Fund Drive/Donations to help the Administrator

Clean County PW

Clean County PW

Active member
Should we start a fund drive/Donations to send to Mike Hughes(Administrator) for all his efforts to keep this board on top of the heap????

There so many Idea's that we all have here such as making people post who they really are in there profiles and to have legitimate phone #'s so we can check to see that they are legit. This takes time.

Also Mike has alot of Idea's to implement but to do so they take alot of time and he has a business to run and time is money.

I remember when Dan F. was taking donations and when he did his bb went right to the top because he put in the time to keep it that way. Now look where his bb is today. Nobody donates anymore and he no longer spends the time and now his bb is like a sinking ship.

Beths BB along with Gregs bb(Deckcare) they can also generate money from them by selling there products so it behoves them to spend the neccessary time on there bb's to keep it fresh.(Both do an EXCELLENT JOB).

Here everything is voluntary and nobody makes money off this site.

I think its now time to make it where the guy running the show should be compensated to keep this bb the best and most exciting of all the bb's because as Ron M. use to say this bb IS FOR US....THE CONTRACTORS.

So what do you others think?
 
Mike gets a high five from me. He is a nice guy I met him at the roundtable. Great work on this site.
This idea worries me because when you go from FREE to Fee people will just start looking for another Free site. Maybe Mike can sell some advertising space. I will lend a hand of he needs help.
 
I agree. Sell some advertising space.
 
EVERYTHING on the board has been donated by Ron Musgraves for thenext ten years. That means the ISP, the software, and anything else that might be needed. a couple of the conditions that Ron gave Mike when he took over the board were, no advertising, ever, and no donations were to be taken from members.
I was offered the board first, and those were the conditions that I was given.


Scott Stone
 
i like that this site is the way it is

I also think that that Mike,on his own and not advertised here. Should sell some small widget.
A widget that might cost a buck or two more then the next guy but at least i know where that buck or two was going.
Maybe like a logoed T shirt or ball cap.
Something that was generic to pressure washing.
indirect support.
 
I was the one who wrote the original request for the Dan F. donations. At the time this created a firestorm along with some hard feelings. To this day that bb has not been the same. The reason why I wrote the letter was that Dan had just moved and it seemed that Dan was being extended financial and some us felt that the little gift would help. The reason and the results were not the same.

If Mike needs the extra funds then I would suggest that he build a bb that would lend itself to funding by its members from the getgo.

David
 
If those were Ron's conditions, by all means stick to em'
I'd prefer not to see advertising, but truth be told I ignore ads on web sites and I have a pop up blocker.
 
If it's not broken, no need to fix it!!
I think this BB is the best. I dont go anywhere else for power washing invo.
 
Fund Drive?

What Grant says about "popup blockers" true. Ignore is a wonderful feature, and popup blockers pretty much blister any adds trying to force their way onto your screen.

Other than that, I've always felt that one of the big underlying factors on any bbs is to have a place for the Vendor to sell his/her product and/or services, and I don't begrudge the person who's putting in all the time and effort to administrate that bbs to profit from it. Yeah, Ron Musgraves set this site up as a free site, but it belongs to someone else now, and the new owner's philosophy about this particular bbs could be different, who knows!! I for one don't really care. It doesn't belong to me!!

It's also pretty clear to me that a Pay BBS for "Certified" Contractors is probably going to be a reality in the very near future. There's always room on the internet for another bulletin board.
 
I am new to the forum and really not very familiar at all with the politics or anything with this particular BBS but I am a member of another BBS that is comprised of past and present members of the 82ND Airborne DIV. Now granted no one there is selling or promoting there wares but what the web master there did was put a very small discreete link on the forum home page that says "Donations", click on it and it links you to his paypal account. He nevers brings it up and never solicits for it. We gladly donate from time to time and help him keep his site alive. The site has 2500+ members. He also has advertising on the site that appeals to 82nd ABN type men and women.

Like I said I have no idea what the logistics of this site are just thought I would throw that out there incase you lean to the donation route.

Never the less thanks for all the great info you all have provided me with here, I may have never said it but allot of you have been a great help to me.
 
A paid BB for certified contractors is inevitable as far as I can see.

Once again the only reason I brought this up is because to keep this bb fresh and a step ahead of others it takes time and to give that time means something has to give on the other end. Why let this bb just become stagnent in the future.

First off I think Mike Hughes is doing a great job. I just feel that somehow he should be rewarded for his efforts and the time he puts in here. Its just my opinion only and when I bring up Donation/Fund drive it doesn't mean that you have to give anything.

Yes I do remember David S. bringing this up initially on PWN and I thought it as a great Idea. Dan F. deserved to be compensated for the gazzillion hours he was putting in to his site.

I have benefited greatly from these sites and I don't mind giving up small amount to show my appreciation.

I like what Joel Hawley said about the 82nd Airborne Div. THat is a great Idea.

I don't see how if Mike Did except donations this site would change for the worse. It could only get better and with this extremely competitive market in bb land every bit helps.

Once again this is why I also along with booyaa feel that in the not so distant future there may be a Paid bb for certified contractors only.
 
I wasn't aware there was a certification program for pressure washers, with the exception of hood cleaners. Have I missed something?

I agree, if it isn't broke, why fix it? This board is the most active of the four that I know about, those being this one, PWN, PWNA, and Beth's board. It is successful because the users make it so. Donations aren't going to make people pose here more often. I for one wouldn't mind donating if that is needed, but it appears from what Scott said, it isn't even an option.
 
Not Certified

Mike you're right. I shouldn't of used the word "certified" in that earlier post. As I recall, I think it was Ron M who wanted to start a "Qualified Contractors List" on this BBS, and there was alot of response in that thread.

You certainly don't have to be certified to be a pressure washer. Qualified is a whole other ballgame!!
 
Scott Stone,
Here's your quote: a couple of the conditions that Ron gave Mike when he took over the board were, no advertising, ever, and no donations were to be taken from members. I was offered the board first, and those were the conditions that I was given.

So why did you turned this bb down then?? Could it have been because it is so time consuming to keep this bb fresh and since no money could be made its just not worth the effort??

Thats the point I'm trying to make. Mike does do a great job and he should some how be compensated. Since at this time he is not I ask this. Who would want his title as board administator?? I know I wouldn't.

P/S- Mike is not complaining to me or anyone that I know of. This is just my thought process only and if Mike disagreed completely I have no problem with that.
 
Mike seems to have ignored this thread so far. I think he is the only one who can answer this question. It also sounds like he doesn't have a choice.
 
Nope, It just was not me. I feel that I have a lot more profitable ventures to pursue than to run this BBS. I don't think that the pittance that members here would be able to contribute would offset what I could make somewhere else. You have to remember that my business is 24/7/365 for the most part, and that there are times when all that I can do for a week or two is glance at the BBS. Certainly not what someone else could do to make it work.
Face it, administrating this BBS is a labor of love, and nothing more. I was not willing to commit the effort that it would take for a year, or in perpetuity that would be needed to keep this BBS from degenerating, and self destructing, similar to what other BBS's have done over time. So I passed, twice.

Scott
 
Scott,
I agree with everything your saying. That is why I think Donations would go a long way here because to do it just for the labor of love something else has to give such as time lost with your family, Money lost with you business because your not out there doing it(THis seems like it would be your story) etc.etc.etc.

I guess in the end maybe my view is wrong because nobody seems to really agree with me on this. Hopefully Mike's so called labor of love doesn't get burned out because most likely I would think he will not be rewarded enough in the long run to stay highly motivated to keep doing this for the Love of it.

To me its like Powerwashing. I love it...but I better make a few $$$ or I'm gone.
 
John T:

I think there are a lot of us who wouldn't mind sending in a few bucks to help Mike, but the point is that if he is under the same rules that were presented to Scott, he wouldn't be able to accept the money.

As far as getting burned out, I sure hope not, but on the other hand, he knew going in to it that it would not be a money making venture!
 
I don't know if Mike has this bulletin board under any rules. I get the impression that since he is now the owner he can pretty much make his own rules but once again I could be wrong because honestly I don't know.

I was just clanging around Idea's on how to make this bb stay on top of the heap and to also draw Of course as the old saying goes "If it aint broke then don't fix it" probably applies here but its the nature in me where I am always trying to make a situation even better if I can even if it is pretty good already.

I for one will be pretty interested in the future to see what a paid Bulletin board for CERTIFIED contractors is all about if that comes to fruition....which I think it will.
 
He is the owner, but it is under a license type of agreement. Ron holds the license, and Mike can basically do anythying with the board he wants, except for taking donations, and advertising.

Scott
 
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