A Message For Everyone

[E-8]

Dear friends,

In March, we at TrainBoard (and you) will celebrate our 10 year anniversary.

10 years is an eternity in terms of the Internet. During that time, people have come and gone but we still have a large core group of staff members, supporters, and regular members that have been here since the beginning.

However, it doesn't matter if you joined in March of 2000, or last week. It doesn't matter if you have 10,000 posts or 10 posts. You are a TrainBoard member, and an important part of this site - and we want you to feel that way.

I've been thinking this past year about what we would do to celebrate our 10th anniversary. Special runs of model train cars (still a possibility), special decor on the site, contests, etc., have all been considered.

But, rather than tooting our horns over our 10-year presence on the net, how about using this waypoint on our timeline to improve the site?

As I look at TrainBoard (and you may have similar feelings) there are a number of things that I would like to see improved. We have some clutter, unused functions, confusing features, (and so on) that can be vastly improved upon.

To that end, here are a few things that are coming soon:

The software that drives this forum (vBulletin) has released a new version that has been a long time in the making. This new version is not just a standard upgrade (as we frequently do) but is a major release. Much of the functioning of the software has been re-worked. Sometime soon, we will be upgrading to this software.

Prior to that, we will strip the site of a lot of the bells and whistles that some of you are used to. We anticipate losing nothing in terms of the content that is here. Everything will be backed up as well. Part of what you folks helped us pay for (when we got a new server) was a constantly running backup system. Anyway, some bells and whistles will be stripped away and the forum will take on a more basic look for a few days. Then, the upgrade will take place.

What will result at that time is another "out-of-the-box" look for a few days. Then, in time, we will start to upgrade the look and features of the new site. There may be some downtime during this process but I anticipate that as being minimal. I do not think that the site will ever be down more than a couple of hours or so during this process.

The up-side of this whole thing is that we are going to be able to add some new things, and even more importantly to me is the ability to achieve a few goals that I have had for quite some time.

I'm really very excited about this and details with be forthcoming.

Another thing that I am excited about is that I may soon have Internet at my home. For those of you that don't know me very well, I do not have Internet at my home! I live out in the woods in extreme Downeast Maine and some of the modern conveniences that you folks are used to have not reached us yet.

For a number of years, we had dial-up (and we had to get that out of Canada) but we cancelled that three or four years ago. But now, a company is installing some equipment in out area that will (apparently) allow us to receive a form of wireless Internet by the end of February. For me, this means that I will be able to devote more personal time to TrainBoard!

Now let's talk about money...

First, see this thread.

For those of you that don't know, we fund this site with a combination of paid advertising and donations.

Each year we have some sort of fundraising telethon and last year we basically resorted to begging. That worked pretty well because we ended up with a pledged total of $3792. But, here's the problem: We did not receive all of that money.

A lot of those donations were the $2 and $5 monthly subscriptions and many of them were cancelled sometime after the telethon.

If someone signed up for a $5 monthly donation, we added $60 (one year) to the total. But, if the person cancelled the subscription in one or two months then we ended up with only $5 or $10. Not everyone cancelled (of course) but there were some folks that did.

No one indicated that they were unhappy with us but we all know that the economy is not the greatest and some folks just can't make a long-term financial commitment. That's okay.

There's good news though - we made it through 2009 and we're still here.

We don't want the site to be about money. We don't want to be constantly begging or mentioning money and I think we are largely successful with that. Occasionally though we have to ask for money, or at least remind people that if they like this site that there are bills to be paid!

We have server costs, software costs, etc., and we have one staff member that loaned us some money when we needed it and that needs to be paid back at some point. He has been patient but I want to start chipping away at that sometime. There have also been times that we needed upgrades or technical support that were not part of our monthly bills.

The bottom line here is that if you can help, please do!

We have long offered the $2 monthly subscription (through PayPal). For less than a cup of coffee once per month, you can help us greatly. Some folks wanted to offer a little bit more and the $5 monthly subscription came from a user suggestion. We also have the annual one-time $24 donation. Occasionally, we receive larger donations.

For those that do not use PayPal, we accept checks and money orders by mail.

If anyone has questions about our software upgrade or additional thoughts, you may post here or use the Contact Us link at the bottom of the page to ask a question.

We are dedicated to bringing you the best possible TrainBoard that we can. Stay with us and we’ll all get there together!

It's been 10 years and we're not worn out yet. I truely believe that the best is yet to come.

Charlie

[N-builder]

I think a special commemorative ten year anniversary caboose would be kinda cool. What say you guys. I think that would be cool.

[subwayaz]

Hi Charlie, congrats to you and all that help make this such a great site. I really like the direction the site has gone and going in the last three years I have been a member. Aso got me excited about the new improved software coming in the near future. It's already outstanding as is and for things to get exponentially even better cpngrats once again.
I would really like to see a commemorative car made; which would also help drum up some additional funds with a measurable return for each member that purchased one.
Also help out those like myself that didn't get in on the first run.
Just a thought.
Thanks again
Glen

[Thieu]

Yes, that would be very nice. One can always use a caboose, and when you add a few extra bucks to the price, you can use it for funding this forum? But please give also the possibility to buy it through a hobby store that accepts creditcards, since I am not a Paypall fan.........

[N7CZ]

Thanks Charlie and to all the staff of TrainBoard for the efforts everyone puts into the site. The work done to make TB what it is shows through.

IMHO commemorative car or caboose should only be done if it can produce revenue for the site without a major capital investment. Otherwise, the money is better spent on the site upgrades you mention.

Thanks again,
Bob

[Smithsr]

Please PM or post the physical address for sending a donation in check form. I'm not a pal of paypal..

Please keep the neat background!! It REALLY IS a fine feature!!!!!

-Phil

[E-8]

Donations can be sent to;

TrainBoard.com
240 Davis Road
Alexander, Maine 04694

When doing so, make sure and enclose your real name and TrainBoard User ID. Sometimes we receive donation checks and we can't figure out who they are from!

Thanks folks!

Charlie

[Chaya]

Okay, Charlie, I'm celebrating the anniversary by bumping up my subscription to $5/month. Trainboard is well worth it to me: I've found so many great tips here, I get to look at what other people are doing, my questions get answered, and the people are great.

Thanks for a great board.

[G&OM 3207]

Ten years flew by so quickly. As an original member, I still remember this site in it's infancy, never would have guessed it make it this far. Trainboard had a good thing going on then and it's even better now.

Thanks Charlie and the staffers for your decade of time and energy making Trainboard great as always!

[SknarfWl]

Charlie,

Thanks for all that you guys do! I had to look to see when I joined, it has been a very enjoyable almost 10 years here on the TrainBoard! Thanks to everyone else who post great questions/ answers and some amazing pictures.