Pledge Membership...or the lack thereof...

atexascowboy2011

Elite Cafe Member
Joined
Feb 13, 2012
Messages
997
I think a flat fee of, say $10/yr., to help defray internet costs, would work for me.
As far as not receiving answers, unless I cough up some dough, well Mitch, I doubt I need your "expertise" anyway.
Belittling people with your "Perceived" rules,Not Sam's, as his clearly state that the Pledge is for selling your used equipment.
I would also like to be able to post a few shots of my work in the future,but can't because this forum and android have an on again-off again relationship., at least in my case.
 

Sam

Chief Administrator & Benevolent Dictator
Staff member
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Messages
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Covington, Louisiana
I think a flat fee of, say $10/yr., to help defray internet costs, would work for me.
As far as not receiving answers, unless I cough up some dough, well Mitch, I doubt I need your "expertise" anyway.
Belittling people with your "Perceived" rules,Not Sam's, as his clearly state that the Pledge is for selling your used equipment.
I would also like to be able to post a few shots of my work in the future,but can't because this forum and android have an on again-off again relationship., at least in my case.

Pledge Membership is for support of the Cafe to defray its operating costs. Being able to start threads in the Buy & Sell is a bonus.
 

Dave London

~ Elite 1000 Member ~
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Nov 12, 2006
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Location
Colorado
Yep
And Carlos I have been to Brian's what shall I say school,tool collections. Give up you don't have a chance in haddies
 

Brian Marshall

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Nov 9, 2006
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Location
Stockton, California & Taxco, Guerrero, Mexico
Hades, Dave, Hades... a place I suspect I will one day come to know rather well...

I've already told him how to win that war. More cheaply than the way he's tryin' to do it...

Come out here and take it over. All of it. House and 4 shops. (5 if he wants the saddle/leather shop stored out in the container van)

I would no longer retire in Mexico as I once planned - but there are other places on the planet that I've been lookin' at here of late.


B.
 
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dlilazteca

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Laredo, Texas
Hades, Dave, Hades...

I've already told him how to win that war. More cheaply than the way he's tryin' to do it...

Come out here and take it over. All of it. House and 4 shops. (5 if he wants the saddle/leather shop stored out in the container van)

I would no longer retire in Mexico as I once planned - but there are other places on the planet that I've been lookin' at here of late.


B.

Brian, I might have to take you up on the offer if thats the only way ill win.

Saludos,

Carlos
 

mitch

~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Joined
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Messages
2,635
to Jan, TexasCowboy, and no doubt a few lurkers-

i REALLY don't mind the occasional participant on the forum asking the occasional question while remaining a non-paying member. that's perfectly fine and completely expected. what put me in high dudgeon is month after month seeing the same few names asking for critiques, seeking specific instruction, posting pics of every piece of work they do for the free publicity & exposure, yet not contributing a dime to the care & feeding of the website. imho, a small handful of people were/are abusing the privilege. consistently reaping the very rich benefits of this resource while letting others foot the bill.

in general, too many have got it in their heads that quality content in the internet age should be free and for a relatively tiny, specialized site like the Cafe that's just not practical or fair. and maybe too many haven't been around long enough to appreciate how insanely valuable this site is compared to how we learned & exchanged info decades ago...
 

Donny

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Girard, OH
Wow I missed this thread between yesterday and today!! I wish a BULINO thread, with all the best bulino artists on here displaying their techniques and tools, would take off like this :) I was caught off guard last week when my pledge date for renewal came and went... Flipped over to the renewal and renewed no big deal. I like the auto renew but the extra step is no problem to me.
I have learned Soooo much on here just by watching others work, questions, tutorials, links, videos, and all the banter that takes place. I have never asked someone a direct question that wasn't answered. I have never PM'd someone who didn't take the time to reply with the help or information I needed. I find this to be a good value.

Donny
 

KCSteve

~ Elite 1000 Member ~
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Kansas City, MO
I've been out of work since February (stupidity at a Corporate level). Been trying to make a bit of money off of my engraving and have done some, but not near enough.

But since when I checked my membership had expired I made sure to renew it.

Membership here is just about the cheapest thing about engraving, and one of the most valuable.
 

BKJ

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Joined
May 4, 2014
Messages
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Location
Carson City, NV
Well, at first I didn't particularly like Mitch's original post! :( However, after I thought about it all day I felt he was correct :tiphat: in that this does indeed cost time and money to keep this great site up and running. We also get advice from some of the world famous engravers.

I realize that we are not all at the same level of engraving or are we all at the same level of finances, but alas, if everyone contributed WHAT THEY CAN AFFORD, this site will be able to keep running and providing excellent advice, articles, ideas and helping the newcomers entering our hobby/profession.

Hell, I saved more money than the cost of the Pledge Membership alone on the books Beathard shared with the forum! :clapping:

I guess I needed a major kick in the butt to do this, I had always PLANNED to do it but I kept on putting off like usual.

Now I can list some engraving vises...! :thumbsup: Yippee!
 

Ron Spokovich

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Joined
Dec 27, 2012
Messages
436
Junior Member Deb Williams does have a point, as to the insecurity of the Internet at libraries, as well as other points of entry. Also, I do not, and won't, have a cell phone, credit card, debit card, PayPal account, or do ANY transaction work on the Internet. Obviously, I can afford the Internet, or I wouldn't be typing this. Recently, I made purchases from two Cafe members, without a PayPal account, and sent a personal check. I've sent personal checks to major companies, with no problem. I certainly would be willing to contribute as a Pledge Member if some payment method, additional to PayPal, was initiated. If money for Cafe support goes to an escrow account, what's the difference in how the money arrives or what form it comes in? Those who don't use personal checks can use money orders, as I did for many years. There may be a lull in getting a check to clear, or a money order to go through, but I'm thinking that more Cafe members would become Pledge Members if options in contributions were offered. I know I would, as if I purchased from two Cafe members, wh6y wouldn't offer at least something toward a Pledge Membership.
 

Dave London

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Messages
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Location
Colorado
Dang Brian
Not only did I fail cursive writing , it looks like spelling as well.
Save me a seat we will have a lot of fun there;)
 

DakotaDocMartin

~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Joined
Oct 15, 2007
Messages
1,835
Location
Grand Forks, ND
Junior Member Deb Williams does have a point, as to the insecurity of the Internet at libraries, as well as other points of entry. Also, I do not, and won't, have a cell phone, credit card, debit card, PayPal account, or do ANY transaction work on the Internet. Obviously, I can afford the Internet, or I wouldn't be typing this. Recently, I made purchases from two Cafe members, without a PayPal account, and sent a personal check. I've sent personal checks to major companies, with no problem. I certainly would be willing to contribute as a Pledge Member if some payment method, additional to PayPal, was initiated. If money for Cafe support goes to an escrow account, what's the difference in how the money arrives or what form it comes in? Those who don't use personal checks can use money orders, as I did for many years. There may be a lull in getting a check to clear, or a money order to go through, but I'm thinking that more Cafe members would become Pledge Members if options in contributions were offered. I know I would, as if I purchased from two Cafe members, wh6y wouldn't offer at least something toward a Pledge Membership.

I bet a 49 cent stamp on an envelope would get a personal check or money order to Sam the old fashioned way. Be sure to let him know your forum handle and I bet he can manually update you to a paid membership. (I'm not trying to single out or belittle anyone... just sayin') :)

Address your envelopes to:
Sam Alfano
45 Catalpa Trace
Covington, Louisiana 70433 USA
 

RDP

Elite Cafe Member
Joined
May 19, 2012
Messages
569
Location
Brisbane, Australia
Originally I had it setup for membership to auto-renew, then some people complained about that so I disabled it. Then people complained that it doesn't auto-renew, so I can't please everyone!

I don't have a method to send out reminders. Sorry.
Sam I must be kind of special ;), I clearly remember receiving a reminder that my pledge membership was about to expire, :thumbsup:,

Richard.
 

Adder

Elite Cafe Member
Joined
Aug 19, 2013
Messages
310
Location
Mo i Rana, Norway
Thanks for the reminder. Just forgot to upgrade my "membership". Probably it will never happen again after reading (some of them "angry") comments from you:cool:

Jørn-Ove
 

Haraga.com

~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Joined
Jul 27, 2007
Messages
1,264
Location
Skiff
Undoubtedly some will consider this out of line and not only has Sam NOT made any mention of this to me, he may well delete this thread, but I'm going to say it anyway:

There are some people who are constantly & continuously taking full advantage of the benefits of this website, but who are TOO D*** CHEAP to pony up a few bucks so Sam can keep it up & running. C'mon, folks- a few of you are using this as a full time classroom and gallery space without even spending the buck or two a week that a $50 or $100 annual pledge amounts to. The value of information on this site vastly exceeds the cost.

From here on out, here's the deal: If somebody who hasn't chipped into the kitty posts for advice once and I have something useful to contribute, I will reply the first time. However, if they come back for more free instruction, that's it. Until I see a "Pledge Member" tag by your name I'm not typing another word to help you.

And no, I'm not getting a nickel out of this, just tired of the freeloaders abusing the privilege.

Didyoung, have you had a chance to read this?
 

Sam

Chief Administrator & Benevolent Dictator
Staff member
Joined
Nov 6, 2006
Messages
10,490
Location
Covington, Louisiana
User names get updated automatically with the Pledge Member crown when a PayPal payment is made. This does not work properly when sending a check. So if you wish to donate by check that's fine and it's greatly appreciated, but you may not see a change to your user name.

Speaking of which, Paypal's IPN (instant notification system) is the software link between Paypal and the Cafe, and that's what updates your account so you see the little crown below your user name. There was a glitch awhile back and some accounts were not updated as they should. I got the problem sorted out but if you made a donation and it's not showing below your user name send me an email and I'll get it fixed.
 

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