Where do my donations go? - XDTalk Forums

**Kermee** · 02-25-2009, 01:03 AM

This question has been asked many times before in the past so I thought I'd just sticky this post and leave it up for a while so everyone can get a sense of where their hard-earned money goes when you donate to XDTalk.

The forum is only supported by commercial sponsors and forum donations. The ad revenue is not as high as you might think; actually nowhere near the amount associated with our sized forum and page views as many have assumed. Since this forum is based on firearms, this excludes virtually 100% of "Google AdSense" type revenue models since their Terms of Service explicitly disallows firearms based websites and forums. You will see HS2000Talk/XDTalk models GlockTalk & AR15.com closely in the same way it operates in the method of keeping their forums running.

This last donation drive was only started in January 2009 and was only temporary in the sense that we needed a brand-new server to be hosted. We actually reached our goal last month and the remaining funds as noted in the donation bar was for a server for shootersflix.tv; basically a gun-friendly clone and social-networking type site based off of YouTube that I'm hoping we'll be able to integrate into XDTalk (i.e. single sign-on, etc.) The donation requested for that new server was met yesterday.

Before last month, in the entire 8 year history of HS2000Talk/XDTalk, we've only had two raffle drives and one donation drive (if my memory serves me correctly) with the last one being many years ago and a handful of sponsors. That's it. Our hosting and bandwidth costs, including full daily backups, etc. and hosting of the servers are approximately $600 USD/month or about $20 USD/day and in actuality up until early 2008, (between the years of 2001 and 2007), I was paying money out of my pocket to keep HS2000Talk and XDTalk running including many many hundreds of personal man hours administering and keeping vBulletin running smoothly.

So all in all, I have to thank our commercial sponsors and gracious members who have donated in keeping XDTalk alive and the Mod Squad taking the brunt of performing their non-financially compensated, volunteer duties when I'm unavailable.

So in a nutshell:

#1. HS2000Talk/XDTalk is a not for profit forum.

#2. All funds from both commercial sponsors & member donations go into a general account used to pay for the expenses of running the forums including licensing, servers, hosting, bandwidth, etc.

Cheers,
Kermee

**The DRis** · 02-25-2009, 01:15 AM

Thank you for your hard work. It is appreciated greatly. You run a absolutely wonderful forum. Hope we can all lend a helping hand on a regular basis to keep this place running. And I look forward to Shooters-Flix being 100%!!

wayne5plus1 · 02-25-2009, 03:03 AM

Thank you for making this site happen. I frequent it alot...we are fortunate to have a forum dedicated to our particular brand and type of handgun that we all enjoy.

**GunnBugg** · 02-25-2009, 08:26 AM

Good info. Good update. Thanks for the site. It's a great gig and very worth the few dollars I throw at it.

**mhillsing23** · 02-25-2009, 08:32 AM

Thank you for making this place happen Kermee! Keep up the good work!!!

**Krackels** · 02-25-2009, 09:50 AM

Thanks for all you are doing Kermee!

ichy_trigger · 02-25-2009, 09:55 AM

Thanks for all your hard work.

**vic6384** · 02-25-2009, 10:02 AM

Thanks for your hard work, and thanks to all the supporting members! This site is so full of useful info, it's amazing.

**hilefai** · 02-25-2009, 03:20 PM

Thanks Kermee for all the the hard work you do! It does not go unappreciated!
Aloha!

**community** · 02-25-2009, 03:28 PM

I like this forum. great information. great members. great talk. Keep up the great work. Paul

02-25-2009, 01:03 AM	#1
Kermee XDTalk Founder Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 1,325 Blog Entries: 1	Where do my donations go? This question has been asked many times before in the past so I thought I'd just sticky this post and leave it up for a while so everyone can get a sense of where their hard-earned money goes when you donate to XDTalk. The forum is only supported by commercial sponsors and forum donations. The ad revenue is not as high as you might think; actually nowhere near the amount associated with our sized forum and page views as many have assumed. Since this forum is based on firearms, this excludes virtually 100% of "Google AdSense" type revenue models since their Terms of Service explicitly disallows firearms based websites and forums. You will see HS2000Talk/XDTalk models GlockTalk & AR15.com closely in the same way it operates in the method of keeping their forums running. This last donation drive was only started in January 2009 and was only temporary in the sense that we needed a brand-new server to be hosted. We actually reached our goal last month and the remaining funds as noted in the donation bar was for a server for shootersflix.tv; basically a gun-friendly clone and social-networking type site based off of YouTube that I'm hoping we'll be able to integrate into XDTalk (i.e. single sign-on, etc.) The donation requested for that new server was met yesterday. Before last month, in the entire 8 year history of HS2000Talk/XDTalk, we've only had two raffle drives and one donation drive (if my memory serves me correctly) with the last one being many years ago and a handful of sponsors. That's it. Our hosting and bandwidth costs, including full daily backups, etc. and hosting of the servers are approximately $600 USD/month or about $20 USD/day and in actuality up until early 2008, (between the years of 2001 and 2007), I was paying money out of my pocket to keep HS2000Talk and XDTalk running including many many hundreds of personal man hours administering and keeping vBulletin running smoothly. So all in all, I have to thank our commercial sponsors and gracious members who have donated in keeping XDTalk alive and the Mod Squad taking the brunt of performing their non-financially compensated, volunteer duties when I'm unavailable. So in a nutshell: #1. HS2000Talk/XDTalk is a not for profit forum. #2. All funds from both commercial sponsors & member donations go into a general account used to pay for the expenses of running the forums including licensing, servers, hosting, bandwidth, etc. Cheers, Kermee __________________ -Kermee, Seattle, WA *Proverbs 3:5-7* "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil."
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02-25-2009, 03:03 AM	#3
wayne5plus1 XDTalk 100 Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Texas Posts: 206	Thank you for making this site happen. I frequent it alot...we are fortunate to have a forum dedicated to our particular brand and type of handgun that we all enjoy. __________________ It's been 5 years but I'm back using an XD.
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02-25-2009, 08:26 AM	#4
GunnBugg XDTalk 1K Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Rocket City, USA Posts: 1,010	Good info. Good update. Thanks for the site. It's a great gig and very worth the few dollars I throw at it. __________________ GunnBugg I own everything that Rebecca Peters hates.
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02-25-2009, 08:32 AM	#5
mhillsing23 XDTalk 4K Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Arnold, MO Posts: 4,974	Thank you for making this place happen Kermee! Keep up the good work!!! __________________ The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?
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02-25-2009, 09:50 AM	#6
Krackels XDTalk 20K Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Southeastern PA Posts: 21,977 Blog Entries: 5	Thanks for all you are doing Kermee! __________________ "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." --Benjamin Franklin PA Roll Call & PA XDTalkers UserGroup
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02-25-2009, 09:55 AM	#7
ichy_trigger XDTalk 10K Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Dayton, Ohio Posts: 10,366	Thanks for all your hard work. __________________ "The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself." http://militarysignatures.com/signatures/member2645.png
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02-25-2009, 10:02 AM	#8
vic6384 XDTalk Newbie Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Rochester, MN Posts: 22	Thanks for your hard work, and thanks to all the supporting members! This site is so full of useful info, it's amazing.
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02-25-2009, 03:20 PM	#9
hilefai XDTalk 100 Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Hawaii Posts: 249 Blog Entries: 1	Thanks Kermee for all the the hard work you do! It does not go unappreciated! Aloha! __________________ XD45 Service Glock 23, Glock 27, Glock 38 Colt 45 Commander Ruger P90, S&W 6906
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02-25-2009, 03:28 PM	#10
community XDTalk 3K Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: White Lake, MI Posts: 3,860	I like this forum. great information. great members. great talk. Keep up the great work. Paul __________________ *Save a Greyhound. Adopt one.*
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