We need your help to fix the site!

[Winged Mermaid]

As I'm sure all of you are aware, we have had server problems off and on for months. We as Admins, but mostly Malinghi as he has more knowledge of this, have been trying to resolve these issues with no or temporary solutions. This is partially due to the fact that neither of us have any knowledge of web development or how to work the server to it's optimum capabilities with the vBulletin software. It's quite involved, and we've been trying to learn what we can on the fly, but unfortunately it's just not enough. When we go to our host company for support they insist that the issue is on OUR end, not theirs, and therefore they can do nothing. They said to ask our web developer, which we don't have.

So there are two things that we can do at this point. One would be to hire a web developer to come in and look at the site, the server, the host, ect and optimize things to work to it's best capability. Possibly even recommend moving to a new server host if it's not up to snuff. The second would be to go a head and assume it's the server and move to a new host and new server. The problem with both of these is that they are expensive. From what I've been told, we would be lucky to find a cheap web developer to work for $50 an hour. The server would be over $100, though we're not sure how much becuase we have not nailed down alternative options. The reason for this is that we don't know what exactly to look for in a new host, as we are SUPPOSED to have unlimited storage, bandwidth, ect with our current host, but obviously that is not working out.


The GOOD news is that since MerNetwork started up, we have received total donations of $156.63! So happy that you guys are being supportive, and am very grateful for every penny generously given by our users! The bad news is that since it has started up we have spent, out of pocket, $500. And now we're looking at possibly a couple of hundred dollars more just to fix our problems.


So it come down to this: unless we can raise the money to cover a web developer and/or a new server, the server and site issues will continue, and possibly become more frequent as we grow.

I am open to any fund raising ideas. I'm also open to anyone with web development knowledge willing to help with these issues.
Until then, the PayPal donate button can be found on the front page or below. We've had donations of even a few dollars - remember that every little bit helps!





https://www.paypalobjects.com/en_US/i/btn/btn_donateCC_LG.gif (https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=YFP4TR8HSAT6U)

[AniaR]

you'll be getting more donations too! Some of us pledged and are waiting for money so we can follow through :) However, SOMEONE in our groups must have or know someone in this field who could give some insight?!

[Winged Mermaid]

you'll be getting more donations too! Some of us pledged and are waiting for money so we can follow through :)

Thank you so much for that Raina! I understand that not everyone has money to spare, but a few from a lot is better than a lot from a few! It's just getting the lot to give a few each that's hard! We have over 175 active members. If even 100 would give $2-$3 we'd probably be set!


However, SOMEONE in our groups must have or know someone in this field who could give some insight?!

I keep hoping and praying for such!

[Mermaid Narina]

we should spread the word over this site! im sure that at least someone here it techy enough to figure it out! as soon as i have more money im going to buy some shirts, this is a website definately worth supporting

[Winged Mermaid]

we should spread the word over this site! im sure that at least someone here it techy enough to figure it out!

We've put out the call multiple times before and no one has responded. That's why we're expecting to have to pay for web development services.

[ShyMer]

My hubby knows about this stuff. I could ask him to take a look and see what he thinks, though I'll leave it up to him what he does of course.

[babsannee]

how much were you hoping to raise?

[DoubleOSix]

Can someone make a signature button saying save the site and a link to the PayPal donation?

People are most likely unaware of this problem, and will skip over the thread.

If someone was willing to donate something for a raffle. Its always a money maker sell tickets for $1 with funds going to the site.

[DoubleOSix]

Also, as with other forums I belong to, we should have an official Facebook page. Its good for site outages and as a backup to reach members.

[Spindrift]

Also, as with other forums I belong to, we should have an official Facebook page. Its good for site outages and as a backup to reach members.

We do. Search "MerNetwork" on fb.

[Winged Mermaid]

My hubby knows about this stuff. I could ask him to take a look and see what he thinks, though I'll leave it up to him what he does of course.

That would be great! If he agrees if you could please have him email Malinghi at malinghi@gmail.com. Thanks! :)


Can someone make a signature button saying save the site and a link to the PayPal donation?

People are most likely unaware of this problem, and will skip over the thread.

If someone was willing to donate something for a raffle. Its always a money maker sell tickets for $1 with funds going to the site.

I can certainly do that. Also if anyone else wants to make their own you can right click the image and say "copy link location" and use that link. The urls is: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=YFP4TR8HSAT6U Same for the picture location! Or you can use your own image and link it so when they click on it it links them to the donation page. The BB code for linking an image is as follows:



https://www.urlofpicturehere.gif (https://wantedlinkurlhere.com)

I have at least one thing I can donate (once the movers deliver our stuff to our new place), a few things I can buy, as well as a few things I can make for a raffle. If I was to offer the webbed silicone finger gloves, merfolk latex ears, or speedo goggles, and some hand made mermaid accessories, who would be interested? I could maybe even offer small value ($10-$15 perhaps) gift certificates to popular mer accessory stores like Merbellas Studios. Any more suggestions? I'm trying to keep it cheap starting out becuase I don't know how popular it will be, and with the move I'm pretty tight on the cash level.


We're also trying to figure out some kind of site reward for those who donate, and who have donated. What would be something that you guys would think would be a motivator? Bigger user icons? A special name with a user instead of just "senior member" or "junior member" ect it could be "Star Mermaid/Merman" or... gah, I don't know, brain is dead at the moment. *insert your suggestions here*

[Mermaid Lorelei]

I love the idea of a raffle and perhaps as a reward for donating, there could be an icon beside the name?

[DoubleOSix]

I love the idea of a raffle and perhaps as a reward for donating, there could be an icon beside the name?


Yeah, I've seen some forums with a star next to the username. That's a good idea.

[DoubleOSix]

We do. Search "MerNetwork" on fb.
Thanks!

[deepblue]

I wish I could help. So beyond broke right now and for the near future. I hope I can help later this year, I know that sounds wishful but truthfully, that's the soonest I can see being able to spend money on the things I want, and helping this forum would be one of those things. Definitely sounds like it needs a better server host.

[malinghi]

One of the most valuable things people can do to help us fix these errors is to report them. I can be contacted via e-mail at malinghi@gmail.com, or on facebook. Screencaps are also very helpful.

Also, I wanted to give an update- I think I have made some progress with one of the causes of the errors. If you have seen this error:
3662

I think it has been fixed. Please let me know if you see this error again. If you see another error messages as well, let me know.

[Ayla of Duluth]

[QUOTE=Wingéd Mermaid;28165]If I was to offer the webbed silicone finger gloves, merfolk latex ears, or speedo goggles, and some hand made mermaid accessories, who would be interested?[QUOTE]

The webbed silicone finger gloves like those ones on amazon? I would totally buy a pair! Perhaps even the latex ears.
I think its a really good idea for people to get together and sell stuff where the proceeds can go to the website. I feel like a lot of people would rather give money and get something in return rather than just give money willy nilly. That's the biggest reason I haven't been able to donate to the site. I've been trying like crazy to save money, but if I was able to buy something to go with my tail, I'd be happy to spend it, and you guys get more money for the site. :)

[MermaidMisty]

As far as having unlimited storage etc, I found that actually means that you don't have any limitations placed on it by your host, but you're still limited by how much they have to begin with and who else they offer their services to.
I found that while working on my latest project, an online pagan/metaphysical shop. It's not done yet, but when it is, I'd be happy to put something up for a raffle to help raise money. :)

[LittleTreasure]

I was wondering, since I'm kind of broke and I already donated to the site a while ago (not much, but still...)

Maybe the Cafepress store could use a couple more t-shirt designs? Or maybe some of us could donate some mermaidy crafts (jewelry, art, mer accessories) to be sold at the Cafepress store?

Anyway I would love to draw some designs for the Cafepress shirts - that could be my donation if anyone thinks that's acceptable...
Of course it would also be fun to donate something for the raffle..

[Nyx]

I'm with LittleTreasure, I would also love to draw some designs for the Cafepress store. :)

[Ayla of Duluth]

I have a question for the admins. Lately it seems that whenever I try to post something, the site stops responding and I lose everything I just typed. It gets really frustrating to spend 15 minutes typing something out, only to have a message that says "Mernetwork has stopped responding. Recover webpage?"
I expected to get this message last time I tried to post in a tattoo thread, so I copied the text in the box so if I had to refresh the page, I could just paste it. But when I went to do that, it hadn't copied. >,,< That's probably irrelevant to the problem, but is the crashing webpage a server thing, or is it my computer that's making mernetwork stop responding? I've run virus scans with kaspersky and come up with nothing, so my computer is clean. Any ideas? It'll probably crash when I try to post this, too.

[ShyMer]

I'm kinda waiting on my pod to decide on our coat of arms or for Malinghi to get tired of waiting on us so I can buy a shirt. I might like to see some more designs for shirts and things though.

[RobertWalker]

I can help you. I just recently finished developing another site on Wordpress. It wasn't easy but thanks to https://motopress.com/ I did it faster. I found a lot of interesting plugins here, which allowed me to make the site as convenient as possible.

[Randolph2]

Decentralized finance has taken the world by storm, and many businesses are now exploring opportunities to develop their own DeFi solutions. This company https://definme.com/services/decentralized-finance-defi-development/ have a proven track record of delivering high-quality DeFi solutions that are secure, scalable, and efficient.