[b]To Companies Doing Business On The Site[/b]
Dear Sirs,
The AR15.Com website will be undergoing a number of changes in the way we operate. Since the costs of running the site have grown, and continue to grow, we began to collect revenue earlier this year to cover the month to month expenses. We now ask you, those with so much to gain, and those who have received so much since our initial 1997 birth, to evaluate your position and decide if you wish to help out and continue on into the future as a part of the site.
Of the upcoming changes, the following will impact you:
1) Industry Forums Cleanup
- Advertising supporters and site partners will be the only ones
with their own forums. If you wish to become an advertiser you
will receive a forum, free memberships for representatives (limited
based on company needs), and the ability to market and sell items
to users through the sites Equipment Exchange or forums.
2) Sales and Marketing
- Advertising supporters and site partners will be the only ones
able to market and sell items to the users of the site. This means
advertising specials, sales, or selling directly through the
Equipment Exchange. All others will have their posts removed,
and only [b][red]USER[/red][/b] exchanges will be allowed from this day forward.
With the rebuilding of the Equipment Exchange, we will also
mark all these items as "featured sales" to further promote them.
Please take the time to evaluate our advertising fees and help us cover the expenses needed to keep the site running into the future. Also reflect on the many years we have been here and the great services we have provided to both you and the users who make this place what it is.
Thanks for your time,
AR15.Com
Sounds logical. No sense for you guys to bear all the expense to create a sales forum for others to benefit from & at the same time not contribute back.
Thats a major reason we donated portions of any LEGP sale to the server funds & will continue.
You guys are one of many who help us keep things going here and it's very appreciated, even by those who fail to see the "behind the scenes" actions.
My hope would be that people would support those who help support this place. Visiting the sites and buying from the people who advertise and donate to help keep things running and strengthens all of us.
I don't expect everyone to kill themselves to help by any stretch of the imagination, but to see so many benefit from our existence and to not bother helping is a shame.
Just as an example of costs for even minor things. The chat server, as many of you have noticed, was replaced. The old chat server license has since changed for demos which only allows 30 days of use. Nobody had bothered to check for updates, let alone changes to the software, license, etc. Looking to upgrade to a nicer package I looked around and realized not just that, but that costs were insane. $2500-$4000 on average for a decent package. For CHAT!!! (Ok, so maybe its not a big deal to me, but that's because I realize there's usually only 10-20 people on there per night!)
Server software runs high, hardware needs to be updated and expanded every year, and hosting costs and bandwidth prices seem to increase as well. (Not to mention our BW usage is crazy!)
This place exists because we work together to make it so, now we're just asking that companies, who have so much to gain, jump in and help us out!
Visit the advertisers, spend some money, and help support those who keep us running!!!
