I would be happy to contribute to the cause! Just let me know.

Let me know what kind of deneros I can contribute also if it is needed.

We are aware of all that has been said! The reason for it is the server, i run the site for free all this time for you guys. but i pay for it myself,and it is pretty cheap, but to go to a server that will treat us right we are talking $$$ and i just think the site should be free to all!
I will speak to valiant and see whats out there and what it will cost ?? But how to charge all for the site and make it free is the real question?? I want it to be fair for all!

What we need is sponsors to pay for advertising that could fund the site, but i am not a computer sales man, and don't know what to offer and how much? if anyone knows such a person or firm that dos that stuff i will look in to it??

We are having growing pains for sure!

Anothe site I'm on uses google ads to help pay for the site. They only show up for guests or people not logged in so it's not a real big deal for members. I believe they break even just about by doing the ads for guests though.

Paid memberships? But how to make them appetizing so they will be bought? Limit signature space, pm box size, for free members? Paid members get free stickers, shirts, more sig space, more pm storage space, etc.

This sounds like a idea ?? Not looking to make money, but will have to look into it, Thanks!

Sounds nice but who is going to pay for all the free give a ways? By the time you do that i be better off getting a 2nd jobto pay the extra for the new site!

slow here as well, I'd be glad to contribute and sponsor to the cause, would it be a one time upgrade fee for the server, or would it be monthly usage fee charged by the server? If it were a one time charge, I'm sure we could get enough volunteers to contribute, but if its a monthly access fee, I could see where it would be good in the beginning, then the contributions would drift off slowly, causing the whole thing going in the red. I've seen a couple of sites find their demise that way. Would any changes to the format help with the speed. I hate to be the one that suggest it, but would eliminating the gallery help with the speed?
Go figure that Reel would be having no issues up in BFE with his old school equipment, he probably doesn't even have to peddle fast on the generator/exercise bike to keep the lights on:nut:

My niece has her own company that does internet advertising type jobs for other companies.. Basically she designs websites so that when you do a google search their company comes up on the first page. Pretty tricky stuff actually. But one of the things she has to do is arrainge advertising on the sites to get the better spots. No promises, but I'll speak to her over the weekend and see what she can come up with.

As to the gallery issue, if it's not being used it doesn't contribute to the bandwidth slowdown issue. Basically it just is data lying dorment on the hard drive. There are no issues with it unless it's being accessed. So no worries there.

There are 3 (hardware) things that determine speed.
1) The server itself. Obviously, the faster the computer the quicker the data can be accessed and disseminated out to the users.
2) The wiring. And by that I mean anything between the computer and the ISP's server. That includes the modem, router, switches, hubs, and any wires themselves.
3) The available bandwidth. The ISP only provides a certain amount of space (bandwidth) for data to travel over for a given fee. Basically, the more you pay, the greater the amount of data they will allow to travel over their wires at the same time.

So, all that being taken into account, the only things that we can control is the server and the equipment leading out of the house. Once it hits the pole it's out of our hands.

Unfortunately, I believe that Spare is right on the money. A monthly usage fee will only result in a slow death to the site. I, like him, have personally seen it happen 4 times to sites I was involved with. So a contribution to help upgrade the server and the various other equipment is going to be the only realistic route we can go. Like everyone else, I'm more than willing, (eager in fact) to contribute some coins to help with an upgrade.

And, like Reel, I have no real issues with this site from my home. Most times it's fast and my wait time to make a post is less than 5 seconds from the time I press the enter key.... But as soon as I go to work and try to access this site from there it's like I've stepped into molasses. Everything slows down to a crawl and a few times I've actually timed out waiting for the site to accept a post.

The only thing that really changes is the anti-spam, anti-virus programs and the firewalls that my company uses on thier servers. I cannot help but wonder if that's a part of the issue. Some kind of incompatability between their server and this servers' software/firewalls?

MJ, what kind of CPU and memory is the server using? Would an upgrade help? I'd be more than happy to help pay for upgrades if they are necessary or advisable.

Yes spare please talk with her and see what she might be able to come up!
Destroyer you are right about the gallery and stuff, but we don't have any control of the server, we buy space there and thats it. We have a huge amount of space and all, when valiant fights with them we get a bit faster for a short time then back to the same old stuff.

This is a monthly site we pay for, so no upgrade will help. Thank you all for wanting to cheap in, but as said a monthly fee is not a good thing for all. this is a good thread cause maybe we will find a sponsor or advertiser something to help any way??
this site has been running for almost nothing all these years! One cause BS started out with free software and a free server, then went to paying for server a little, then i took the site and bought the V Bulletin software and upgraded that, and change servers a few times. It was good till we started getting to be a little big, then all the spy bots started to join and bog the site down, so valiant put blocks on there country's that were doing it, then I had him block all new members from just joining to stop the spammers, now i approve each new member after looking up there IP to see if they have anything against them, and even if they have one thing they get denied.

Thank God Valiant and I have been friends for over 31 years, and he learned this stuff!! He is are tec guy for FREE!! The site cost us about $300 a year to run! I am willing to go a little more but i have not work in a year now, just sent in my disability paper work, so things going to be a bit tight for a bit.
But I am open to anything to make it better, even got a email from a guy who buys websites with a offer to buy this one, but I looked at a few he has and did not like them so never looked into it, as i like are little corner of space just the way it is! :love:

Also I looked into the Google stuff as Therm suggested, i filed out there app and here is the email i got back