make it a smaller side picture somewhere.

I also think a basenji mix section would be fun. There are quit a few mix members here.

I agree that I think more people would buy if more dogs are featured, not just 12. I also agree that having a theme for the months without a real theme is a great idea (like having a B-mix month). I mean, what really is the theme in June? Or August? Etc.

I know the admin said if we have enough submissions we may be able to have several photos for each month in a collage vs just having one big photo [which is what all other dog calendars are like]. I am becoming a photoshop pro & make banners for my webpage so I know I would have no problem volunteering to make a collage for several of the months (maybe not all 12 though…that might take a while...) Haha. I know we have the beautiful photos & resources to where compromise is possible & in the end we'll have a beautiful calendar that sells I know I'd buy several!

[Barklessdog]

I would also add that just because your pictures may not be perfect they still have value. I also think the idea here is to make more of a scap book of the site, not a pro photography calander (which could be done with some peoples pictures here).

I'm going to buy what ever is done to support either the site or Brat or what ever is decided, even if one month is just cloven foot prints done in tempra paint!

[lvoss]

@Vanessa:

The cost of operating Basenji Forums will be separate from any charity fundrasing.

Thank you for this clarification. I think that both things are important, just that fundraising for them should remain separate.

[Vanessa]

@lvoss:

Thank you for this clarification. I think that both things are important, just that fundraising for them should remain separate.

Exactly