51 replies to this topic

[Mr House]

Presently there is a poll called "Bring Back Duplu" with 58 people who want him back, along with the cash that he provides to keep this place running.

The poll is wrong - it should be saying - Will I will pay a reasonable donation to keep this site running?

Fact is, we know from AT's post that this site has haemorrhaged about £10K over six years, so that is roughly £1700 a year.

If each of you people (58) that so dearly love this site and have voted so at the time of posting this message were to pay £30 a year then this site would be funded for another year. That is how respect is shown to Duplu with regards to this. Show him that you are not a bunch of lechers and put your hands in your pocket. It does not matter if you’ve donated before.

This is the CORE site for FME and without it, a hell of a lot of layouts will be lost forever?

- Do you see Trouty going back to his free DVD service? No. He’d be burning forever…
- Do you see DADSfme hosting the layouts like this does? I doubt it. His site is more of personal community site then a core site with a very loyal fan base.
- Do you see Fruit Forums every doing anything worthwhile again? No.

I promise you one thing – unless some very serious money is put forward and also Duplu reconsiders his options, this site will fold. It will be gone in the near future unless some brave f***er with deep pockets takes it on.

When or if this goes, that will be the beginning of the true end as roms will end up being on newsgroups and torrents which is a leeching service rather then a community. The lack of a central hub community will stop new members easily joining it and you will end up with various splinter sites that will never recapture what Duplu has created here.

This site is also more then a forum. The quantity of layouts here that are hosted show this site to be a database of available games more then anything else. Where else can you browse such an extensive range of layouts and see screen shots from the good that Ploggy can do for instance to the bad that some of the blind f***ers have done in the past?

Regardless of quality of layouts – they all deserve a place in FME history, even the eye bleeders. This place hosts them without critical shame or glory.

The first thing that needs to happen here is somebody needs to approach Duplu from the moderation team and ask him if he would reconsider if monies could be raised to save this site so he would not have to continually dip his hands in his rather empty pockets for the community.

If he will, then a cooling off period of a month is needed to prove to him that people are committed to this cause. With the 58 people that have voted to save him at the time I was writing this, if those people cannot be bothered to put their hands in their pockets to give £30, then Duplu is right to walk away.

Also, all the other fence sitters who would actually miss this place when it’s gone need to as well.

My betting is, raise the monies and it will possibly stay - sit there thinking some other f***er will do it, I don't need to - then welcome to...

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...I am now going to crawl back under my stone - but somethings were worth posting to speak out. I believe in Duplu and I believe in this site.

If I see it being saved, I will donate privately to Duplu. End of.

[jamespir]

Presently there is a poll called "Bring Back Duplu" with 58 people who want him back, along with the cash that he provides to keep this place running.

The poll is wrong - it should be saying - Will I will pay a reasonable donation to keep this site running?

If each of you people (58) that so dearly love this site and have voted so at the time of posting this message were to pay £30 a year then this site would be funded for another year. That is how respect is shown to Duplu with regards to this. Show him that you are not a bunch of lechers and put your hands in your pocket. It does not matter if you’ve donated before.

.

its not that easy i dont do paypal or have a credit card if there was another way to donate i would

[Mr House]

its not that easy i dont do paypal or have a credit card if there was another way to donate i would

You see here, this is excatly the response that you get when you put people in the firing line.

How do you pay for your internet connection?

Do you not have parents who would pay if you gave them £30 for you?

I am sorry, but if you really wanted to do this - you could.

[jamespir]

You see here, this is excatly the response that you get when you put people in the firing line.

How do you pay for your internet connection?

Do you not have parents who would pay if you gave them £30 for you?

I am sorry, but if you really wanted to do this - you could.

i dont pay for the internet i use the librarys i dont live with my parents im willing to pay i could send a postal order they only need but ask

[Mr House]

i dont pay for the internet i use the librarys i dont live with my parents im willing to pay i could send a postal order they only need but ask

Fantastic!

Now this is a shining example of using legacy systems to get money to fund this site if it was to go down this route.

A man that had no way to do it, thought about it and had a solution.

Great response James that will show others there is ways to do this.

[yorkie07808]

I also have no paypal account nor a credit card. Befor you ask i pay my internet using the local newsagent just hand my bill in and its paid. As for asking family what family Most have either moved on and lost contact or have passed away.

If as i had said in a previous post there was a physicle address i can send money/postal orders to i would do at the drop of a hat.

[jamesb99_1999]

You mr house are unbelievable - YOU will wait to see if this site is saved before you put your hands in YOUR pockets says a lot...... (not everyone might be in the financial position you are in with the credit crunch and to be honest you are in the gang that tried to stir all this rubbish up - so get down off your pedastal under that rock for a bit).

[Mr House]

You mr house are unbelievable - YOU will wait to see if this site is saved before you put your hands in YOUR pockets says a lot...... (not everyone might be in the financial position you are in with the credit crunch and to be honest you are in the gang that tried to stir all this rubbish up - so get down off your pedastal under that rock for a bit).

James,

Yes, I am unbelivable - thank you - but this is not about me.

Let me explain my post that I think you rushed through...

The first thing that needs to happen here is somebody needs to approach Duplu from the moderation team and ask him if he would reconsider if monies could be raised to save this site so he would not have to continually dip his hands in his rather empty pockets for the community.

...at this point, if Duplu agrees that the site will be saved if we can rasie money, I then said...

If I see it being saved, I will donate privately to Duplu. End of.

...so for the unclear people like your good self. If Duplu is happy with the plan, I will donate.

I am not saying that I will only donate if others do.

With regards to me being in the gang that stirred up all this rubbish?

I am also in no gang whatsoever, find any other post from me with regards to anything to do with FME in the last eleven months. What is happening here today, is nothing to do with me. You are acting like a blind man trying to pin a tail on a donkey and you've just stuck it on yourself.

Edited by Mr House, 11 February 2009 - 11:09 AM.

[Geddy]

Presently there is a poll called "Bring Back Duplu" with 58 people who want him back, along with the cash that he provides to keep this place running.

The poll is wrong - it should be saying - Will I will pay a reasonable donation to keep this site running?

In all honesty if Duplu (maybe too proud to do so) made an appeal like we have seen at FF or The Mecca then I am fairly certain enough would be pledged

Fact is, we know from AT's post that this site has haemorrhaged about £10K over six years, so that is roughly £1700 a year.

The words 'fact' and 'ATs post' do not really go hand in hand I'm afraid. Many have been burned by that one before.

Also he states he has 'spent' £10k over the years NOT lost the money. How much has been gained from donations/sponsorships etc etc? Personally and this does not mean it is right but if someone for 6 years or so has been 'losing' £1700 a year and done little to 'appeal' for funds either he is rather silly (which I suspect not) or can afford to lose such amounts. Either way something does not add up.

- Do you see Trouty going back to his free DVD service? No. He’d be burning forever…

Hehe I never really stopped, just not had many orders.

- Do you see DADSfme hosting the layouts like this does? I doubt it. His site is more of personal community site then a core site with a very loyal fan base.

'We' do what we can but as you say we provide for the user base we have and can afford that. If the user base suddenly grew then we would have to ask for donations more.

- Do you see Fruit Forums every doing anything worthwhile again? No.

Indeed it has slipped away now... shame.

However we do have Cliffc and his server which is a valuable resource, I'm not sure how up to date he keeps it with regards to layouts etc but I assume it is fairly accurate.

I promise you one thing – unless some very serious money is put forward and also Duplu reconsiders his options, this site will fold. It will be gone in the near future unless some brave f***er with deep pockets takes it on.

I agree but then again all he had to do is ask. If the 'debate' over Union Jackpots had not started how long would Duplu have gone before he asked for help?

[jamesb99_1999]

eee awwwww ;-) love you really mr house xxxx

[Mr House]

The words 'fact' and 'ATs post' do not really go hand in hand I'm afraid. Many have been burned by that one before.

I PM'd Duplu to say thanks for all his work when he was quitting.

He said pretty much the same thing to me then. I have no reason to doubt Duplu.

The amount of bandwidth this site consumes is incredible, but do you ever have a slow response from here - no - I certinally do not. That costs.

Duplu obviously had a lot of love for FME and this site and was prepared to foot the bill and I am assuming felt he was giving something to the membership here.

It can take a lot for some people to ask for help as lets be honest, look at Fruit Forums.

From the day I took donations when I setup and run it, the membership then thought they ruled the nest! Best thing I ever did was give it all to Alex as he was the Chief Spoon Holder!

Perhaps Duplu did not want to go down that route for that very reason, but I cannot make assumptions based on history.

Edited by Mr House, 11 February 2009 - 11:06 AM.

[Mr House]

eee awwwww ;-) love you really mr house xxxx

Well as long as you don't stick that tail on me, I love you too!

Right I need to do some real work now, endless replies here mean I have to work far harder then I was not doing already!

Edited by Mr House, 11 February 2009 - 11:18 AM.

[jamespir]

I spend many hours working on making layouts which I release on this site, I was a compulsive gambler for 17 years and as such have mass debts of over £56k and as Im not working at the moment all my cash it taken up, so instead of donating with cash I decided to donate my time, but seems that is still not enough, well whats the point in carrying on if the work we do is not appreciated?

i appreciate all your efforts you have done lots for this site

[baz]

Will I pay a reasonable donation to keep this site running?

If that's what's needed then definitely, count me in. Might not manage £30 in one go but could easily send regular smaller amounts no problem.

If bandwidth is costing, then maybe some restrictions are needed on non posting leechers.

[todd1970]

Will I pay a reasonable donation to keep this site running?

If that's what's needed then definitely, count me in. Might not manage £30 in one go but could easily send regular smaller amounts no problem.

If bandwidth is costing, then maybe some restrictions are needed on non posting leechers.

And me...spose i shoulda donated well before now but i thought everything was under control finance wise with the sponsorships and ads were covering the running costs of the place..aww well ye live and learn.

I would hope this would make Duplu to seriously reconsider his position here and come back

[stanmarsh14]

Welcome back to the fold, Mr House..... about time you got your arse back to the fold

OK, fully with what has been said about donations, and even with my limited means, I'll see what I can put forward to the pot to keep this bird flying.

Remember folks, there is much more to this place than monetary donations alone to keep the gears oiled. There is time and resources too that need to OPENLY DONATED to keep the community alive.

Take what CliffC has done.... despite his server being ran off a home connection, he's put time, effort, and his own money into keeping the Repo alive and running, to keep FME running.

Trouty with his FME DVD service.... never expects payment for his time and effort put into the service, though it's nice for folks to cover the cost of doing so by way of thanks, either as a pack of dvd blanks, or as a donation to one of the many FME forums.

Many others (Especially from The Mecca), buying up old machines, kit, and any related machines related material..... never normally expect help with costs, and some cases club together for a "group buy" of machines, all with an aim to getting resources for the FME community.

I myself had a nice compo payout a few years back, and decided to help out DAD's forum when funding was at a bit of a crisis, as I did not want it to disappear. Do I want folks to worship me for doing this..... hell no.... I donated back then as I wanted to first off, and secondly wanted to do something good with this cash.

There are many unsung hero's within FME who never for one moment think about themselves and provide others with what they desire. It is now time for us to help this forum, as a resource for ALL to enjoy. I just wished Duplu made us aware just how costly it is, and swallow his dam pride and ask for help.... this is what FME means to a great deal, keeping the old stuff alive, and community.

Just don't let the small few spoil it all for the many.

Edited by stanmarsh14, 11 February 2009 - 11:22 AM.

[stevedude2]

If Duplu had made a fundraising post along the lines of...

'Listen guys. This site is costing a lot of money, more than you realise, and when you consider the number of members we have and the amount of goodies available, I think it would be reasonable to ask for a few of you to put your hands in your pocket and help out a bit from time to time. Who's in?'

...then I would have been more than happy to shell out some money. And I intend to do so today when I get home from work. I've been on here for years and apart from some group buys, a couple of layouts and some sensible and helpful posts I haven't really done much in the way of funding, when really I should have.

Making people feel forced into donating so they can play a bunch of hoarded layouts (one of which was posted on the Mecca in any case) was a bit unnecessary and probably the wrong way to go. What the f*** makes AT's layouts so special that they deserve VIP-only status?

AT may have had nothing but good intentions. But to be honest I think he saw it as a way of elevating himself above everyone else again. Special treatment if you like. Personally I think Duplu has been hoodwinked, and is paying the price.

[RB]

What the f*** makes AT's layouts so special that they deserve VIP-only status?

Dont think the VIP was intended to imply the designers status, more that only VIP's could access them until they went on general release...